The role of procrastination in students’ consumer behavior: Budget planning and impulse buying

Abstract

Purpose

This research paper is devoted to the academic procrastination, and the purpose of this paper is to reveal the role of academic procrastination in the consumer behavior of students.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted within the framework of a mixed methodology: series of semi-structured interviews and an online survey. In the first stage, 20 interviews were conducted with students from different countries to obtain the broader picture for the academic procrastination process and its association with consumer behavior. In the second stage, an online survey was conducted, in which 336 students from different countries participated. This paper describes existing approaches to understanding and measuring academic procrastination, as well as its role in the economic behavior of individuals.

Findings

As a result of the qualitative stage, the role of procrastination in such aspects of consumer behavior as budget planning and inclination to making unplanned purchases was emphasized. The role of the student’s inner circle in his procrastination and consumer behavior was also highlighted. As a result of the quantitative stage, a significant connection between the level of academic procrastination and the above aspects of consumer behavior of students, as well as a significant contribution of social expectations in the change of procrastination level and impulsivity of consumption was revealed.

Originality/value

This study is the first attempt to describe procrastination within the macro-approach of sociology and to confirm at the empirical level the correlation between procrastination and consumer behavior.

Citation

Parfenova, A. and Romashova, S. (2020), "The role of procrastination in students’ consumer behavior: Budget planning and impulse buying", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 40 No. 1/2, pp. 133-144. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-10-2019-0199