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TheJournalofAmericanAcademyofBusiness,Cambridge*Vol.16*Num.2*March2011223TheUseofDecisionMakingStylesasaMarketSegmentationVariable:AStudyinTurkeyDr.DuyguFirat,KocaeliUniversity,Kocaeli,TurkeyABSTRACTIntoday’sworld,consumersarefacedwithmanymessages.Inthepileofthesemessages,theconsumerdecision-makingprocessisgettingmorecomplicatedthaneverbefore.Forthisreason,thisstudyattemptstodefineandsegmentconsumersintosub-groupsaccordingtotheirdecision-makingstyles.Torealizetheobjectiveofstudy,theconsumerdecision-makingstyleinventorydevelopedbySprolesandKendall(1986)wasused.Factorandclusteranalysiswereusedtotestthedatathatwasobtainedafterthesurvey.Thestudyhasshownthatconsumersaredividedintothreesub-groups:enjoyshoppingconsumers,undecidedconsumers,andnon-consciousshoppingconsumers.TheresultsofthestudycannotbegeneralizedtoallrealconsumersinTurkey,buttheycanserveasabasisforfuturestudiesdoneforrealconsumers.INTRODUCTIONMarketingmanagementthatanalyzesconsumerbehaviorwiththeaimofsatisfyingconsumerdemandsandneedsisfacedwithtwofundamentalchallenges(Islamoglu,2006).Thefirstoftheseisdeterminingthemarketormarketsthatwillbeactivated.Thesecondincludesimprovingandapplyingappropriatemarketingcomponentstoselectedmarkets.Determinationofthemarketormarketstobeactivatediscalledthedesignationofthetargetmarket.Beforethiscanoccur,themarketmustbeseparatedintosegments.Marketsegmentationisdefinedasamarketingtechniquethatsegmentscustomersintohomogenousgroupswithspecificcharacteristicslikeneeds,wants,demographics,lifestyle,etc.Therearemanyvariablesusedtosegmentmarkets:demographic,psychographic,andbehavioral.Decision-makingstyleisanothersegmentationvariableusedinmarketsegmentation.Therearetwodifferentopinionsaboutwhetheritisnecessarytosegmentthemarket.Onegrouparguedthatitisnotnecessarytosegmentthemarket(Roostal,1963;Buzzel,1968;Levitt,1983),whiletheothergroupsuggestedthatitisimportanttosegmentthemarketaccordingtoavarietyfactorsbasedonthefactthatconsumerswhohavedifferentcharacteristicsaresatisfiedbydifferentmarketcomponents(Smith,1956;Blattberg&Senn,1976;Green,1977;Kotler,1986;Islamoğlu,1993;Hoek,Gendall,&Esslemont,1996;Mooij,2000;Dibb&Simkin,2001;Altunisik,2001;Bock&Uncles,2002;Solomon,2003;Bijmolt,Paas,&Vermunt,2004;Palmer&Millier,2004).Therearemanysamplesthatsupportthisposition.Consumershavetoaccessalltheinformationaboutproducts/servicestheywanttobuy.However,lookingatproductsconsumershaveusedshowsthattheirchoicesdifferedfromeachother.Despitepotentialfindingsinthefuture,itiscurrentlytooearlytosaythatitisnotnecessarytosegmentmarkets.Consumersarefacedwithinformationthatistransmittedbyadvertisements,thenewsmedia,anddirectmessages.Atthesametime,theyarefacedwithincreasingnumbersofproducts,stores,services,etc.Asaresultofthiscombination,consumerdecision-makinghasbecomemoredifficultandmoreimportantthaninpast.Therefore,thepurposeofthisresearchistodefineandsegmentconsumersintosub-groupsintermsofdecision-makingstyles.CONSUMERDECISION–MAKINGSTYLESConsumersareaffectedbymanyfactorswhentheybuyproducts;thus,thereareavarietyofdecision-makingstyleslikefashionoriented,impulsiveness,quality-oriented,brand-oriented,hedonism-oriented,etc.(Sproles&Kendall,1986;Sproles,1983;Darden&Reynolds,1971;Stone,1954;Lumpkin,1985;Sinha2003;Unal&Ercis,2006(a)).Consumerliteraturesuggeststhattherearethreetypesofconsumerstyleapproaches:1.Lifestyleapproach2.Consumertypeapproach3.ConsumercharacteristicsapproachTheJournalofAmericanAcademyofBusiness,Cambridge*Vol.16*Num.2*March2011224Thelifestyleapproachisdefinedasawayoflifethatconsistsofpeople’sinterests,activities,andopinions(Plummer,1971;Wells&Tigert,1974).Theconsumertypeapproachisanapproachthatattemptstodefinegeneralconsumerstyles(Stone,1954;Sproles&Kendall,1984).Theconsumercharacteristicsapproachisfocusedonthecognitiveandaffectiveorientationofconsumerdecisions(Sproles,1983;Sproles&Kendall,1986).Consumerdecision-makingstyleisdefinedas“amentalcharacterizingaconsumer’sapproachtomakingchoices”bySproles&Kendall(1986).Theyhavesuggestedthat“ithascognitiveandaffectivecharacteristics”(SprolesandKendall,1986).Qualityconsciousnessisgivenasanexampleofcognitivecharacteristicsandfashionconsciousnessisgivenasanexampleofaffectivecharacteristics.Atthesametime,theyhaveexpressedthatconsumerdecision-makingisequivalenttotheconceptofpersonalityinpsychology.Muchresearchrelatedtoconsumerdecision-makingstyleshasbeendone,andmanydifferentgroupshaveemergedasaresultofthisresearch.Consumershavebeendividedintoseveralgroupsbyusingdecision-makingstyles.Table1.ConsumerGroupsEmergedAfterDecision-MakingStylesReferencesGroupsStone,1954Economicshoppers,personalshoppers,ethicalshoppers,andapatheticshoppersDarden&Reynolds,1971Economicshoppers,ethicalshoppers,apatheticshoppers,andmoralisticshoppersBellenger&Korgaonkar,1980EconomicshoppersandrecreationalshoppersLumpkin,Hawes,&Darden,1986Inactive,actives,andthriftyinnovatorsSinha,2003FunshoppersandworkshoppersShim,Gehrt,&Halikowa,1998Foodsafety/health,convenience,middle-of-the-road,andhomeshoppingHiuetal.,2001Trendyandperfectioni