A longitudinal study of the effects of life status changes on changes in consumer preferences

Abstract

Marketers and consumer researchers have maintained a long-standing interest in understanding continuities and changes in consumer preferences. The present research attempts to provide explanations for stability and changes in consumption patterns by presenting a theoretical framework according to which the results of previous studies may be recast and further research advanced. The authors develop hypotheses and test them with retrospective and longitudinal data, using alternate measures of key variables. The authors suggest implications of the study findings for marketers and theory development, and they provide directions for future research.