Abstract
For economics, Nobel laureate Richard H. Thaler has called for understanding humans more as homo sapiens and less as homo economicus in order to bring research closer to reality. This essay applies his critique to the study of consumer behavior and its relevance in corporate practice. The author criticizes that the findings of consumer behavior research are often too abstract and too strongly related to a specific context to derive direct practical recommendations for action from a company's perspective. The causes identified are the use of sometimes oversimplified models and the collection of too narrow samples. In order to align business research with regard to consumer behavior more closely to practice, the use of more comprehensive models and larger samples, greater standardization and a stronger focus on meta-analyses are suggested to bring together findings from different contexts more effectively and make them comparable.
Highlights
Homo Economicus as Aberration of EconomicsPerhaps one of the most important constructs of economics has been disproved
Questioning of what practical use science can provide that is based at its core on an assumption that is not true - the existence of homo economicus
Similar to the simplified "homo economicus" in economics, who always functions in the same way, business administration is often based on a highly simplified understanding of consumers
Summary
Perhaps one of the most important constructs of economics has been disproved. The "Homo Economicus", long used as the basis of many theories and models, does not exist. Questioning of what practical use science can provide that is based at its core on an assumption that is not true - the existence of homo economicus. In his critique, Thaler makes clear reference to economics. Similar to the simplified "homo economicus" in economics, who always functions in the same way, business administration is often based on a highly simplified understanding of consumers. This is a major challenge with regard to the practical relevance and applicability of the results of consumer behavior research in corporate contexts
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