Abstract
Now, consumers possess more power than they ever have before. The study of consumer empowerment has become an important aspect in analysis of consumer behavior. However, the general model of consumer empowerment process has been barely addressed in the marketing literature. This research suggests a novel conceptual framework for the consumer empowerment process. The subjective concept of consumer empowerment is developed a long with an analysis of the antecedents and outcomes of this concept. Moreover, it sheds light on how the consumer empowerment process is related to the different stages of consumer decision-making. This research demonstrates that nowadays, market strategies and structures, such as competition, technology, consumer-centric strategies and consumer policies, impact upon the consumer’s experience of decision-making by increasing consumer power. These factors _called as “environmental factors”_ provide consumer empowering facilitators: availability of information and options, consumer-to-consumer interactions, consumer-to-supplier interactions, and consumer-to-legal activists interactions. These facilitators increase consumer subjective feeling of empowerment which includes consumer self-efficacy, perceived choice and consumer knowledge. Finally, this subjective experience of empowerment enhances consumer feeling of power.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Association of Marketing Theory and Practice |
Publication status | Published - 2014 |
Event | Association of Marketing Theory and Practice 2014 Annual Meeting - Hilton Head, United States Duration: 27 Mar 2014 → 29 Mar 2014 |
Conference
Conference | Association of Marketing Theory and Practice 2014 Annual Meeting |
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Country/Territory | United States |
City | Hilton Head |
Period | 27/03/14 → 29/03/14 |