Arabic social and cultural influences on aberrant consumer behaviour: an exploratory study of Libyan marketers

This paper examines the effect of Arabic social and cultural factors on adopting aberrant consumer behaviour (ACB) in Libya. The data was collected by conducting personal interviews with 26 marketers in Libya. The findings indicate that the Arabic social and cultural environment enforces some limitations on ACB control and prevention practices. These limitations have provided an opportunity for some Libyan consumers to engage in ACB. However, this paper goes on to explore some unique alternative ACB controlling and preventative practices used by Libyan marketers which are considered socially acceptable

An exploratory investigation of aberrant consumer behaviour in Libya: a sociocultural approach

Studies concerning aberrant consumer behaviour (ACB) are dominated by research conducted in the West. By examining the impact social and cultural factors have on the management and understanding of ACB in Libya, a Muslim country, this paper extends knowledge by exploring this issue in a different setting. Materials were collected by conducting in-depth interviews with 26 sellers in Libya and ACB was explored in three different contexts: grocery stores, computer stores and hotels. The study finds that the sellers use alternative marketplace behaviours to manage ACB to that described in the literature, namely informal, community based approaches which reflect accepted societal and cultural norms. Furthermore, the study finds that not all activities reported to be ACB in the literature are perceived to be misbehaviour by the Libyan sellers

Does software piracy always represent consumer misbehaviour?

This study aims to explore whether or not software piracy is perceived as consumer misbehaviour in Libya. Both qualitative and quantitative methods have been used; data were collected by interviewing 10 marketers and through a questionnaire surveying 219 Libyan consumers. The study found that almost all of the software in the Libyan market is copied in ways that would be considered illegal in Western societies but the marketers interviewed did not consider this as misbehaviour. Instead, some of them were actively encouraging consumers to adopt this pattern of behaviour. Also, nearly half (49.4%) of the sample had positive attitudes toward software piracy and 43% had an intention to conduct this behaviour. Furthermore, only 34% of consumers thought that software piracy is illegal, despite laws existing that protect intellectual property rights

Attitudes towards shoplifting: a preliminary cross-cultural study of consumers

Shoplifting has a substantial impact on retailers, consumers and wider society, yet we know very little about people‟s attitudes towards this behaviour, especially from a non-Western perspective. A better understanding of consumer misbehaviour in Arabic countries would therefore be of particular interest as such societies represent a new market for global retailers. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to explore the initial results of consumers‟ attitudes towards shoplifting from a cross-cultural perspective. Preliminary analysis of 529 questionnaire responses from UK, US and Libyan consumers finds that attitudes towards shoplifting are broadly similar despite the different cultural and retail contexts. However, on closer inspection these findings suggest interesting disparities between the countries in relation to attitudes towards the consequences of shoplifting, the impact it has on the social networks of the perpetrator and whether the demographics of the shoplifter play a role in the decision to punish the offender

Anaplastic, T-cell, Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Presenting with Haematuria

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) represents about 3% of new cancer cases[1]. Bladder involvement has been found in approximately 3-13% of NHL patients when studied at postmortem[2]. Although accounting for only 0.2% of all primary bladder tumours, the majority of bladder lymphomas are B-cell lymphomas. T-cell lymphoma of the bladder is incredibly rare. We describe a case of anaplastic, T-cell lymphoma presenting with haematuria and loin pain, with unilateral upper tract obstruction