68 research outputs found
AI Adoption in Later Life: A Systematic Literature Review Through the Lens of Life Course Theory
No full textEffects of family structure and socialization on materialism: a life course study in Malaysia
No full textConsumer researchers have a long-standing interest in understanding and interpreting the development of materialistic attitudes towards consumption and values in different cultural settings. In this context, the ‘life course’ approach is a recent interdisciplinary movement in consumer behaviour research that operates as an important overarching framework to study the development of materialism in Malaysia. A general conceptual background of the life course paradigm is used in this study for discussing, organising, integrating and presenting these consumer research findings on materialism. A survey ofyoung Malaysian adults (18 to 22 years) was undertaken to test hypotheses derived from the life course literature. Consistent with previous research findings, television viewing and peer communication during adolescent years had a significant association with materialistic values held by young Malaysianadults. Family structure and socio-oriented family communication environment were not found to be significantly associated with materialism. A discussion ensured on the future study theoretical implications of materialism on consumer behaviour in Malaysia
Too old to choose? the effects of age and age related constructs on consumer decision making
No full textAging of societies is a major challenge to academic research as well as to management. The unstoppable trend of an aging society in most western societies offers opportunities and challenges at the same time. This paper sheds light on the impact of age as well as age-related constructs on relevant consumer attitudes and behavior. More precisely, the empirical study, conducted in the market for cars, examining the relationships between four distinct age constructs and assesses the impact of these age constructs on information gathering, a consumer's evoked set, and on brand loyalty
Materialism in Malaysia
No full textDevelopment of materialistic attitudes and values in different cultural settings has become a relevant discussion in consumer behaviour. Accordingly, a study to analyse the development of materialism in Malaysia was initiated. Specifically, the paper first presents the general conceptual life course paradigm that serves as a blue print for discussing and reporting consumer research on materialism. Next, hypotheses derived from life course perspectives were tested with a survey in Malaysia. The findings suggest that the amount of television viewing and peer communication about consumption during adolescent years contribute to the development of materialistic values
Consumer socialisation in Jordan: a study of father-child dyads in the convenience grocery and food products
No full textParents play different consumer roles through developing the general cognitive abilities of their
young children related to consumption issues and mediating the influence of other socialisation
agents such as peers and TV commercial advertising on their kids. There is no research examining
the influence of fathers’ consumer role, based on dyadic responses, on children’s shopping
consumer behaviour related to grocery and food products. The study responds to this gap of
knowledge and utilises the consumer socialisation approach to examine the relative influence of
Jordanian fathers’ communication patterns, the cognitive development of children ages 8-12, and
the structural variables on children’s shopping consumer skill, knowledge, and attitudes that
related to convenience grocery and food products. The study investigates young children’s
perception of fathers’ mediation the influence of TV commercial advertising, revises, and
validates the scales of fathers’ communication structures. The study also investigates the degree
of similarity “modelling” between young children and their fathers resulting from father-child
interaction in shopping milieu.
A combination of exploratory and survey research design is employed to address the research
objectives. Ten-one hour semi-structured focus group discussions and eleven structured personal
interviews face-to-face experts’ survey were firstly conducted to refine the research problem.
Based on proportionate stratified random sampling technique, group interview face-to-face selfadministered
questionnaire and drop-off-pick-up self-administered questionnaire were
respectively employed to solicit father-child dyadic responses (n = 916). The research data were
analysed through six levels of analyses.
The results show that children’s learning of shopping consumer role related to grocery and food
products are influenced by fathers’ communication patterns, children’s cognitive development,
and the gender of children. The effect size of children’s cognitive development is more
explanatory than fathers’ communication patterns relating to children’s shopping consumer skills,
knowledge, and attitudes. The priority of fathers’ consumer socialisation goals is related to
fathers’ co-shopping with their young children and fathers’ mediation of the influence of
commercial advertising on their young children. Fathers’ communication patterns are varied by
children cognitive development, the gender of young children, and household income. The
relative influences of different communication patterns on young children’s consumer role are
chiefly associated with fathers’ pluralistic tendency since Jordanian fathers are more likely
engaged in a high concept-oriented communication structure. The results confirmed that young
Jordanian children imitate their fathers’ consumer attitudes and behaviours in the shopping milieu.
The results fill some gaps in the existing literature of children’s consumer behaviour, afford
several managerial implications for marketers and for future research in children’s consumer
socialisation behaviour, and provide a new opportunity to understand th
Children’s buying behaviour in China: A study of their information sources
No full textPurpose
Reports an empirical study on children’s buying behaviour in China with a special focus on their information sources.
Design /Methodology
The key literature on consumer socialisation of children is reviewed. Primary data was collected from a sample of 155 children aged 10 to 13 using questionnaire survey. Various statistical methods such as Pearson correlation and tests were employed to analyse the data.
Findings
Chinese children regard TV commercials as an important information source for new product. However, they place greater level of trust in interpersonal information sources, especially in their parents who are perceived as the most credible information source with respect to their learning about new food products.
Originality /Value
The study has made a contribution to the extant literature on Chinese children as consumer. The findings would be valuable in assisting companies, specially those in the food industry, to have a better understanding of Chinese children’s buying behaviour
The backdoor to overconsumption: the effect of associating 'light' food with health.
No full textMarketers present compromise food products (e.g. light chips) as a way to reduce consumers' conflict between the short-term desire of wanting a snack and the long-term goal of a healthy body. Policy makers welcome compromise products as a way to fight the obesity epidemic. Compromise products are typically associated with health. Two experiments and a survey were conducted to explore the effects of health references on the consumed amount of compromise products. Health references appear to increase consumption of compromise products for consumers with relatively weak food restriction goals, such as dietary restrained young women and dietary unrestrained older women. This suggests that associating compromise products with health messages may enhance rather than solve the obesity problem.Cognitive load; Consumption; Disinhibition; Effects; Food consumption; Health goals;
Constructing cultures of caring consumption : an exploratory study of the lived experience of embodiment within the elderly care home
No full textIn recent years the lived quality of everyday life within elderly community care homes has attracted much media interest within Europe and the USA. This interest often takes the form of policy reports highly critical of the typical quality of care services and lifestyles available to communities of elderly consumers. In the context of an ageing population, the financial implications of different systems of engaging with elderly residents to deliver life experiences consistent with a caring culture have attracted much political interest. The empirical study reported in this paper investigated the lived experience of the context of caring and community among elderly consumers in resident care homes. Using an existential-phenomenological design (Thompson et al. 1989), the study set out to construct a picture of the lived experience of caring, dignity and quality of life, framing those issues through material culture and embodiment. Findings reveal that quality of life is inscribed on the body and that elderly bricoleurs have to work hard to find ways out of instutionalization. Everyday life within care homes has been the focus of much media interest within Europe and the United States of America over recent years. This interest has taken the form of reports that focus on the ageing population and the financial implications of care for the elderly in care homes (see Morris 2004; Duffy 2003; Carvel and Meikle 2002), profit over care (see Duhigg 2007), maladministration (see BBC 2007), inaccurate reporting of problems (see Copple 2008), the stress associated with relocating groups of elderly people from one care home to another (see Grant 2004; Portlock 2003; Sapsted 2002), nutritional standards (BBC 2009) government legislation (see Butler 2003; Cunningham 2002), physical, mental and/or racial abuse of elderly people in care homes (see Fackelmann 2007; Smith 2007; Gonzales 2004; Marsh 2003) and the spread of infection (BBC 2009). In the light of these mass media representations the notion emerges whereby these accounts have focussed on a range of problematic issues associated with elderly consumers who live in such institutions. However, as Thompson (1998) suggests, this problem centred approach can be critiqued for not explicitly considering the individual lived experiences of elderly consumers as meaningful human situations in their own right. Moreover, elderly consumers' voices are often muted within gerontological studies of consumption within care homes (Stone 2009; Wilson 1997; 1991). Thus, there is a distinct lack of studies that attempt to understand what it means to be a consumer within such an institution. To this end, which body of literature can be used to illuminate this study? Whilst an argument can be put forward for any number or combination of theoretical building blocks from various worthy academic disciplines, this research project now turns to review literature that draws upon issues of culture and consumption
"Silver" product design: Product innovation for older people
No full textAging populations challenge companies across different countries and industries to respond to the changing needs, demands and expectations of their growing shares of older customers. This opens room for improving or developing innovations - products as well as services - that correspond to the diverse expectations. New product development for older customers or 'Silver' product design is one way to approach the 'silver' market - without explicitly excluding younger customers. Research in this field is still in its infancy. Silver product design focuses on individual autonomy, representing an elementary aspect of good life, disappearing in a more or less continuous manner over the life cycle of a human being. Offering solutions that will allow people to maintain or recover autonomy and to use products and services in an independent manner therefore seems to be a promising avenue for companies innovating across different industries. The general concept of autonomy can be perceived as a boundary-spanning argument and a common denominator for starting development initiatives leading to innovations targeting the silver market. Cross-case analysis based on four different product innovations addressing typical needs of older people are used to present how firms in different industrial contexts and user-settings address such needs, which have their roots in a need to stay autonomous and independent. Technological, marketing and strategy-related observations as well as communalities and differences of the cases are being discussed and very first implications for managing the front end of silver product development sketched. --Demographic change,aging,older users,silver market,innovation management,silver product design,individual autonomy
A study of food buying behavior among Chinese children
No full textThe paper reports a study on food buying behaviour among Chinese children aged between
10-13 years old. There are two important findings. Firstly, the growing influence of commercial environment. During the learning of consumer behaviour by Chinese children, the parental role of guidance remains prominent, and their recommendations have a decisive impact on children’s food choices. Secondly, the perceived importance of product attributes. Chinese children tend to pay more attention to nutrition, hygienic conditions and food safety, which shows that children seem to be mature early at this stage and start to behave in a more adult-like fashion when making purchase comparisons
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