Explaining Consumer Behavior and Consumer Action: From Fragmentation to Unity

This article begins with an analysis of the state of the field of consumer research and scrutinizes three leading streams of research: the cognitive response paradigm, attitude theory, and the interpretive turn. After arguing that the field lacks direction and risks being overwhelmed by many fragmented additions to knowledge, I propose a unified approach to consumer research integrating consumer behavior with consumer action. The underlying theme is that consumers undergo a fundamental tension between selfhood and sociality, and agency in the form of self-regulation functions to reconcile the tension, thereby helping consumers achieve moral balance, integration of personal and social identity, and personal and social flourishing.