The Role of Time in the Action of the Consumer

Abstract

A phenomenological approach was used to study the temporal system of consumers, an important but neglected aspect of individual action and consumer behavior. Two patterns of temporal attitude with profoundly different implications for consumer behavior were identified: some individuals appear to live and act as if they are more subject to deterministic functioning in relation to their temporal orientation, while others appear subject to voluntaristic functioning. Different temporal orientations may induce different sorts of motivation, different plans, the consumption of different types of products, and different specific attitudes that elicit a certain organizational process in relation to products.