Why-We-Buy-What-We-Buy

JBUSNRES1991:22:159-170159WhyWeBuyWhatWeBuy:[e-mail]nCaliforniaThisarticlepresentsatheorydevelopedtoexplainwhyconsumersmakethechoicestheydo.Thetheoryidentifiesfiveconsumptionvaluesinfluencingconsumerchoicebehavior.Threerepresentativeapplicationsofthetheoryareillustratedpertainingtochoicesinvolvingcigarettesmoking.Theillustrationsexaminedincludethechoicetobuyornotbuy(ortouseornotuse)cigarettes,thechoiceofonetypeofcigaretteoveranother,andthechoiceofonecigarettebrandoveranother.Resultsoftheoperationalizationofthetheorysuggestthatitmaybeusedtopredictconsumptionbehavior,aswellastodescribeandexplainit.IntroductionThetheoryfocusesonconsumptionvalues,explainingwhyconsumerschoosetobuyornotbuy(ortouseornotuse)aspecificproduct,whyconsumerschooseoneproducttypeoveranother,andwhyconsumerschooseonebrandoveranother.Thetheoryisapplicabletochoicesinvolvingafullrangeofproducttypes(consumernondurables,consumerdurables,industrialgoods,andservices).DescriptionoftheTheoryThreefundamentalpropositionsareaxiomatictothetheory:Addresscorrespondenceto:Bruce1.Newman,DepartmentofMarketing,DePaulUniveristy,243So.WabashAvenue,Chicago,IL60604-2302.JournalofBusinessResearch22,1.59-170(1991)01991ElsevierSciencePublishingCo.,Inc.655AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork,NY100100148-2%3/91/$3.50160JBUSNRES1991:22:159-170J.N.Shethetal.ConsumerChoiceBehavior/Figure1.Thefivevaluesinfluencingconsumerchoice.1.Consumerchoiceisafunctionofmultipleconsumptionvalues.2.Theconsumptionvaluesmakedifferentialcontributionsinanygivenchoicesituation.3.Theconsumptionvaluesareindependent.MultipleValuesAsshowninFigure1,thetheoryidentifiesfiveconsumptionvaluesinfluencingconsumerchoicebehavior.Thesearefunctionalvalue,socialvalue,emotionalvalue,epistemicvalue,andconditionalvalue.Adecisionmaybeinfluencedbyanyorallofthefiveconsumptionvalues.Variousdisciplines(includingeconomics,sociology,severalbranchesofpsychology,andmarketingandconsumerbehavior)havecontributedtheoryandresearchrelevanttothesevalues.EachconsumptionvalueinthetheoryisconsistentwithvariouscomponentsofmodelsadvancedbyMaslow(1943,1954,1970),Katona(1953,1971),Katz(1960),andHanna(1980).Ourforthcomingbookbythesametitlecitesmorethan650referencestoprovideaflavorfortheoriginsofthesefivevaluesandforthetypesofresearchadvancedrelevanttoeach(Shethetal.,1990).FunctionalValue.Thefunctionalvalueofanalternativeisdefinedas:Theperceivedutilityacquiredfromanalternative’scapacityforfunctional,utilitarian,orphysicalperformance.Analternativeacquiresfunctionalvaluethroughthepos-sessionofsalientfunctional,utilitarian,orphysicalattributes.Functionalvalueismeasuredonaprofileofchoiceattributes.Traditionally,functionalvalueispresumedtobetheprimarydriverofconsumerchoice.ThisassumptionunderlieseconomicutilitytheoryadvancedbyMarshall(1890)andStigler(1950),andpopularlyexpressedintermsof“rationaleconomicman.”Analternative’sfunctionalvaluemaybederivedfromitscharacteristicsorattributes(Ferber,1973),suchasreliability,durability,andprice.Forexample,WhyWeBuyWhatWeBuyJBUSNRES1991:22:159-170161thedecisiontopurchaseaparticularautomobilemightbebasedonfueleconomyandmaintenancerecord.SocialV&e.Thesocialvalueofanalternativeisdefinedas:Theperceivedutilityacquiredfromanalternative’sassociationwithoneormorespecificsocialgroups.Analternativeacquiressocialvaluethroughassociationwithpositivelyornegativelystereotypeddemographic,socioeconomic,andcultural-ethnicgroups.Socialvalueismeasuredonaprofileofchoiceimagery.Choicesinvolvinghighlyvisibleproducts(e.g.,clothing,jewelry)andgoodsorservicestobesharedwithothers(e.g.,gifts,productsusedinentertaining)areoftendrivenbysocialvalue.Forexampie,aparticularmakeofautomobilemaybechosenmoreforthesocialimageevokedthanforitsfunctionalperformance.Evenproductsgenerallythoughttobefunctionalorutilitarian(e.g.,kitchenap-pliances)arefrequentlyselectedonthebasisoftheirsocialvalue.Ourconceptofsocialvalueshasbeeninfluencedbytheoryandresearchinseveralrelatedareas.SomeofthemoresignificantresearchhasincludedworkcarriedoutbyWarnerandLunt(1941)onsocialclass.Productshavebeenknowntopossesssymbolicorconspicuousconsumptionvalueinexcessoftheirfunctionalutility(Veblen,1899).Hyman(1942)pioneeredresearchonreferencegroups,suggestingthatindividualbehaviorisinfluencedbygroupmembership.Finally,researchintheareaofopinionleadershipanddiffusionofinnovationsbyRogers(1962)andRobertson(1967)hasalsodemonstratedtheimportanceofsocialvaluesinconsumerchoiceasaresultofinterpersonalcommunicationandinformationdissemination.EmotionalValue.Theemotionalvalueofanalternativeisdefinedas:Theperceivedutilityacquiredfromanalternative’scapacitytoarousefeelingsoraffectivestates.Analternativeacquiresemotionalvaluewhenassociatedwithspecificfeelingsorwhenprecipitatingorperpetuatingthosefeelings.Emotionalvalueismea-suredonaprofileoffeelingsassociatedwiththealternative.Goodsandservicesarefrequentlyassociatedwithemotionalresponses(e.g.,theromancearousedbyacandlelightdi