European Consumers in the Digital Era: Implications of Technology, Media and Culture on Consumer Behavior

Consumers make purchasing decisions every day, taking into account their needs, preferences and beliefs which may change due to various determinants; some depending on the consumers themselves and others on the organizations acting in the market. What determinants are inducing these changes in consumers needs, perceptions, attitudes, values, and finally, purchasing behavior? This edited collection offers a comprehensive description of the consumer behavior process and the determinants that affect it in the era of digitalization.

This book offers a holistic perspective of consumer behavior in the 21st century in different European cultures that are characterized by new technologies, including smartphones, AR, IoT, AI, and social media, as well as cultural changes and the Covid-19 pandemic. The first part of the book is devoted to characteristic phenomena in consumer behavior in the era of digitalization, such as changes in the consumer buying decision-making processes, e-commerce, prosumers’ and consumers attitudes towards innovations. The second part will describe the consumers, their decision-making processes, with examples from almost all geographical regions in Europe, including Germany, Spain, Italy, Finland, Poland and Russia. Both individually and collectively, the contributors provide discussion points and practical implications resulting from the changes observed in consumer behavior in each country.

European Consumers in the Digital Era provides a comprehensive overview of digital consumer behavior, offering timely insights for scholars and researchers. It will also appeal to postgraduate students of related fields, including marketing, innovation and sociology.

Malgorzata Bartosik-Purgat is a Professor in the Department of International Management at Poznań University of Economics and Business, Poland. Her research addresses cultural aspects in international business, cross-cultural communication, cross-cultural consumer behavior, consumer ethnocentrism, acceptance of innovations in the consumers’ decisions, and significance of new media in marketing and personal communication. She is a member of EIBA - European International Business Association, IAIR - International Academy for Intercultural Research, ABC - Association for Business Communication, SIETAR Poland - Society for Intercultural Education Training and Research, IT&FA - International Trade and Finance Association, and AIB - Academy of International Business. She is an author and co-author of publications in International Journal of Emerging Markets, European Journal of International Management, Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, and Economics and Business Review.

Nela Filimon is an Associate Professor - Serra Húnter Fellow in the Department of Business at the Universitat de Girona, Spain. Her research interests are related to consumer behaviour, market research, social media, wellbeing and ICTs, sociology of consumption, marketing in cultural industries, and quantitative research methods. She has published her research in international journals such as Social Science Computer Review, Journal of Cultural Economics, Poetics, Advances in Sociology Research, Sociological Review, Sustainability, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Regional Science Inquiry, and Economics and Business Review, among others.