Document Type

Student Research Paper

Date

Spring 2020

Academic Department

Business

Faculty Advisor(s)

Dr. Bryan Greenberg

Abstract

Segmentation has been a part of the marketing process since the 1950’s. It has grown over time to include four main categories: geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral. Yet while there are hundreds of segmentation strategies within these four categories, to this point none of these approaches focus on the social behaviors of consumers, in spite of the wide use of socialization in many other areas of marketing. The current study seeks to explore the possibility of adding a new set of variables to the current segmentation process related to the way a consumer chooses to socialize. This study is the first step in a proposed three part process consisting of exploratory research through focus groups, additional qualitative research through ethnography and projective techniques, and quantitative hypothesis testing through surveys and experiments. For this initial step, focus groups were conducted in order to explore the structure of a model that could incorporate socialization into the existing segmentation process. Results demonstrate that there are a number of variables pertaining to socialization that could potentially be incorporated into a final model, including assertive and cooperative behaviors, proximity of a group to the decision, decision importance as it relates to relevant social groups, and cultural contexts related to social behaviors.

Notes

BA 400 HNR Senior Project in Business

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