Understanding the cognitive dissonance on women post purchase behavior: A study based in Tunisia

Consumer behaviour study has become relevant in the present marketing and sociology studies. In fact, several characteristics, specificities and factors influence the customer especially woman in her decision-making process, preferences, buying behaviour, the products she buys, the stores or retailers where she goes. In addition, the cognitive dissonance theory is mostly used to explain consumer behaviour, focusing on the dilemmas faced during various stages of purchasing behaviour. Hence, the study aims to investigate the state of cognitive dissonance after buying decision was made for Tunisian women. Specifically, it provides an overview of the decision-making patterns of women and the stage of their reaction after buying process according to their psychographic, socioeconomic and behavioural characteristics. For the purpose of this research, a quantitative survey was used as a method to collect primary data in Tunisia from 402 women. This questionnaire was conducted among the women who had recently purchased a luxury apparel product. A multidimensional scale developed by Sweeney, Hausknecht, & Soutar (2000) was used to measure the magnitude of dissonance for female, besides two other constructs were additionally added which are the impulsive buying and the purchasing decision involvement. The answers were gathered using Google Form and the data was analyzed by SPSS-25 and Amos-24 Systems. The results show firstly that there is no significant difference in the levels of cognitive dissonance due to demographic factors such as age, marital status and employee's status for all women, while it had a positive bearing on emotional dissonance amongst all women. Secondly, there is no significant effect for the impulse buying and the purchase decision on post purchase dissonance. Third, the findings of this research indicate that most of the women were satisfied with their last purchases and therefore, the level of cognitive dissonance is low. Hence, one key aim of this research is to demonstrate the harmony within cognitive and behavioural systems that can be adjudged as a part of the human condition.