George P. Moschis’s research while affiliated with Mahidol University and other places

Although researchers have suggested that financial socialization should be studied using a life course approach, they have offered inadequate research frameworks for studying financial socialization over time. This article offers the life course paradigm (LCP) as a multitheoretical conceptual research framework, within which socialization research in other disciplines has been integrated in recent decades. It derives a financial socialization model from the general conceptual LCP and uses a large-scale national online survey to test the model’s hypothesized relationships across three age groups of 813 adult consumers. Results offer insights into the financial socialization processes, underscoring the importance of various formal, informal, and commercial agents of change as well as contextual factors in the development of financial-related attitudes, skills, and habits at different stages in a person’s life. The article shows how researchers can employ the LCP, which has been increasingly used across disciplines and internationally, as a blueprint to conduct further studies.

The key objective of public policymakers is to develop policies that enhance individuals’ well-being over the long term. To achieve this, policymakers must familiarize themselves with the factors influencing individuals’ welfare throughout their lifespans. Businesses also have the potential to contribute to improving their consumers’ quality of life. To do so, businesses must embrace the concept of well-being as an instrument that can help them achieve their corporate goals and shift their philosophy from merely satisfying short-term customer needs to creating a positive and long-lasting impact on consumers’ lives while still generating profits throughout the process of facilitating this transformation. This chapter provides an overview of the factors that affect the well-being of older consumers, aiming to sensitize decision-makers in both the public and industrial sectors to better achieve their goals by helping consumers lead better lives in their later years. It also suggests several general strategies and specific tactics that companies serving older consumer markets can employ to enhance the well-being of older consumers. The chapter also provides directions for future research to help researchers focus on understanding how to help consumers change their habits and lifestyles, take actions that can enhance their well-being, and avoid those behaviors that inhibit well-being at any stage of life.

A conceptual framework is a structure that researchers use to best explain the relationship they expect to see between variables, or the characteristics of the phenomenon they investigate. This term is used often interchangeably with “model” and “theory.” And although all conceptual frameworks and models are not necessarily theories, theories and theoretical frameworks are normally viewed as conceptual frameworks. A conceptual framework forms the basic foundation for conducting a study, helping to summarize either the basic constructs and their expected relationships in a deductive investigation, or the outcomes of the inductive inquiry. They evolve and change as knowledge accumulates (Miles et al., 2014). As Miles et al. (2014: 20) put it: “Conceptual frameworks are simply the current version of the researcher’s map of the territory being investigated. As the explorer’s knowledge of the terrain improves, the map becomes correspondingly more differentiated and integrated.” Thus, a conceptual framework becomes increasingly refined, elaborate, and comprehensive as knowledge accumulates and forms the basis for its expansion and revision, which may also suggest the use of different methodologies (Ravitch & Riggan, 2016).

Research approaches and methods that are employed for knowledge creation derive from the philosophical paradigms (multivariate/positivistic, interpretive/humanistic, and historical) that are briefly described in Chap. 3. The present chapter focuses on the positivistic and humanistic paradigms because academic research in business and social sciences has been largely based on these two paradigms and in part because the historical paradigm is often integrated within the two paradigms and is viewed as a distinctive paradigm only in the field of “history” (Alford, 1998). It discusses the key features of, and differences between, the positivistic and humanistic paradigms and their main research approaches or traditions, and it comments on the desirability of their employment in academic studies. This chapter also discusses the mixed methods approach, which integrates the positivistic and humanistic paradigms and has been increasing in popularity as an approach that capitalizes on the strengths of the two traditional approaches and overcomes many of their limitations. Finally, the chapter evaluates these approaches and offers recommendations for their use in academic studies.

The preparation for an academic career is a long process. It typically starts with formal training, and it can last as long as the person’s academic career, because academics provide continuous opportunities for learning and growth. This chapter is confined to early preparation for such a career. It begins with guidelines for choosing an institution for formal training, followed by guidelines for navigating the doctoral program, which is required for successful academic career. Guidelines for improving one’s skills in the doctoral program are provided next, including writing and research skills. And it offers suggestions for choosing collaborators, building research networks, and getting organized for research. The chapter ends with guidelines for choosing an institution for beginning one’s academic career, as this decision is likely to have a significant impact on the person’s professional trajectory.

A literature review is a critical component of a scientific study and holds significant importance, as literature reviews serve several important functions within the research process:

When a manuscript is submitted to a journal, the Editor will make the initial evaluation, usually based on factors such as the paper’s suitability for the journal, its length, and other factors that are often stated in the Journal’s “guidelines for authors.” In recent decades, journal editors are increasingly using the manuscript’s potential impact factor in deciding whether to put the manuscript through the review process or reject it. This factor is based on the editor’s perceived likelihood that the article will be cited widely by future researchers, which would affect his or her journal’s impact factor (score). Although editors are likely to consider the number of publications cited from their own journal, it is important to understand that the number of citations of articles that have been published in the editor’s journal is not the sole determinant of whether a manuscript will be accepted or rejected.

Cross-cultural research is a systematic and comparative study of different cultures, societies, or cultural groups to understand and analyze the similarities, differences, and interactions between them. This type of research aims to explore various aspects of human behavior, beliefs, values, customs, and practices across diverse cultural contexts. Cross-cultural research often involves the collection and analysis of data from multiple cultures or cultural groups to uncover patterns, relationships, and insights that can contribute to our understanding of how culture influences various aspects of human life.

This chapter focuses on planning the research project. It begins with strategies and tips that can help identify viable opportunities for research, followed by suggestions for prioritizing them. Next, the chapter provides guidelines for selecting viable research topics and framing theoretical and empirical questions to be addressed in a scientific study, and it offers examples of research areas and topic identification. In addition, the chapter suggests a step-by-step process of dissertation topic identification and project planning.

Writing a paper for publication is not very different from producing a product and trying to market it to the target market. This means that it is important for researchers to understand the criteria journals use to accept or reject a manuscript, in much the same way consumers decide whether to buy or not buy a product. They must understand the articles that appeal to specific journals because they are relevant and potentially interesting to the journal’s readers or “customers.” To the extent articles satisfy their readers’ “consumption” needs and are credible (e.g., peer-reviewed), they contribute to their knowledge. Therefore, the main requirements for getting a paper published include the following: understanding the needs of the journals in one’s field, knowing the type of research that contributes to a specific area, and addressing the criteria journals and their reviewers use to accept or reject a manuscript.