The many faces of ambivalence in the decision-making process

Abstract

This dissertation studies the role of psychological ambivalence in decision-making processes in the area of marketing. Ambivalence refers to the possession of both positive and negative evaluations toward the same object, and in addition to being prominent in our everyday lives, it receives continuing attention in the marketing literature. Yet, the concept of ambivalence remains unclear in the area of marketing. Furthermore, while consumers as well as organizational buyers often engage in decision-making processes, it is not understood how ambivalence occurs in these processes and subsequently influences their outcomes. This dissertation addresses these research gaps and hence aims to unveil the concept of ambivalence as well as its implications for marketing, predominantly from a process perspective.

Multiple methods are applied to meet this objective. The research begins with a systematic literature review and conceptual development of ambivalence, followed by a qualitative exploration, conducted with an innovative video diary method. The subsequent quantitative part includes two publications, in which the studies are respectively conducted through a multi-stage survey and a combination of facial recognition and clickstream data. Through this combination of different methods, the dissertation produces a rich understanding of the role of ambivalence in decision-making processes.

The results imply that ambivalence is a more multifaceted concept than the existing research suggests. In sum, the results show that the sources and consequences of ambivalence differ depending on the type of ambivalence in question, the stage of the decision-making process, and the information environment. The main contribution, therefore, lies in re-defining ambivalence in the domain of marketing, and in uncovering its role in the decision-making process. Because the consequences of ambivalence are predominantly negative from a marketing perspective, this dissertation produces managerial implications especially for ambivalence reduction. However, the predominantly negative discourse that has been underlying ambivalence research in marketing is also challenged through further research on the positive consequences of ambivalence from a marketing perspective.