Special Issue "Consumption, Identity, Demographics and Self-Concept"

A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X). This special issue belongs to the section "Organizational Behaviors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2021).

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Osmud Rahman
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Fashion, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
Interests: consumer behavior; marketing; fashion consumption; culture and identity; self-concept; cross-cultural study; subculture; aging consumers; eye-tracking research
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Dr. Gabriel R. D. Levrini
E-Mail
Guest Editor
Escola Superior de Marketing-ESPM – SUL, Brazil
Interests: euromarketing; neurophysiological responses; consumer behavior; retail and food consumer response, fashion

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Consumers typically consume and publicly display products such as fashion, jewelry, and cars in particular to express themselves, (re)construct their identity, elevate their social status, conform to a socially acceptable norm (generalized other), and/or affiliated with desired social groups (significant others). In other words, consumer goods can be used as a nonverbal communicator or “social glue” to communicate and connect with others. More specifically, consumption plays a significant role in identity development, impression formation, and appearance management of young consumers, including millennials and Generation Z. Prior research has demonstrated that the way in which people portray themselves in various situations is associated with their cognitive and affective judgments and decision-making. However, emotional feelings are difficult to verbalize and interpret. To gain a deeper understanding of how people perceive themselves, others, and products, mixed-research methods and technological devices (e.g,. eye-tracking, virtual reality, EEG, NIRS, fMRI, MEG, data mining, machine learning) can be utilized to provide a more reliable, objective and nonbiased assessment of people’s attention and reactions towards an object (e.g., consumer product) and/or individual (e.g., significant others) in different sociocultural contexts. For example, emotional, mental, behavioral, and physiological reactions of a person can be measured through visual attention, gaze behavior, facial expressions, and physiological signals. With this perspective, it seems imperative and appropriate to employ mixed-research methods to examine and uncover the complex relationships between consumers’ affective reactions, consumption situations, identity formation, and presentation of self. The aim of this Special Issue is to provide practical, conceptual, and/or theoretical insights into the field of consumer behavior from a variety of perspectives: consumption and identity formation, consumption and presentation of self, and consumption and affective reactions.

This Special Issue focuses on fusing new developments with research on behavioral sciences. Submissions should explicitly speak to one or more of the following themes:

  • Consumption and identity formation;
  • Culture and identity formation;
  • Identity in the consumer market: media (traditional and digital);
  • Identity and (in)conspicuous consumption;
  • Transnational identity;
  • Ethnic/cultural identity in a multicultural market environment;
  • Products (high-/low-involvement) and consumer identity;
  • Identity, demographics, and consumer behavior;
  • Consumer behavior, identity, and millennials;
  • Gendered marketing and advertising;
  • Consumption and presentation of self;
  • Social conformity and symbolic consumption;
  • Consumer behavior and self-concept;
  • Publicly consumed products and social self;
  • Consumer identity and social self;
  • Privately consumed products and private self;
  • Cognitive and affective judgments on consumption;
  • Consumer perception and presentation.

Prof. Dr. Osmud Rahman
Dr. Gabriel R. D. Levrini
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Behavioral Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • consumption
  • identity
  • demographics
  • self-concept
  • affective judgments
  • social conformity
  • consumer market
  • marketing
  • advertising
  • media

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

Article
How Consistent Are Consumers in Their Decisions? Investigation of Houseplant Purchasing
Behav. Sci. 2021, 11(5), 73; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs11050073 - 12 May 2021
Viewed by 607
Abstract
This paper examines the impact of intrinsic consumer attributes on decision consistency in houseplant purchasing intentions. Subjects reported their likelihood to buy (LTB) for themselves and as a gift at perceived bargain and getting expensive price levels. The sample was analyzed according to [...] Read more.
This paper examines the impact of intrinsic consumer attributes on decision consistency in houseplant purchasing intentions. Subjects reported their likelihood to buy (LTB) for themselves and as a gift at perceived bargain and getting expensive price levels. The sample was analyzed according to those who switched their LTB ratings to relatively lower values versus subjects who did not by using their demographic characteristics and responses to plant buying behavior questions. Secondly, subjects who had high initial purchase intents were analyzed versus those who had low initial purchase intents. The results indicate that inconsistent purchase decisions are more likely to occur at the perceived getting expensive price level than the perceived bargain price points. Additionally, there are very few demographic differences among the plant buyers who are consistent with their purchase intent versus inconsistent, indicating that external environmental cues may have more of an influence on purchase consistency than intrinsic cues. This information can be utilized by greenhouse and retail firms to understand when a consumer is less likely to change their plant purchase decision with a high initial intent. These price points can help firms optimize their current price offerings within the market and create dialogues with partnering box stores. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumption, Identity, Demographics and Self-Concept)
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Article
The Influence of Price on Purchase Intentions: Comparative Study between Cognitive, Sensory, and Neurophysiological Experiments
Behav. Sci. 2021, 11(2), 16; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs11020016 - 25 Jan 2021
Viewed by 962
Abstract
Price is considered one of the most important attributes in consumer’s choice. On the other hand, consumer’s knowledge about price tends to be imprecise. This study aims at providing new insights analyzing consumers’ perception of retail store brand (focused on Skin Care Products) [...] Read more.
Price is considered one of the most important attributes in consumer’s choice. On the other hand, consumer’s knowledge about price tends to be imprecise. This study aims at providing new insights analyzing consumers’ perception of retail store brand (focused on Skin Care Products) comparing with two other skin care products, a premium, and a popular national brand. Second, to analyze the association price versus quality variables in the purchasing decision process. Third, to demonstrate the influence of both, unconscious and cognitive process during the purchase choice intention. Through Neuromarketing tools and protocols (quantitative and qualitative), the study exposes participants to a blind test of the three products and asks participants to talk about their sensory impressions like scent, feelings, and products texture. Using facial electromyography (EMG) and eye-tracker devices we measured consumers’ responses when we introduced price and brand name variables, by this way comparing unconscious and cognitive responses. The findings showed that an unconscious decision could be change when new variables were revealed. The study showed how conscious price variable was the major influence in their purchase intention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumption, Identity, Demographics and Self-Concept)
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Article
Customer Value Types Predicting Consumer Behavior at Dutch Grocery Retailers
Behav. Sci. 2020, 10(8), 127; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs10080127 - 05 Aug 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1536
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to profile three grocery retail formats (non-discounter, soft discounter, and hard discounter) in the Netherlands using Holbrook’s value types. These value types are linked to three consumer behavior outcomes, i.e., Satisfaction, Repurchase intention, and Word-of-Mouth. The impact [...] Read more.
The purpose of this paper is to profile three grocery retail formats (non-discounter, soft discounter, and hard discounter) in the Netherlands using Holbrook’s value types. These value types are linked to three consumer behavior outcomes, i.e., Satisfaction, Repurchase intention, and Word-of-Mouth. The impact of the retail formats is evaluated on the importance and performance of the value types, using a questionnaire for each of the retail formats. The relationship between the value types and outcomes is tested with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Aesthetics, Altruistic value, and Efficiency are positively linked to Satisfaction. In addition, Efficiency is the key driver for Repurchase intention and has a positive impact on Word-of-Mouth. A positive Word-of-Mouth is predicted by Social value and Service excellence. The three examined retail formats show a difference in Holbrook’s value types. Overall, the results of the non- and soft discounters differ from the hard discounters. Remarkably, and contrary to previous studies, the soft discounter’s scores are the highest meaning that consumers are most critical for this retail format. It seems that consumers expect the best of both worlds at soft discounters: low prices, interesting bargains, easy access, but also appealing store design, and excellent service. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumption, Identity, Demographics and Self-Concept)
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Article
IMPULSE Moment-by-Moment Test: An Implicit Measure of Affective Responses to Audiovisual Televised or Digital Advertisements
Behav. Sci. 2020, 10(4), 73; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs10040073 - 05 Apr 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2742
Abstract
IMPULSE is a novel method for detecting affective responses to dynamic audiovisual content. It is an implicit reaction time test that is carried out while an audiovisual clip (e.g., a television commercial) plays in the background and measures feelings that are congruent or [...] Read more.
IMPULSE is a novel method for detecting affective responses to dynamic audiovisual content. It is an implicit reaction time test that is carried out while an audiovisual clip (e.g., a television commercial) plays in the background and measures feelings that are congruent or incongruent with the content of the clip. The results of three experiments illustrate the following four advantages of IMPULSE over self-reported and biometric methods: (1) being less susceptible to typical confounds associated with explicit measures, (2) being easier to measure deep-seated and often nonconscious emotions, (3) being better able to detect a broad range of emotions and feelings, and (4) being more efficient to implement as an online method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumption, Identity, Demographics and Self-Concept)
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