e-Consumer Behaviour

Purpose – The primary purpose of this article is to bring together apparently disparate and yet interconnected strands of research and present an integrated model of e-consumer behaviour. It has a secondary objective of stimulating more research in areas identified as still being underexplored. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is discursive, based on analysis and synthesis of econsumer literature. Findings – Despite a broad spectrum of disciplines that investigate e-consumer behaviour and despite this special issue in the area of marketing, there are still areas open for research into econsumer behaviour in marketing, for example the role of image, trust and e-interactivity. The paper develops a model to explain e-consumer behaviour. Research limitations/implications – As a conceptual paper, this study is limited to literature and prior empirical research. It offers the benefit of new research directions for e-retailers in understanding and satisfying e-consumers. The paper provides researchers with a proposed integrated model of e-consumer behaviour. Originality/value – The value of the paper lies in linking a significant body of literature within a unifying theoretical framework and the identification of under-researched areas of e-consumer behaviour in a marketing context

Group Norms and Consumer Behaviour

The impact of group norms on forming consumer behaviour is an important attribute of man’s social life. The market segmentation principles acknowledge the presence of this phenomenon. People belong to different age group, professional status, income levels, educational status etc. are seemed to display some specific consumer behaviour that can be attributed to a particular group. The present study attempts to find the influence of certain selected group norms on consumption pattern.Group norms, peer influence, consumer behaviour, culture and consumption, social norms

Consumer behaviour and lifestyle patterns of Hungarian students in view of environmental awareness

The aim of this paper is to describe the consumer behaviour and everyday lifestyle patterns of Hungarian university and college students. The results are gained from an international survey, carried out by the Department of Environmental Economics and Technology at the Corvinus University of Budapest, supported by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism. As background literature, characteristics of the consumer society and the development of sustainable consumption as a concept are interpreted in the paper. The empirical analysis aims to describe the most important clusters of students, based on the factors of their consumer behaviour, environmental activism and pro-environmental everyday habits. Our results identify two extreme clusters which most significantly differ from each other: the environmental activists and the indifferent group. However, a third cluster has the most modest consumer behaviour, namely the group which considers product features, energy consumption and the behaviour of producers. They spend the least on consumer goods. The three other clusters show quite mixed lifestyle patterns

Culture and values - their relevance for marketing strategies

Research on consumer behaviour has revealed that the prospect of reaching a personal value is the virtual buying motive. Bearing this in mind, the researcher, as well as the marketer, is not only able to observe whether one product is preferred to another, but also to understand why this product is preferred. Hence, identifying consumers' personal values contributes to explaining consumer preferences and buying motives, which is of great importance for marketing practice. Personal values that are developed during the process of socialisation are part of a culture and differ depending on one's cultural background. Therefore, culture- specific values result in specific consumer behaviour. The aim of our paper is to combine research about buying motives (generally speaking, consumers' personal values) and about culture- specific consumption patterns. Knowledge of these cohesions is of great importance for marketing strategies. If there are differences between the personal values of consumers who are from different cultural backgrounds, this has to be taken into account by differentiating the strategic direction of marketing strategies, which should incorporate culture- specific product cognition. The following aspects of this issue will be discussed in the paper: · consumers buy products because of the resulting consequences, which satisfy consumer values · values are part of the culture, and therefore cause culture- specific consumer behaviour · the underlying motives for culture- specific consumer behaviour have to be included in marketing strategies.culture, values, consumer behaviour, marketing strategies, Marketing,

Is consumer behaviour towards footwear predisposing for lower extremity injuries in runners and walkers? : a prospective study

Background: Runners and walkers often suffer from lower extremity injuries. Little is known about the relationship between their consumer behaviour towards footwear and the development of those injuries. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate if consumer behaviour towards footwear is a risk factor for lower extremity injuries. Methods: A prospective cohort study was set-up in leisure-time walkers and runners. Potential risk factors in consumer behaviour were obtained by means of a baseline questionnaire related to the acquisition of current walking or running shoes. Information on injuries sustained during a 24 week period after the baseline questionnaire was obtained in 104 runners and 104 walkers using a 2-weekly questionnaire. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors for lower extremity injuries in the consumer behaviour. Results: Forty- nine (24%) subjects suffered a self-reported lower extremity injury. 35 injuries occurred in runners and 14 among walkers. Undergoing a gait analysis before buying shoes was associated with an increased occurrence of lower extremity injuries (odds ratio (OR) 4.76). A protective factor was caring a lot about the right fitting of the shoes (OR 0.11). Conclusion: Runners and walkers should pay attention to the correct size when buying footwear to diminish the risk of lower extremity injury. Buying footwear after a gait analysis increased the risk of a lower extremity injury in runners and walkers, however, this might be associated with the increased risk that was already present because of previous injury

Consumer behaviour in agricultural direct marketing

Scandals in the food production industry have caused an uncertainty about quality and innocuousness of food for many consumers. This resulted in a strong risk perception of consumers at the point of sale. The direct marketing of products by farmers can be an important way to strengthen consumer confidence. In this contribution, buying behaviour is examined by an observation and a following interview. We develop an econometric model about the number of bought products and the proposition of marketing strategies which can be recommended to farmers involved in direct marketing.Consumer behaviour, direct marketing, observation, econometric model,

New Directions in Consumer Behaviour Research

Consumer behaviour remains an evolving and fascinating area of research. In this article we highlight some of the current work by Canadian researchers in the areas of enhancing both the quality and application of consumer analysis. The work described below touches upon areas in which not just economic theory and methods, but also the policy process can be improved. The working papers cited here were all presented as part of the principal paper session, “What’s Going on in Consumer Behaviour?†held at the joint meeting of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society and the Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association in Halifax, Nova Scotia in June 2004.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,