ABSTRACT
Core values are repeatedly cited as being extremely important to our understanding of consumer behavior. Discussion of religion is found infrequently in the marketing literature, and more specifically in the consumer behavior literature, partly due to religion’s presence as a taboo topic as well as being seen as an adjoining discipline but not part of the consumption process. This chapter proposes a new individual difference variable (IDV) that has been under-researched but builds on a strong foundation of theory to address the concern of prior researchers over the poor theoretical support for IDV use in research. In understanding the development of marketplace behaviors, such as shopping habits, persuasion knowledge, or reliance on marketing communications, theories related to the social construction of information may come into play. IDVs are identified by four characteristics: they are internal to people, are generally stable over time, are consistent across situations, and allow for distinctions to be made between individuals.
