Consumer Psychology and Behavior (Second Edition)

Author: Jiang Lin, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-02-01
Features: Consumer behavior is a socio-economic phenomenon that arises with the development of the commodity economy. In the early 20th century, American scholars led by Scott began researching consumer behavior. They extensively borrowed theories and methods from related disciplines such as psychology, sociology, social psychology, anthropocultural studies, marketing, and economics, achieving a series of valuable research results. With the advancement of theory and practice, research on consumer behavior has formed an independent discipline and has been widely applied in corporate marketing practices.
In modern market economies oriented toward consumers, studying consumer behavior has become the foundation for enterprises to carry out marketing activities. To some extent, without understanding the psychological and behavioral characteristics of consumers in the target market, it is impossible to formulate correct marketing strategies or achieve the best marketing results. For this reason, consumer behavior research holds an important foundational position in the marketing theory system, serving as the starting point for research on market segmentation, target market selection, market positioning, marketing strategy, and strategy combinations. In the curriculum settings of business administration courses at universities in Western countries, consumer behavior (also known as consumer psychology) occupies a significant position. Many large enterprises and companies have established specialized research institutions, using surveys and research on consumer behavior as a crucial basis for formulating marketing strategies.
For a long period, under a highly centralized planned economy system and seller-dominated market conditions, research on consumer behavior in China was nearly non-existent. In recent years, with the rapid development of a socialist market economy, the market situation in China has undergone fundamental changes. The gradual formation of a buyer-dominated market has made consumers increasingly the decisive and dominant force influencing market operations. At the same time, research and application in the field of consumer behavior have made encouraging progress. Based on introducing Western research findings, many Chinese scholars have begun to focus on the study of consumer psychology and behavior, publishing and releasing a series of valuable papers, textbooks, and monographs. More and more enterprises are shifting their focus toward the psychological and behavioral characteristics of consumers in the target market; specialized consulting agencies dedicated to consumer behavior research have emerged one after another; and government decision-making departments have also used related research findings as a basis for formulating macroeconomic policies.
However, compared to the demands of practice, theoretical research is still insufficient. Especially in terms of systematicity in research frameworks, the breadth of drawing on related disciplines, completeness of research methods, and how to integrate Western theories with China's actual conditions to explore consumer behavior theories with Chinese characteristics, there is still room for improvement. This current situation has posed higher tasks and requirements for theoretical researchers in this field. Moreover, with social economic development and continuously rising income levels, Chinese consumers have undergone profound and significant changes in their consumption concepts, consumption content, and consumption methods, exhibiting many new psychological and behavioral characteristics. For this reason, studying emerging new consumption psychology and behavior phenomena and discovering patterns from them has become an urgent and important issue facing us.
It is precisely based on the above requirements that the authors wrote this book, summarizing their insights and experiences from years of teaching and researching consumer behavior. During the writing process, they extensively referenced domestic and international research findings, striving to reflect the latest developments in this field. In terms of the research framework, the structure was meticulously designed and arranged to cover as comprehensively as possible all aspects of the research field. In terms of content, the book truly reflects and explores many new phenomena and issues emerging in the consumption field in recent years, adding numerous new research topics such as the latest trends in modern consumption demands, consumer resistance and expectations, consumer green consumption behavior and personal financial behavior, imitation and conformity behavior, the impact of social and cultural factors such as reference groups, social culture, social stratification, family roles, and lifestyle on consumer behavior, etc., making the research content richer and more substantial. In terms of methodology, the book emphasizes the close integration of theory with corporate marketing practice, applying relevant principles to analyze consumers' psychological responses and behavioral manifestations in various marketing activities such as new product development and promotion, product naming, trademarks, branding, packaging, pricing, advertising, shopping environments, and sales services, and proposes targeted psychological strategies to provide practical and effective strategies for enterprises to carry out marketing activities, aiming to offer direct guidance and practical value for corporate marketing efforts.