Simonson I, Carmon Z, Dhar R, Drolet A, Nowlis S M
Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-5015, USA.
Annu Rev Psychol. 2001;52:249-75. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.249.
Although the consumer research field has made great progress over the past 30 years with respect to the scope, quality, and quantity of research, there are still significant disagreements about what consumer research is, what its objectives are, and how it should differ from related disciplines. As a result, the field appears to be rather fragmented and even divided on some fundamental issues. In this review we first examine the original vision for the field and its limitations. In the second section we explore the consequences of the ambiguity about the domain and identity of consumer research and the multidisciplinary influences on the field. In particular, we review key trends and "camps" in consumer research, which represent complementary and, in some cases, conflicting views regarding the main topics of investigation and how research is conducted. This review is based in part on systematic analyses of articles that have been published in the leading consumer research journals over the past 30 years. Finally, in the third section we revisit the question of what might differentiate the field from related disciplines, as well as the role of theory testing, studies of substantive phenomena, and relevance in consumer research.
尽管在过去30年里，消费者研究领域在研究范围、质量和数量方面取得了巨大进展，但对于什么是消费者研究、其目标是什么以及它应如何与相关学科区分开来，仍存在重大分歧。因此，该领域在一些基本问题上显得相当分散甚至分裂。在本综述中，我们首先考察该领域的最初愿景及其局限性。在第二部分，我们探讨消费者研究领域和身份的模糊性以及多学科对该领域的影响所带来的后果。特别是，我们回顾了消费者研究中的关键趋势和“阵营”，它们代表了关于主要研究主题以及研究如何开展的互补观点，在某些情况下甚至是相互冲突的观点。本综述部分基于对过去30年在领先的消费者研究期刊上发表的文章的系统分析。最后，在第三部分，我们再次探讨该领域与相关学科的区别问题，以及理论检验、实质性现象研究和相关性在消费者研究中的作用。
