An analysis of process-tracing research on consumer decision-making

Eye tracking has been used for decades to provide insight into the cognitive processes that underlie consumers' decision-making. Since there is a wide variety of tools, ranging from information display boards to functional magnetic resonance imaging, that can be used to better understand these processes, eye tracking should not be viewed in isolation. In order to understand the roots, current developments, and future research avenues of eye-tracking research, it is necessary to focus on process-tracing research on consumer decision-making. This paper addresses this issue by quantitatively analyzing 347 articles, along with their 17,798 cited references, by means of factor and social network analysis. Six distinct, but to varying extents interconnected, key research streams dominate the field's research agenda. Revealing the emergence and growth of these research streams shows how their prevalence has changed over time. Several conclusions, based on the results, are drawn and used to indicate possible future research.