Purpose: The purpose of this study is to critically review consumer knowledge in marketing and propose a future research agenda. Despite the many works that have examined this variable, given its strong influence on behaviour, it has generally been studied in association with other constructs, and no studies have focused on it in a specific way. Its definition, measurement and approaches to its role and usefulness are superficial and underdeveloped. After structuring and analysing the existing literature, the authors establish, (I) which aspects are of little use to the discipline, and (II) which research lines have the most potential and should be developed and studied in greater depth, to advance and complete the existing consumer knowledge framework. Design/methodology/approach: A search was undertaken for documents in the main databases in which the term “consumer knowledge” appears in a marketing or consumer context, and a critical and reflexive approach was taken to analyse the main contributions and to structure them by content blocks. Findings: Five main content blocks were identified. A set of research gaps were detected, mainly related to the lax conceptualisation of the topic, measurement problems and the scarcity of more useful works connected with business management, and several research lines are proposed that complement the existing framework to make it more complete and operational. Originality/value: This paper offers a critical review and proposes a research agenda for one of the most used but little studied variables in the field of marketing, which may help academics and professionals in the discipline to continue developing useful theories and models.

Purpose: Consumer knowledge has been one of the most studied variables in marketing due to its strong influence on consumer behaviour. Knowledge level has traditionally been measured through objective knowledge and the number of correct answers in a battery of items about product characteristics. The authors argue that this analysis could be complemented with other information, that is, the structure of non-knowledge. The main objective of this work is to explore the nature and explanatory potential of this new dimension on consumer behaviour in the agrifood context. The principal hypothesis is that, while they may have similar levels of objective knowledge, there are significant differences between the behaviour of consumers who have a predominant pattern of ignorance (tendency to answer “I don't know”) and those who are in error (tendency to give wrong answers).Design/methodology/approach: The present study draws on data derived from five case studies examining consumer knowledge about agrifood products (olive oils, Iberian ham and orange juice) and certain aspects of consumer behaviour. A sample of 4,112 participants was classified into two non-knowledge profiles: wrong, if most items answered incorrectly in a questionnaire were wrong; or ignorant, if most items answered incorrectly were “don't know”.Findings: The results obtained supported the argument that complementing the study of consumer knowledge with an analysis of the structure of non-knowledge is worthwhile, as differences within the structure are associated with different patterns of consumer behaviour.Originality/value: In the present study, it is proposed that the measurement of knowledge be complemented with an analysis of the consumer's non-knowledge structure (items not answered correctly), given its effects on behaviour, an aspect hitherto unconsidered in the literature. To do so, a new index is proposed.

Purpose: Involvement has been one of the most studied variables in the field of marketing due to its determinant role in consumer behaviour, but always as a contextual or mediating variable. Taking its relationship with knowledge as the starting point, in this work, the purpose of this paper is to examine how to use the choice of information content in communication campaigns to drive up the level of involvement. A new method based on Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) models is applied to the case of olive oil.Design/methodology/approach: Quantitative research has been used for the proposed objectives of this work. Specifically, a computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) has been conducted in several Spanish provinces using a structured questionnaire. Data obtained from 829 consumers are used.Findings: The results support that consumer involvement with the product is related to objective knowledge about the product and its demand. Moreover, involvement can be modified through objective knowledge or information. Specifically, consumer involvement can be increased by the choice and communication of an optimal combination of five specific pieces of information (SPIs)Originality/value: In this paper, involvement is considered as a result variable, i.e. a variable that can be modified or increased. This greater involvement can be achieved by improving the level of objective knowledge about a product. In addition, a new model is used and its viability is demonstrated and its ease of application to agri-food context.

Studies about how to convey a message through a communication campaign abound, but another important aspect is what to communicate, in other words, selecting the information content of the campaign. In many situations where the degree of knowledge is directly related to consumption of a food product, choosing what to communicate is crucial. The present study proposes a model to decide what the consumer needs to know in order to take the decision to consume. The model is based on a Qualitative Comparative Analysis method with some subsequent conversions. It was applied to a real situation: selecting the information content of a communication campaign to boost the consumption of virgin olive oils in the Spanish market. The main findings suggest that campaigns should inform about virgin olive oils are the highest quality and most healthy, that there is a basic difference between olive oil and virgin olive oil in that olive oil is a mixture of virgin and refined olive oils, and that they are both equally fattening.

Consumer knowledge is a variable that has been widely studied in the literature due to its strong influence on behavior, which could be crucial in some specific contexts where product consumption largely depends on what the consumer specifically knows about the product in question. Communication campaigns designed to convey clear and useful information for the purchase decision are the key to increasing knowledge and, consequently, consumption. Using data collected from a total of 3200 olive oils consumers (Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Denmark), this work studies the level of consumer objective knowledge of olive oils, an essential component of the Mediterranean diet and offers several recommendations for informing communication strategy in this sector to improve knowledge and drive up the consumption of high‐quality oil. The results reveal significant differences and, in general, a great lack of knowledge and confusion around olive oils in the analyzed countries, particularly in nonproducing countries.