Moderating Effects within the Elaboration Likelihood Model of Information Processing

In this study, we propose a framework for understanding the key mechanisms which lead to central or peripheral processing of information. The framework draws particularly upon three different approaches and seeks to bring them together. We specify the moderating role of customers' motivation and their ability to process information. By varying the difficulty of assessment of the following situations in an extensive customer buying process (dependent variable), we discover that key proposals of the Elaboration Likelihood Model gain invalidity in relation to how easily customers can assess the dependent variable. The high level of specificity of the empirical study allows extraction and confirmation of multiple propositions, facilitates further empirical testing and encourages theoretical development of the proposed model. The study is performed within a buying process consisting of complex goods and a high level of service quality, namely the selling of cars.