Consumer Behaviour Models Part II - The Howard Sheth Model

The Howard Sheth theory of buyer behaviour is a sophisticated integration of the various social, psychological and marketing influences on consumer choice into a coherent sequence of information processing. It aims not only to explain consumer behaviour in terms of cognitive functioning but to provide an empirically testable depiction of such behaviour and its outcomes (Howard 1977). Utilizing the learning theory thoroughly and systematically, John Howard came out with the first truly integrative model of buyer behaviour. He was the first to introduce the difference between problem solving behaviour, limited problem solving and automatic response behaviour. The model is essencially an attempt to explain brand choice behaviour over time and therefore specially pertinent to our field. Focussing on repeat buying, the model relies on four major components - stimulus inputs, hypothetical constructs, response outputs and exogenous variables. This are the three levels of decison making: 1. Extensive problem solving - early stages of decision making in wich the buyer has little information about brands and has not yet developed well defined and structured criteria by wich to choose among products. 2. Limited problem solving - this is a more advance stage, choice criteira are well defined but the buyer is still undecided about wich set of brands will best serve him. Thus the consumer still experiences uncertainty about wich brand is best. 3. Routinized response behaviour - buyers have well defined choice criteria and also have strong predispositions toward the brand. Little confusion exists in the consumer's mind and he is ready to purchase a particular brand with little evaluation of alternatives. The model then borrows from learning concepts to explain brand choice behaviour over time as learning takes place and the buyer moves from exclusive to routinized problem solving behaviour. here the four major components get involved. The Input Variables

The input variables consist of informational cues about the attributes of a product or brand( i.e.quality, price,distinctiveness, service and availability). This informational cues may besignificative if they influence the consumer directly through the brand's attributes orsymbolic if they derive from the same factors as they are portrayed in the mass media and by salespeople, influencing the consumer in a indirect way. these two sources are commercial, in that the represent the efforts of the firm to build and project these values in the product. A third set of informational cues may come from the buyer's social environment, including the family, reference groups and social class - wich are influences that are internalized by the consumer before they can affect the decision process. Hypothetical Constructs Hypothectical constructs have been classified in two groups - perceptual constructs and

learning constructs. The first delas with with the way the individual perceives and responds to the information from the input variables, accounting for stimulus ambiguity and perceptual bias. The second deals with the stages from the buyer motives to his satisfaction in a buying situation.The purchase intention is an outcome of the interplay of buyer motives, choice criteria, brand comprehension, resultant brand attitude and the confidence associated with the purchase decision. The motives are general or specific goals impelling to action, impinging upon the buyer intention are also the attitudes about the existing brand alternatives in the buyer's evoked set, wich result in an arrangement of an order of preference regarding brands. Brand comprehension and the degree of confidence that the buyer has about it, choice criteria and buying intentions, converge upon the inetention to buy. As a feedback component of learining, the model includes another learning constructsatisfaction wich refers to the post purchase evaluation and resultant reinforcing of brand comprehension, attitudes ect. (shown by broken lines in the figure). Output Variables The five output variables in the right hand portion of the model are buyer's observable responses to stimulus inputs. They are arrangend in order from Attention to Actual Purchase. The purchase is the actual, overt act of buying and is the sequencial result of the attention (buyers total response to information intake), the brand comprehension, brand attitude ( reffering to the evaluation of satisfying potential of the brand) and the buyer intention ( a verbal statement made in the light of the above externalising factors that the preferred brand will be bought the next time the buying is necessitated. Exogenous Variables The model also includes some exogenous variables which are not defined but are taken as constant. These influence all or some of the constructs explained above and through them, the output. Some exogenous variables are importance of the purchase, time at the disposal of the buyer, personality traits, financial status etc.

Most scholars agree that the study of consumer behaviour was advanced and given an impetus by Howard Sheth Model. The major advantage and strenght of the theory lied in the precision

with which a large number of variables have been linked in the working relationships to cover most aspects of the purchase decision and the effective utilization of contribution from the behavioural sciences. The weakness stems from the fact that, there being substantial measurement error, the theory cannot be realistically tested. The distinction between the exogenous and endogenous variables is not clear cut. And some of these variables do not lend themselves easily to measurement and other defy precise definition. In spite all limitations, the model because of its comprehensive coverage of almost all aspects of the purchase decision and operational explanation of the underlying stimuli and responses have given a useful frame of reference for the study of buying decision over time.

Engel, Kollat, Blackwell model (EKB model)

A comprehensive model of consumer behavior that was elaborated by James F. Engel, David T. Kollat and Roger D. Blackwell (1973). GRAFIK Each of the boxes in this "multimediation" model of consumer behavior represents a variable that may influence behavior. The arrows connecting boxes describe relationships between variables as well as emphasizing that consumer behavior is a dynamic ongoing process. The model shows that people are continually exposed to stimuli. A stimulus represents anything, generally inherent in the environment, that has the potential for triggering some kind of behavior. In general, marketing decision making can be viewed (at least in part) as putting together and controlling a set of stimuli intended to influence customer buying behavior. Any marketing offer represents only a fraction of the total stimuli to which buyers are exposed. Many other stimuli, some controlled by competitors, some controlled by noncompetitive organizations, some originating from other people, are also competing for consumers' attention. Stimuli provide information that consumers must process. This task includes the stages of exposure, attention, comprehension, and retention. Exposure refers to a stimulus reaching one of the senses, while attention indicates on which of these stimuli the consumer will focus. Comprehension is the process by which consumers attach meaning to stimuli. Because a consumer is attentive toward a marketing offer does not mean that the offer will be comprehended as intended. Retention refers to the memory process that determines which of the many stimuli that have gone through the initial three stages of consumer information processing will be remembered. Not all stimuli that have been comprehended will be retained in memory. In fact, the percentage of stimuli remaining in memory is generally quite small, particularly after a period of weeks has passed since exposure. An implication of the processing of stimuli is that consumers actively interact with some businesses while avoiding interaction with others. They are certainly not passively receiving information and being influenced accordingly. An offer that is filtered out anywhere during

this process by a significant number of customers will not achieve performance goals. Since the consumer is an active participant in interaction between buyers and sellers, the characteristics that form an individual's psychological makeup have an important impact on the success of an offer. A set of stimuli comprising the marketing program must interact with one or more key individual characteristics before a consumer determines what response will be made. The Engel, Kollat, and Blackwell model depicts the individual as having a central control unit, which is the center for thinking, memory, and decision making all of which guide behavior. It is generally believed that the central control unit contains relatively few key variables that describe the uniqueness or individuality of a person: (1) personality traits, (2) motives (included in the model as a part of personality), (3) attitudes, (4) past information and experiences, and (5) evaluative criteria. The common thread running through these variables is the process of learning. People have the ability to learn from their experiences, and so, the behavior that people will adopt in the future is at least partially dependent on what they have experienced in the past. At a given point in time all these variables summarize and describe what a person has seen and done to date, and more importantly, suggest the behavior that consumers will be likely to take in the future. The concept of motive refers to a tendency for people to behave in a general way in order to satisfy a need or drive. The fact that people do have buying motives indicates that consumer behavior is generally purposive or goal-directed. Closely related to the concept of motives are consumers' evaluative criteria which refer to the dimensions or performance characteristics desired from a product or service. These criteria are used by consumers to compare alternative products and brands and include such dimensions as economy, durability, reputation, and convenience. The performance characteristics desired in a product or service determine what that product must do in order to satisfy a consumer's purchase motives. Evaluative criteria are developed from a consumer's past experiences, personality traits and the influences of other people, and so, are more than just manifestations of consumer motives. Past information and experience refer to all the accumulated results of previous actions and occurrences that a consumer stores in memory for future use in similar situations. This ability to retain information from experiences over time is the basis for consumers' learning. In turn, learning helps to explain the considerable amount of regularity of consumer behavior. Of all the consumer characteristics shown in the exhibit, the greatest conceptual and empirical attention has been given to consumer attitudes. The combined buyer characteristics perform an important function for individuals. Attitudes, personality traits and motives, past information and experience, and evaluative criteria act as a kind of filter through which people process information (stimuli) continually coming from their environment.

One of the important features of the Engel, Kollat, and Blackwell model is the depiction of consumer purchasing as a process comprised of several stages rather than a single act of buying or not buying. There is considerable variation in the processes consumers go through, but for conceptual purposes, these can be grouped into three basic types: (1) An extended decision process is the most complete type of decision making. It begins when a consumer recognizes a problem which might be solved by the purchase of some product. This encourages a consumer to search for product and/or brand information to evaluate how well each of several alternatives will solve the problem. Product and brand evaluations lead to a purchase decision, and then the outcome of the decisions is evaluated. Extended buying decision processes are most likely to occur when the product being considered has never been purchased before, is not repurchased very frequently, or is particularly important to the consumer (e.g., the product may be very expensive, a gift, highly visible to others, or used for a long time). (2) For less important or more routine purchases decisions, a consumer may only go through a limited decision process by evaluating only those product/brand alternatives already known with no, attempt to search for new alternatives. (3) Habitual decision making is the least complicated type of process where a consumer, upon recognizing a problem, proceeds directly to making a purchase decision on a favorite brand. A variety of environmental variables also help to explain consumer purchases. The Engel, Kollat, and Blackwell model includes such environmental factors as income, culture, social class, and family influencing consumers activities at each of the decision process stages.