The analysis of consumers' decision-making style dimensions across different product classes

This thesis investigates the usefulness and reliability of consumers' decision-making style dimensions across the Copeland's (1923) convenience, shopping and speciality product classification. In addition, it also explore the relationships of the differences of consumers' age, household size, job type, income, marital status, child existence in household and gender, and the consumers' decision-making style dimensions. The findings indicate that different profiles of consumers' decision-making style dimensions are formed in different product classes, reflecting the significant product class effect on consumers' purchase behaviour across different product classes. It also suggests that consumers differ along these valid and reliable dimensions when dealing with products from the respective product classes. Product intangibility is also found to be positively related to the dimensionality of consumers' decision-making styles. Relatively, the differences in consumers' age and types of jobs are found to be strongly related to the differences of consumers' decision-making styles. While, differences in income and child existence in household are moderately related, and marital status, gender and household size are weakly related to the differences of consumers' decision-making styles. These variables provide more information on how consumers differ along their decision-making style dimensions. Methodologically, this study uses structural equation modeling in generating the measurement model, other studies in the same area which rely only on the exploratory factor analysis technique. The generated measurement model provides a good starting point for the study on consumers' decision-making styles in the UK environment. This study uses heterogeneous samples to represent the general public in contrast to the student samples used in the earlier studies. Discussions on the theoretical and managerial contributions, research limitations and suggestions for further research summed up this thesis.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral-pg

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Strathclyde

Year dc:date.issued

1998

Author dc:creator

• Saleh, Rosli Bin

DOI

10.48730/qj2z-0k82

Identifier

uk.bl.ethos.248529
T10010

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:strathclyde:9s161627n