An Exploratory Analysis of the Links Between Human-Pet Relationship and Consumer Behaviour

Pets play an ever increasingly role in modern society, but the existing literature is primarily focused on human-pet relationships, without fully exploring the issue in terms of consumer behaviour and consumption culture. Several business and marketing scholars have identified this gap and called for additional research. In this study, the literature on human-pets is reviewed and updated. Then, the results of in-depth interviews with eighteen British pet owners will be presented. These interviews focused on the individuals’ relationships with their pets and their consumption behaviour with regard to pet-related products and services. This research contributes the literature by 1) updating human-pet taxonomy into the portfolio of consumer culture theory and 2) clarified identity theory’s implication to consumer behaviour with empirical findings.

Citation:

Kuang-peng Hung, Annie Huiling Chen, and Norman Peng (2011) ,"An Exploratory Analysis of the Links Between Human-Pet Relationship and Consumer Behaviour", in E - European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 9, eds. Alan Bradshaw, Chris Hackley, and Pauline Maclaran, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 469.