Consumer Behavior

Why do we buy what we buy?

What is the nature of the motives, goals, and desires that prompt consumption behaviors?

This unique volume brings together contributions from leading scholars who have extended our knowledge of the "why" of consumption, in a world where consumption itself has become the defining phenomenon of human life and society. The authors draw from branches of psychology, decision theory, sociology, and cultural anthropology to present a diverse selection of new and critical perspectives on consumer motivation. Motivational factors implicated in a variety of consumption behaviors are discussed, including consumer decisions on brands and products; consumption of products, services, and time; compulsive buying; recycling behavior; and mutual influences between consumers and the mass media.

This multifaceted collection provides many penetrating insights for both expert and novice consumer researchers, from both academic and practitioner backgrounds.

You've read about Customer Loyalty in the Los Angeles Times, Dallas Morning News, Miami Herald, Kansas City Star, Entrepreneur, Industry Week, Marketing News, Boardroom Reports, Marketing Management, Library Journal, The Selling Advantage, Ideas Magazine, Executive Briefings, Training, Hospitality Upgrade, Direct, Quality Digest, Marketing Tools, Houseware Executive, Journal of Pharmaceutical Management, Discount Merchandiser, TeleProfessional, NationsBank Business, Modern Jeweler, Furniture Today_ now read the new and revised edition of the ground-breaking book that created all the buzz.

The goal of this book is to help business managers and academic researchers understand the means-end perspective and the methods by which it is used, and to demonstrate how to use the means-end approach to develop better marketing and advertising strategy. The authors discuss methodological issues regarding interviewing and coding, present applications of the means-end approach to marketing and advertising problems, and describe the conceptual foundations of the means-end approach. This book is of interest to academic researchers in marketing and related fields, graduate students in business, marketing research professionals, and business managers. It is intended as a reference book containing ideas about the means-end approach and its applications.

Contrary to popular belief, most ads are not designed to make consumers want to buy the product. Using examples from popular international campaigns, this book provides insight into the minds of both creators and consumers of advertising. It demonstrates why one brand is more likely to come to mind than another, dispels the myths behind subliminal advertising, reveals the tricks successful advertisers use, and clarifies how and why some messages work and some misfire. Illustrations.

The growing importance of lifestyle market segmentation and its role as one aspect of an overall marketing strategy is the focus of this management-oriented book. Michman shows how social and cultural changes in group dynamics and purchasing influences can be used in making lifestyle marketing decisions. The book places market and lifestyle segmentation in a historical perspective; discusses group dynamics and such target markets as singles, teens, the elderly, and ethnic groups; and examines the impact of decision making, purchasing habits, and changing values on consumer behavior.

The buying habits of baby boomers really do differ from those of their parents. The authors show how marketers can use each group's consumption patterns to reach both markets most effectively. Another insight: buying habits of these groups differ according to the product or service offered. By analyzing each cohort's buying habits in various purchasing situations, the book dramatizes the need for customized marketing strategies. Based on two national surveys conducted by the Center for Mature Studies, Georgia State University, the book will be essential for marketing professionals and their academic colleagues.

Bringing together scholars in consumer behavior, history, anthropology, religious studies, sociology, and communication, this is the first interdisciplinary anthology spanning the topic of ritual studies. It offers a multifaceted exploration of new rituals, such as Celebrating Kwanzaa, and of the ways entrenched rituals, such as Mardi Gras, gift giving, and weddings have changed. Moreover, it examines the influence of both cultures and subcultures, and will enhance our understanding of why and how consumers imbue goods and services with meaning during rituals. In this volume, the first in a new LEA series on Marketing and Consumer Psychology: a religious studies scholar talks about the media representation of ritual; communication scholars discuss the transformational aspects of rituals surrounding alcohol consumption; a marketing scholar demonstrates the relevance of organizational behavior theory to understanding gift-giving rituals in the workplace; and a historian describes how the marketing of Kwanzaa was so integral to its successful adoption.

Working through the often controversial ideas of the consumer society's most influential theorists, this text assesses the ways in which consumerism is reshaping the nature and meaning of the city.

Despite the increasing incidence of consumer boycotts, relatively little has been published on this controversial form of social and economic protest. This timely volume fills the knowledge gap by examining boycotts both historically and currently. Drawing on both published and unpublished material as well as personal interviews with boycott groups and their targets, Monroe Friedman discusses different types and aspects of boycotts from their historical focus on labor and economic concerns to the more recent inclusion of issues such as minority rights, animal welfare, and environmental protection.

Marketing is at the center of the boom in business education. In this ground-breaking work, Chris Hackley presents a social-constructionist critique of popular approaches to teaching, theorizing and writing about marketing. It draws on a wide range of up-to-date European and North American case studies.