Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2019
Abstract
Through this paper, we will ask ourselves whether irrational behaviors such as anchoring, symbolic utility, and self-concept help explain low-income households’ purchasing decisions concerning vehicle class or size. We will argue these behaviors do explain these purchasing decisions, and we will narrow this case study to pick-up truck ownership and purchases of the four lowest, median, and highest-income states in the United States from 1990-2015. We will use existing survey data to relate demographics to state data such as the nominal net farm income per capita and personality type, as a distinguishing proxy to capture purchasing traits. The period in our case study coincides with the United States’ steady increase in oil reserves and its efforts to become a leading producer and exporter of oil following the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88).8 Since oil and petrol-related products serve as underlying inputs in the market for automobiles, including the sales of pick-up trucks, this will aid the assumption that a main contributor to the widespread ownership of vehicles in the United States is partially related to the ease of access of oil in America.
Recommended Citation
Clark, Sydney, "Social Influence on Pick-Up Truck Purchase: A Case Study" (2019). Undergraduate Research Awards, Hollins University. 51.
https://digitalcommons.hollins.edu/researchawards/51
Comments
Undergraduate Research Awards - 2019 Finalist, Junior-Senior category.