Value-focused thinking and its application in MIS research

Values refer to "an enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence" (Rokeach, 1973, p. 5). Values have been widely applied and studied in areas of research such as marketing and consumer behavior (e.g., Gutman, 1982; Reynolds & Gutman, 1988; Zeithaml, 1988). Previous research in marketing and consumer research suggests that values play an important role in guiding customers' choice patterns and are considered a powerful force in governing customers' behaviors (Gutman, 1982). Values are the "ultimate sources of choice criteria that drive buying behavior" (Claeys et al., 1995). For customers, the values of a certain product or service are derived from customers' percept ions of the benefits and costs associated with the product/service and the process of purchasing the product.