The Influence Of Religiosity And Church Identity On Christian’s Consumer Decision-making Styles

With the revival of religion in China, more and more people began to believe in Christianity, it has been inevitable for us to concern about consumers’behavior in such particular religious groups. Given that identifying basic characteristics of decision-making styles is central to consumer-interest studies and the related studies on beliver’s consumer decision-making styles is still very scarce, it is very important that theoretical and empirical research on Chiristians’consumer decision-making styles in China’s context be conducted as soon as possible to strengthen the understanding Christians’consumer decision-making styles, to fill in gaps of research on this issue, and to provide ideas for the development of marketing strategies.Based on related literature and China’s reality, this paper will begin with the unique viewpoint of the integration between religiosity and church identity, and analyze in detail whether Christians’consumer decision-making styles will be affected by religiosity in China. Then, this paper will use Symbolic Interactionist Theory to probe the mechanisms that form Christians’consumer decision-making styles. Finally, drawing on Religiosity Theory and Organizational Identification Theory, this paper develops a comprehensive framework for studying Chinese Chisitians’consumer decision-making styles on the basis of empirical research:religious self-identity—consumer decision-making styles and religiosity, church identity—consumer decision-making styles. Major contents of this study are outlined as follows:religious self-identity directly influencing the formation of Christians’consumer decision-making styles, religiosity moderating the formation of Christians’consumer decision-making styles, church identity moderating the formation of Christians’consumer decision-making styles, and religiosity or church identity having a direct effect on the formation of Christians’consumer decision-making styles.This paper has mainly reached the following conclusions:Firstly, while Christian’s consumer decision-making styles includes seven consumer characteristics:perfectionist, brand consciousness, novelty-hedonic consciousness, price consciousness, impulsiveness, confused by overchoice and brand-loyal, non-religious people involves six styles: perfectionism, brand conscious, novelty-fashion conscious, hedonic, confused by overchoice and habital-brand loyal. Secondly, Christian religious self-identity not only significantly affects Christian’s consumer decision-making styles, and but also results in an obvious difference on consumer decision-making styles between Christians and non-religious persons. Compared with non-religious people, Christians are more sensitve to price, inclined to buy cheaper products on sales and lacked of a perfectistic consciousness and novlty-fashion consciousness. Thirdly, religiosity is not only an important factor directly influencing the formation of Christian consumer decision-making styles, and but also has a moderating effect on the formation of Christian consumer decision-making styles. Devout Christians are more sensitive to price, more resolute in consumption and weaker in perfectionistic consciousness than casual Christians. Lastly, church identity is not only an important factor directly influencing the formation of Christian consumer decision-making styles, and but also has a moderating effect on the formation of Christian consumer decision-making styles. Christians with a stronger sense of church identity are more perfectionistic and brand-loyal than others having a weaker sense of church identity.