The roles of self-concept clarity and psychological reactance in compliance with product and service recommendations

This article investigates the effects of self-concept clarity (the extent to which self-knowledge is clearly and confidently defined, internally consistent, and temporally stable) and psychological reactance (the adoption of or strengthening a view or attitude that is contrary to what was intended) on compliance with product and service recommendations. Our empirical study of choice tasks on digital cameras and computer security software reveals that individuals’ compliance to product and service recommendations is negatively related to their strength of self-concept clarity. Perceived threats to freedom are also negatively associated with compliance to recommendations when individuals are faced with choices of products, however it has no significant effect with software services such as computer security software. The implications of these findings on product and service recommendations are discussed.