An Investigation into the Nature of Problem Recognition and Deliberation in Buyer Behaviour Available to Purchase

Introduction With the publication of the consumer behaviour textbook by Engel, Kollat and Blackwell (1968), the dominant approach to studying consumer behaviour has been to study the elements of the consumer behaviour decision process. The approach taken by Engel, Kollat and Blackwell, and since then by many other researchers, is that this process is an exercise in problem solving and that a problem exists when there is a goal to be attained or sought and uncertainty as to what is the best solution for the given or perceived problem (Markin, 1974).