Building ontology of consumer knowledge in marketing: cross-disciplinary approach

With the growing amount of information and the emergence of a digital society, knowledge becomes a critical factor in the efficiency of companies. In addition to increasing the volume of information and reducing confidence in it, the relevance of working with consumer knowledge is explained by the complexity of both the products and services themselves, and the technology of their consumption. Practical work requires an accurate definition and understanding of the concept of “consumer knowledge”, its types and properties, the processes of their acquisition and the impact on consumer behavior. Creating a conceptual model (or ontology) of consumer knowledge will provide such insight, and will help in solving a number of problems: from conducting research to designing innovative services, as well as intelligent systems of interaction of the company with the consumer. The article formulates requirements for new ontology, considers existing models, and discusses the development of ontology in other subject areas. The study is interdisciplinary, and uses the paradigms of ontological engineering, knowledge management, cognitive psychology and marketing.