Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons^™

Two Marketing Essays: Evolution Of Attribute-Specific Preferences Through Consumer Learning And The Effect Of Gift Exchange On The Purchase Behavior, Ji Hong Min

Open Access Dissertations

The first essay investigates the evolution of attribute-specific preferences through consumer learning. Most extant consumer learning models allow for learning about alternative-specific preferences such as brand preference in a brand choice model. However, there exist product categories which offer many varieties of products with different attributes. In such cases, it is important to model consumer learning of attribute-specific preferences rather than simply modeling alternative-specific preferences in order to more accurately and parsimoniously describe consumer behavior. In this paper, we propose a structural model of consumer's Bayesian learning of attribute-specific preference, using scanner panel data. We show that the proposed model …

An Eriksonian Approach To Consumer Identity, Sandra Rathod

Open Access Dissertations

Rathod, Sandra R. Ph.D., Purdue University, December 2013. An Eriksonian Approach to Consumer Identity. Major Professor: Richard A. Feinberg.

Ego development is the fifth stage in Erikson's Lifecycle Development theory (1959) and is a major psychosocial stage beginning in adolescence and lasting into emerging adulthood. Past research based upon Marcia's Ego Identity Status Paradigm (1996) has investigated a number of ideological and interpersonal domains relevant to one's ego identity, however in today's consumer societies, where what you have is at least as important is who you are or what you do, an Eriksonian approach to consumer ego identity (CEI) has …