Why do consumers research their ancestry? Do self-uncertainty and the need for closure influence consumer's involvement in ancestral products?

Strong, Carolyn A., Martin, Brett A. S., Jin, Hyun Seung Jin, Greer, Dominique and O'Connor, Peter 2021. Why do consumers research their ancestry? Do self-uncertainty and the need for closure influence consumer's involvement in ancestral products? Journal of Business Research 99 , pp. 332-337. 10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.12.065

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Abstract

This article examines why consumers choose to research their ancestry using commercial available products. Prior research suggests this is a voyage of personal discovery. We take this voyage and review consumer interest in ancestral products (e.g., DNA services) that is driven by a consumer's uncertainty about their sense of self. Focusing on uncertainty-identity theory, the findings from a study with a sample of adult Australian consumers show that people who want to reduce uncertainty about their sense of self respond favourably to a genealogical product that offers insight into a person's ancestry. Finding support the proposition that the need for closure moderates this effect. Consumers who are high in need for closure respond to self-uncertainty through an interest in commercial genealogical products. The study results show that curiosity underlies the effects in several ways; the desire to gain new knowledge about self, a curiosity to understand the past and the desire to reduce self-uncertainty about the past. Research implications for the study of consumer self-identity and uncertainty are presented, how consumers respond to this through the use of genealogical products examined. Managerial implications for the marketing of genealogical products are discussed, and recommendations for future research made.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Business (Including Economics)
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0148-2963
Date of Acceptance:	20 December 2018
Last Modified:	16 Jul 2021 11:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/142638

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