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A Critical Overview of Consumer Behaviour Paradigms

Article  in  Journal of Business Research · January 2008

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 A Critical Overview of Consumer
Behaviour Paradigms

Gabriel A. Okwandu" and Abel E. Amaechi**

• "n'ers Stat~ Cmverslty o(SClellce (~ l"eC!lIIO!Of!..L POri HarcOllrt ''''r '!IOlIIfJlOlI lJr~lI'enes, 1../)'0, ,Ilell'a !holll ,)'lUle,

Tins /JO/Nr sees the behaviour or th« COIISlil/Wr ill the inctrket pl ace (IS a (unction or economic
social, persona! ani! psvcliologicultuctors. / lence it e.xamines consumer behaviourfront
.iilturat.
iarious perspectives. 110111"/1' economic. behcviouru! nutnagemcnt. and I/wrkeling management
perspectives. 011 tli« economic perspectives. it concludes tliat the economic analvsis otconsumer
behaviour 01 the micro-economic level is tounded on the "utility concept" and diminishing
marginal returns. The behavioural manngement perspectives are concerned with how to inilue nc«
individual behaviour, and the analvsts or socio-psvcholooic«! relationships The marketing
nurnagement perspectives attempt 10 ",\p/aill human behaviour ill terms or motives, The paper
highlightsJhe constraints III ullderstulldmg consumer behovionr a ucl ends with ct discussion oj thc
I1wrketing i/llplicatiolls otthe kllO\I-/edge 0/ ihes« perspectives

T. INTRODUCTION
The effort to understand the behaviour of the consumer is essentially attempts to
understand the why. what. when. where and how of the consumer's decision to buy a
~~oduct or service. The study of buyer behaviour falls within the purview of marketing and
rs itself termed "Consumer Behaviour", It is varied over time; from early economic
perspectives to behavioural management perspectives and to more modern marketing
::,-:'rs pecti ves.
The pride of place which Consumer Behaviour enjoys in marketing practice is deeply
-ooted in the practice of the "Marketing Concept" as a business philosophy - which is
consumer-ceutred. It demands that the firm' s match ing orders be taken from the market
»lace with foe us on the satisfaction of the consumer. Accord ing to Wi lmshurst (1978) it is
:10W we refer to the way in which many modern business have come to look at the total
activity of their companies in a different light. [t introduces marketing at the beginning
rather than at the end of production.
However. since consumer satisfaction is the focus of the marketing concept, it is
necessary to find out those factors that influence him. l.azer and Kelly (1973) believe thai
31
32 .I01H<N,\1 01, IJlI~I~I,'S l,hl'\l\lll VI II I '-:0 I

the marketing concept is however ambiguous as a term especially when the long run IIIlIIIIlQ\ll1If::I'' ' I \'1IcJ: I '. :iluJiludJl!lI> (1.11" 1l!t~ II

situations of the consumer" wants and desires are considered. The issues of consumerism '_I1"\\\\Iu..~\, mlbllc:: 1l1111lil11~_
are also challenges on the practice of the marketing concept. However. our main interest in '1~1I",,:il~, :lll"!Q. .!CIIII' 1_l<iiilll
this paper regarding the marketing concept is to point out its relevance to the efforts made in 1lI1l11IICIumtinl0nlllll!:'.d. illl'!l! \ , . . .
consumer behaviour analysis, By several measures. consumers are nov more sophisticated.
and more sophisticated ways of satisfying them are necessary. 1'0 contain these u
developments. there h.r, e been suggestions for "societal 'vlarkciing Concept" (Kotler ~lIld
IIEIliJlWllll111ron1llliill:: ;
Levy ) and 1.'\ ell "Deepen ing the Y1 ~lI'keting Concept" (En is and Cox 1l)73). l~ nderstandi ng
.'''~~:l11iii~I~\ ~
the behaviour of the consumer \\ill greatly help marketers in the designing of their
marketing strategies. It is therefore necessary to thoroughly understand the factors that I~"
influence the behaviour of the consumer lor effective marketing operations,
A thorough understanding of the factors that influence the behaviour of the consumer
demands an orderly study of the entire phenomenon of consumer behaviour. Unfortunately,
its study had varied over time and to date, the search for a universally accepted 'best model'
is still on, While this search is still on, a good understanding of past efforts and
~lchie\emellh i~ necee-sal: !\)I <.'11\ i~abecl progrcs-;

The aim of this paper. therefore. is to survey the efforts made to comprehensively
understand the behaviour of the consumer in the market place and highlight marketing
implications. Put in another form. if is an overview of the evolutionary efforts to understand
the whv, what. how, where and when of the consumer in the market place as he/she decides
to purchase a product or service,
I. PfRSI)LlT[VLS'()1 CUNSl'r-..,lll, [31!1/\\ lOll,

CO/l.'It/ mer Be" aviou I' Defined

Makin ( \ 982) sees economics as the mother science of marketing and since Cl)JlSUmCr
behaviour falls within the purview of marketing, it would he justified for us to go back to
economics for early efforts to understand the consumer. However. before we do this we
would try to know what consumer behaviour is and how it has been defined over time to
enable us conceptually discuss,
Consumer Behaviour has been defined in many \\aY5, but that which appears to be
researchers' favourite was given by lngel et al ( I973. pg. 5) as:
ihos« (/CIS uf indtvrdttuis directlv involved in ()hluil7ll7g ctru]
I/sing t','UI7i1/1/i,' gUil'/1 I1l7d SL'ITiCL'I, il7dl/,/il7g tlu: ,/L'Cl.0ul7
prUceSSL'S that precede and determine
It stresses:
I. "the acts of individuals"
")
". .. individuals directly involved in obtaining and using economic goods and
sen rcc-,
3, " .. including the decision processes that precede and determine these acts".
-
The implications of these delineations are vel': crucial to the focus of this paper. "Acts
01' individua}," here impl: not only an individual but individuals probably representing those
within and outside the immediate market place under consideration, For the purposes of this

"~~
iii
1 \
 ..... b ret

Gabriel A. Okwaudu and Abel E. Anutechi 33

I! am t'sreciaJI) when the, long run
I_~ej, The issues of consumerism
IIJII1IIllOqrtIt. Hemever. our main interest in
1IIJIIIIJlIIIDts re.e , ance to theefforts made in
':!'\~WIlllll'll'1IC~' ::r: )1(1\\ 11Ji)ITSOp hi sl iC:I1l'c1,
paper "individuals directly involved" means those who are actually buying the products or
x;'\ ices in the market place. and actually constitute the ultimate consumers, This paper is
pecisely not focussed 011 industrial bu) ing agents or their surrogates. though they may be
mentioned in passing,

,JIIl1lIe rn:Ile'(e~':j;'\, To contain these II. ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES OF CONSUMER BElIAVIQUR

i~11 \~.:r;'.< ng Concept" (Kotler and
li;J[nis .:11;-.; C,',- 1973 i. Understanding Economic anal) sis of consumer behaviour at the micro-economic level is founded on
imnumlwe:"s :,', the designing of their rl.e "Utility Concept" and Diminishing Marginal Returns based on three basic assumpti s
1n_.IgillI~~ '::nderstand the factors that -n.:nwly.
rmlllllll1ll.e1.irn:c -,'rel'at ions, I, That the consumer has perfect knowledge of his wants and the means to sati y
11l111ll:l111'111De the bella\ iour of the consumer them.
11llI"Dm!l5>IJl'11er ~,eh3\ iour. Unfortunatclv, I That the consumer perfectly ranks and orders his preferences.
im~r,iIll_;ii\e~~J,I) accepted 'best model
~. llIJImde-1r"'L::','::'l1g of past efforts and 3. That the consumer maximizes his total utility derived from the consumption or' e
goods and services purchased and consume subject to an income constraint su 1
that his total utility function can be expressed in the form:
1IIn1lE' dJon, made to cornprehcnsivelv
IUlllIIIlid ~t]c;::, and highlight marketing
1I1I~1lE,,"()Ihll:(\:l3r) efforts to understand
'lillll1 tine market place as he/she decides
Where: U= total utility the consumer can derive hom the purch
and consumption 01' the pmdul'h.
_IIlB~:: ',\:ii i<
represent the quantities of the products ql and q, and 31
other products available for him to choose from,
IIli:lll: 1.1" 111Ii1lJ1::-~.e:::'.::, and since consumer n
The above equation U = q I q,,) is twice di fferentiable and the margi nal uti Iities ru
llllllllllllll he JI1I5:::id for us to go back to :z:-.-Jmed positive (i.e. f l > 0: r.> 0),
IfIm:" &'~~C\e" before IV(' do this we
1I1~. iiilr IIInl;h oeen defined over time to The above assumptions translate directly into what has been generally described as the
-r..::ional economic human being", Further. above rational considerations are also applied in
i1JIl~ analysis of individual finn in microeconomics regarding its demand for raw materials.
I~$. 100,1 1]'d:,\ hich appears to be'
~" :Silill as: At the macro-economic level, consumer behaviour is treated in the form of aggregate
aemand in the economy and translates into the consumption function expressed in its
l/Ii/\\IIiitJ ImNll ' ,': r : .tn d

m\ll:JIIlwI1J!!iMli2' ;,17, J 7

s.mples: form as:

Y = C+S
\\here Y = disposable income

C = consumption

S = savings

:iilUlllllrbJllIIrue ~'o(:l.s::' this paper. "Acts
illlllii~ p;\,"b;;i:'::, representing those
III!IIIii6mtnlilc'lr, F:~ :::~ purposes of this
This implies that income is either spent on consumption or saved, It implies that high
e. cl income may indicate high level consumption. Some studies carried out in this area
-_,\ c tended to confirm this, Fishel' et al (198-1) indicates that families with high manner
'::.lI1tries with higher incomes would have higher levels of total consumption,
34 JOURNAL OF BUSINESS RESEARCIL VOL I. NO I

Implications of the economic perspectives were initially very welcome, but events led mh,.:..~' the human relatiornse II!~
11,•..: ~ .'rding to George (1 q~2:.: m9i
people to investigate further with the following observations:
1. People are observed not to always behave rationally. Instead. people are ortcn times ('Ol1cl!/llrJAeJ li~J"III'
"irrational in their behaviour especially when purchasing goods and services. Thus. g ro lip r el iJfJ1l~'Ifr..\\

the rational economic human being completely devoid of emotions such as love. incorporates Imli/lIJ
hcuuty leelings etc. is contradicted. The behaviour of the consumer \\ as observed onthro!'i'!'Ji',>?:i' '/11
to have much to do with some factors that the utility concept did not identify. indiv ulu .: I'rue,/inlll
Maximization of utility was not only consideration facing the consumer in the psn'ho! ,~t,:irll II"~JI
market places. .onsequently. se.\~ra~ _rr
2. At the macro-level. the assumptions associated with analysis of the consumption ;iIlli'i~"..,.:' ..ltes. the height 01 \\hilll:Jl!n,
function have often raised contradictions. The classical economists :>iillply I1(:[V( iL I!nlllll;: ",~ed Hierarch) T'C<I'r:!' - 'If
that: Il!HIIf;v f er:e Factors. DOLgl3S NIl
1."le ,:,::,ed the Expectancy 1IIBm'
y =c +S ftlt <. but it brings out - \filii
l 'pon further investigations, the Keynesian Absolute Income Hypothesis. Relative .hllllia. .cur.
Income Hypothesis as \\('11 as the Life Cycle Hypothesis unveiled some serious
ri : '.'. ever. almost :::!I m!~ n
contradictions and it became understood that Consumption Function Analysis does not
Ildl ~.!;;;; <earch continued.
satisfactorily explain the behaviour of consumers. Above all. it does not explain the 'how'
and why aspects of consumers' expenses and distribution.
;':. THE \lARKIEl'11l1II
Generally. it was observed that the economic perspectives were very nonnative rather
than positive. whereas what was necessary to know satisfy the consumer and make him
decide to buy were more in the "positive" considerations. ~~~ ,~jing to Block ,.1
,.'!,cJ::l[ analysis lists ,of 1m
Putting: these considerations together. it became clear that economic perspectives of the II11IUU;]i ='.clusi\ e as:
consumer's behaviour were the beginning rather than the end of the analysis or tile
consumer's behaviour (Brugger 1974; Mclean 1964). Primar- anc s.e~
However. this is not to ignore the contributions of the economic perspectives, Many of R,.. tiona' ~::~ .:: E_iumJl
the most comprehensive models of consume,' behaviour vet developed relv a lot upon till'
:1 ? .Erona~;:: J.;id PlIII_1
concepts developed and used by early economists (Block and Roering 1lJ76). At the macro­
level, aggregate demand analyses are still useful in marketing analysis. ii '~ (on:,c ious and Drmmmmr

III. Tin: BEHAVIOURAL MANACiLMENT PERSPFC riVES J11",,", "'L."· .. [IJ!IL' '. refer .,1l1tlt
In examo.e. the ru~cha:sC d"
The Behavioural Management Perspectives developed mainly as a result of tile fl\l,iim the ~cJ5eh0ij CCJUWIR
limitations of tile classical management perspectives especially \\ ith respect 10 the human
'hllludiL r,"c :';::':'::::c:~ of J; ibJr_!
elements or organisations. Despite the efforts or some pioneers like Henry Gantt and the
,c: e.: : : '.;:: rc"otnliiI'IlIe.. .
. IIIIlIl:!IiIWli',rr''': .i
Gilberths (Griffin 1990) there were many who felt that the human side of the management.
'fI!lllll'iClho21"-C ,,' '-'::'.~ ~J.~e1'~I"'"
process had not been given due attention. Accord ing to Thierauf et al (1977. Pg. 19),
~:..;ar; ",,,".,..' ,.;:.1 ;:,'1': JiOfllJllmihfllllli
Although Tavlor H'US successful in harnessing the workers'
economic needs bv del'ising H'uge incentives svstcm, he ji/iled to lilllU:::I~It:~n,j,,j.I~ .:' .::JJ, r;"ii~~~\.
understand that workers H'e/'(' also social heings with cert atn IlWlmii~IIUIIJf:I11'U:'5:' r,':: :' h{)·.... TImne!!iI$>. il H\l
psvchologicot needs \\WllfJlr~, d~J.r '\I ,x no f rdhie ·mIiilIIlirlmr:
r~~c evtem UIO' ..lIIniilll:Jlm
Efforts to know wily people behave the way they do continued spear-headed b) Hugo
~u :·...::.~e j.o.: ii::>lilllill1llll iI01lI!il l
Munsterberg and Mary Parker Fol!et (griffin 1990). However. there where still people who
felt a lost more had not been revealed and were convinced that behaviour was more complex

--
 Gabriel A. Okwandu and Abel E. Atnaechi 35

e li~i~ verv welcome, but events led ndIIt.a' the human relationists realised. This led to the emergence of the behaviourists.
l!'\IlIdiiillmIS: ,J\.:.::ording to George (1972. pp. 150 - 151) they:

Imii~lm~ lnstead. people are often times Concentrated on motivation. group dynamics, Individual drives,
111lll1PJllllC"lIasing goods and services. Thus. group rel ations and so 011. The school is eclectic and
. " ,dIe\uiJ of emotions such as love. incorporales most social sciences including psychology and
dl_iilOOII 'l:' :1 1 <.' consumer \\dS obsenell anthropology. II ranges in scope FOJl) how 10 influence
ID11I . . IJ!t~!i:~. concept did not idcntifv. individual behoviour to a derailed analvsis of socio­
iIlii~fl . facing the consumer in the psychological relationship.

lIIIlttaIIIl .~~hanal) si? of the cOllsumption
ii~1Ie iidIilII:!:>'~~"'.:lj e..:onumisb simpiy have it
~ In":'::'!lle I Iypothcsis. Relative
ia,pon:hcsi~ unvci led some serious
HIlIII~ Function Analysis does not
Consequently. several studies were carried out by George Elton Mayor and s
;ms0ciates. the height of which was the "llawthrone studies". Abraham Maslow deve!o
• IIDImiC "'\;eed Hierarchy Theory". Fredrick Herzberg came up \\ ith the theory of \lo1i\ arion a
~,;iene Factors. Douglas McGregor developed the theory X and Y: Victor Vro
.a' ~Ioped the Expectancy theory: and the Equity theory also came up. This does not exha
'1IiIIn'e list. but it brings out the point meant. They were all meant to better understand hum 1
,kh.aviour.
However. almost all these theories had each been criticized from one view of the at

~ alit it docs not explain the 'how' _..1 the search continued.

nilB;
IV. THE MARKETING MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE OF CONSUMER

I~e~ \\ ere \ery normative rather

BEHAVIOUR

, ~ the consumer and make him

1_,..

:lIla1irllliloiit economic perspectives of the

~- Uk end of the analysis of the

d_
l1li"1. eeonornic perspectives. Manv of
Ill1IIDlrllld dI"H,I,':,cr]
Roering !LJ76). At the macro­
niIliiil:lIIiI¥ 3IIIITia 1:- 5is.
relv a lot upon tilE'

.
111. Patronage and Product: and
iv. Conscious and Dormant
~1 Pf-R"PFCTIVLS Primarv MOl ives refer to the motives that lead to purc hase of a general c lass of products.
,-~ ~air.l: ;15 a result of the
f0: example. the purchase of "detergent" as a general class of soap for washing motive to
l~ii!l!illill:.'
\\ Ul~'1 respect to the human t>U) in the household could be referred to as a result of primary motive to buy, On the other
we FiaIDtil~ ill,.e Henry Gantt and the !':..-:nd, the selection of a brand of detergent say. "Omo" instead of "Jet" or "Elephant" is a
111II.'I~, side of the management -~5ult of a selective motive. Another example of a selective buying motive result is the
,JlIIjinppr€ d ai l.lq~-. Pg. 19). ::,.~rchase of "Star Lager Beer" instead of "Guider" or "Satzenbrau".

Wi I...,"" <.: i.'

11lUf/1lllIIl"~1IIIIl/ifIJlI1;, Iii!.
MI .r ..:~f·\··
t.. _,: t. /'
Rational and Emotional motives refer to a lot of concepts including economy. efficiency,
':~pcndability and durability. Emotional motives usually include, pride, status, pleasure,
IIU1J/lI~~IIIII1J,:1,/':,.··.;ii! uniqueness and showiness. He distinction between rational and emotional motives is not
'.ery clear. Much ,of the distinction depends a lot on:

fUll ~lI!IIIlIiIled "fe.,r-headed by Hugo I. The extent to which external and measured functional product features are the
m~_lDII!mIt"re wnere still people who purchase decision criteria as opposed to personal feelings.
lIBlIIiIl__ llhndtn jour \\ as more complex
36 .!OlJRN,\!. OF HUSINl,SS RESEARCH. VOL I. NO.1

ii, Rational motive purchase decisions take more time and effort than emotional
motive purchase decisions. It is in this view that impulse purchases are often
described as emotional. Practical examples may be in terms of number of stores
visited and number of alternative brands considered.
Patronage motives refer to the reasons for selecting a source for the purchase. These
may include convenience. general price level, and quality of products. Product motives refer
to the reasons for selecting one brand over another or one product over another and usually
include product features like colour, availability and price.
Conscious motives are those reasons for action that a person is read iIy aware of and does
not necessarily need to be aroused by personal ,eJling effort or advertisement.
Dormont motives refer to those hidden from self-awareness and need to be aroused.
Packard (1957) described these extensively according to Block and Roering (1976).
The "motives" dimension tried to explain a lost about the influences on the consumer
but it was all seen with criticisms which focussed much on the fact that it was mainly a
matter of personal opinions. It was not seen to have recognized some other crucial variables
like personality, perceived risk etc. consequently, around the late 1950's and early 1960's
some more comprehensive efforts were made and developed into consumer behaviour
analysis. These modern efforts would now be the focus or our discussion. .

Kassarjian (1973) has it that Lewin conceptually viewed human behaviour as one's lite
space represented symbolically as:
B = t( life space).

This when expanded can translate to:

B = f(P. E)

Where:

B - represents behaviour

P - represents the individual person

E - represents the environment the individual finds himself in.

Thus, this states that behaviour is the result of the interaction between the individual and
his or her environment. According to Block and Roering (1976) by extension this implies:
I. Behaviour involves all human actions including buying behaviour
II. P represents at least t\VO distinct dimensions:

a) Heredity

b) Learning

Ill. E represents influences of

a) Near Physical and

b) Social setting.

,n~
 Gabriel A. Okwanilu anil A bel E. Aniaechi 37

I1IlIlImIR time and effort than emotional
ilBS mhaY impulse purchases are often
HIlI!IilII!!' 'be, in terms of number of stores
ffiiilllllClillat
source for the purchase. These
1JIIiiaqr. JI
iB~a,o(products, Product motives refer
I1r.~ product over another and usually
mmlR..
mn::3IIjpers.on is readily aware of and does
'~'(o';- ,:,:,'h crtiscmcnt
!1lIHea:..eness and need to be aroused.
.,iBlbd, and Roering (1976).
,:aIDaIJd me intluences on the consumer
Enge I et al (1973) referred to the Lew ian ian "1 ife space" as a person's psychologica I
f eld In the concept of the individual's psychulogical field, 2111 individual 21t any point in
[::11e in a given environment has needs. and drives. The individual in trying to attend to
these needs and drives draws from past experiences and anticipates future outcomes. All
~h=se influence the individual's behaviour. To the individual. his psychological field
represents "reality", This is yet another attempt to understand why the individual behaves
m:l:e way he does.
From the early economic perspectives. the Behavioural Sciences Perspectives. and the
more general "motives perspective in marketing. consumer behaviour had advanced a lot. In
lire:; present state. a lot has been borrowed from the behavioural sciences. Currently. there re
.."':y integrative models of consumer behaviour. the development of which could e
considered to have been evol utionary. The entire process had been descri bed by Thorn p n
:MId Houten (1970) in three model groupings:
Conflict models
I.

I1I1IIdi or!! the fact that it was mainlv a II. Machine Models
I!!!lCqpiized some other crucial variables
ill. Open systems models
DIIIIIlIlQ!I8Ihe late 1950's and early 1960's
~ c into consumer behaviour Conf[ict !flOoel of W!L111
1>. (mr,. . discussion.
In the conflict models of man. human behaviour is described as the result of the strug e
,'lIli~ human behaviour as one's life !kt\\een good and evil. Man is seen as an innocent by-stander and not responsible for
s
,OBCtions. Freud's work in the basic components or personality (the id, the ego and the sup'

. ego) falls within model. Conflict models have come mainly from the clinical psychologi
s
'~ni,ke Horney, lung and Menninger.

Machine Mooe(s of Man

Machine models of man focus on stimulus-response sequence. They view the hum '
being as a simple psychological machine. which responds to genetically. implanted driv
M:~i environmental stimulation. Some variants of these models also recognize the influence
.():'~cquired drives learned through life. Thus. man has drives for biological nourishment and
J'~.: sical safety in relating to his environment. This means that self-preservation is the most
il1111lldDll1111lsd f in. 'basic as responses to stimuli are elicited by the expectation of a reward such as satisfaction
'l!: pleasure. The machine models are usually linked with the works of psychologists like
~lbet\H'en the individual and Pavlov, Hull Spencer and Skinner.
l~llfm\lllJ6»Iibry. extension this implies: Opens S~steJ11s Mooels of Man
~""II!ldJIwit . nOll.: According to Block. and Roering (1976). this conceptual model is not yet highly relined
:-'. terms of its boundaries. However. it takes a transactional view of human behaviour:
Man in this view is not longer a passive participant but pro-active taking initiatives.
They view. human action as purposive - thus. the human being think. plans and makes
decisions which consider deferred gratification.
, Mental content of the human being is given due consideration in terms of its meaning to
the individual human behaviour.
38 JO\JRNAL OF T3\JSINESS RESEARCH. VOl. I. NO I

t::ac h 0 f these he3ldtijUllll" ,m

IV. The open systems models view man as "social" implying that man is transactional and ",::~~Jrch studies,
uses reference groups.
Thus. under the opens system models. man is viewed as proactive. purposive. perceiving
V. CO\: ST R.:\ed5, III
and soc ia].
The main focus ofmJlllllBl
Prominent among the opens systems models are the integrative-comprehensive models. .aunLL: oredict consumers',idBiiiUl
which include: I~u::,c:- achieved. Ho\\e"u. "1:1
ifl'l':'T:- ::~ly the lack of c(!'n1I~l!i\lI~
I. The Nicosia Model
1":)", _.: ns U mer is J h ,1ll1ldD hiim
11. The Heward/Sheth Model; and IllInwlII-':::-. behaviour or actna., IIIPlII
ilIIIImluJ ::-dict human and ~II <l
III. The Engel. Kollat; and Backwell Model,
Iklli,';;;. >~'L:r. According tol.elllllllllll
AcfJie7: lemel1ts
«llIiil~l:' :~~ is to explain w.".il

Though none of these models has been seen as completely explaining consumer ~" ::-_~ e\Ollltionar: ~;,
behaviour, yet some are viewed as being based upon realistic assumptions and verifiable -enaviour. \ arious illih-pil
IlllIIl1lffiIJLf
propositions. Kotler (1980) is of the view that the behaviour of the consumer in the market Im'<lII\Pr~~.:ntly the debate_!1IR:
place can be seen as function of cultural, social, personal, and psychological factors. Thus IS:: ::-c aJdresseJ. ~I
through the research efforts in consumer behaviour in the early approaches as well as '!:'~ ~:'.: present it if.,' ,iIlI
modern models. we can conveniently group these factors as follows: IInIll!\I\l":' ~ r.
I, Cultura! characteristics which include: (.s.~.c<.::l::. there are _I~

rIldlnl" :-<'-:;.:: ~ -:i enc ;:~ . 0iIDIe ,lIif

Ecological culture

,\\lC),lkJ'{c,:;,: Positi- ism-.lln,~

Subculture
,m::ile5-_ es;,ecially A.­
,I:''':: .nernods used n:1m 6If: f
Social Values

"imdll ~ie:-:..:~:'- Tnt~' f

ii Socia! characteristics which include 'iinii,,,,;i,st,--::- ··Ge:mJ,11I ~iii!il
Reference groups
1~lmll: ,If ....: ~ ...:enUl~':: lIIIIIII!ddhJn
ftillf\li.\~S th.s: t.ie "C0n~' nn
Family roles and status,
liWllli:i. are "0 ~:-~, ~...iari.zJcd , ­
Personalfactors which include dll5i ,,,lIf tnese jcbat~ ~1ID1l'
" I.
'~lmlg',,"I~nrc some" 11K
Age and life cycle position
i\lIt~ rJ..iTI Jre(!)i IiUJIIDIIIiD IWI
Occupation
II",.. :t.Je1[',,': .o 5 uppon . ' '"'IhJ
,_inrn, m~n;.Ij cooc~ IIiilllIIE
Economic circumstances

1t11111I11IiIlfn1"$l1tJliFlh~ir;,; (1 f hu:mam, ~
Lire style and personality
"""(l[jIllf:lmllf:Ir:31J H ILc IT.iIT1 'JJl:mIIe:-~.
,iBI!w:lIInIIllf''''IIt' ~,h".; Bljlm-a '(1 m~. I'.
iv. Psychologicalfactors which include. IIIEIIIIll::lWlriCI'i: JiC''' . :;':115 to ~ ' .
~lIII1J1'\1ll1It~' JmmuJi :JL ~,C"S'I',::::g~' 1IIIIIII!!!l'
Motivation

'~;,,1I//II1lfI
Perception

1iJ~'I('J#
Learning
""""".!IIIIIII1Bi/Iif
Im~"'"''
Attitudes and

Beliefs

",.

 Gabriel A. Okwandu and Abel E. Atnaechi 39

headings and sub-headings could form an area of concentration In

'ia.i:llg that man is transactional and

~\1WlIDI! i2IIS proactive. purposive. perceiving V. CONSTRAINTS IN UNDERSTANDING CONSUMER BEl 1/\ VIOL!R

The main focus of consumer behaviour as a field of study is to understand, explain

lIIIrimtegrati ve-comprehensi ve models.
'mlo.i predict consumers' behaviour. Through the discussed evolutionary efforts. a lot has
ker. achieved, However, no general theory of consumer behaviour has been develop d.
P!r:c·bJbly the lack of consensus hinges mainly on the fact that it is all about the human be g.
"1'111:<: consumer is a human being and his behaviour or action would conform to gen al
~an behaviour or action. Problems encountered in the attempts to understand. exp 111
_J oredict human and social actions are also largely the same in the filed of consui er
haviour. According to Lessnoff (1974). one of the major tasks of the social sciences a
scipline is to explain why social phenomena are what they are .

• ' completely explaining consumer

In the evolutionary efforts aimed at better understanding, predicting and controllin
iIIBii.
UIIClilliistic assumptions and verifiable
111111,

of the consumer in the market

.IIl_ aT1>J p=,)chological factors. Thus
nan behaviour, various bi-polar themes have been used. A lost still stands to be achie
apparently the debate on the best-suited approach for investigations in the social scie
G~ to be addressed. Though this is not the main focus of this paper, yet it is relevant t
rriiiln 6e earl) approaches as well as
st briefly present it for a better understanding of the complex nature of consu r
lIBi15 foHo\\s:

Essentially. there are two schools of thought opposed to each on the appropriate metl
'1iDm' :Zlc social sciences, One of these schools is usually referred to as the "Positivists" r
ociological Positivism", It dates back to great social theorists of the 19th and early 2 h
wries, especially Auguste Compte and Emile Durkheim and insists that the str t
er.tific methods used in the physical sciences especially physics should also be used in e
1L!;}! sciences. The other perspective usually referred to as the "Separatists". ""An ­
'1!PIIo'':':Iivists"' of "German Idealism". originated mostly from Max Webber and is of the vie
1IIIli1J:.~ .he strict scienti fie methods are not appropriate j or the soc ial sc iences. This schoo I
kr c\ es that the "conscious mind" of the human bei ng makes the difference. The two
schools are very polarized and have been engaged in long drawn debates, While the full
, deu:ls of these debates are not the focus of this paper, yet it is considered necessary to
Ikl~:ly highlight some of the important contributions to enrich our understanding of the
tIl:iD'r:-.plex nature of human behaviour. Malinowski (1960) and Durkheim (1964). among
I_hers. tend to support the "Positivists" school and even suggest a complete replacement of
l!Cc--::ain m~ntal concepts like "will", "motives", "ends, "drives" etc. involved in the
.",::crstanding of human behaviour with purely physical ones, "Ideal Types" (Webber 1949),
'-l';:'1eral Human Nature" (Hornans 1967) and even "Ideal Models" have been posited to
;K-:C\e this. Bulmer (1984, p. 17) suggests that theoretical terms have to be translated into
research designs to enable social scientists use the explanatory potentials of large scale
"U~\ ey and also suggests ways to do this. lie also notes that:

"Theory. inquiry and empiricalfacts ore interwoven ill

a texture of operation with theorv guiding lnquirv:
inquiry seeking and isolating facts: andfacts affecting
theorv'.
40 JOURNAl. OF RUSINFSS RF.SF.ARCH. VOL I. NO I

Lcssnoff (1974, p. 38), in supporting the "German Idealism" school in forms that
;~"'':: ridic ules and p,UJJIiirslM
"People have both physical bodies as well as conscious minds" and insists that "the quasi ir,: ~:~ological make-up, mfi
free will" nature of human beings makes the difference in conscious predicting peoples
moti ves, attitudes and values at every moment. Rudner (1966) strong terms agrees in the uK\\nadu ( 19·r. ,... nij
theological locutions of the social sciences and that of some scientifically respectable 1ii:,C',r ~ .imer
had observed 1I11III'
phenomena may be rightly seen as theoretical systems. Burrel I and Morgan (1979) proffered
mlJtf,6 ih"
a subjective-objectives diminished philosophical model that could be useful in the social
nhm(' !hi!
sciences for investigation. Their model enunciated four philosophical assumptions namely: ­
.id) ~IUIJEI!fIrl
i. Assumptions of ontological nature mU$lh',i4!I
11. Assumptions on human nature and
iii. Assumptions of methodological nature.
11'1'.1' \=\, DS 1!blaJtII . '
It is not intended to go into full discussion of the implications of each of the il''''T:li.1:3T:S thJ.llI~1Bm
assumptions in this paper, but is pertinent to point out that carefully used model would he "iIIlIIm1ttue~:. rT~.J.n-, eting .e~
very useful in understanding consumer behaviour. '16WlllI'Ji!C:'r ::; 0',1,1 ~liIiIIiiiwai \\11

Some other philosophers have advanced the debate and apparently it consciously argued
that the two separate groups have a common goal which is an understanding of social ·C_LaM . . . . . . :
phenomena through proper analysis and interpretation of information. Some researches have
tried to fashion out a "convergence" sin two opposing groups are on a continuum. Deshpand IWI,~liiinmiDIiirs;; Dr,rIBI~
(\ 983) presented it. ,.~ ~( •.,.. I'IiiIDiRJ

VI IMPLICATIONS FOR MARKETING , - @. . . . IJirElriiiIII/iI

The implication of the perspectives reviewed in this paper is that the consumer remains Il.~

the pivot around which all marketing efforts revolve. Consumer behaviour research should .......·In'·' !iijiiil

dominate marketing thinking to provide valuable working construct for marketers to develop
marketing strategies and marketing mixes to suit them. Socio-cultural and psychographic
studies provide usefu) variables for segmentation, new-product development and design'
execution of promotional campaigns.
Cultural implications for marketing are very relevant for international markets and!
advertising practitioners. Psychological as well as functional product concerns or attributes,
such as shape. size. weight. texture. colour. packaging. etc. are all capable of triggering deepl
consumer emotions, and should not be overlooked. Thus, the use of adequate promotional
strategies - use of coupons or free samples - are necessary to induce consumers to have ;.;
change of mind and action pattern, and try a new brand.
Knowledge of consumer decision making process assists marketers in product planning
and design, distribution channel, and communication strategy (advertising and personal
selling etc.)
Stressing product attributes. price, quality and differential advantage could
contrary opinions about products.
Cultural and ~ocial variables C.XCl1 great fJ1'CS::;UI'C Oil a member' to ensure conformity III
normative behaviour patterns. This is easily achieved because of the cohesive' and
contractual nature of the various groups. Purchase decisions are made with some
consideration given to the reaction of relevant other, or for fear of ostracism. sometimes to

. . . Idealism" school in forms that
:imBs- minds" and insists that "the quasi
~ -in conscious predicting peoples
IIIlIm:Ir (1966) strong terms agrees in the
IItIImn of 'some scientifically respectable
MOo BlUillrrell and Morgan (1979) proffered
rnm*IJ that could be useful in the social
D_piIDiilliosophical assumptions namely: ­
1111 ,d rn:be implications of each of the
IIIlI1IIlI! IiDm carefully used model \\ ould be
~amd apparently it consciously argued
wlll'1IIIIIlDiirc11 is an understanding of social
.,illfrilllDfonnation. Some researches have
~1IJlIlIIIIIPS are on a continuum. Deshpand
Ill, MARKETI~G
6ii!r; ~rIS that the consumer remains
~ . "~mer behaviour research should
~ICOOlstruct for marketers to develop
hmm. Socio-cultural and psychographic
~uct development and design
SBaBllllt for international markets and
wllIIIII:lIIiIInll product concerns or attri butes
I~Oo'dL.~ 31' car-able of triggering deer'
11IJI", I!Ihe use or' adequate promotional
~ to induce consumers to hav e ,I
Imolt
1IIIIi,~
mar'kete,s in product planning
i_I ~ (advertising and personal
11I11111';8I'1I"1Ifll~r :'C ensure conformity to
furiiilDild ~:alise of the cohesive' ami
In1mIiiiItt ,.ilS·lll'ILms are made with some
IRk ieM· of ostracism, sometimes to
Gabriel A. Okwandu and Abel E. A1770echi 41
3\ oid ridicules and punishment. This external influence on the consumer in addition to his
]:",,;.chological make-up. influences his overall perception and willingness to accept the risk.
Okwnadu (1997. p. 73) in stressing the intluences of culture on the behaviour of the
consumer had observed that the marketer:
... JJ7US/ he ill a cultural wedlock with eFerj' societv in
which his marketing interest is /0 he felt ... his
adjustment efforts /0 cultural demands of the market
must be of a dynamic nature.
VII.CONCLUSION
Our view is that the same advice should apply to all other consumer behav ur
,anllerenninants that have been identified through the various perspectives and models to en re
kner marketing effectiveness. Buying behaviour is goal-oriented behaviour. Predic 19
consumer goal determines what his behaviour in the market place is apt to be.
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