Shopping Centre Choice: A Behavioural Perspective

Abstract

This thesis examines the use of behavioural and cognitive-behavioural models, to determine whether they can explain consumer shopping centre choice. Two studies were conducted, to examine how well different theoretical models previously used to explain consumer purchase behaviour can explain patronage behaviour with respect to shopping centres. The stimulus-organism-response (SOR) and behavioural perspective model (BPM) were the models examined in this thesis, as the SOR has previously been used to examine store patronage, and the BPM is widely used in consumer research to explain different types of consumer behaviour. Original scale measures were developed across the two studies where necessary to measure variables in new ways. The thesis explores the use of verbal reporting to measure learning history and consequences at an individual level. The BPM presents a good frame with which to explain consumer patronage responses, while the SOR model applied did not. The BPM showed that social and physical stimuli in the environment act as the main drivers of patronage response, with consequences and learning history also offering some contribution to explain this behaviour. The model was extended to consider the effect of behaviour setting stimuli on emotional response, determining that part of the impact of physical and social stimuli on patronage response is mediated by pleasure. The thesis confirmed that the BPM is a suitable model to extend into application for patronage decisions at the shopping centre level, but that it is more applicable at this level when emotional response is also considered.