| Increasing financial need, growth of financial markets, and diversified financial products and services are making a households' saving/investment decision-making ever more complicated. To cope with the complexity, households search saving/investment information from many external information sources. This study investigates U.S. households' patterns of information source use for saving/investment decision-making. The conceptual model for this study is based on the external information search stage of the Engel-Kollat-Blackwell's consumer behavior model.; The research objectives are: (1) to develop a conceptual model; (2) to explore variables related to the number of information sources used; (3) to identify U.S. households' patterns of multiple information source use; (4) to investigate household characteristics associated with specific patterns of multiple information source use; and (5) to suggest implications.; Out of a sample of 4,305 households from the 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances, 3,968 households that reported themselves as savers or investors were used for the first research objective, and 2,141 households using two or more information sources were analyzed for the second and the third research objectives. For the first study objective, ordered logit analysis was used; for the second study objective, cluster analysis was conducted; and for the third study objective, multinomial logit analysis was used.; About half of U.S. households use two or more information sources for their saving/investment decision-making. Major findings are: (1) age, education, race/ethnicity, possession of financial assets, and attitude towards risk affect the use of multiple information sources; (2) four patterns of multiple information source use were identified, labeled 'mass-media oriented light users', 'comprehensive expert users', 'assertive users', and 'technical/investment oriented expert users'; and (3) households' demographic characteristics, financial characteristics, and attitude towards risk affect the pattern of multiple information source use. Results concerning patterns and associated variables provide implications for market segmentation, advertising strategies, and information supply to disadvantaged groups. |
