INFLUENCE OF PERSONALITY TRAITS ON THE EXPLORATORY BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS Study with Reference to Impulsiveness, Self Concept and Ethnocentrism An Empirical Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14738/abr.31.558Abstract
In consumer behavior research, exploratory tendencies are important determinant of buying behavior. Influencing customers’ perception regarding product purchase decision making is becoming imperative for organizations to sustain competitive advantage. As a result, the critical challenge before marketers is to understand how consumers’ personality trait influences their exploratory behavior. This paper empirically examines the model proposed by the author, where the influence of impulsiveness, self concept and ethnocentrism on exploratory tendencies of consumers among a sample of 350 Youth (Management graduates) of Central States of India was tested by dividing the data into two samples, namely, research sample (200) and validation sample (150). The study shows that self concept and impulsiveness is positively related to exploratory behavior whereas ethnocentrism is negatively related to it. This study contributes to the theory and practices of Marketing and HR in an integrated way.
Key Words: Exploratory tendencies, Optimum stimulation level, Impulsiveness, Self Concept, Ethnocentrism, Decision Making, Youth.
References
Agbonifoh, B.A. and Elimimian, J.U. (1999). "Attitudes of developing countries towards
country-of-origin products in an era of multiple brands". Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 2(4), pp 97-116.
Allan, Y, Chiou, WB. & Chang, MS. (2006). The impact of western culture adoration on the coffee consumption of Taiwan: a case study of Starbucks’. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 2(2), pp 177-187.
Applebaum, W. (1951). “Studying Consumer Behavior in Retail Stores”. Journal of Marketing, 16(10), pp 172-178.
Babin, B.J., Darden, W.R., & Griffin, M. (1994). Work and/or Fun: Measuring Hedonic and Utilitarian Shopping Value. Journal of Consumer Research, 20 (4), pp 644-56.
Bagwell, Laurie S. and Douglas, B. (1996). Veblen Effects in a Theory of Conspicuous Consumption. American Economic Review, 86 (3,) pp 349-373.
Balabanis, G., & Diamantopoulos, A. (2004). Domestic country bias, country of origin effects, and consumer ethnocentrism: a multidimensional unfolding approach'.
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 32(1), pp 80-95.
Batra, R., Venkatram, R., Alden, D.L., Steenkamp, J.E.M. and Ramachander, S. (2000).
"Effects of brand local and nonlocal origin on consumer attitudes in developing countries”. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 9(2), pp 83-5.
Baumgartner, H. and Steenkamp, J. (1991). An investigation into the validity of Raju's scale of exploratory behavior tendencies. In: Frank Bradley (ed.), Marketing thought around the world, Proceedings of the 20th European Marketing Academy Conference 1, 1-20, Dublin: University College.
Baumgartner. H, Steenkamp. J. (1996). Exploratory consumer buying behavior: Conceptualization and measurement. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 13(1), pp 121-137.
Bawa, A. (2004). “Consumer Ethnocentrism: CETSCALE Validation and Measurement of Extent”. Vikalpa, 29(3), pp 43-57.
Bayley, G., and Nancarrow, C. (1998). Impulse purchasing: a qualitative exploration of the phenomenon, Qualitative Market Research. An International Journal, 1(2), pp 99-114.
Baylor, Business Review (2004). ‘‘Research in action’’. Baylor Business Review, 21(2), pp 59.
Bearden, William O. Netemeyer, Richard G. (1999). “Handbook of Marketing Scales-Multi-item measures for Marketing and Consumer Behavior Research”, 2nd edition, Sage Publication, New Delhi.
Belk, Russell, W. & Bryce, W. (1993). Christmas Shopping Scenes: From Modern Miracle to Postmodern Mall. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 10(3), pp 277-296.
Belk, Russell W. (1988). Possessions and the Extended Self. Journal of Consumer Research, 15(9), pp 139-168.
Berlyne. D. E. (1960). Conflict Arousal, and Curiosity, New York: McGraw-Hill Book co.
Blake, Brian, Perloff, Robert, and Heslin. R (1970). "Dogmatism and Acceptance of New Products”. Journal of Marketing Research, 3(1), pp 483-486.
Bums, R. B. (1979). The self-concept in theory, measurement, development, and behavior. London: Longman.
Burnkrant, R.E. and Page, T.J. (1981). ‘‘On the management of self-images in social situations: the role of public self- consciousness’’ in Mitchell, A. (Ed.), Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 9, Association for Consumer Research, Ann Arbor, MI, pp 452-455.
Calder, B., Philips, L. and Tybout, A. (1981). “Designing Research for Application”. Journal of Consumer Research, 8(9), pp 1097-207.
Caruana, A. and Chircop, S. (2002). ‘The Dark Side of Globalization and Liberalization: Helplessness, Alienation and Ethnocentrism among Small Business Owners and Managers’. Journal of Nonprofit and Public Sector Marketing, 9(4), pp 63–75.
Choi, J., Kim, B.K., Choi, I., & Yi, Y. (2006). Variety-seeking tendency in choice for others: Interpersonal and intrapersonal causes. Journal of Consumer Research, 32(4), pp 590-595.
Chowdhury, G. Tilottama, Ratneshwar,S., and Desai K. K. (2009). “The role of exploratory buying behavior tendencies in choices made for others”. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 19(2), pp 517–525.
Clark, A. (1997). Being there: Putting brain, body, and world together again. Cambridge, MA: MIT, Press.
Cleveland, M., Laroche, M., & Papadopoulos, N. (2009). Cosmopolitanism, consumer ethnocentrism and materialism: an eight-country study of antecedents and outcomes. Journal of International Marketing, 17(1), pp 116-146.
Cotte, J., Chowdhury, T. G., Ratneshwar, S., & Ricci, L. M. (2006). Pleasure or utility? Time planning style and web usage behaviors. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 20(4), pp 45−57.
Damanpour, F. (1993), ‘Temporal Shifts of Developed Country Images: A 20-Year View, In Product-Country Images: Impact and Role in International Marketing’, Nicolas Papadopoulos and Louis A. Heslop, Eds. New York: International Business Press, pp 357-78.
Dastidar Surajit Ghosh & Datta B. (2009). Demographic Differences in Consumer Exploratory Tendencies: An Empirical Examination. IIMB Management Review, Vol. 21(4), pp 297- 312.
Dickerson, K.G. (1982). "Imported versus US produced apparel: consumer views and buying patterns". Home Economics Research Journal, 10(3), pp 28-33.
Dickman, S.J. (2000). Impulsivity, arousal and attention. Personality and Individual Differences, 28 (5), pp 563-581.
Dittmar, H. (2005a). ‘‘A new look at ‘compulsive buying’: self-discrepancies and materialistic values as predictors of compulsive buying tendency’’. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 24(6), pp 832-59.
Dittmar, H. (2005b). ‘‘Compulsive buying-a growing concern? An examination of gender, age, and endorsement of materialistic values as predictors’’. British Journal of Psychology, 96(4), pp 467-91.
Dommermuth, W. and Cundiff, E. (1967). ‘‘Shopping goods, shopping centers, and selling strategies’’. Journal of Marketing, 31(4), pp 32-36.
Eastman, Jacqueline, Robert E. Goldsmith, and L. R. Flynn. (1999). Status consumption in consumer behavior: Scale development and validation. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice 5(5), pp 41–52.
Elliott, G.R. and Camoron, R.C. (1994). "Consumer perception of product quality and the
country-of-origin effect". Journal of International Marketing, 2(2), pp 49-26.
Eysenck, H.J. (1993). The nature of impulsivity. In W.G. McCown, J.L. Johnson, & M.B. Shure (Eds.). The impulsive client: Theory, research and treatment (pp. 57-70). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Fiske, D.W. and Maddi, S.R. (1961). Functions of varied experience, Homewood, IL: The Dorsey Press.
French, W. and Glaschner, A. B. (1971). Levels of actualization as matched against life style evaluation of products. Proceedings, American Marketing Association. Chicago. IL. pp 358-362.
Green. D.W., M.S. Sommers and Keman, J. B. (1973). Personality and implicit behavior patterns. Journal of Marketing Research 10(2), pp 63-69.
Green, Paul E., Arun, M. and Rao Vithala R. (1969). "Self-Concept and Brand Preference: An Empirical Application of Multidimensional Scaling". Journal of Marketing Society, 11(4), pp 343-360.
Grub and Bruce L. S. (1971). "Self-Concept and Significant Others". Journal of Marketing Research, 8 (8), pp 382-385.
Grubb, Edward L. and Harrison L. G. (1967). "Consumer Self Concept, Symbolism and Market Behavior: A Theoretical Approach". Journal of Marketing, 31 (10), pp 22-27.
Guttman, J. (1973). Self-concepts and television viewing among women. Public Opinion Quarterly, 37(3), pp 388-397.
Hair, jf, Jr., Black, B. Babin, R. Anderson, and R. Tatham, (2006) Multivariate Data Analysis, (6th ed.). Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall
Hamm, B.C. and Cundiff, W.E. (1969). Self-actualization and product perception. Journal of Marketing Researc,h 6(1), pp 470-472.
Han, Y.K., Morgan, G.A., Kotsiopulos, A., Kang-Park, J. (1991). Impulse buying behavior of apparel purchasers. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 9(3), pp 15-21.
Hebb, D. O. (1955), ‘Drives and the CNS (Central Nervous System)’.Psychological Review, 62(4), pp 243-254.
Herche, J. (1994). "Ethnocentric tendencies, marketing strategy and import purchase behaviour". International Marketing Review, 2(3), pp 4-16.
Higgins, E. T. (1987). Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review, 94(1), pp 319–340.
Holbrook, M.B. and Hirschman, E.C. (1982). The experiential aspects of consumption: Consumer fantasies, feelings and fun. Journal of Consumer Research, 9(1), pp 132-140.
Hoyer, W. D. and Ridgway, N. M. (1984). Variety seeking as an explanation for exploratory purchase behavior: A theoretical model. In: T.C. Kinnear (ed.) Advances in Consumer Research 11(5), 114-119, Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research.
lyer, G. R. and Kalita, J. K. (1997). The Impact of Country-of-Origin and Country-of- Manufacture Cues on Consumer Perceptions of Quality and Value. Journal of Global Marketing, 11(1), pp 7-28.
John, V. A. and Malcolm, B.P. (2010). Consumer Ethnocentrism and Conspicuous Consumption of Domestic and Foreign Consumer Goods in Mozambique, a Less-Developed SADC Country. Irish Journal of Management,3(4), pp 41-72.
Jones, M. A., Reynolds, K. E., Weun, S., Beatty, S. E. (2003). “The product-specific nature of impulse buying tendency”.Journal of Business Research, 56(10), pp 505-511.
Kacen, Jacqueline, J., & Lee, Julie A. (2002). The
influence of culture on consumer impulsive buying behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 12(2), pp 163-176.
Kahn, B. E., & Ratner, R. K. (2005). Variety for the sake of variety? Diversification motives in consumer choice. In S. Ratneshwar, & D. G. Mick (Eds.), Inside Consumption: Consumer Motives, Goals, and Desires (pp. 102−121). London and New York: Routledge.
Kewlani, S. and Singh, S. (2012). “Study on the three way influence of self concept, ethnocentrism and impulsiveness on consumer’s exploratory tendencies.” Asian Journal of Management Research. 3(1), pp 139-152.
Kollat D. T., Willett R.P. (1969). Is impulse purchasing really a useful concept for marketing decisions? Journal of Marketing, 33(1), pp 79–83.
Kroeber-Riel, Werner, S. (1980). Konsumentenverhalten, Mu-nich: Vahlen.
Krueger, D.W. (1988), ‘‘on compulsive shopping and spending: a psychodynamic inquiry’’. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 42(4), pp 574-84.
Kumar, V. and Nagpal, A. (2001). “Segmenting global markets: look before you leap”. Marketing Research, 13(1), pp 8-13.
Lantz, G., and S. Loeb. (1996). Country of origin and ethnocentrism: An analysis of Canadian and American preferences using social identity theory. Advances in Consumer Research, 23(8), pp 374-378.
Leuba, C. (1955). "Toward Some Integration of Learning Theories: The Concept of Optimal stimulation". Psychological Reports, 1(4), pp 27-33.
Levy, S.J. (1959). Symbols for sale. Harvard Business Review, 37 (6), pp 117-124.
Levy, Sidney J. (1968). "Mammom and Psyche," in Explorations in Consumer Behavior, eds. Montrose Summers and Jerome Kernan, Austin, TX: Bureau of Business Research, pp 119-133.
Malhotra, Naresh K. (1981). “A scale to measure Self Concept, Person concepts and Product Concepts”. Journal of Marketing Research, 16(6), pp 456-464.
Malhotra, Naresh, K. (1988). “Self concept and product choice: An integrated perspective”. Journal of Economic Psychology, 9(3), pp 1-28.
Mark, Cleveland, Michel Laroche., and Nicolas, Papadopoulos. (2009). Cosmopolitanism, Consumer Ethnocentrism, and Materialism: An Eight-Country Study of Antecedents and Outcomes. Journal of International Marketing, 17(1), 2009, pp 116–146.
McAlister, L. and Pessemier, E. (1982). Variety seeking behavior: An interdisciplinary review. Journal of Consumer Research, 9(2), pp 311-322.
Miller, L.C. and Cox, C.L. (1982). ‘‘For appearance’s sake: public self-consciousness and makeup use’’. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 8(4), pp 748-51.
Morganosky, M.A. and Lazarde, M.M. (1987). "Foreign-
made apparel: influences on consumers perceptions of brand and store quality". International Journal of Advertising, 6(4), pp 339-46.
Mukherjee, A. (2007). I am, ergo I shop: does store image congruity explain shopping behaviour of Chinese consumers? Journal of Marketing Management, 23(6), pp 443- 460.
Netemeyer, R.G., Durvasula, S. and Lichtenstein, D.R. (1991). ‘A Cross-National Assessment of the Reliability and Validity of the CETSCALE’. Journal of Marketing Research,
(2), pp 320–27.
Neuner, M., Raab, R. and Reisch, L.A. (2005). ‘‘Compulsive buying in maturing consumer societies: an empirical re-inquiry’’. Journal of Economic Psychology, 26(4), pp 509-22.
O‘Cass, Aron and Hmily F. (2002). Status brands: examining the effects of non-product brand associations on status and conspicuous consumption. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 11 (2), pp 67–88.
O’Guinn, Thomas C., & Faber, Ronald J. (1989). Compulsive buying: A phenomenological exploration. Journal of Consumer Research, 16(1), pp 147–157.
Onkvisit, S. and John, Shaw. (1987). Self-Concept and Image Congruence: Some Research and Managerial Implications. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 4 (2), pp 13
Osgood, S. and Tannenbaum (1957), used student samples in many of their studies and point out certain advantages in using student subjects in such studies, pp 32.
Raju, P.S. (1980). “Optimum Stimulation Level: Its relationship to Personality, Demographics, and Exploratory Behavior.” Journal of Consumer Research, 7(9), pp 272-282.
Raju, P. S. (1981). Theories of Exploratory Behavior: Review and Consumer Research Implications, in: Research in Marketing, ed. by Jagdish N. Sheth, 4(1), 223-249, JAI Press Inc., Greenwich.
Reynolds, W.M. (1982). Development of reliable and valid short forms of the Marlowe-Crowne social desirability scale. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 38(7), pp 119-125.
Roberts, J. (1998), ‘‘Compulsive buying among college students: an investigation of its antedecents, consequences, and implications for public policy’’. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 32(2), pp 295-319.
Rook D.W. and Fisher, R.J. (1995). Normative influences on impulsive buying behavior. Journal of Consumer Research, 22(5), pp 305–313.
Rook, D.W. (1997). The Buying impulse. Journal of Consumer Research, 14(4), pp 189-199.
Rosenberg, Morris (1979), Conceiving the Self, New
York: Basic Books.
Saffu, K., Walker. John H. (2003). “An assessment of the Consumer Ethnocentric Scale (CETSCALE) in an Advanced and Transitional Country: The Case of Canada and Russia”. International Journal of Management, 22(4), pp 556-571.
Saffu K., and Walker, J, (2006). The Country-of-Origin effects and consumer attitudes to “buy local campaign: The Ghanaian Case. 7 (1/2), pp 183-199.
Sears, D.O. (1986). “College sophomores in the laboratory: Influences of a narrow data Base on Social psychology’s view of human nature”. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(3), pp 515-30.
Sharma, Subhash, T. A. Shimp, and Jeong, S. (1995). “Consumer Ethnocentrism: A Test of Antecedents and Moderators.” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 23(1), pp 26-37.
Sharma , P., Sivakumaran, B., Marshall, R. (2010). Impulse buying and variety seeking: A trait-correlates perspective. Journal of Business Research, 63(5,) pp 276–283.
Shimp, TA & Sharma, S. (1987). Consumer ethnocentrism: construction and validation of
the CETSCALE. Journal of Marketing Research, 24(3), pp 280-289.
Sirgy, M. Joseph. (198l). "Testing a Self-Concept Model Using a Tangible Product," in Proceedings of the American Psychological Association-Consumer Psychology Division, 89, 17. (1981b), "Introducing a Self-Theory to Consumer Personality Research," JSAS, Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 11 (May), 33, Ms. 2250.
Sirgy, M. Joseph. (1982a), "Self-Image/Product-Image Congruity and Advertising Strategy," in Developments in Marketing Science, Vol. 5, ed. Vinay Kothari, Marquette, MI: Academy of Marketing Science, pp 129-133.
Sirgy. M. J. (1982b). "Self-Concept in Consumer Behavior: A Critical Review." Journal of Consumer Research, 9 (12), pp 287-300.
Solomon, M. R. (1983). The Role of Products as Social Stimuli: A Symbolic Interactionism Perspective. Journal of Consumer Research, 10(12), pp 319-329.
Steenkamp, J., & Baumgartner, H. (1992). The role of optimum stimulation level in exploratory consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Research, 19(1), pp 434-448.
Sumner, W.G. (1906). Folkways: The Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals, Ginn & Co., New York, NY.
Thelen, S., Ford, J.B. and Honeycutt, E.D. (2006). ‘Assessing Russian Consumers’ Imported versus Domestic Product Bias’. Thunderbird International Business Review, 48(2), pp 687–704.
Tucker, William, T. (1957). Foundations for a Theory of Consumer Behavior, New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Van, Trijp, H.C.M., W.D. Hoyer, and lnman, J.J. (1994). Why switch? Variety seeking behavior as an individual x product interaction. Paper presented at the 22nd Conference of the Association for Consumer Research, Boston, MA.
Van, Trijp, Hans, C. M., Wayne, D. Hoyer, and Jeffrey,
Inman, J. (1996). "Why Switch? Product Category Level Explanations for True Variety-Seeking Behavior". Journal of Marketing Research, 18(3), pp 281-292.
Vohs, K.D., & Faber, R.J. (2007). Impulse buying. Journal of Consumer Research, 6(3), pp 217-223.
Wahlers, R.G., M.G. Dunn, and M.J. Etzel, (1986). The
congruence of alternative OSL measures with consumer exploratory behavior tendencies. In: R.J. Lutz (ed.) Advances in Consumer Research 13, 398-402, Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research.
Watson, J.J., Wright, K. (2000). Consumer ethnocentrism and attitudes toward domestic and foreign products. European journal of Marketing, 34(9/10), pp 1149-1166.
Weun, S., Michael A. Jones, and Sharon, Beatty, E. (1997). “A parsimonious Scale to Measure Impulse Buying Tendency.” In W.M. Pride and G. T. Hult (Eds.), AMA Educators Proceedings: Enhancing Knowledge Development in Marketing (pp 306-307). Chicago: American Marketing Association.
Xu, Y. (2008). “The influence of Public self –consciousness and materialism on young consumers’ compulsive buying,” Journal of Consumer Research, 9(1), pp 37-48.
