Self-relevance and purchase goals: Mapping a consumer decision

The purpose of this research is to introduce a cognitive mapping methodology designed to explore the goal structures that are activated by a consumer’s experienced feelings of self-relevance or involvement with a product or service. In particular, the authors examine how a consumer’s enduring involvement with a product class (greeting cards) and specific decision situations affect the content and structure of the activated purchase goals in a consumer’s decision map. As compared to enduring involvement, the decision situation more strongly affected the content of the goals in the decision maps. The authors conclude with a discussion of the implications of the method and the results for consumer behavior and marketing strategy research. He received his Ph.D. from Arizona State University, his M.B.A. from the University of Missouri, and his B.S. from Southwest Baptist University. His work has been presented at American Marketing Association, Association for Consumer Research, and Academy of Marketing Science national conferences. Cognitive mapping and marketing strategy processes are his primary research interests. She received her Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests center on the areas of consumer behavior and marketing strategy. In particular, her research emphasizes the cognitive structures and processes that underlie the formation of marketing strategy and consumer decision making. She has published her work in theJournal of Marketing Research, Sloan Management Review, Journal of Business Research, Research in Consumer Behavior, and other scholarly publications.