Consumerism, Consumer Behavior and Identity: the Extent in Policy Decision-Making

Consumers could be considered as the fuel of any business venture. They are the ones who purchase the products and/or services of the company. Furthermore, consumers may choose particular products/brands not only because these products provide the functional or performance benefits expected, but also because products can be used to express consumers’ personality, social status or affiliation (symbolic purposes) or to fulfill their internal psychological needs, such as the need for change or newness (emotional purposes) (Kim, Forsythe, Gu, and Moon, 2002).

These are just some of the factors that affect consumer behavior. They have been the subject of consumer research for years, for instance, linking them with customer service and customer satisfaction, or the efficacy and persuasiveness of advertisement, and related subjects of marketing. In a particular industry, these subjects also take place, obviously because the variables that makes the process of buying and selling creates the opportunity for such instances to be possible.

The presence of consumer rights in every given economy is coupled with the identification of the behavior of consumers. Thus in connection to consumerism, there is a need to qualify the extent of consumer rights in relation to consumer behavior and culture in policy and decision-making of the state and even business organizations.

Consumer behavior and consumer decision-making have become prominent research topics in the various fields of consumer science in recent years (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2000). However, there is a limited discussion on the aspect of consumerism or the protection of consumers’ rights. Thus, I would like to define the extent of consumer behavior in making laws by the government and business institution.

Generally, consumer behavior is defined as: “The activities that people engage in when selecting, purchasing, and using products and services so as to satisfy needs and desires. Such activities involve mental and emotional processes, in addition to physical actions” (Wilkie, 1990). Virtually, all decisions involved in developing an effective marketing mix for a product or service rely on thorough knowledge of the consumers who comprise the target market (Johnson and Mullen, 1990). Understanding the behavior of the consumer can help marketers anticipate reactions to changes in the marketing mix, or determine whether new products are likely to be adopted.

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