1887
image of The World of Daily Life
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

Within social scientific research searching for products is overwhelmingly reduced and represented as an activity that is embedded in decision-making processes. This study shows that searching is extremely multimodally rich and complex and that structured stages of searching are the product of customers’ efforts to order this complexity in and through concrete actions. Importantly, it also shows that customers carry out these actions un-hesitantly in both physical Brick-and Mortar (B&M) shops and in web-shops. The paper concludes that descriptions of searching need to take the nature of the multimodal environment as well as customers’ approach and engagement with it into consideration: searching for products is multimodally rich and complex and yet it is simple.

The study is situated within the broad fields of EMCA and Social Semiotics in multimodality. It is based on video-recordings and eye‑tracking recordings of customers’ buying practices in different kinds of (web)shops.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/ps.22020.ras
2024-02-13
2024-10-05
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Adami, Elisabeth
    2014 “What’s in a click? A social semiotic framework for the multimodal analysis of website interactivity.” Visual Communication (): –. 10.1177/1470357214565583
    https://doi.org/10.1177/1470357214565583 [Google Scholar]
  2. Brucks, Merrie
    1985 “The effects of product class knowledge on information search behavior.” Journal of Consumer Research (): –. 10.1086/209031
    https://doi.org/10.1086/209031 [Google Scholar]
  3. Button, Graham
    1991Ethnomethodology and the human sciences. New York: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511611827
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511611827 [Google Scholar]
  4. Crabtree, Andy, David M. Nichols, Mark Rouncefield, and Michael B. Twidale
    2000 “The contribution of ethnomethodologycally-informed ethnography to the process of designing digital libraries.” Journal of the American Society for Information Science, (): –. 10.1002/(SICI)1097‑4571(2000)51:7<666::AID‑ASI8>3.0.CO;2‑5
    https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4571(2000)51:7<666::AID-ASI8>3.0.CO;2-5 [Google Scholar]
  5. Crabtree, Andy, Michael Twidale, Jon O’Brien, and David Nichols
    1997 “Talking in the Library: Implications for the Design of Digital Libraries.” Proceedings of the 2nd ACM International Conference of Digital Libraries. Philadelphia: Association of Computing Machinery, –. 10.1145/263690.263824
    https://doi.org/10.1145/263690.263824 [Google Scholar]
  6. Crook, Charles
    2015 “The Field of Digital Technology Research.” InThe SAGE Handbook of Digital Technology Researched. bySara Price, Carey Jewitt, and Barry Brown, –. London: Sage.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. De Stefani, Elwys
    2013 “The collaborative organisation of next actions in a semiotically rich environment: Shopping as a couple.” InInteraction and Mobility: Language and the Body in Motioned. byPentti Haddington, Lorenza Mondada, and Maurice Nevile, –. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110291278.123
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110291278.123 [Google Scholar]
  8. 2014 “Establishing joint orientation towards commercial objects in a self-service store.” InInteraction with Objects Language, materiality, and social activity, ed. byMaurice Nevile, Pentti Haddington, Trine Heinemann, and Mika Rauniomaa, –. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/z.186.12ste
    https://doi.org/10.1075/z.186.12ste [Google Scholar]
  9. Dewey, John
    2007 [1910]How we think. New York: Cosimo.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Djonov, Emilia
    2007 “Website hierarchy and the interaction between content organization, webpage and navigation design: A systemic functional hypermedia discourse analysis perspective.” Information Design Journal (): –. 10.1075/idj.15.2.07djo
    https://doi.org/10.1075/idj.15.2.07djo [Google Scholar]
  11. Dourish, Paul, and Graham Button
    1998 “On ‘technomethodology’: Foundational relationships between ethnomethodology and system design.” Human-Computer Interaction: –. 10.1207/s15327051hci1304_2
    https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327051hci1304_2 [Google Scholar]
  12. Frohlich, David, Paul Drew, and A. Monk
    1994 “Management of repair in human-computer interaction.” Human-Computer Interaction, ACM Press (): –. 10.1207/s15327051hci0903&4_5
    https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327051hci0903&4_5 [Google Scholar]
  13. Garfinkel, Harold
    1963 “A conception of, and experiments with, ‘trust’ as a condition of stable concerted actions.” InMotivation and social interaction, ed. byO. J. Harvey, –. New York: Ronald Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. 1967Studies in Ethnomethodology. Cambridge: Polity Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. 2006Seeing Sociologically. The Routine Grounds of Social Action. Boulder, Colo.: Paradigm Press [1948]
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Guo, Chiquan
    2001 “A Review on Consumer External Search: Amount and Determinants.” Journal of Business and Psychology: –. 10.1023/A:1007830919114
    https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007830919114 [Google Scholar]
  17. Hazel, Spencer, Kristian Mortensen, and Gitte Rasmusen
    2014 “A Body of Resources: CA Studies in Social Conduct” Journal of Pragmatics. : –. 10.1016/j.pragma.2013.11.016
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2013.11.016 [Google Scholar]
  18. Heath, Christian, and Paul Luff
    2000Technology in action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511489839
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511489839 [Google Scholar]
  19. Hepburn, Alexa, and Galina Bolden
    2012 “The Conversation Analytic Approach to Transcription”. InThe Handbook of Conversation Analysis, ed. byJack Sidnell, and Tanya Stivers, –. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. 10.1002/9781118325001.ch4
    https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118325001.ch4 [Google Scholar]
  20. Hilbert, Richard A.
    1990 “Ethnomethodology and the Micro-Macro Order.” American Sociological Review (): –. 10.2307/2095746
    https://doi.org/10.2307/2095746 [Google Scholar]
  21. Hodge, Robert, and Günther Kress
    1998Social Semiotics. Cambridge: Polity Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Hong, Weiyin, James Y. L. Thong, and Kar Yan Tam
    2004 “Effects of Information Format and Shopping Task on Consumers’ Online Shopping Behavior: A Cognitive Fit Perspective.” Journal of Management Information Systems (): –. 10.1080/07421222.2004.11045812
    https://doi.org/10.1080/07421222.2004.11045812 [Google Scholar]
  23. Housley, William, and Richard Fitzgerald
    2009 “Membership Categorization, Culture and Norms in Action.” Discourse & Society (): –. 10.1177/0957926509102405
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926509102405 [Google Scholar]
  24. Hua, Zhu, Emi Otsuji, and Alastair Pennycook
    2017 “Multilingual, Multisensory and Multimodal Repertoires in Corner Shops, Streets and Markets.” Social Semiotics (): –. 10.1080/10350330.2017.1334383
    https://doi.org/10.1080/10350330.2017.1334383 [Google Scholar]
  25. Jewitt, Carey
    2015 Multimodal Methods for Researching Digital Technologies. InThe SAGE Handbook of Digital Technology Research, ed. bySara Price, Carey Jewitt, and Barry Brouwn, –. London: Sage.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Kendrick, Kobin H., and Paul Drew
    2016 “Recruitment: Offers, Requests, and the Organization of Assistance in Interaction.” Research on Language & Social Interaction (): –. 10.1080/08351813.2016.1126436
    https://doi.org/10.1080/08351813.2016.1126436 [Google Scholar]
  27. Kotler, Philip, Kevin L. Keller, and Alexander Chernev
    2009Marketing Management. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Kress, Günther
    2010Multimodality: A Social Semiotic Approach to Contemporary Communication. London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Kress, Günther, and Theo van Leeuwen
    2001Multimodal Discourse: the Modes and Media of Contemporary Communication. London: Edward Arnold.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Kristiansen, Elisabeth D. and Gitte Rasmussen
    (2021) ‟Using Eye‑tracking Recordings as Data in EMCA Studies.” Social Interaction – Video-Based Studies of Human Sociality(). 10.7146/si.v4i4.121776
    https://doi.org/10.7146/si.v4i4.121776 [Google Scholar]
  31. Lemke, Jay L.
    2002 ‟Travels in hypermodality.” Visual Communication(): –. 10.1177/147035720200100303
    https://doi.org/10.1177/147035720200100303 [Google Scholar]
  32. Liberman, Kenneth
    2011 “The reflexive intelligibility of affairs: ethnomethodological perpectives on communicating sense.” Cahiers Ferdinand de Saussure: –.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. 2013More Studies in Ethnomethodology. New York and Albany: State University of New York Press. 10.1353/book23160
    https://doi.org/10.1353/book23160 [Google Scholar]
  34. Loebbecke, Claudia
    2002 “Digital goods: An economic perspective.” InEncyclopedia of Information Systems, ed. byHossein Bidgoli, –. San Diego, Cal.: Academic Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Maynard, Douglas, and Steven Clayman
    1991 “The diversity of ethnomethodology.” Annual Review of Sociology: –. 10.1146/annurev.so.17.080191.002125
    https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.so.17.080191.002125 [Google Scholar]
  36. Meyer, Christian, Jürgen Streeck, and J. Scott Jordan
    2017Intercorporeality – Emerging Socialities in Interaction. New York: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Mondada, Lorenza
    2016 “Multimodal resources and the organization of social interaction” InHandbooks of Communication Science, ed. byAndrea Rocci, and Louis De Saussure, –. Berlin: De Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110255478‑018
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110255478-018 [Google Scholar]
  38. 2018 “The multimodal interactional organization of tasting: Practices of tasting cheese in gourmet shops.” Discourse Studies (): –. 10.1177/1461445618793439
    https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445618793439 [Google Scholar]
  39. 2019 “Participants’ orientations to material and sensorial features of objects: looking, touching, smelling and tasting while requesting products in shops.” Gesprächsforschung: –. www.gespraechsforschung-online.de/fileadmin/dateien/heft2019/si-mondada.pdf
    [Google Scholar]
  40. 2022 “Appealing to the senses: Approaching, sensing, and interacting at the market’s stall.” Discourse & Communication (), –. 10.1177/17504813211043597
    https://doi.org/10.1177/17504813211043597 [Google Scholar]
  41. Moore, Robert J., Elisabeth F. Churchill, and Rai G. P. Kantamneni
    2011 “Three Sequential Positions of Query Repairiin Interactions with Internet Search Engines. CSCW’ 11 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work. Hangzhou, China: Association for Computing Machinery.
    [Google Scholar]
  42. Norris, Sigrid
    2004Analyzing Multimodal Interaction: A Methodological Framework. New York and London: Routledge. 10.4324/9780203379493
    https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203379493 [Google Scholar]
  43. Poulsen, Søren V.
    2022 “The same but different: A social semiotic analysis of website interactivity as discourse.” Discourse & Communication (): –. 10.1177/17504813211043609
    https://doi.org/10.1177/17504813211043609 [Google Scholar]
  44. Rahman, Mohammad A., Aminul Islam, Bushra H. Esha, Nahida Sultana, and Sujan Chakravorty
    2018 “Consumer buying behavior towards online shopping: An empirical study on Dhaka city, Bangladesh.” Cogent Business & Management: . 10.1080/23311975.2018.1514940
    https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2018.1514940 [Google Scholar]
  45. Rasmussen, Gitte, Spencer Hazel, and Kristian Mortensen
    2014 “A body of resources – CA studies in social conduct.” Journal of Pragmatics: –. 10.1016/j.pragma.2013.10.007
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2013.10.007 [Google Scholar]
  46. Rasmussen, Gitte, and Elisabeth D. Kristiansen
    2022 “The sociality of minimizing involvement in self-service shops in Denmark: Customers’ multi-modal practices of being, getting and staying out of the way.” Discourse & Communication (): –. 10.1177/17504813211043606
    https://doi.org/10.1177/17504813211043606 [Google Scholar]
  47. Rasmussen, Gitte, and Theo van Leeuwen
    (eds.) 2022 “The human touch – Analyzing online and offline shopping.” Discourse & Communication (), –. 10.1177/17504813211043600
    https://doi.org/10.1177/17504813211043600 [Google Scholar]
  48. (eds.) 2024Multimodality and Social Interaction in Online and Offline Shopping (1st ed.). London: Routledge. 10.4324/9781003284123
    https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003284123 [Google Scholar]
  49. Rawls, Anne W.
    2005 “Garfinkel’s Conception of Time.” Time & Society (): –. 10.1177/0961463X05055132
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463X05055132 [Google Scholar]
  50. Rowley, Jennifer
    2000 “Product search in e‑shopping: A review and research propositions.” Journal of Consumer Marketing (): –. 10.1108/07363760010309528
    https://doi.org/10.1108/07363760010309528 [Google Scholar]
  51. Schegloff, Emanuel
    1996 “Confirming Allusions: Toward an Empirical Account of Action.” American Journal of Sociology (): –. 10.1086/230911
    https://doi.org/10.1086/230911 [Google Scholar]
  52. 2007Sequence Organization in Interaction. A Primer in Conversation Analysis. New York: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511791208
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511791208 [Google Scholar]
  53. Schutz, Alfred
    1962 “The Problem of Social Reality.” InCollected Papers, Vol, ed. byMaurice Natanson. The Hague, Boston and London: Martinus Nijhoff.
    [Google Scholar]
  54. Shah, Caryn S., and Anindita Paul
    2020 “Information Seeking Behaviour in Online Shopping.” InRe‑imagining Diffusion and Adoption of Information Technology and Systems: A Continuing Conversation, ed. bySujeet K. Sharma, Yogesh K. Dwivedi, Bhimaraya Metri, and Nripendra P. Rana, –. Cham: Springer. 10.1007/978‑3‑030‑64849‑7_39
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64849-7_39 [Google Scholar]
  55. Streeck, Jürgen, Charles Goodwin, and Curtis D. LeBaron
    2011Embodied Interaction. Language and Body in the Material World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  56. Twidale, Michel B., Damon Chaplin, Andy Crabtree, David M. Nichols, Jon O’Brien, and Mark Rouncefield
    1997Collaboration in Physical and Digital Libraries. British Library Research and Innovation Centre Report 64.
    [Google Scholar]
  57. van Dijk, Jan, and Kenneth Hacker
    2003 “The digital divide as a complex and dynamic phenomenon.” The Information Society (): –. 10.1080/01972240309487
    https://doi.org/10.1080/01972240309487 [Google Scholar]
  58. Zammit, Katine
    2007 The construction of student pathways during information-seeking sessions using hypermedia programs: A social semiotic perspective. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Western Sydney.
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/ps.22020.ras
Loading
/content/journals/10.1075/ps.22020.ras
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error