Chapter II

Review of Related Literature

Beatty and Ferell (1998) as cited by Repiso, Abela, et.al (2017) stated that an

individual ‘s affective state or mood has been found to be an important determinant of

impulse buying. If an individual is in a good mood, he or she tends to reward himself or

herself more generously and therefore, tend to be more impulsive, and considers

shopping as an enjoyment.

Stress, anxiety, and depression has a significant and positive affect on

compulsive buying tendency. Because of the fact that compulsive buying behavior may

be categorized as obsessive-compulsive disorder, aforementioned disorders may be the

causes of compulsive buying, too. (Yuksel and Eroglu, 2015). Basically neuroticism is

primary response of stress that is why these buyers purchase without prior planning and

in excessive quantity in order to reduce their stress (Shehzadi, Ahmad-ur-Rehman,

et.al, 2016). Stress is defined as a situation that is considered by the person as having

demands that exceed his or her resources for coping (Folkman 2013);

Stern (1962) as cited by Bhojak, Gangani, et.al (2014) A buying behavior as

planned, unplanned, or impulse. Planned purchases involve time-wastage more

information maximum searching with rational or logically decision making, whereas

impulse buying refers to all shopping decisions made without any advance planning.

Impulse buying is highly successful from the unplanned buying in terms of quick

decision making.
 Bleuler (1924) use “buying mania” describe this behavior. As sited by Eren,

Hacioglu. Et.al (2012). Compulsive buying is medically defined as an impulse control

dysfunction, a mental disorder characterized by irresistible impulses to engage in

harmful or senseless behaviours (Palan et al, 2011).

Elizabeth A. Edwards (1993) as sited by Mohanraj (2017) states compulsive

buying behaviour is an abnormal form of buying. In a way individuals become addicted

to spending which may result in financial debts for individuals.

Norum (2008) as sited by Mohanraj (2017) reveals that there is an association

of compulsive buying behaviour of the college students with their credit card debt. To be

specific, various factors like income, rate of time preference, credit card usage and

gender were related to the compulsive buying behaviour of the college students. This

was proven by regression analysis. Financial education and counselling are developed

or revised in university policies with the information provided by this study.

Shahjahan (2012) as cited by Shehzad, Ahmad-ur-Rehman et.al. Also studied

the relationship among impulsive buying behavior, compulsive buying and personality

traits. Research demonstrates that those individuals who face emotional instability,

anxiety, moodiness, irritability, and sadness are more likely to display impulsive and

compulsive buying behaviors. Much compulsive buying is also an outcome of negative

feelings and stress. Past research has also found that negative feelings such as anxiety

can influence the likelihood of and person to have compulsive buying behaviors

(O’Guinn & Faber, 1989). According to Donelly (2012) [5] conscientiousness can.

Gwin, C. F (2005), as cited by Mohanraj (2017) Compulsive buyers form a

significant percentage of the entire population. The authors feel that compulsive

spending behaviour is a burden to the society. It is important to study the compulsive

spending behaviour as it causes harm not only to the individuals but also to the society

in the form of debt, bankruptcies and dysfunctional families.

According to KaufmanScarborough and Cohen (2004) frequent impulse buying is

a result of a combination of information processing problems and low capacity for

cognitive self-assessment of product attributes (Weinberg and Gottwald 1982). as cited

by Florhed, et.al. (2013). The act of buying when the individual feels a sudden and

irresistible urge to make a purchase is not an ordinary decision process. Instead, the

decision is controlled by emotions and automatic action.

Cited by Abrar, Naveed et.al (2017) product risk as the likelihood that the chosen

product will fail to meet the formerly anticipated requirements. Online consumers might

be doubtful about whether or not they will be delivered exactly the same product as

displayed on the online store or it might not come up to their expectations. Higher the

intangibility of the product, greater will be the risk perception

Cited by Abrar, Naveed et.al (2017). The potential loss of time while searching,

comparing and buying products online is described as convenience or time risk.

Convenience risk can be referred to as loss of time taken by the website pages to

download which can be irritating for online consumers [32] and it is also explained as

difficulty in operating the website that might be caused due to an online store which is

difficult to navigate or provides ambiguous information about the products

Cited by Chavosha, Halimi, et.al. (2011). Being in situation of psychological

conflicts. During this phase, Psychological conflict takes place while consumers try to

get their self-control back. Therefore, they assess the instant positive side of their

shopping rather than unpleasant side of it.

Cited by Chavosha, Halimi, et.al. (2011). Consuming with no consideration about

the consequences. This phase takes place when a customer desires to select a little but

immediate reward rather than a great reward which needs more waiting.

Cited by Chavosha, Halimi, et.al. (2011).. Sense of an unexpected and

unplanned intention to take action. This phase refers to attracting costumer’s attention

by incentives which are offered by sellers which encourage them to have desire to

purchase.

Cited by Chavosha, Halimi, et.al. (2011).. According to [29], products which are

purchased on impulse are generally inexpensive. Moreover, previous studies show that

particular products are generally purchased impulsively based on their characteristics.

According to prior studies, from one perspective, there are two types of product

categories with different applications. The first category belongs to hedonic products

which are mainly used for their hedonic advantages and the second category belongs to

functional products which are mainly used for practical values.

As cited by Eeva Vänniä (2013). Consumers who are more independent have a

greater behavior towards impulse buying than consumers that are interdependent.

Moreover, consumers who are on the regular basis more impulsive, have a higher

tendency for impulse buying behavior.

As cited by Eeva Vänniä (2013). The age of the consumer additionally affects
the tendency for impulse buying. In the ages from18 to 39 a consumer’s impulse buying

tendency rises faintly and after that it decreases. Moreover, earlier research suggests

that younger persons have a higher degree of impulsivity than older persons and they

show less self-control.

Cited by Brodén and Söderberg (2011). The amount of products introduced

makes it possible for the consumers to update their electronics every year if they so

wish (Djurberg, S. 2006). Thus, this also gives an indication of that the consumer

electronics industry should be an ideal place for impulse buying. Even though many

consumer electronic products are expensive and seen as high-involvement products

(Kotler, 2005), there can still occur impulse buying in the industry (Rook, 1987).

Cited by Jenny, Wei-Chen Ma (2012) The concept of discounting, which is a

trade-off favouring the immediately available rewards, has been applied by economists

to the study of impulse buying. For example, a study shows that when people are

offered the choice between receiving 50 USD now or 100 USD a year from now, most

people will choose the immediate 50 USD.

Cited by Jenny, Wei-Chen Ma (2012) the focus of the investigation has clearly

shifted from the original retailers’ point of view to consumers’ perspectives. After all, it is

the consumers who experience the impulse, not the products (Rook & Hoch, 1985).

Rook (1987) redefines impulse buying by describing the impulse buying experience of

consumers: “when a consumer experiences a sudden, often powerful and persistent

urge to buy something immediately” (Rook, 1987:p.191).

Cited by Jenny, Wei-Chen Ma (2012) . Rook and Hoch (1985) identify the
characteristics of impulse buying in order to distinguish it from other purchase

behaviours, including 1) a sudden and spontaneous desire to act, 2) psychological

disequilibrium, 3) psychological conflict and struggle, 4) reduced cognitive evaluation

and 5) lack of regard for the consequences. These characteristics also appear in the

description of impulsivity in the psychiatric literature, which includes lack of planning,

quick responding, tendency towards immediate gratification and poor inhibitory control

(Evenden, 1999; Stoltenberg et al, 2008)

Overby, J.W. and Lee, E. (2006) The effects of utilitarian and hedonic online

shopping value on consumer preference and intentions.This article conducts an

exploratory study that includes both qualitative and quantitative methods to provide an

insight into Chinese consumers’ impulse buying behavior. Results show that, similar to

more mature markets, impulse buying behavior is a commonplace phenomenon in the

context of the emerging market in China.

Kim and Forsthye 2007). the role of hedonic motivation in impulse buying

behavior Impulse buying at low to moderate levels can be an enjoyable activity

encouraged by a consumer’s pursuit of a hedonic shopping experience; impulse buying

at high levels, however, can be harmful and potentially self-destructive.Further, Massara

and Pelloso (2006) suggest that consumer motives (e.g. hedonic motivation) underlying

a shopping trip may play a moderating role in the relationship between the consumer

and retail store environment.

 (Freud 1911; Hilgard 1962). Normative Influences on Impulsive Buying

BehaviorWhile secondary thought processes tend toward the rational and socialized,

primary mental processes pull in the opposite direction and encourage uninhibited,

impulsive behavior that is likely viewed as irrational. Some developmental psychologists

elaborate on this thinking by associating impulsive with immature behavior.

Baumeister, and Ciarocco 2005; Self-Regulatory Resource Availability Affects

Impulse BuyingVohs and Heatherton 2000; Vohs and Schmeichel 2003; Vohs 2006

provides a review). For example, in one investigation, dieters who were seated next to a

bowl of tempting candies were later less able to persist in doing a difficult task than

were dieters who sat further away and, therefore, were less tempted (Vohs and

Heatherton 2000).

Kotler (1977 and 2001) thought that consumer buying behavior is how

individuals, groups and organizations to select, purchase, use and disposal of products,

services, ideas or experience to meet the consumers' demand. Buying behavior is the

decision processes and acts people involved in buying and using products which

includes social and mental processThe Study of Consumers' Buying Behavior and

Consumer Satisfaction in Beverages Industry in Tainan, Taiwan

 (eMarketer 2015; Ogilvy & Mather 2011).From Social to Sale: The Effects of

Firm-Generated Content in Social Media on Customer Behavior However, the same

studies have also suggested that more than 80% of marketers are concerned about

measuring the returns on investment from social media. Recently, the popular social

networking site Facebook implemented policy changes to filter out unpaid promotional

material in users’ news feeds that businesses post as status updates. This policy

change makes it difficult for businesses to reach their Facebook “fans” with marketing

content that is not paid for (Loten, Janofsky, and Albergotti 2014).

(Kumar, George, and Pancras 2008). Given the focus on customer profitability in

the customer relationship management (CRM) literature (Kumar, Venkatesan, and

Reinartz 2008), we also examine the effect of FGC on customer profitability Although

firms are investing more in social media, marketing communications transmitted by

television and e-mail are also important avenues by which firms can connect with their

customers. From the perspective of integrated marketing communications (IMC; Naik

and Raman 2003), it is vital to understand the relative efficacy and synergy between

these media for marketing communications

 Verplanken & Herabadi, 2001; Virvilaite et al., 2009) assessing the situational

factors and impulive buying behavior: market segmentation approach the main

characteristics of impulsive buying behavior are: inclination to impulse buying,

spontaneity in buying, satisfaction felt after unplanned purchase, and lack of shopping

list. This refers to the individual characteristics of the consumer. However, impulse

buying is also investigated in terms of other factors such as demographic, cultural, and

situational one.

Jeffrey S. Podoshen Susan A. Andrzejewski (2014) An Examination of the

Relationships Between Materialism, Conspicuous Consumption, Impulse Buying, and

Brand Loyalty examines the relationships between materialism, conspicuous

consumption, impulse buying, and brand loyalty, as examining material-centric behavior

is becoming evermore important in a consumption-based economy. This study first

examines these constructs in detail and proposes hypotheses, then through the use of

structural equation modeling, explores how materialism positively relates to

conspicuous consumption, impulse buying, and brand loyalty utilizing survey data from

over 500 respondents residing in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

(Bensaid, 2014; Afjeh and Bakhshi-Zadeh, 2010).Relationship between

Consumer Characteristics and Impulse Buying Behavior: The Mediating Role of Buying
Intention of New Clothing Buyers Impulse buying behavior is prevalent in the market.

This is why impulse buying behavior has become a phenomenon worthy of attention in

marketing activities. This behavior was first recognized and used for marketing in retail

stores by clover over 60 years ago. Impulse buying behavior occurs when consumers

are influenced by sudden, often fleeting, and sometimes conflicting emotions

(Heidarzadeh and Hasaani-Parsa, 2012). In this study, the dependent variable is

impulse buying behavior. Impulse buying behavior refers to immediate, purposeless,

strong and sustainable tendency for purchase. In general, impulse buying is unplanned.

Although the conducted studies have focused on effective factors such as decision-

making ability, social effects, personal satisfaction and environmental factors, the

factors such as product characteristics, including price and appearance of the store,

personality traits of consumers are of great importance in this area.

(Harmancioglu et al., 2014). Moreover, existing hypotheses showed that impulse

buying intention, new product knowledge and excitement influence impulse buying

behavior and new product knowledge, excitement and self-esteem influence impulse

buying intention (Kapoor and Kulshrestha, 2009).