Information use and information processing: Comparison of conceptualizations

The purpose of this article is to elaborate the picture of the processes of information use by comparing conceptualizations provided by the constructivist approach and the human information processing approach.

The article is a conceptual analysis of major articles characterizing information use and human information processing in the fields of information studies and consumer research.

It is found that both research approaches share the assumption that interpreting, relating and comparing qualities of things is fundamental to the information use process.

The picture of information use processes is based on the comparison of two research approaches only.

Compared to the numerous studies on information needs and seeking, the questions of information use have remained under‐researched. The study elaborates the conceptual picture of information use processes by identifying similarities and differences between two major research approaches.