Posits that although behaving “ethically” should be important for its own sake, whether a firm behaves ethically or unethically may also have a significant influence on consumers’ purchase decisions. Examines the issue of unethical corporate behavior from the perspective of consumers....

The past decade has witnessed increased commercial use of data obtained unobtrusively from large‐scale geodemographic (GD) systems. However, consumer researchers have paid little attention to the potential of geodemography. Capitalizes on the fact that geodemography and Warnerian social class...

Previous research has rarely considered purchase acceleration as a measure of consumer deal‐proneness. Also recent studies have found that the effect of demographics either on brand choice or purchase timing is marginal. Examines the effects of demographics on household propensity to...

Reports on a study to determine the influence of acculturation in Hispanic, Asian and black communities to US customs and practices regarding direct response purchasing behavior of self‐image projective products. A survey of students attending a western state university was conducted. The...

Some brand strategists have distinguished between symbolic and functional brands, i.e. brands that basically satisfy consumers’ functional or product‐related needs and brands bought to enhance self‐ or social esteem. It has been suggested that brands should be positioned as either...

Factors such as retirement and declining health may trigger older Americans to move into retirement housing. Most mature consumers make this decision in consultation with their family. Understanding the timing and decision‐making process is necessary to properly position and promote retirement...

The conflicting research on the elderly has led many to question the wisdom of using age alone to segment the market. Psychographics, or lifestyle groupings, has emerged as a more robust technique of identifying distinct categories of the 65 and older market. An activities, interests, and...

Ethnic identity or the retention or loss of the attitudes, values and behaviours of one’s culture of origin is presented as a multidimensional construct. It is further suggested that acculturation or the acquisition of traits of the dominant/host culture constitutes a separate yet correlated...

To help multinationals meet consumer needs in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), this paper describes culture, social forces, marketing mix and consumer behavior for durables and nondurables. Cameras, cosmetics, fast food restaurants and soft drinks are in earlier lifecycle stages in the...

This case describes the situation surrounding the entrance of Starbucks International Coffee into the Kuwait marketplace. It requires students to consider relevant small business and entrepreneurship issues in determining an appropriate response. These issues include: international joint...