Neighbors as strangers or friends? How consumer's self‐construal affects the weight of neighbor information in residence decisions

Abstract Although everyone must make decisions about where to live, we know little about how consumers perceive social interactions with neighbors and incorporate information about neighbors into their residence decisions. This article explores the impact of consumers' self‐construal on the importance they attribute to neighbor information when choosing a residence. Across seven preregistered studies, including lab experiments and online surveys, the findings consistently show that independent consumers, compared with interdependent ones, place greater importance on information about potential neighbors. This tendency stems from independent consumers' stronger desire for social closeness with neighbors, prompting them to place more weight on information that will help them find neighbors with whom they could become friends.