The Missing Link: Surrogate Consumers in the Marketing Chain

Abstract

Though consumers commonly are assumed to be actively involved in important purchase decisions, the author proposes that consumers in fact often relinquish control to external experts, or surrogates, in such situations. As a result, the purchase decision is often a joint process over which the end consumer does not necessarily retain primary control. The author conceptualizes the surrogate function as an interface between the flow of market channels and the sequence of stages involved in consumer decision making. The roles played by surrogates at these stages are explored and ramifications for marketing theory, consumer research, and managerial practice are discussed.