Involvement
In psychology, involvement describes the cognitive and affective participation of a person in the mental processing of information related to an attitude object (e.g. a product or media content). A distinction can be made between personal involvement, which arises from a person's long-term interest in a contrast, and situational involvement, which arises from a specific situation (e.g. the stimulating design of advertising content).
In marketing , one speaks of involvement when the consumer feels that a product has something to do with the consumer himself and his personality, i.e. that a purchase has a noticeable effect on the buyer. Involvement describes the commitment with which consumers turn to an offer. The term comes from Anglo-Saxon business jargon and means something like inclusion or involvement . In the meantime, the term inclusion has established itself as a synonym in German .
Intensities
Low involvement
Everyday use product with a low purchase value and short consumption time (e.g. cleaning agent), with which the customer usually only deals superficially and where the purchase decision is usually made solely on the basis of the price. Competing products do not differ in price and quality or differ only minimally. Such products are perceived as replaceable by the customer.
High involvement
Products with a high purchase value or a long service life (e.g. a car or a house), for the purchase of which the customer has to deal with the product very carefully and which requires his assessment. Since the customer is directly involved in the decision-making process, he develops a higher level of brand loyalty than with a low level of involvement. This is where the ego principle comes into play, as the customer usually sees his own purchase decision as correct.
Influencing factors
person
Personality, attitudes, life situation, knowledge, experience form the personal involvement.
product
The benefit (fun, relief, ...) of a product forms the product involvement. Related to a consumer's interest in making a particular purchase. Many special offers serve to increase this type of involvement.
medium
Communication media support involvement by means of the respective strengths of the medium (images, sound, text, fragrance). The newspaper can therefore require a high level of consumer involvement, as the consumer has to invest time and concentration. The television, on the other hand, requires less involvement, as it casually carries its information to the consumer.
Embassy
What the "story" says can involve a consumer.
situation
Involvement can fluctuate depending on the current situation. Current occasions (wedding, birthday, projects, ...) or seasons (Christmas, holiday season, ...), for example, can influence the consumer's involvement.
Process sociology
In process sociology , the term also includes engagement .
Being directly involved as a person goes hand in hand with an assessment of reality, since one can neither distance oneself spatially nor temporally (from oneself).
literature
- Esch, Franz-Rudolf : Effect of integrated communication , 4th edition, Wiesbaden, Gabler, 2006, p. 116 ff.
- Kroeber-Riel, W./Esch, Franz-Rudolf: Strategy and Technology of Advertising , 6th edition, Stuttgart, Kohlhammer, 2004, p. 141 ff.
- Schulz, Ferdinand: The contribution of the involvement construct to the explanation of consumer behavior when buying beef , Frankfurt / M. 1997.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Judith Lynne Zaichkowsky: Measuring the Involvement Construct . In: Journal of Consumer Research . tape 12 , no. 3 , December 1985, ISSN 0093-5301 , pp. 341 , doi : 10.1086 / 208520 .