A Study on Consumer Behavior by the human Ecological Approach -with Special Attention to housing prepurchasing behavior-

인간생태학적 접근방법에 의한 소비자행동연구 - 住宅情報探索행동을 중심으로-

this study has dual purposes; one is to develope a new theoretical framework in consumer behavior area by applying the human ecological approach, and the other is to test the theory empirically area by applying the human ecological approach, and the other is to test the theory empirically by examining prepurchasing behavior of housing. Research methods adopted in this study are library search and survey research with self-administered questionnaires. The statistical methods used in the survey research are factor analysis, chi square test, and multivariate analysis with crosstablulations. According to the human ecological approach, ecological environments are important sources of consumer needs which , in turn, are satisfied by purchasing behavior in the market. Within this theoretical framework, consumers con improve the quality to life by perceving clearly what their needs are thereby making the most possible efficient purchasing decision making. The major findings of the empirical research on the basis of the theoretical framework are as follows; 1) Housing needs significantly vary with different ecological environment. 2) consumer information search behavior does not differ significantly by housing needs. 3) Housing needs turn out to be an intervening variable between ecological environments and consumer information search behavior. the results of this study show that the human ecological approach is useful in consumer behavior studies. The empirical result that consumer needs are not significantly satisfied by consumer behavior suggests a now direction in consumer education.