The aim of this study is to contribute to the explanation of consumer behaviour. To do so, it is not sufficient to identify the product characteristics most relevant to the consumer. Moreover, the reasons why consumers attach meaning to the product attributes have to be found out, whereas the...

Since the seminal work of Adam Smith, markets have been considered an efficient tool for co-ordinating the behaviour of economic agents. The basic characteristic of a market economy is that the complex system of interaction among individuals is not centrally coordinated. Under the assumption of...