University Consumer Behaviour: Journal Article Critique Analysis

This report provides a critical analysis of a journal article focusing on consumer behaviour, specifically the influence of bloggers. The paper examines how bloggers shape consumer perceptions and motivations, linking information search motivation with blogger attributes. The analysis highlights the strengths of the article, such as its unique perspective on bloggers as opinion leaders and the exploration of information search motivation. However, it also points out weaknesses, including the lack of a clear structure and the imbalance between discussing blogger characteristics and information search motivations. The report references key studies, including Balabanis & Chatzopoulou (2019), to support its arguments and concludes by emphasizing the importance of understanding how bloggers impact consumer decisions in today's digital age. The analysis also includes a discussion of the differences between consumers with specific information needs and those who browse randomly, the role of trustworthiness, and the increasing influence of content presentation.

Running head: CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
In the age of digitalization and social media there are many other avenues that are
being focused on and are gaining immense popularity. One of them is bloggers. Bloggers are
considered to be the people who regularly write and post for blogs. It is the duty of the
bloggers to diversify their own content and this keeps the content fresh and interesting which
adds value to their fan base or readers (Khan et al. 2017) Blogging in recent times has
become a popular career for the creative people and they often make money by selling their
content, digital products and many more. This paper is a critical analysis of a journal article.
This article talks about the influence of bloggers on consumers in recent times and
links the information search motivation with the attributes of the bloggers (Balabanis &
Chatzopoulou, 2019).. Bloggers today have become popular and their influence and power to
shape the perception of the consumer has made many people astonished and has led to
several studies conducted to understand what has paved way for this situation in recent times.
The study concludes by saying that bloggers are considered to be opinion leaders however
people view their sites when they want and when they are attracted (Balabanis &
Chatzopoulou, 2019). Aligning with this it is seen that the motivation to search or acquire
information is the same. One either has an objective in the mind to search the information or
the piece of information attracts the readers and makes them motivated to read the article.
The concept of linking the information search motivation with the characteristics of
the blogger is unique and attracts the reader to go on and read the article. This article is a
pretty good article as it gives a different perspective about bloggers being opinion leaders and
having authority in the society in recent times which was not thought before. The article gives
an insight of the minds of the people and show why bloggers are treated as mini celebrities
and how they have had the power to influence and have a fan following of their own.
According to research most bloggers are successful because of their appearance, their
attractive content and the trust they have gained because of their charming personality

2CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
(Navarro, 2016). This also suggests that most people and consumers follow blogs and are
influenced by them because of the characteristics they possess and not because of the
information they are seeking for. However, the article also suggests that it is not always the
same thing as there are many bloggers who provide and create particular content like fashion,
make up, lifestyle, technological and they are followed by people who want to seek
information about a specific thing related to any of these fields.
However, this article has a weakness which is the paper does not clearly talk about the
information search motivation and mostly puts emphasis on the role and characteristics of
bloggers which often makes it difficult to understand what the writers mean through this
article. There is lack of concrete and proper structure of the paper which often is confusing as
once the paper is just talking about the characteristics of the bloggers and the other time they
are talking about the information search motivations.
However this paper is a good researched article and makes good arguments and
assumptions. The article suggests that information seeking motivation now is based on how
the information is presented and made more palatable to cater to the information seekers just
like how blogs are being consumed these days. According to scholars it has been seen that
people are usually attracted to the way content are presented which attracts consumers and
this has paved way for many companies like fashion brands and make up companies
approaching bloggers to promote their brand on the internet (Sudha & Sheena, 2017). This
article also states the difference between people perceiving blogs. It states that people who
want to seek particular information they usually select blogs that are attractive, approachable,
authoritative and trustworthy however on the other hand, people who do not have any kind of
need and are indirect visitor to a blog they do not categorize or select blogs on certain factors,
mostly it is very random. There are scholars who have stated that many times the
authoritative and attractive blogs have not been trustworthy and has influenced people

3CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
negatively (Nepal, Paris & Bouguettaya, 2015). Moreover, scholars have stated that in
today’s age people are more attracted towards content which they feel looks nice which may
not be relevant and helpful to them in any sort (Hollebeek & Macky, 2019). This article also
states that the influence of bloggers should not be analyzed as an effect of communication
only but also has to consider information seeking. It is when people seek for any kind of
information on the internet that they are directed to blogs.
This article suggests that information search motivation and the characteristics of the
bloggers have many factors and things in common. From the article it can be understood that
bloggers have an influence on consumers which have made them popular among a section of
communities. Moreover, they have become influencers as the consumers consume their
content to seek some kind of information which has an objective. This paper should have
stated the linkage between the two factors in a clearer manner and provide more information
on the information seekers that would help to make the paper more structured and concrete
giving equal importance to both the factors.

4CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Reference
Balabanis, G., & Chatzopoulou, E. (2019). Under the influence of a blogger: The role of
information‐seeking goals and issue involvement. Psychology & Marketing, 36(4),
342-353.
Hollebeek, L. D., & Macky, K. (2019). Digital content marketing's role in fostering consumer
engagement, trust, and value: Framework, fundamental propositions, and
implications. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 45, 27-41.
Khan, H. U., Daud, A., Ishfaq, U., Amjad, T., Aljohani, N., Abbasi, R. A., & Alowibdi, J. S.
(2017). Modelling to identify influential bloggers in the blogosphere: A survey.
Computers in Human Behavior, 68, 64-82.
Navarro, G. M. (2016). The influence of blogs in fashion in consumer behavior: An
exploratory approach. Vivat Academia, 19(135), 85-109.
Nepal, S., Paris, C., & Bouguettaya, A. (2015). Trusting the social web: issues and
challenges. World Wide Web, 18(1), 1-7.
Sudha, M., & Sheena, K. (2017). Impact of influencers in consumer decision process: the
fashion industry. SCMS Journal of Indian Management, 14(3), 14-30.