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THE STANDARD LEARNING HIERARCHY

In document Copenhagen Business School (Sider 36-40)

1 INTRODUCTION

2.7 THE STANDARD LEARNING HIERARCHY

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The decision-making process serves as a perfect framework for investigating how the decision-making of a high involvement purchase changes during recession in financial circumstances. As stated before, the model has been adapted and the theory of meaning added for the purpose of this study, as I believe it is necessary to include the cultural meaning associated with a high involvement luxury purchase.

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information needed before he/she forms beliefs about the brand. The consumer evaluates the beliefs rationally before the feelings towards the product or brand evolve. And if the feelings are positive it is highly likely it will end up in a purchase.

If a consumer of a luxury car brand is considered in the context of the standard learning hierarchy he would start of being confronted with a problem. As stated earlier, before the recession in Iceland the problem consumers of luxury car brands in Iceland were confronted with was most likely to signal the desired image. He/she then searched for information about the luxury brands and formed beliefs about them, evaluated his/her beliefs and bought the brand he/she believed would serve as the best status symbol. Therefore, although the model assumes that the consumer is information-centred and seeks to make a rational decision, it serves as well for the meaning-centred consumer, that makes the decision based on the meaning associated with the product.

Solomon et al. consider consumers as problem-solvers. The standard learning hierarchy is described as a problem-solving process which the consumer creates attitude through and the stages in consumer decision making, as followed before, is the learning process before coming to a conclusion whether to buy or not (Solomon, Bamossy, Askegaard, & Hogg, 2006).

In the research it will be investigated if consumers in Iceland go through a deeper and different information search today prior to purchasing a car. It is likely that the consumer makes a more informed decision based on rational arguments on the contrary to before recession when the decision was probably not financially rational. Although the decision might be more informed today than before it includes some form of cultural meaning since it might be considered a psychological risk to some extent to signal an unattractive image.

Today it may be considered frowned upon to flash luxury.

The two paradigms of meaning and information separately treat the consumer as someone who is meaning-centred or information-centred. To be able to fully understand the consumer and the process of decision-making I believe the two paradigms had to be combined.

Below is the process of decision-making presented by Solomon et al. (2006) when the cultural meaning has been added as a part of the decision-making.

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Figure 2-4. The new process of decision-making

McCracken (1987) argues that the information processing approach “ignores the cultural context of consumption” (p. 122). He states that it defines the consumer as someone who is in constant information search and uses information to make the purchase decision. McCracken (1987) then introduces the meaning-based model of consumption where he explains how the consumer engages in a cultural project and makes the decision based on the cultural meaning the product signals.

As discussed through the theoretical framework, the consumer seeks meaning in the product he considers to purchase. But it must not be ignored that to be able to signal the desired image and choose the product or brand with the meaning the consumer wishes to be associated with,

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he/she must go through the decision-making process and conduct in an information search connected to the cultural meaning as well as the utility properties considered necessary.

The consumer is to some extent information-centred, but he/she also makes decisions based on the meaning the product or brand signals. Therefore I believe the theory of meaning and the theory of information must be combined to be able to explain the decision-making process prior to the purchase of a car.

The theory discussed in this chapter creates the framework for the research. The culture and the cultural meaning have been explained thoroughly and it has been argued what aspects fit best for this particular research. In the research I will investigate how these aspects change when society experiences dramatic change in living conditions.

Understanding the culture of luxury lifestyle is important to be able to see if the importance of signalling luxury decreases and if the meaning of luxury changes during a financial turmoil.

When consumers experience a financial reduction, their priorities change and therefore it is important to create an understanding of the changes in perceived risk of a high involvement purchase as the purchase of a car is.

All the issues mentioned above effects the mindset of the consumer and the decision-making process prior to a car purchase. The combination of information-based and meaning-based decisions in the decision-making process will also be investigated further and included in the research. The two paradigms combined create a perfect framework for understanding a consumer experiencing changes in living conditions and the financial recession in Iceland is a perfect opportunity to do so.

It has been argued through the chapter what the advantages and disadvantages of the theory discussed are and how it is adapted for this particular research. This theoretical framework therefore creates a perfect foundation for investigating what happens when the consumer goes through changes in living conditions and how the mindset changes when the culture surrounding the consumer changes. The theory chosen is considered most relevant for this particular research to answer the research questions.

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3 METHODOLOGY

The intention of the research is to investigate the meaning of luxury in the mind of the consumer before and during a recession and to get an insight into how a change in living conditions affects the decision process of consumption. In this chapter the methodology of the project will be described. It gives an overview of the theories and research methods used to answer the research questions.

In document Copenhagen Business School (Sider 36-40)