Consumer Behavior and Managerial Decision Making (2nd Edition)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0130916021 ISBN 13: 9780130916020

Publisher: Prentice Hall, 2001

This scientific, sophisticated, yet readable book approaches the subject of consumer behavior by using a rigorous scientific orientation, and presenting material in three overlapping sections: basic concepts, persuasion, and managerial decision making. It discusses the principles and scientific investigation of consumer behavior and demonstrates how companies and organizations use them strategically every day. Chapter topics include consumer attention and comprehension; consumer memory, judgment, and choice; the message-learning approach to persuasion; affective and motivational approaches to persuasion; self-persuasion and social influence principles; online consumer behavior; new product development; product management; and strategies for improving managerial decision making. For individuals concerned with the attitudes and activities of today's buyer in the marketplace.

About the Author:

Frank R. Kardes is a Professor of Marketing at the University of Cincinnati and a former faculty member of the Sloan School of Management at MIT. His research focuses on a wide range of topics in consumer psychology and product management&151;including consumer judgment and inference processes, persuasion and advertising, the pioneering brand advantage, and judgment based on limited evidence. His research has appeared in many leading scientific journals, and he is frequently invited to present his research at leading universities throughout the world (including Wharton, INSEAD, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the London Business School). He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, International Journal of Research in Marketing, International Quarterly Journal of Marketing, and Marketing Letters. Dr. Kardes is a former Co-Editor of the Journal of Consumer Psychology, and Advances in Consumer Research, and is currently an Associate Editor of the Journal of Consumer Research. Dr. Kardes is a former President of the Society for Consumer Psychology and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, the Society for Consumer Psychology, and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

When people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them I'm a consumer psychologist and then I brace myself for a wide range of interesting reactions: Some people ask if I'm reading their minds, and others ask if I believe in mind control. When I respond that I don't believe in mind reading, mind control, ESP, or reincarnation, I half expect some people to say, "What's wrong with you? Don't you have any flaky beliefs?" Unfortunately, most people don't realize that consumer behavior can be studied scientifically, and many fail to appreciate how effectively science can be used to debunk myths. Scientific methods can be used to investigate the psychology of advertising, the psychology of consumer judgment, and decision making. Consumers are frequently unable to explain how an ad influenced them or why they made a particular purchase. Fortunately, scientific research can be used to uncover mental processes and influences that affect consumers with or without their knowledge. This is what I find most fascinating about scientific consumer research, and this is what this book is all about.

The scientific perspective is used throughout this book because research has shown that training in science (a) helps students to become critical thinkers (i.e., to not believe everything they read or hear), (b) helps students to improve their creative problem-solving skills, and (c) helps students to develop better decision-making skills (see Chapter 1). Critical thinking and strong problem-solving and decision-making skills are important to anyone who wants to be an effective manager in today's complex and extremely competitive marketplace. Firms need managers with strong critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, and this book is designed to help students attain these important skills.

Consumer behavior is the study of people's responses to products and services and the marketing of products and services. The focus on the consumer is the key contribution of marketing to business practice: other business functions (e.g., finance, accounting, production) ignore the consumer. However, managers who really understand their consumers develop higher quality products and services, promote their products and services more effectively, and devise marketing plans and strategies that foster sustainable competitive advantages for their firm.

This book is organized in three main sections. Section I explains how consumers acquire, remember, and use information about products and services. Section II focuses on persuasion and influence, and explains how to influence consumers more successfully through the effective use of advertising, promotion, and other marketing tools. Section III examines managerial decision making. This section helps students to apply the arsenal of marketing tools and principles available to them. It also explains common decision-making biases and errors that plague managers and offers tools and strategies for avoiding these pitfalls.

NEW TO THE SECOND EDITION

The second edition has been updated with nearly 100 new references to help students keep abreast of the latest developments in scientifically grounded consumer research. This edition also features a new chapter on Online Consumer Behavior. This chapter explains how the Internet has changed the way consumers shop and the way products and services are marketed to consumers. In addition, the entire book has been updated significantly. Section I now opens with important new material on the key ways consumers differ from one another in terms of motives for buying and personality traits. These motives and traits are linked to current trends in the marketplace identified by executives from the DuPont Corporation. In addition, new material on really long-term memory has also been added to Section I. Section II opens with a new in-depth discussion of how to persuade consumers who are trying to avoid persuasion. Consumers recognize that advertisements are designed to influence their purchase decisions, and consumers often attempt to avoid, reduce, or correct for unwanted influences on their judgments and decisions. Group influence is also now discussed in much greater detail in Section II. Section III now includes important new material on group decision making. Managers often work together in groups (e.g., committee meetings) when attempting to solve problems faced by their firms. Group settings create the potential for a number of serious decision making biases and errors. Numerous other updates and improvements have been added throughout the second edition.

CHAPTER PEDAGOGY

To help students understand and apply the concepts of consumer behavior to real companies and marketing situations, Consumer Behavior and Managerial Decision Making is filled with interesting examples, visuals, and exercises—including use of the Internet. The text not only discusses the principles and scientific research of consumer behavior but also demonstrates how companies and organizations use them every day. Here is a list of the key pedagogy in every chapter:

• Chapter Outlines. Chapter outlines list the major text headings to introduce students and instructors to concepts the chapter will cover.
• Opening Vignettes. Each chapter begins with a discussion of a real company, product, or situation to bring the subject of the chapter alive. For example, one opening vignette discusses the National Basketball Association's use of its athletes' global appeal to market its "brand" and products to worldwide audiences.
• Introduction. Each chapter introduction leads students from the vignette into the main subject of the chapter, serving as a bridge from the vignette's example to chapter contents.
• Taking Issue Boxes. The "Taking Issue" boxes use real companies or situations to discuss ethical issues in consumer behavior. Some of the issues explored in the book include the use of credit card logos to encourage consumer spending, new online stock trading, and Coca-Cola's agreement with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to sponsor tournaments and promote Coke products. Every chapter has a "Taking Issue" box to spur students to think about consumer behavior issues that surround them.
• Making the Decision Boxes. The "Making the Decision" boxes, which appear once or twice in each chapter, show how companies implement consumer behavior principles in their marketing and advertising campaigns or how consumer decisions affect companies. These boxes profile both solid and questionable company decisions. For example, one box discusses different companies' use of the Internet to enhance product demonstrations and provide additional consumer information, and another discusses Mercedes' decision to build a low-priced, basic car, which fights against its premium image in the marketplace.
• Advertisements, Web Sites, Photos, and Illustrations. Advertisements and Web site URLs appear throughout the text to show students how companies appeal to consumers. Many Web sites are included to demonstrate how marketers are using the Internet's global reach to tap new markets. Photographs of products discussed in the text supplement chapter discussions, and colorful graphs and charts summarize and help reinforce major text concepts.
• Key Concepts and Glossary. Key concepts are boldfaced in the chapter where they are defined. Boldfacing terms helps students locate and review important consumer behavior concepts. An end-of-book glossary compiles all terms and definitions presented in the text.
• Chapter Summaries. The summary at the end of each chapter provides a quick recap of the concepts discussed. Students can check their comprehension of the chapter by reviewing the summary.
• Key Concepts List. Following the chapter summary is a list of the key concepts presented in the chapter. A quick review of the list reinforces students' comprehension.
• Discussion Questions. Ten questions at the end of each chapter get students to think critically about what they have just read. The questions go beyond rote memory to help students apply the knowledge they have gained.

SUPPLEMENTS

Teaching consumer behavior is an exciting and challenging task. To make the process of assimilating and preparing to teach the course easier, we have prepared a comprehensive collection of learning/teaching support materials. In tandem with the theme of this book, we decided to take a scientific approach to preparing the supplementary material and quizzed prospective professors on what supplements they actually value and in what form they would like to receive them. Our prospective early adopters responded very positively to receiving the teaching material in a less cumbersome form than the traditional paper format, either through the World Wide Web or packaged on a CDROM. We are thus among the first to provide instructor and student support material in an electronic format.

Our Instructor's Support Disk, prepared by David Houghton, includes instructor teaching notes and suggested answers to the end-of-chapter material, a set of test items, and a comprehensive selection of PowerPoint™ compatible electronic transparencies. A Web site that provides downloadable versions of the electronic transparencies and a Consumer Behavior and Managerial Decision Making home page is also available to both students and professors. The home page includes updates to the text, practice tests, and useful links to related sites. You can view this site at: www.prenhall.com/Kardes

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am grateful to the following experts for their thoughtful comments, suggestions, and feedback they provided at various stages of the manuscript: Ronald J. Adams, University of North Florida; Subir Bandyopadhyay, McGill University; Richard H. Beltramini, Wayne State University; James R. Bettman, Duke University; Drew Boyd, Johnson & Johnson Corp...