Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Konsumentenverhalten -
Consumer behaviour - sociología del consumo

by

 Sascha Fink

Index

1 INTRODUCTION 2

2 THE DEVELOPMENT FROM THE CLASSICAL PATTERNS TO THE MULTI-OPTIONAL CONSUMER BEHAVIOR 3

2.1 CONSISTENT CONSUMER BEHAVIOR 3
2.2 HYBRID CONSUMER BEHAVIOR 4
2.3 MULTI-OPTIONAL CONSUMER BEHAVIOR  4

3 ASPECTS OF THE CLASSICAL BEGINNINGS OF THE CONSUMER BEHAVIOR AFTER KROEBER RIEL 9

3.1 BLACK BOX MODEL UND S-R-MODEL 9
3.2 THE S-O-R-MODEL 10

4 THE DESCRIPTION OF THE MULTI-OPTIONAL CONSUMER BEHAVIOR 11

4.1 THE SELF ORGANIZATION 11
4.2 THE AUTOPOIESES THEORY AFTER MATURANA/VARELA  12
4.3 COGNITIVE SYSTEMS 13
4.4 SOCIAL SYSTEMS 15

5 EXTENSION OF THE CLASSICAL BEGINNINGS 16

6 EMERGENCE OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION 18

6.1 THE KANO-MODEL 18
6.2 THE USE VALUE OF VERSHOFEN 20

7 CONSEQUENCES FOR PLANNING AND CONTROL IN MARKETING?  22

1 introduction

For some time a fundamental change can be determined in the consumer research, which can be described with “multioptionality". The multi-optional consumer behavior is characterised by the fact that several behavior patterns can occur within the same person so that from the view of the salesman that the behavior is unstable by selfcontrol of the consumer and that the behavior between consumers and groups of consumers can go into different directions. 

,,The new multi-optional consumer is not any longer analyzable, flatable and controllable "¹

First I am writing about different types of cons umers und their behavior patterns, the classical theorys of the sixties about consumer behavior in comparison to them the Autopoesis of Maturna/Varela/Uribe. This scientist are coming from a completely different field of science, they are all biologists. The theory of autopoesis is one of the theories which is used to understand the customer behovior in their nature. Later on I contemplate the perspective, ”what makes customers satisfied?”. Therefor I am explaining the model of Kano as well a model of Vershofen. To keep this all based to the automobile industry I give in the chapters examples about the automobile industry.

2 The development from the classical patterns to the multi-optional consumer behavior

To study the multi-optional consumer behavior the entire complexity of the consumer research must be recognized and explained. The multioptional behavior is already for some time no more an edge phenomenon. Already Werner Kroeber Riel had explained and considered in the last expenditure of “purchase pattern" in 1997 some constructionalistic beginnings. But it remained nevertheless on the whole with its classical explanation beginning: the S-O-R-model (stimulus organism attraction). In former times the consumer behavior was considered as consistent. It was linear rationally, stable and uniform². Today it is considered rather as hybrid, thus bipolar as well as relatively stably. The development however goes further to the multioptionality. Especially this development, all the young people need to be considered as well the groups of subcultures and the leisure trailers. Seniors are only conditionally considered in the studies, since with them a multioptional behavior arises, or if they lean against the so-called, “consumer pioneers".³

2.1 consistent consumer behavior

If one speaks of consistent consumer behavior, then one speaks about the petrol ordinary consumer automatically of, "ordinary-consumer”. Each consumer can be assigned to a certain behavior pattern. The consumer becomes thereby transparently, calculably and even controllable. Thus creates the picture of the mass consumption human, which belongs to a uniform group. Also it follows from this assumption that the consumer will always react during a certain period of time the same way to a certain attraction.

As support to this behavior an example within the automobile can be called here. The customer A bought so far a german car in one of him preferred model variant. This purchase is subject to an exactly predictiable purchase behavior, the carshe bought so far do not much differentiate itself in its kind and equipment.

2.2 hybrid consumer behavior

Hybrid behavior is bipolar, i.e. the behavior of a hybrid consumer can be two - dimensional. This behavior is only considered as stable if these actions in the course of the time prove as steady. The consumer looks for thus with full intention the contrast, which it finds for example in products with different priceclasses.

[...]

1 Schüppenhauer, Annette: Multioptionales Konsumentenverhalten und Marketing, Erklärungen und Empfehlungen auf Basis der Autopoiesetheorie. Wiesbaden: Deutscher Universitäts-Verlag 1998

2 Schüppenhauer, A: Multioptionales Konsumentenverhalten und Marketing, Erklärungen und Empfehlungen auf Basis der Autopoiesetheorie. Wiesbaden: Deutscher Universitäts-Verlag 1998

3 see above