I have chosen to focus on the paper “A Study on Factors influencing on Buying Behavior of Customers” written by professors Sudarshan Pawar and Dr. Sunil Naranje of P.E.Societys Institute of Management Janata Mahavidyala and CareerDevelopment in India. This paper focuses on studying various factors surrounding consumer behavior. Specifically, their objectives were to study the different factors affecting consumer behavior, the impact of media on buying behaviors, and the effects of product attributes on buying behaviors. While the authors focus specifically on consumers purchasing automobiles in the city of Pune in India, I felt their general objectives were useful to explore for my autoethnography on my journey with American consumerism. This is because I hypothesize that there is a behavioral, cognitive, or cultural connection between all individuals that engage in consumerism and so the findings in this paper may be useful.
In this study, a literature review was outlined in which the findings from different studies relating to consumer were used to lay the framework for their own study. It was proposed that consumer behavior is dependent upon several factors including socioeconomic status, culture, personal, and psychological factors. Of these I would think that cultural and psychological factors play the biggest role in consumer behavior. As I attempt to discuss in my autoethnography, a big part of my engaging in consumerism was the cultural aspect. Because it is a large part of American culture I felt it was necessary to partake as a part of my assimilation. This is not to say that I was blindly consuming just to fit it, I also enjoy partaking in consumption. This brings in to play the psychological aspect. I also discuss in my paper that there is a release of dopamine that occurs when people engage in purchasing things. This reinforces positive feelings associated with buying things. So, while I may have initially placed importance on consuming as a part of American culture, I was also more likely to get caught in a cycle of consumption and continue consuming because it is a pleasurable act.
Another finding discussed in the literature review was that brands had an effect on consumer behavior in deciding between options. This was that people were likely to be loyal to certain brands and that especially for women brand loyalty was a predictor in consumer behavior. While my paper does not explore the role of gender in consumer behavior, I did find the concept of brand loyalty interesting in reference to my own consumer behavior as discussed in my project. There is a section in which I talk about the significance of Nike Jordans in my elementary school and what it meant to own a pair. These specific sneakers had a sentimental meaning and it was more than just buying a pair of sneakers, which I could have gotten from any other athletic company. There was a specific need for the sneakers to be of the brand Nike Jordan or else they would not have had the same results as a different brand.
The study also found that media devices such as the internet and television had an impact on the buying behavior of their study population. This is another theme I discuss in my project as well. The ease with which one can view thousands of items online, and buy something and the click of a button is a remarkable influence on my consumer behavior. As noted by the study, this effects others’ behavior as well. Another reason is because advertisements are difficult to avoid when using the internet on a regular basis. I and other consumers are certainly more likely to purchase something that they keep seeing on a webpage for several days or weeks at a time.
Finally, the study found that the attributes of the product (automobiles) were also an important factor in whether they bought it or not. While I don’t explicitly explore this in my paper, this connects with the brand loyalty that I previously discussed. This and other functional and qualitative attributes are certainly important determinants of purchasing something especially when one has the luxury to choose between options.
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Thanks, Danielle. I definitely see the usefulness of this literature review; however, I’m not seeing a specific enough analysis. Here are two moments that you summarize too generally, and will need to investigate further if you’re planning to include it in your auto ethnography:
As I attempt to discuss in my autoethnography, a big part of my engaging in consumerism was the cultural aspect. [What does” cultural aspect” mean. Be careful with terms like “aspect” and “angle” and “idea.” They’re too general and often don’t contain meaning unless used alongside specific examples]
Because it is a large part of American culture I felt it was necessary to partake as a part of my assimilation. This is not to say that I was blindly consuming just to fit it, I also enjoy partaking in consumption. [Do other papers mention the idea of “enjoyment” of “consumption?” That might be a useful concept to research some more in scientific articles]
This brings in to play the psychological aspect. I also discuss in my paper that there is a release of dopamine that occurs when people engage in purchasing things. This reinforces positive feelings associated with buying things. So, while I may have initially placed importance on consuming as a part of American culture, I was also more likely to get caught in a cycle of consumption and continue consuming because it is a pleasurable act. [This is a strong start– what do other sources say about the pleasure of consuming? How is the pleasure of consuming different from the enjoyment of consuming you mention in your cultural paragraph?]
DW