Values and the value to Consumer Behaviour

Values


A value can be defined as a belief about some desirable end-state that transcends specific situations and guides selection of behavior. Thus, values are general and different from attitudes in that they do not apply to specific situations only. 




Application of values to Consumer Behavior



Despite their importance, values have not been as widely applied to direct examinations of consumer behavior as might be expected. One reason is that broad-based concepts such as freedom, security, or inner harmony are more likely to affect general purchasing patterns than to differentiate between brands within a product category. For this reason, some researchers have found it convenient to make distinctions among broad-based cultural values such as security or happiness, consumption-specific values such as convenient shopping or prompt service, and product-specific values such as ease of use or durability, that affect the relative importance people in different cultures place on possessions.77 However, such a distinction may border on abusing the value concept, since it is normally taken to represent the most general and profound level in the social psychological hierarchy.