Abstract

The traditional economic theory of consumer behavior occupies a central place in microeconomic theory and has made an important contribution to understanding of the consumer behavior. However, in modern times, it has been criticized for its assumption of consumer behavior as being only an economic phenomenon, ignoring the contribution that has been made by other social sciences in understanding the consumer behavior. A modern approach to studying this complex subject is “interdisciplinary”, involving concepts from all the social sciences concerned with human behavior. The study of consumer behavior is thus said to be a combination of inputs derived from other disciplines, and not merely an economic theory. From a marketing angle, the importance of the theory of consumer behavior can be gauged from the following observation of Sam Walton, the founder member of Wall Mart. Ultimately, consumers hold all the power in the business world. There is only one boss, the customer. And he can fire everyone in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else. In the light of these observations, an attempt is made here to acknowledge and accommodate the contributions made by other social sciences to the phenomenon of consumer behavior. Accordingly an effort is made here to explore the possibility of integrating the traditional economic theory with the modern interdisciplinary approach to offer an explanation of consumer behavior in the market

Highlights

  • Consumer behavior has been defined by Blackwell as, the activities people undertaken when obtaining, consuming and disposing of products and services [1]

  • Obtaining in this definition presumably includes all activities which lead up to: Making a purchase–including: Searching for information about products and services, and evaluating the alternatives. Another definition of consumer behavior given by Benett describes it as: The dynamic interaction of affect and cognition, behavior and environmental event by which human beings conduct the exchange aspects of their lives

  • Consumer behavior studies derive from many different academic disciplines, as well as studies undertaken by marketing academicians

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Summary

Introduction

Consumer behavior has been defined by Blackwell as, the activities people undertaken when obtaining, consuming and disposing of products and services [1]. Obtaining in this definition presumably includes all activities which lead up to: Making a purchase–including: Searching for information about products and services, and evaluating the alternatives. Another definition of consumer behavior given by Benett describes it as: The dynamic interaction of affect and cognition, behavior and environmental event by which human beings conduct the exchange aspects of their lives. Each of these disciplines has looked at the problem from a different angle

Economic Approach
Psychological Approach
Sociological Approach
Anthropological Approach
An Interdisciplinary Approach to Consumer Behavior from a Marketing Angle
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