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Product enthusiasts, increasingly prevalent in American society, represent significant marketplace forces because of their high levels of information seeking, opinion leadership, and innovativeness. For marketers to best serve these consumers, many commonly used marketing strategies must be altered or adapted. In this article, marketing mix elements serve as a framework to discuss strategic issues relevant to this category of consumer.

Examines the consumer′s role in the proliferation of product counterfeiting. Describes a demand‐side orientation to the counterfeiting problem and discusses results from a field experiment examining consumers′ willingness to select a counterfeit apparel item knowingly. Indicates that a surprisingly large proportion of adult consumers will select a counterfeit garment over the genuine good when there is a price advantage. Investigates product perceptions and decision criteria and implications for marketer action.

The aim of this research was to explore possible origins of enduring involvement (EI) with products and stimulate relevant research. In addition, this study also examined the conditions that affect involvement development and change.

Autobiographic narratives were gathered from consumers identified as being highly involved with cars, photography, fashion, or jazz. The data were analyzed at the surface structure, the narrative level, and the deep level, to arrive at chronic structures of the episodes discussed in the narratives.

EI is a dynamic construct that emerges due to socialization and influences endemic to the product class. Numerous contextual and intervening conditions, such as product tractability, switching costs, disposable variables, and role demands appear to affect the overall development and growth of EI.

In both the design of a product, as well as the facilitation of product‐centered social interaction, marketers can significantly influence the development of a consumer's enduring product involvement. Such a development has long‐term implications for consumer spending and behavior in relation to a product category or specific brand.

The research is among the first works in consumer behavior to map specific elements associated with the development of EI. Further it also helps understand why consumers, rather than become bored, turn increasingly connected and involved with a product category over a period of time. Future research, both qualitative and quantitative, might build upon the results.

States that the level of consumer involvement in a product category is a major variable relevant to advertising strategy. Suggests product category is often segmented by the level of consumer involvement; however, consumers are rarely segmented. Points out that different involvement clusters have different responses to advertising effectiveness for the same product. Presents a case study segmenting a market using the consumer involvement degree, exploring the characteristics in order to determine the relationship between advertising effectiveness and the level of consumer involvement. Shows results suggesting that a high degree of consumer involvement directed a high advertising effect and is therefore an important indication for advertising strategy.

This paper calls attention to the profound differences between personal inventory decision making and the corresponding decision making of business organizations. It is argued first that the motivations and criteria being used by consumers are vastly different from the assumptions of models such as the well known EOQ (Economic Order Quantity) model. Next the implications for marketing are discussed. A research agenda is then proposed for filling in some of what is currently unknown.

Much of human behaviour is viewed as a process, which begins with early childhood experience, and develops into later life emotions, values, beliefs, and behaviours. Described below, considerable interdisciplinary attention has been given to the role of childhood, and more specifically, to the relevance of different types of parental influence on children as they later become adults. Within marketing, selected scholarly consideration has been devoted to the roles of parents on their children's existing consumer behaviour. The unique contribution of this article is to examine the role of different types of parental influence on later adulthood shopping behaviours.

The study addresses the effect of product usage, satisfaction derived out of the same and the brand switching behaviour in several product categories while looking at the product involvement level in the Indian marketplace. A fair amount of work has been done in the area of customer satisfaction and loyalty and many customer satisfaction indexes are available in the market using different variables and characteristics. The study attempts to understand the brand switching behaviour of the customers and its relation not with just satisfaction derived out of the product but also connects to the usage pattern of the customers and product involvement. Five categories (vehicles, television, soap, hair oil, and ice cream), involving varying levels of involvement were chosen. Cluster analysis was used to understand the grouping of the characteristics across the categories and their effect on brand switching behaviour in correlation with satisfaction and involvement level. It was observed that product usage and related level of satisfaction fail to explain the brand switching behaviour. Product involvement was found to have moderate impact on readiness to switch. The study emphasises that marketers will have to keep a constant eye to understand the usage pattern associated with their products and the satisfaction derived out of it and also at how customers involve themselves with the product to lessen the brand switching behaviour among their customers.

This paper proposes a framework for connecting the involvement construct’s antecedents of Internet marketing, measured involvement degree, related constructs and consequences of consumer behavior. The research first determined the factors that influence the degree of Internet marketing involvement then established the different involvement degree clusters by measured involvement. Finally, the relationship among influence factors, Internet marketing involvement degree, and consequences of consumer behavior was analyzed. Based on the research findings, this paper discusses the possible Internet marketing strategies for a variety involvement degree clusters.

Suggests that there are great opportunities for retailers in the mass rail transit (MRT) malls in Singapore due to their strategic location by bus and train station. States that maximum competitive advantage will be gained only if retailers understand consumer’s perception of the malls and how this affects their behaviour. Outlines the results of a survey of 250 shoppers across 5 malls showing that consumers value convenience, variety, cleanliness, and air‐conditioning. Argues that retailers need to advertise and display their merchandise while mall owners need to attract a good mix of tenants, maintain a good environment and provide good facilities. Suggests that communal activities held in the mall would make them more commercially viable.

Models of the new product adoption process have traditionally assumed that consumers move directly from product trial to adoption. Such an assumption essentially equates product purchase with adoption. Is it advisable for the manager to assume that consumers who purchase a new product for the first time are adopters of the innovation? This article argues that viewing the adoption process in this manner not only may be misleading, but could be incorrect. It is proposed that the addition of two variables — direct product experience and product evaluation—between trial and adoption will more accurately reflect the consumer's new product decision process. Empirical results from an energy‐related innovation provide support for the suggested modifications.