Jack A. Lesser

ANTECEDENTS AND CONSEQUENCES OF THE INTRINSIC MOTIVATION TO SHOP

Although the concept of intrinsic motivation has been widely investigated in most of the social sciences, it has rarely been applied to consumer or shopping behavior. In this paper, relationships of the concepts, within a shopping context, to variables often considered its antecedents and consequences are examined empirically, using responses obtained from 380 adults who were exiting a large mall. There may be serious problems with intrinsic motivation as a variable construct.

Beyond research streams: systematic integration of consumer concepts. Twentieth century postscripts

Examines the extent to which a variety of widely utilized consumer behavior concepts are systematically related. States that within marketing, consumer behaviour research appears to lack structure and direction.Attempts to determine the nature of the interrelationships which exist between different widely examined classical consumer concepts and provides some discussion regarding the findings including areas for further comparison.

A Comparison of the Cognitive Complexity of Public and Private Sector Products

This research compared the cognitive complexity of selected public and private sector products. Private sector products were found to have a significantly greater number of concrete and abstract concepts. Also, the proportion of abstract (attribute) private sector product concepts was significantly greater than for public sector products. Implications, possible explanations, and directions for future research are discussed.

Sources of Consumer Satisfaction with Retail Outlets: Issues and Evidence

This paper identifies and compares the underlying dimensions of two types of retail stores. The dimensions and a situational variable are then used to explain retail satisfaction. The retail dimensions were similar across type of store and consistent with previous research. Contrary to some previous retail satisfaction research, however, dimension satisfaction was a poor predictor of store satisfaction. The situational variable (stockout) entered the stepwise multiple regressions first and explained the most variance in retail satisfaction for both retail types. This finding is consistent with the generally accepted Oliver product satisfaction model. Retail satisfaction conceptualization and measurement issues are discussed in light of the findings.

The Role of Consumer Travel Time as it Relates to Shopper Type, Store Image, and Future Purchases

The purpose of this research is to analyze the role of shopper traveling time on retail store patronage. Two primary questions of the research are (1) how well do shopper type, store image, and future purchasing behavior explain store traveling time, and (2) what are the relationships between travel time, shopper type, store image, and future purchase behavior. A structural model will be developed and validated which characterizes the interrelationships of the four types of variables in the development of store patronage. The research attempts to offer additional empirical testing of the conceptual models of consumer behavior developed in marketing.

An Investigation of the Shopping Orientations of Recent Movers

The purpose of this paper is to determine how the shopping orientations of recent movers are different from the orientations of the population at large. Specifically, the research questions analyzed are: (1) to what extent do movers differ from nonmovers on demographics, shopping benefits desired, purchases made, and life style traits; and, (2) do recent movers form a relatively homogeneous market segment or do they conform to the general market segmentation patterns of the general population.

A Test of the Descriptive Value of Family Life Cycle

The limited degree of mutual association found between family life cycle and other segmentation bases has been frustrating to marketing analysts. Numerous segmentation studies have been conducted, especially during the I9601s, which attempted to profile consumers in different stages of the family life cycle. Family life cycle was intuitively appealing because at each stage of the life cycle family members are expected to have different needs, social economic status levels, and buying roles, which, in turn, should affect their buying behaviors (Frank, Massy, and Wind 1972). however, family life cycle has not consistently predicted buying behaviors, nor at times, even its base component, age. For example, published research findings of the predictive relationships of store patronage with family life cycle and age are examined in Table 1. In general, the studies showed strong patronage relationships with age, but not with family life cycle.

Impact of Marketing Trends on Retail Employee Perceptions of Organizational Climate, Job Satisfaction, and Job Motivation

A study was performed to determine the changes which occurred in employee perceptions of organizational climate, employee satisfaction, and motivational benefits offered by retailers during the period, 1969 to 1977. Results indicated a significant improvement in employee satisfaction, a partial improvement in employee perceptions of motivational climate, and almost no improvement in motivational benefits offered by retailers.

Toward a physiological interpretation of the integration of shopping functions

Attempts to understand consumer behaviour through a study of the physiological brain functioning processes. Refers to literature on physiological psychological theory. Provides a brief description of the nervous system and brain centre functions. Tests three models of psychological variables dealing with shopping – the hypothesized developmental state model, hypothesized disposition model, and hypothesized danger model – then integrates these models into one and tests the new model. Tests the models against data gathered during interviews with shoppers in a US shopping mall. Finds some support for Hilgard’s “neodissociationistic theory” of behaviour. Recommends further investigation of the brain’s mechanisms should be carried out.

Dimensions of Consumer Exchange

Abstract A systematic sequence of psychometric procedures was used to develop a scale of consumer exchange. Initially, a diversity of psychological attraction concepts from widely published sources was selected for scale development. Scale content reflected concepts of passion, intimacy, affection, friendship/attraction, affiliation, freedom/creativity, cooperation, satisfaction, compliance, and dependence. The reduced scale appeared acceptable in both interpersonal attraction and apparently nonpersonal consumer exchange contexts. Two dimensions were interpreted as dependent obsessive attraction and interdependent exchange. These dimensions were validated by using interpersonal exchange concepts suggested by Thibaut and Kelley (1959) and others. The specific consumer exchange context used was department store shopping.