摘要:

Consumerism as a force in our society is maturing. Consumer education as a field of study is also growing up. It is beginning to be recognized as a positive and constructive force in the economy. In the decade of the 80's we can probably place less emphasis on the adversarial and protective issues and more on the rights and responsibilities of consumers in a market economy. A second or “hidden” agenda should be to encourage improvement in the production and delivery system itself.Consumer education belongs to no single discipline. Even economics cannot provide the whole story for a consumer education program. However, consumer education that does not require solid economic understanding is indeed misnamed.Although the primary focus of our efforts should be on the decision making of the individual and the household, our teaching must clearly articulate with the larger economy. We are living in a different economic climate than prevailed a decade or so ago. We must keep abreast of rapidly changing social institutions and market arrangements if our teaching is to be relevant and meet the challenges of the coming dec

ISSN:0022-0078    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-6606.1983.tb00289.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1983

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

During the past decade a considerable number of studies have increased our understanding of consumer behavior in relation to energy use and conservation. A criticism of the early work has been its lack of direct relevance to policy makers under pressure to develop and implement programs to reduce energy consumption. This study provides a link between existing research knowledge and the need for policy formulation guidelines. Data were obtained from a nationwide sample of 1,451 Canadian households concerning the acceptability of selected programs designed to reduce energy consumption in the consumer sector. Respondents also provided judgments concerning the desirability of a broad range of approaches to consumer energy conservation. The findings revealed that consumers are more willing to accept conservation initiatives which are non‐coercive and informational in nature. Information and labelling programs, minimum efficiency standards, home audit programs, and financial grants/tax incentives were the specific initiatives rated most acceptabl

ISSN:0022-0078    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-6606.1983.tb00290.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1983

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This paper investigates the role of risk‐benefit analysis in assessing the risk associated with a variety of consumption activities. The issue of prevailing risk is of particular importance to public policy makers who must decide what level of risk requires intervention. Risk‐benefit analysis may be used in three major ways: 1) determination of the level of risk to which consumers are exposed, 2) ranking of consumption activities with respect to risk, and 3) determination of consumption activities which should be addressed by risk reduction strategies. The results of the study indicate that considerable variations exist with respect to the risk levels associated with various consumption activities. The study results also suggest that there may be a need for further government intervention in some high risk ar

ISSN:0022-0078    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-6606.1983.tb00291.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1983

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Much of the movement toward mandatory beverage deposit legislation has withered away in the current anti‐regulation mood of the country. Even before the change in mood, the major focus of deposit laws was moving away from litter control and toward energy and resource savings. In fact, deposit laws have had a variety of repercussions on such factors as jobs, consumer prices, industry capital expenditures, energy consumption, and litter. The cooling emotions and lapse in time since most of the regulations were enacted provide a good opportunity to sort through the arguments and review the results. This paper attempts to present a balanced view of the issues surrounding this complicated topic. It find that the consequences of mandatory deposits have generally been somewhere between the initial predictions of groups favoring legislation and those opposing i

ISSN:0022-0078    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-6606.1983.tb00292.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1983

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This research examined how consumers respond to product information that presents a range of possible performance levels. Hypotheses were tested by the use of mail and telephone surveys administered to a national sample of 511 homeowners. The particular product investigated was solar water heaters. The results indicate that the respondents (1) were less likely to change their prior beliefs toward the financial viability of solar water heaters, and (2) placed more emphasis on the importance of financial risk when they were presented with a range of possible financial consequences associated with solar systems. On balance, the provision of this information did not increase or decrease the average intention of the respondents to purchase solar water heaters. The public policy implications of the study findings are discussed.

ISSN:0022-0078    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-6606.1983.tb00293.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1983

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The commercial success of computerized consumer information systems will depend heavily on the extent to which they help consumers make choices. A system's usefulness will be a function of both the information it contains and the capabilities it offers to process this information. These capabilities will be incorporated in the system's access “language.” This paper reviews research on how consumers process information to make choices, and discusses the implications of this research for the design of consumer information system languages. A hypothetical example is presented and contrasted briefly with available access langua

ISSN:0022-0078    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-6606.1983.tb00294.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1983

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The use of computers in planning consumer food purchases requires that price estimates for a selection of goods be determined in advance of the purchases. If such estimates are to be widely used, they must be accurate and inexpensive to generate. This paper describes a price estimation method which meets these criteria. The method is intended to be applied to shopping baskets of goods from any store in a community. The results of empirical tests of the method are reported which reveal support for its accuracy and ease of use.

ISSN:0022-0078    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-6606.1983.tb00295.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1983

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Rising food prices have contributed to an increase in the number of food cooperatives in the United States. The present study was undertaken to learn more about the characteristics and motives of food co‐opshoppers at large supermarket cooperatives with paid staff and a full product range and small participatory co‐ops with volunteer workers and selective merchandising policies. Customer counts and interviews were conducted at participatory and supermarket co‐op stores and nearby commercial supermarkets in Northern California and in New York State. Shoppers at the participatory co‐ops were found to be young, well‐educated, ethnically homogeneous, non‐affluent, and motivated primarily by low prices, food quality, natural food and co‐op philosophy. Customers at supermarket co‐ops tended to be more diverse in age and ethnicity, well‐educated, with eclectic food tastes, and motivated primarily by convenience, low prices and co‐op philosophy. Customers at near by commercial supermarkets were also heterogeneous in age and ethnicity and motivated primarily by price and convenience. The implications of the different customer populations and motives for the future of food c

ISSN:0022-0078    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-6606.1983.tb00296.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1983

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

A survey was conducted of 193 Milwaukee food shoppers to determine their experiences and opinions relating to item price removal (IPR) in supermarkets. The principal findings were that opinions of IPR were related to experiences with shopping in IPR environments, extent of price comparison behaviors, and certain demographic variables. Most of the respondents thought retailers should supply a price‐marking instrument to shoppers. A majority of the respondents who had not shopped in an IPR store said they would switch stores if their current store removed prices. However, only one‐quarter of the respondents who had shopped in an IPR store changed stores and price removal was of secondary importance in this decision. Overall, respondents were evenly split on the need for legal controls in IPR, but respondents who had not shopped in an IPR store and who were from disadvantaged households (with regard to age, income and/or education) were more likely to see a need for legal controls.The findings of this study and ones conducted in other cities suggest that the primary public policy issue is not whether or not item prices should be removed. Rather, the issue is what is the best method of providing shoppers with price comparison informat

ISSN:0022-0078    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-6606.1983.tb00297.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1983

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

A strong case can be made that a flexible and understandable alternative to the courts is needed by today's consumer. Consumer arbitration is one such alternative. Actual experience with consumer arbitration has been limited and, consequently, relatively little information is available regarding consumer perceptions of and reactions toward this system of dispute resolution. A survey of 361 recent purchasers of new cars in a metropolitan area where arbitration has not been used suggests that consumer reaction and acceptance are likely to be favorable, but not without problems.

ISSN:0022-0078    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-6606.1983.tb00298.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1983

数据来源: WILEY