Application of Fishbein's model to consumer psychology: |a study of brand loyalty

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to predict consumer behaviors by application of Fishbein's behavioral prediction model. The study was carried out in istanbul with 388 housewives. Brand loyalty behavior was conceptualized as a function of the consumer's beliefs about brand switching behavior (Bi) ; the consumer's evaluation of Bi ; and the consumer's motivation to comply with her significant other's opinions. Brand loyalty towards three product groups, margarine, detergent and shampoo, was studied. The study was composed of a qualitative part which examined the salient beliefs and salient referents of the consumers and a quantitative part which measured the strength of these salient beliefs, their evaluation, and the consumer's motivation to comply with the salient referents. The results showed that consumers who had negative attitudes toward brand switching were higher in brand loyalty than those who had positive attitudes and that consumers high in motivation to comply with social referents who encourage trying new brands of products were lower in brand loyalty that those low in motivation to comply. These results were in line with the predictions of Fishbein's model. It was shown that with this model consumer behaviors could be predicted and variance in consumer behaviors could be accounted for.