This study has important theoretical implications. Results surprisingly suggest that consumers who follow
an online product recommendation have a more complex online shopping behavior than those who do not
consult the recommendation and have an online shopping behavior similar to consumers who do not
follow the recommendation. In consumer research it has been traditionally assumed that consumers
follow a product recommendation in order to limit or minimize their information search either because
they lack the capacity or motivation to perform an extensive problem-solving effort (Olshavsky, 1985).
The unique characteristics of the Internet, such as information accessibility, may modify the behavior of
consumers who follow an other-based decision making process.