This research investigates changes in brand loyalty as households pass from one stage of the household life cycle to another. Analysing 45 brands in three consumer product categories in the UK, we find that the changes follow a U shape pattern. Brand loyalty declines sharply as households shift...

Theories of consumer behaviour often rely on "folk psychology". This is a common method of explanation in the social sciences, but it has some major limitations which are usually ignored in the marketing literature. To overcome these limitations, researchers must make an explicit choice between...