Consumer Behavior, Eighth Edition - Hardcover

Schiffman, Leon G.; Kanuk, Leslie Lazar

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0130673358 ISBN 13: 9780130673350

Publisher: Pearson College Div, 2003

Synopsis

With a strong empirical and market segmentation approach, this book focuses on how the Internet has changed the way people obtain information about potential purchases, giving readers the most up-to-date material on how technology is changing their lives as consumers. The Thirty-two mini-cases help readers learn by applying the theory, drawing on current business news to demonstrate specific consumer behavior concepts. This edition now includes thirty-two Active Learning mini-cases. A clear consumer decision making model is set out in each chapter to facilitate learning—presented in the first chapter, this model serves as a structural framework for the concepts—the building blocks—examined in the following chapters. The book's final chapter ties all of these concepts together so readers see the interrelationships and relevance of individual concepts to consumer decision-making. For those studying consumer behavior and/or marketing.

About this title

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

In this eighth edition of Consumer Behavior, we examine the full range of consumer behavior within the context of .the expanding influence of the high-tech global environment in which we live. Indeed, the current edition represents our own transition in writing a book that has been researched almost entirely through electronic means from a vast array of global library sources and services. We have been greatly influenced in our thinking and writing by the impact that the Internet has had on consumer information, decision making, and purchasing options. This is reflected in the substantial increase in attention that we have given to consumers' behavior on the Internet, and the importance and power of the Internet as both a channel of information and a channel of distribution.

In this new edition, we have intensified our emphasis on marketing strategy, using both a theoretical and applications-oriented approach. Always true believers in the marketing concept, we have tried our best to meet the needs of our consumers—students, marketing practitioners, and professors of consumer behavior—by providing a text that is highly readable and that clearly explains the relevant and timely concepts on which the discipline of consumer behavior is based. We have supplemented this material with a great many real-world examples in order to demonstrate how consumer behavioral concepts are used by marketing practitioners to solve marketing problems and to develop and implement effective marketing strategies.

To make the eighth edition as useful as possible to both graduate and undergraduate students, we have sought to maintain an even balance of basic behavioral concepts, research findings, and applied marketing examples. We remain convinced that effective market segmentation provides the structure and direction for successful market practice; to this end, we have paid particular attention to revising and refining the discussion of market segmentation.

Overview of Major Changes

The text has been thoroughly updated and revised, yet substantially shortened to focus attention on critical consumer behavior concepts and to highlight the linkages between interrelated principles and processes. Some of the major changes include:

• A major focus on how the Internet has changed the way people obtain product and service information and make purchases almost anywhere in the world.
• The addition of thirty-two short cases, two per chapter, to help students learn by applying behavioral concepts to real-world business problems. These cases consider such things as product testing on the Internet, purchasing medicine online from another country, and customization.
• An enhanced global outlook that fosters a richer understanding of the dynamics of cultural differences and enhances students' appreciation of the universality of consumer behavior.
• Streamlined coverage through a slimmed-down edition designed to encourage and maintain student interest with a lively discussion of timely issues and cur rent marketing applications.
• A comprehensive model, built on the simple model presented in the first chapter, highlighting the interrelationships between and among the concepts examined throughout the book and both simplifies and facilitates retention of the material covered.

Organization of the Text

This eighth edition of Consumer Behavior is divided into four parts, consisting of 16 chapters. Part I provides the background and tools for a strong and comprehensive understanding of the consumer behavior principles examined throughout the rest of the book. Chapter 1, The Impact of the Digital Revolution on Consumer Behavior, sets the tone for the book. It introduces the reader to the study of consumer behavior, its diversity, its development, and the latest evolution of the marketing concept and examines how companies use past consumption behavior as the foundation for creating and keeping satisfied and profitable lifetime customers. The chapter also introduces a simple model of consumer decision making that provides a structural framework for understanding the interrelationships among the consumer behavior principles examined throughout the book. Chapter 2 provides readers with a detailed overview of the critical consumer research process and the techniques associated with consumer behavior research, including a discussion of positivist and interpretivist research methods. Chapter 3 presents a comprehensive examination of the newest insights into effective market segmentation.

Part II discusses the consumer as an individual. Chapter 4 presents an in-depth discussion of consumer needs and motivations, exploring both the rational and emotional bases of consumer actions. Chapter 5 discusses the impact of the full range of personality theories on consumer behavior and explores consumer materialism, fixated consumption, and compulsive consumption behavior. The chapter considers the related concepts of self and self-image and includes an expanded discussion of virtual personality and self. Chapter 6 provides a comprehensive examination of the impact of consumer perception on marketing strategy and the importance of product positioning and repositioning. Chapter 7 examines how consumers learn and discusses behavioral and cognitive learning theories, limited and extensive information processing, and the applications of consumer involvement theory to marketing practice. Chapter 8 offers an in-depth examination of consumer attitudes. Chapter 9 demonstrates that communication is the bridge between individuals and the world and people around them, and includes a timely discussion of advertising, traditional and new media, and the effective use of persuasion.

Edition details

• Publisher: Pearson College Div
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0130673358
• ISBN 13: 9780130673350
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 688