Consumer Behavior: In Fashion

In addition to contributing to the understanding of why people buy things, this book considers how products, services, and comsumption activities contribute to the broader social world we experience. This book not only probes the psyche of the American consumer, but also attempts to consider the multicultural perspectives of consumers from around the world. Many of the topics covered in this book are of both professional and personal relevance to the reader as nearly everyone can relate to the trials and tribulations of purchase decisions. This book covers cultural and cross-cultural issues, public policy issues, values and motivation, sexual orientation, beauty ideals, brand personality, youth subcultures, interactive communications and electronic shopping, decision-making, religious marketing, fads, and global marketing. For brand managers, analysts in marketing research firms, store buyers, and account planners in advertising agencies.

Michael R. Solomon, Ph.D., is the Human Sciences Professor of Consumer Behavior in the Department of Consumer Affairs, College of Human sciences, at Auburn University. Prior to joining Auburn in 1995, he was Chairman of the Department of Marketing in the School of Business at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ. Professor Solomon began his academic career at the Graduate School of Business Administration at New York University, where he also served as Associate Director of NYU's Institute of Retail Management. He earned B.A. degrees in Psychology and Sociology magna cum laude at Brandeis University in 1977, and a Ph.D. in Social Psychology at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981.

Professor Solomon's primary research interests include consumer behavior and lifestyle issues; the symbolic aspects of products; the psychology of fashion, decoration, and image; and services marketing. He has published numerous articles on these and related topics in academic journals, and he has delivered invited lectures on these subjects in The United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Australia, and Latin America. He currently sits on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Consumer Behavior and the Journal of Retailing, and he serves on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Marketing Science. In addition to his academic activities, Professor Solomon is a frequent contributor to mass media. His feature articles have appeared in such magazines as Psychology Today, Gentleman's Quarterly, and Savvy. He has been a guest on "The Today Show," "Good Morning America," CNBC, Channel One, "Inside Edition," "Newsweek on the Air," and National Public Radio.

Among the awards that Dr. Solomon has received are the Cutty Sark Men's Fashion Award for his research on the psychological aspects of clothing. He is editor of The Psychology of Fashion and co-editor of The Service Encounter: Managing Employee/Customer Interaction in Services Businesses (Lexington Books). His textbook Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, and Being (Prentice Hall), now in its fifth edition, is widely used in universities throughout North America, Europe, and Australia, and has been translated into several languages. The third edition of Marketing: Real People, Real Choices (Prentice Hall) was published in 2002.

Professor Solomon lives in Auburn, Alabama, with his wife Gail, and their three children, Amanda, Zachary, and Alexandra.

Nancy J. Rabolt, Ph.D., is a professor of Apparel Design and Merchandising at San Francisco State University, where she is also Chair of the Department of Consumer and Family Studies/Dietetics. Dr. Rabolt has taught fashion consumer behavior and fashion merchandising for over twenty-five years, at Southern Illinois University and Marygrove College prior to San Francisco State. She holds a B.S. degree in Education from State University of New York, Oneonta; an M.S. in Clothing and Textiles from Southern Illinois University; and an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Textiles/Merchandising/Design, Social Psychology, and Consumer Behavior from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Professor Rabolt's primary research interests include cross-cultural consumer behavior and global aspects of the apparel industry. She has made numerous presentations at marketing, consumer, apparel, and family and consumer sciences conferences. She has published in several international journals, including Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, International Textiles and Apparel Association Special Publications, and Journal of Consumer Studies & Home Economics. She is also the primary author of Concepts and Cases in Retail and Merchandise Management (Fairchild Publications).

Dr. Rabolt lives near the Pacific Ocean in Montara, California.