Explaining Consumer Behavior and Consumer Action: From Fragmentation to Unit

Abstract

This article begins with an analysis of the state of the field of

consumer research and scrutinizes three leading streams of research:

the cognitive response paradigm, attitude theory, and the interpretive

turn. After arguing that the field lacks direction and risks being

overwhelmed by many fragmented additions to knowledge, I propose a

unified approach to consumer research integrating consumer behavior

with consumer action. The underlying theme is that consumers undergo

a fundamental tension between selfhood and sociality, and agency in the

form of self-regulation functions to reconcile the tension, thereby

helping consumers achieve moral balance, integration of personal and

social identity, and personal and social flourishing.