Concepts of Identity in the Context of Consumer Behavior Essay

1. Concepts of identity in the context of consumer behavior.

Researchers have come up with a notion that self-identity is tied to possessions and materialistic belongings. Many people are mostly identified with how much money they do have, or how many cars and clothing's they possess that make them stand out in a group of many people. Therein the contemporary world has made the school of thought very applicable because of the growing power of wealth or materialistic mindsets by almost everyone. Therefore, the fact sheet seeks to examine different consumer research articles that have conceptualized the art of self-identity concerning consumer behavior.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The article by Townsend and Sood confirms that when a consumer chooses an expensive product over a cheaper one, the consumer can, therefore, affirm his or her threatened sense of self (Fajardo, Townsend, and Bolander 2018, 142-152). The researchers substantiate that consumer's self-esteem will be seriously boosted if an expensive product is chosen over a cheaper one. Herein, consumers will have a chance to self-affirm after the self-threat of the expensive products on their personality (Fajardo, Townsend, and Bolander 2018, 142-152). Hence consumers will feel better about their self when they purchase expensive goods which makes them stand out compared to common products which are owned by everybody.

The second article belongs to Ward and Broniarczyk. The two researchers in their school of thought bring to life the subject of gift giving. Herein, the question of close friends and distant friends are all incorporated to identify how critical gift- giving is to the sense of self (Ward and Broniarczyk 2016, 1001-1018). The researchers substantiate that close friends are included in our sense of self while distant friends are not. Therefore, gifts to close friends threaten someone's sense of self compared to gifts meant for distant friends. Herein, people care so much about the gifts they give to their close friends compared to the gifts given to distant acquaintances (Ward and Broniarczyk 2016, 1001-1018). That's why most of the time people spend so much to purchase birthday gifts or wedding presents for their best friends to feel good about themselves too. The analogy truly substantiates that gift giving is massively related to social identity.

The third article is based on how self-identity goals and uniqueness are met in making product choices. Chan Berger and Van Boven talk about social groups and how the need for specificity and self-identity contribute to the formation of social groups (Bhattacharjee, Berger and Menon 2014, 294-309). Herein, the researchers affirm that the social groups differentiate themselves on the uniqueness of a particular product which in turn leads to the building of the social-identity structure. Moreover, the uniqueness can depend on the color of a product or any added advantage which makes the product fashionable compared to other similar products. However social identity usually depends on the brand of the product (Bhattacharjee, Berger and Menon 2014,294-309). For example, one might own a Ferrari and be respected because of how expensive and how respected the car is, but the uniqueness comes when one owns the white one instead of the standard red model. Herein, uniqueness activates the sense of self-worth because one will be held in very high esteem once they can purchase the newest models of products. Social identity at this moment depends on the uniqueness of a product as well.

Besides, independent personalities also act differently compared to the interdependent personalities when a threat to the self is activated (White, Stackhouse, and Argo 2018, 60-73). The article by White, Argo and Sengupta, elaborates that, independent personalities will tend to dissociate themselves from the identity-linked products while the interdependent personalities will undergo a need to belong and therefore tend to associate with identity linked products (White, Stackhouse, and Argo 2018, 60-73). Furthermore, their preferences will also be enhanced compared to the falling preferences of the independent personalities.

2. Concepts of dynamic identity versus fixed identity concerning consumer behavior.

Dynamic identity is based on the notion that consumer's preferences are constantly changing based on trends and fashion while fixed identity emphasizes the concept of not embracing change while sticking to your old preferences (Hillenbrand and Money 2015,148-165). Some Consumers can be very fashionable thereby embracing all the upcoming trends and provisions in the market while others might still be expensive while not giving much thought to the trends and fashions etc. Some of the reasons for the fixed and dynamic identities are highlighted as follows.

To begin with, young consumers need to be dynamic compared to old consumers. Consumers who are young always need to wear the latest clothing in the market and use the latest products like phone models etc. Young people, therefore, have a greater need for dynamism, compared to the old people who still prefer the expensive goods for their ego but the uniqueness and fashion don't matter to them. Furthermore, old people commonly undergo fixed identities because they can stick to a product for so long without changing. On the other hand, young people must continuously change to embrace the new models and fashion trends.

Secondly, dynamic identity emphasizes the uniqueness of a product while fixed identity is mainly based on the brand (Hillenbrand and Money 2015,148-165). The brand can be used to judge the social identity of a person, but the model will add fashion to the already established social stature. For example, those who purchase expensive Samsung phones which are owned by some people, then a particular group who buy the new galaxy Samsung phones in the market. The first group who are just after the expensive Samsung phones exhibit fixed identities while the second group who buy the new models exhibit dynamic identity. Herein dynamic identity is mainly based on the extra work on the already great product or the freshness in the market.

Thirdly, dynamic identity also refers to the contemporary world identity which comes with Twitter and Instagram followers one possesses. The contemporary world has led to massive technological advancements and thanks to all these; social media platforms are alive. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are part of these platforms and concerning how important the sites are to the lives of the modern man, the followers, and friends matter. Therein, those who have more than a million followers or so are at this moment elevated to celebrity status, and some of them use the platforms to earn a living by blogging for example. Therefore, those with many followers are respected and considered famous to those with few followers. However dynamic identity in this instance incorporates the lives which the actors live online. Despite the fact these lives might not be real or actualized in real life, the realities don't matter here. Herein, dynamic identity, in this case, is based on the psychological perspective of the general public.

Fourthly, dynamic identity triggers association to identity-linked products when a specific threat is triggered to the self. The reaction of these threats is mainly based on the self-construal of that particular organism (Hillenbrand and Money 2015,148-165). Interdependent personalities are therefore observed to associate more with identity-linked products with an increase in preferences also observed. Dynamic identity is based on changes and improvement in choices. Therefore, the independent personalities cannot fit in here. On the other hand, fixed identity is based on the conservative reactions once a threat is applied to the self of an organism. For example, when some people are faced with expensive outfits, they will let go of their earlier preferences and choose cheaper manageable products however others will accept the challenge and go after more expensive products in the end.

Dynamic identity is also based on competition while fixed identity is not competitive. Dynamic identity involves competitive consumption where consumers are continually looking for the new refined products advertised in the media or the products used by their neighbors. Moreover, dynamic identity is based on being the best and the trendiest. The competition may be between consumers in the same locality or between television stars and their supporters. Herein, supporters of these celebrities may want to copy or dress like famous people to stand out in their locality. Consequently, the threat to the self here is the new models which in turn trigger increased preferences in the consumers. On the other hand, fixed identity do not follow these provisions; the need to look trendy is not a big concern in this school of thought.

Fixed identity is also keen on the norms and religious beliefs while the dynamic identity focuses on the trends. Fixed identity is resistant to change and therefore upholds the culture and religious beliefs to the latter. Fashion trends which appear not to follow specific religious beliefs are resisted by this group of individuals. On the other hand, dynamic identity does not care about the norms or religious beliefs; it is trendy and ever-changing to accommodate the new models. Therein religious and cultural beliefs are bound to be broken in this identity structure.

Dynamic identity makes use of additional advantages on marketing like creativity. Without creativity, it is very hard to come up with the latest trends. Therefore, customer preferences are based on their creative provisions. Customers may purchase goods based on their exposure and creativity. For example, when the customers have to design wedding dresses or the entire wedding process to fit in the trendy elite levels. The shopping has to be done very creatively to facilitate the success of the process. However, fixed identity do not value creativity because the brand is enough to make them look as fashionable as they ought to be.

3. Usefulness of these theories for marketing researchers and practitioners.

Identity is dynamic and not fixed as many consumer researchers substantiate. The above-highlighted theories of dynamic identity can be very useful for market researchers and practitioners. Therein, ways in which the theories can be useful to market researchers and practitioners are discussed as follows.

Dynamic identity is mainly based on the uniqueness of the product and not necessarily the brand. Many customers need to be trendy and use the latest products. Therefore, the marketing researchers and practitioners should always examine the uniqueness of their brand before marketing it. The marketers should also look at the fashion trends before making any advances in marketing the product. Herein, consumers will be more willing to listen if the goods are new, fresh and trendy.

The marketing researchers and practitioners should always be viable to change. The change was essential in explaining the dynamic nature of identity. The market researchers need to get rid of rigidity and always accommodate the changes in the market structure to reach many customers. However, as far as some people can be rigid and stick to the older versions of the products, one the products starts trending they will also flock. Without accommodating change market research will lose meaning and become outdated.

Consequently, the dynamic nature of identity also embraces competition. Marketing researchers should always evaluate how competitive the product or market is. The practitioner should also examine the competitive factor before carrying out any activity. Products which are highly competitive in the market will sell at very high rates compared to products which are...