The Disciplinary Status of Consumer Behavior: A Sociology of Science Perspective on Key Controversies

Abstract

Critics within the consumer behavior field have consistently debated three fundamental issues about the field's defining properties and goals: (1) whether consumer behavior should be an independent discipline, (2) what is (and is not) consumer behavior, and (3) whether our field should be interdisciplinary. Taking the perspective of the sociology of science leads us to conclude that (1) consumer behavior is not an independent discipline; (2) consumer behavior is distinguished from other fields by its focus on a consumer role, emphasizing the acquisition, consumption, and disposal of marketplace products, services, and experiences; and (3) consumer behavior is not an interdisciplinary field. (c) 2009 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..

The Disciplinary Status of Islamic Consumer Behavior

“…CB remains as a sub-discipline of marketing as agreed by many Scholars like Hult et al (2009);Kernan (1995) and Macinnis and Folkes (2010) despite the long-time efforts to transform the CB from a sub-discipline to discipline. This position is however not suitable to be extended to the ICB context.…”

“…Even if there are efforts to introduce CB as a new field, the CB remains defined as a sub-discipline or social science that has had to borrow the concepts developed in other social science disciplines (Suprapti, 2010). This is accentuated by Macinnis and Folkes (2010) by stating the followings:…”

Understanding the Human Factor of the Energy Transition: Mechanisms Underlying Energy-Relevant Decisions and Behaviors

“…At its core, it involves "the study of people operating in a consumer role involving acquisition, consumption, and disposition of marketplace products, services, and experiences" (MacInnis and Folkes, 2010). Being a multidisciplinary field that encompasses perspectives and blends elements from a multitude of different disciplines, including economics, sociology, political science, and others, academic research in the consumer behavior field has further developed from limiting its focus to marketing management to also taking a broader angle by integrating a societal and public policy perspective that also involves examining consumers' choices outside the conventional company-customer purchase context (MacInnis and Folkes, 2010). The consumer behavior field has seen the emergence of many different specializations.…”

Critical Regionalities: Re-Thinking Regions in CCT

“…Despite its increasing role in consumer research and marketing (MacInnis & Folkes, 2010) and its goals toward a more socially and historically oriented understanding of consumer behavior, consumer culture theory (CCT) has been criticized for a generalized weakness in accounting for sociohistorical processes that shape markets and consumption systems in favor of analyses that emphasize individual agency (Askegaard & Linnet, 2011). This critique calls for more consumer research that expands the contextualization of lived consumer experiences to another level of contextualization, one that includes "systemic and structuring influences of market and social systems that is not necessarily felt or experienced by consumers in their daily lives, and therefore not necessarily discursively expressed" (Askegaard & Linnet, 2011, p. 381).…”