Consumer confusion: a systematic review and research directions

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to systematically review and analyse extant marketing literature on consumer confusion to propose an integrated conceptual framework and highlight important research gaps. Design/methodology/approach Systematic literature review methodology was followed for article selection. Selected articles were subjected to content analysis to derive thematic as well as descriptive results. Findings Antecedents, consequences, moderators, mediators and application of the construct in the different contexts have been reported. An integrated framework along with research questions and future directions has also been proposed. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is notably the first attempt to systematically review the marketing literature on consumer confusion. The conceptual framework and proposed research questions create a research agenda around the problem of consumer confusion and contribute towards the advancement of extant literature.