Consumer Behavior Value Research

Values are not the same as needs or drives. Needs derive from deficiency or disruption. Desires are
wishes or appetitions directed toward certain objects or state. Desires may become so intense as to
become needs, and needs are typically intermingled with corresponding desires. In any case,
however, it is possible for there to be a need or a desire (for example, for food) in which values are
not the most important, component. On the other hand, values themselves may be a source of needs
and desires, as when one seeks to remove the pangs of not fulfilling „one‟s duty‟ or positively
aspires to live up to high standards of craftsmanship.”
1. Values are beliefs. But they are not objective, cold ideas. Rather, when values are activated, they
become infused with feeling.
2. Values refer to desirable goals (e.g., equality) and to the modes of conduct that promote these
goals (e.g., fairness, helpfulness).
3. Values transcend specific actions and situations. Obedience, for example, is relevant at work or in
school, in sports or in business, with family, friends or strangers.
4. Values serve as standards to guide the selection or evaluation of behavior, people, and events.
5. Values are ordered by importance relative to one another. The ordered set of values forms a
system of value priorities. Cultures and individuals can be characterized by their systems of value
priorities.
There are two types of values : Terminal Values are most desirable to humans and Instrumental
values are views of how the human desires should be achieved.
Terminal Values
These are values refer to desirable end states of existence, the goals a person would like to achieve
during his or her lifetime.They include happiness, self-respect, recognition, inner harmony, leading
a prosperous life, and professional excellence.
Instrumental Values
Instrumental values deal with views on acceptable modes of conductor means of achieving the
terminal values.These include being honest, sincere, ethical, and being ambitious. These values are
more focused on personality traits and character

Consumer Behavior Values Advocated by Milton Rokeach

There was a good deal of overlap in values but it gets differentiated with the product we use . To
resolve it a cultural values (terminal) advocated by Rokeach is used and is known as Rokea Value
survey. He had developed cultural value inventories by studying a particular culture (American
culture) identifying its values and then determining whether these values are widely held. Now ,
this finds its relevance in consumer behaviour across the world .

A value researcher in USA in his book “The Role of value in Public Opinion Research” have
specified following value

Consumer behaviour : Adding product attributes to value

Marketing strategies generally attempt to reflect to cultural values. The role of cultural values in
influencing consumer behaviour has been described by Cutman as a means-end chain in that means
(Product attributes) are the vehicle for attaining cultural values (the ends) with consumption goals
as an intermediary between them as given before.
Product attributes are a reflection of cultural values. Gutman made Rokeach’s concept (in 3) more
applicable to marketing by adding another factor, product attributes, as a means of attaining
consumption goals. According to Rosenberg, consumers will evaluate products based on the degree
to which they are instrumental in achieving cultural values. Consumers evaluate the projected
consequences’ of their actions and will buy products that achieve the desired consequence.
Example : Thus, a consumer who values “Beautiful World” (a terminal value) will favour product
attributes such as bio-degradability because the consequence of buying a bio-degradable product is
to help preserve the environment.
The means-end chain leading to the purchase of the product is:
i. Product attribute bio-degradability.
ii. Consumption consequence—Helping to preserve the environment.
iii. (Terminal) value—Beautiful World.
Thus, the theories of Gutman, Rokeach and Rosenberg all reflect the means-end chain as shown in
Fig., leading to the attainment of cultural (terminal) values through product attributes and
consumption goals.

Laddering technique of determining values consumers will value

A ladder is a tool designed to allow you to reach something otherwise unreachable. In the same
way, “laddering” as applied to structured questioning is a technique designed to acquire nuggets of
information which are otherwise very difficult to get at.
These hard to reach nuggets are of particular value when trying to understand purchasing decisions.
Respondents in an interview will often struggle to articulate what led them to make a particular
purchasing decision and so conventional methods will often only produce a very shallow
understanding of what is going on. If we want to see further, we need a more structured approach.
Decision making and the Means End Chain
According to Means End Chain Theory, purchasing decisions are made based on a hierarchy of
perceptions, and these relate to different levels of conscious consideration and different aspects of
the interaction between the decision maker and the product or service. These are known as
“Attributes”, “Consequences” and “Values”.
Attributes, consequences and values – components of the decision

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Traditional questioning is fairly good at identifying the “attributes” influencing the decision, but
will rarely give you the full list of “consequences” and is very ineffective at reaching the client/
customer “values” which are central to their decision-making process.
A means to establish what people value
Laddering is a well-established technique from psychology and is typically used to encourage self-
analysis of behaviour and motivations. Applying this process to market research helps us to gather a
more complete list of “consequences” and climb towards the hard-to-reach “values”. These
“values” are the most useful tools for predicting behaviour and identifying potential new
opportunities.The core of the laddering framework as applied to market research consists of the
following series of questions:
• “Why did you choose this product/service?” – to establish the important attributes
• “Why is it good/bad that…?” – to establish the consequences of each attribute
• “Why is this important to you/your business?” or “How does this relate to your core
business values?” – to establish the values of the respondent which are affected by each
consequence
The first question identifies the “attributes”, the second is asked about each attribute to identify that
attribute’s “consequences”, and the third attempts to draw out the underlying business needs and
motivations or “values” that these consequences impact upon.
Laddering has the potential to reveal more about the underlying values which guide business
decisions. However, where possible, these studies should be combined with a detailed mapping of
the decision making unit and the process involved. The true value of the technique can seem unclear
until you realise that in many important business decisions, the final choice is determined by how
well the product or service targets the motivating values of the key decision makers
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