Consumer Behavior and Religion: An Investigation in Singapore

Abstract

Religion is a key source of core values that influence consumer attitudes and behaviors; however, limited research has explored religion’s influence on consumer behavior. Therefore, we take a broad-based approach to show that religion acts as an individual difference variable to influence a variety of consumer behaviors, and, in doing so, we address criticisms of past research in the field. First, we greatly reduce cultural bias by conducting our research within one country. Second, we examine both the consumer’s belief system (i.e., religious affiliation) and the degree to which consumers hold their belief system (i.e., internal and external religiosity). Third, we explore several consumer behaviors in a within-subject design, showing that religion’s influence on behavior is not just a onetime accidental occurrence.