THEORIZING DEVIANT CONSUMER SOCIALIZATION: WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO COMPULSIVE BUYING BEHAVIOR A REVIEW OF LITERATURE.

Abstract

Deviant consumer socialization specifically discusses about the behaviors of consumers which are contradicting with accepted norms and standards and it may result with negative consequences to both individuals and as well as the whole society. Even though the existing literature has adequately addressed consumer socialization (i.e. the acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes to become a rational consumer) in different contexts it is observed that the contribution of socialization agents on deviant consumer socialization has not been sufficiently investigated. Furthermore, most of the consumer socialization studies have considered the role of conventional antecedents (age, gender, income and social class) and consumer socialization agents (parents, peer and mass media) in the socialization process. In conducting the specific review of literature, the study attempted to examine the standing discoveries via journal articles of both western and eastern countries. When considering the coverage period of literature survey a wide time span ( 1960’s to 2015) was covered in order to capture the gaps relating to the phenomenon in an inclusive manner. Subsequently, the study intends to propose two new variables to the existing model of socialization process, that is, the role of personality and role of social media in order to broaden the present understanding of deviant consumer socialization. Identification of personality traits is particularly sustained based on the significance of personality differences in consumer decision making process. The study also proposes social media as a new deviant consumer socialization agent in the contemporary marketing environment. By means of identifying the above aspects the proposed conceptual framework intends to elaborate deviant consumer socialization in a more comprehensive and a holistic perspective extending the prevailing body of knowledge related to the phenomenon.