Research on brand switching behavior of addictive goods consumers

This paper focuses on developing a classification system and a brand switching model of the addictive goods consumers. Main reasons of switching behavior are analyzed by applying critical incident technique. Based on the grounded theory, the critical incidences are coded and classified. A survey is conducted covering eight different cities of China to test the validity of the classification system and the switching model. The analytical results demonstrate that: (1) most of brand switching behaviors are caused by multi-reasons; (2) five critical factors and their interactions moderate the brand switching behavior: the changes of self-concept; poor perceived quality of goods and services; influence of the primary groups; brand mismanagement, and health concerns. The results suggest corporate and public management of brand switching behavior should stress the roles of consumers´ self-concept and the influence of their primary groups.