ADM 3321 Study Guide - Final Guide: Individualism, Nouveau Riche, Kitchenaid
11 Jul 2014
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Document Summary
Two dimensions that influence the degree to which reference groups are important are whether the purchase is to be consumed publicly or privately and whether it is a luxury or necessity. (1)reference group effects are more robust for purchases that are luxuries (sail boat) rather than necessities, since products purchased with discretionary income are subject to individual and preferences and necessities do not offer this range of choice, and (2) items that are socially conspicuous or visible to others, since consumers are not swayed as much by the opinions of others if their purchases will never be observed by anyone but themselves. 1) they are technically competent and thus are convincing because they possess expert power: they have prescreened, evaluated, and synthesized product info in an unbiased way, so they possess knowledge power, they tend to be socially active and highly interconnected in their communities.
