Designing a model of psychological behavior of compulsive buyers in relation to brands: Based on qualitative approach and grounded theory method

In the last two decades, the literature in field of consumer behavior has paid a lot of attention to the issue of compulsive buying, but there are gaps.

The purpose of research was to design a model of the psychological behavior of compulsive buyers in relation to brands based on the qualitative approach.

In the research, a qualitative approach based on the foundational data theory was used. The studied population included residents of Tehran in 2021 with an age range of 16 to 50 years who had compulsive buying disorder, and specialists in psychology and psychiatry, and marketing managers from Tehran with at least 10 years of experience. In order to collect data, the semi-structured interview method and the Compulsive Buying Behavior Diagnosis Questionnaire of Maccarrone & Schofield (2017) were used. Open, central, and selective coding, with Max QDA software version 20, and SPSS version 26 were used for data analysis.

The found model showed that contextual conditions (psychological and sociological factors), along with intervening conditions (concepts related to the brand, lifestyle display, income, intensifying negative feelings), in formation of compulsive buyers in relation to brands is effective and social and emotional benefits from buying the brand were the cause of this behavior. In the meantime, the behaviors of compulsive buyers in relation to brands (floating among brands and listening to brands) leads to adverse consequences from a marketing point of view.

Based on results, the formation of hating feeling towards the brand causes irreparable damage to the brand, and due to the presence of social networks, these feelings can be quickly transmitted among consumers and lead to the brand's reputation damage.