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Consumer behaviour in an unregulated market: the satisfactions and dissatisfactions of illicit drug consumption
Author(s) -
Fitchett James A,
Smith Andrew
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of consumer behaviour
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.811
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1479-1838
pISSN - 1472-0817
DOI - 10.1002/cb.80
Subject(s) - consumption (sociology) , denial , recreation , business , psychology , advertising , marketing , sociology , political science , psychotherapist , social science , law
Here the case of recreational drug consumption by youths in the West of Scotland is applied to evaluate some prevailing models of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CS/D). The findings suggest dissatisfactory and satisfactory outcomes do not always result in the types of future consumption behaviours proposed by some models of consumer CS/D. Although, as some models of CS/D suggest, satisfactory experiences tended to reinforce the desire to repeat consumption, when consumption was dissatisfactory, users tended to employ several strategies to justify further use. Whereas users attributed positive or pleasurable experiences to the narcotic effect of the substances consumed, dissatisfactory outcomes were attributed to other factors. Users develop sophisticated responses to dissatisfaction, such as deferment and denial. The findings have important implications for some theories and models of CS/D for consumer expectation: in particular, the effect of dissatisfactory experiences on future consumption intentions. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications.