Sitanath Majumdar

Abstract: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Drawing upon existing literature, this paper briefly discusses aspects of conspicuous consumption. Analysis of the construct has been done in the perspective of changing capitalist structure and dominating socio-philosophical ideologies, especially postmodernism. Effort has been made to extend the original concept and propose necessary refinement and integration of relevant concepts to enable a meaningful, holistic, and contemporary interpretation of the said construct. This paper examines different aspects of consumer behavior, helps to generate some important directions for future research in the field, and also discusses these issues in the context of the transitional socio-economic background of India. Keywords: Conspicuous Consumption, Postmodernism, Cultural Capital, Taste, India ********** By looking into any standard English dictionary for the meaning of the word "conspicuous," one gets a variety of lexicographic entries including "eye catching," and "prominent;" but the word acquires a significantly different connotation in the context of "consumption" when it clearly indicates the phenomenon of "wasteful and lavish consumption expenses to enhance social prestige." Based entirely on observation, more than a hundred years ago, Thorstein Veblen (1899) proposed that American rich were spending a significant portion of their time and money on unnecessary and unproductive leisure expenditures and coined the term conspicuous consumption to describe the behavior; this linguistic construct has been used so widely that it has entered into popular English lexicon only in this particular sense of the term (Oxford English Dictionary). Effort in studying the phenomenon of conspicuous consumption can be adequately justified by the concept's near universality and timelessness; McCracken (1987, pp. 50) notes that "conspicuous and competitive consumption are especially important to the study of the history of consumption because they play an important role in the growth of a consumer society." However, any analysis of consumer behavior has to be done in the perspective of changing economic-political-social contexts or even philosophical thoughts, and assessment of the conspicuous consumption construct cannot be an exception. The focus of this paper is restricted to the discussion and analysis of some important theoretical work on the subject, from the perspective of changing time, evolving business principles and ideologies, and existing as well as evolving literature. In the process, we extend the original Veblenian thesis through a review, refinement, and integration of divergent concepts in order to arrive at a meaningful conclusion regarding the contempory nature of this construct and the proper scope for further research. In this spirit we propose a periodic-structural analysis of conspicuous consumption behaviour (Table 1), depicting its evolution, nature and character. GENESIS OF THE CONCEPT To discuss the background of the development of Veblen's thesis, we draw from the work of Page (1992). The leisure class, as discussed by Veblen, consisted of the families of the top business and landowning families in the United States: the Harrimans, the Mellons, and the Fricks, to name a few. Similarly in Europe the old moneyed families, like the Astors and Spencers, habitually spoiled themselves through overconsumption in marriages, business alliances, and leisure activities. A strikingly similar yet parallel lifestyle has been documented even in India in the 19th century (Sastri 1983). During this period of the evolution of colonial capitalism and strongly established feudalism, the nouveaux riche of the city of Calcutta used to spend obnoxiously huge sums of money on grand feasts, betting, musical extravaganzas, brothel-visits, and other showy yet meaningless events; so much so that these stories have become a part of local folklore and other forms of popular culture. …

Abstract: Despite the significance of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) algorithm to market segmentation, there is a need of a comprehensive literature review and a classification system for it towards identification of future trend of market segmentation research. The present work is the first identifiable academic literature review of the application of neural network based techniques to segmentation. Our study has provided an academic database of literature between the periods of 2000-2010 and proposed a classification scheme for the articles. One thousands (1000) articles have been identified, and around 100 relevant selected articles have been subsequently reviewed and classified based on the major focus of each paper. Findings of this study indicated that the research area of ANN based applications are receiving most research attention and self organizing map based applications are second in position to be used in segmentation. The commonly used models for market segmentation are data mining, intelligent system etc. Our analysis furnishes a roadmap to guide future research and aid knowledge accretion and establishment pertaining to the application of ANN based techniques in market segmentation. Thus the present work will significantly contribute to both the industry and academic research in business and marketing as a sustainable valuable knowledge source of market segmentation with the future trend of ANN application in segmentation.

Abstract: Effort in studying the phenomenon of conspicuous consumption can be adequately justified by the concept's near universality and timelessness. The Theory of Veblen presents conspicuousness as a purposive conduct in which status considerations predominate. His opinion regarding individuals' efforts “to excel in pecuniary standing” indicates his positioning of conspicuous consumption as consumers' deliberate, conscious activity to achieve the objective of status enhancement. Our everyday experience suggests that the nature of conspicuous consumption (CC) is going through a change, which remains largely unaddressed by the extant literature (for details see, Chaudhuri and Majumdar, 2006). This calls for a closer investigation of the dynamics of a more contemporary perspective of CC and the present paper takes an attempt at the same. For long, in modern societies where ‘order’ is of supreme importance, CC has been considered as a ‘sinful,’ ‘wasted’ expense that delivers no value. Possibly because of this, lavish expenditure was branded wasteful as the practice symbolized exception (Mason, 1981) or “disorder.” However, with evolving ideologies of postmodernism, consumption also gradually moved to the symbolic realm. This symbolic consumption helps the consumer to express his⁄her self and achieve a sense of continuity and identity. By adopting abstract interpretations and ascribing complex cultural meaning to products, those with “higher” taste but less money would aim to compete with those with money but no matching taste. The cultural ‘elite,’ thus, can make even a mundane or an easily affordable product to express and exhibit their exclusive taste, by sophisticated, in-depth appreciation and appropriate communication of these ‘taste-symbols’ which, by design, remain distinct from ‘status-symbols’. Based on the above discussion, the paper proposes an alternative conceptualization of the conspicuous consumption construct and also discusses the marketing implications.

Abstract: Effort in studying the phenomenon of conspicuous consumption can be adequately justified by the concept's near universality and timelessness. The Theory of Veblen presents conspicuousness as a purp...

Abstract: The present paper attempts to generate visual clustering and data extraction of cell formation problem using both principal component analysis (PCA) and self organizing map (SOM) from input of sequence based machine-part incidence matrix First, the focus is to utilize PCA for extracting high dimensionality of input variables and project the dataset onto a 2-D space Second, the unsupervised competitive learning of SOM algorithm is used for data visualization and subsequently, to solve cell formation problem based on ordinal sequence data via the node cluster on the SOM map Although the numerically illustrated results from dataset revealed that PCA has explained most of the cumulative variance of data but in reality when the very large dimensional cell formation problem based on sequence is available then to obtain the clustering structure from PCA projection is become very difficult Most importantly, in the visual clustering of ordinal data, the use of U-matrix alone can not be efficient to get the cluster structure but with color extraction, hit map, labeling via the SOM node map it becomes a powerful clustering visualization methodology and thus the present research contribute significantly in the research of cellular manufacturing

Abstract: MKT 6009 Marketing Internship (0 semester credit hours) Student gains experience and improves skills through appropriate developmental work assignments in a real business environment. Student must identify and submit specific business learning objectives at the beginning of the semester. The student must demonstrate exposure to the managerial perspective via involvement or observation. At semester end, student prepares an oral or poster presentation, or a written paper reflecting on the work experience. Student performance is evaluated by the work supervisor. Pass/Fail only. Prerequisites: (MAS 6102 or MBA major) and department consent required. (0-0) S MKT 6244 Digital Marketing Strategy (2 semester credit hours) Executive Education Course. The course explores three distinct areas within marketing and sales namely, digital marketing, traditional sales prospecting, and executive sales organization and strategy. The continuing convergence of the digital marketing and sales funnels has created a strategic continuum from digital lead generation to digital sales. The course identifies the current composition of this digital continuum while providing opportunities to evaluate sales and marketing digital strategies. Prerequisites: MKT 6301 and instructor consent required. (2-0) Y MKT 6301 (SYSM 6318) Marketing Management (3 semester credit hours) Overview of marketing management methods, principles and concepts including product, pricing, promotion and distribution decisions as well as segmentation, targeting and positioning. (3-0) S MKT 6309 Marketing Data Analysis and Research (3 semester credit hours) Methods employed in market research and data analysis to understand consumer behavior, customer journeys, and markets so as to enable better decision-making. Topics include understanding different sources of data, survey design, experiments, and sampling plans. The course will cover the techniques used for market sizing estimation and forecasting. In addition, the course will cover the foundational concepts and techniques used in data visualization and \"story-telling\" for clients and management. Corequisites: MKT 6301 and OPRE 6301. (3-0) Y MKT 6310 Consumer Behavior (3 semester credit hours) An exposition of the theoretical perspectives of consumer behavior along with practical marketing implication. Study of psychological, sociological and behavioral findings and frameworks with reference to consumer decision-making. Topics will include the consumer decision-making model, individual determinants of consumer behavior and environmental influences on consumer behavior and their impact on marketing. Prerequisite: MKT 6301. (3-0) Y MKT 6321 Interactive and Digital Marketing (3 semester credit hours) Introduction to the theory and practice of interactive and digital marketing. Topics covered include: online-market research, consumer behavior, conversion metrics, and segmentation considerations; ecommerce, search and display advertising, audiences, search engine marketing, email, mobile, video, social networks, and the Internet of Things. (3-0) T MKT 6322 Internet Business Models (3 semester credit hours) Topics to be covered are: consumer behavior on the Internet, advertising on the Internet, competitive strategies, market research using the Internet, brand management, managing distribution and supply chains, pricing strategies, electronic payment systems, and developing virtual organizations. Further, students learn auction theory, web content design, and clickstream analysis. Prerequisite: MKT 6301. (3-0) Y MKT 6323 Database Marketing (3 semester credit hours) Techniques to analyze, interpret, and utilize marketing databases of customers to identify a firm's best customers, understanding their needs, and targeting communications and promotions to retain such customers. Topics

Abstract: Purpose – This paper sets out to examine how social and personality factors influence Chinese consumers' attitudes towards counterfeits of luxury brands and how these two sets of variables influence purchase intention. It provides a profile of buyers and non‐buyers of counterfeits of luxury brands.Design/methodology/approach – A self‐administered questionnaire was designed using established scales. A survey was conducted in downtown Shanghai through the “mall intercept” method. A variety of statistical techniques were used to analyze the data.Findings – Status consumption and integrity are strong influencers of purchase intention, whereas normative susceptibility, information susceptibility, personal gratification, value consciousness, and novelty seeking had weaker influencing relationships. The attitude towards counterfeits of luxury brands is found to influence purchase intention. Collectivism does not influence attitudes nor purchase intentions towards counterfeits of luxury brands.Research limitation...

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of a number of psychological factors on consumers' propensity to engage in the “bandwagon” type of luxury consumption. It develops and empirically confirms a conceptual model of bandwagon consumption of luxury products. In general, results show that a consumer's interdependent self-concept underlies bandwagon luxury consumption. This relationship is mediated by the level of a consumer's status-seeking predispositions, susceptibility to normative influence and need for uniqueness. The study concludes that these psychological constructs explain well a large part of bandwagon luxury consumption and can be used as inputs in the development of marketing strategies.

Abstract: How does status consumption operate among the middle classes in less industrialized countries (LICs)—those classes that have the spending power to participate effectively in consumer culture? Globalization research suggests that Bourdieu’s status consumption model, based upon Western research, does not provide an adequate explanation. And what we call the global trickle-down model, often invoked to explain LIC status consumption, is even more imprecise. We study the status consumption strategies of upper-middle-class Turkish women in order to revise three of Bourdieu’s most important concepts—cultural capital, habitus, and consumption field—to propose a theory specific to the LIC context. We demonstrate that cultural capital is organized around orthodox practice of the Western Lifestyle myth, that cultural capital is deterritorialized and so accrues through distant textbook-like learning rather than via the habitus, and that the class faction with lower cultural capital indigenizes the consumption field to sustain a national social hierarchy.

Abstract: This study examines the effects of two types of scarcity on the attitudes of consumers toward products. We consider scarcity due to supply (e.g., “limited edition”) and scarcity due to demand (e.g., “only a few units remain”). The data obtained from two surveys show that the appearance of a positive scarcity effect depends on the product's suitability for conspicuous consumption. If a product is used for conspicuous consumption, signals of scarcity due to limited supply are advantageous compared to signals of scarcity due to high demand. On the contrary, if a product is not used for conspicuous consumption, signals of scarcity due to high demand result in more favorable product evaluations.