• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.75-91
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to examine the application of in-depth interviews in terms of exploration on the basis of the theoretical basis of various aspects of consumer empathy, and the question of whether the consumer can expand to the process of self empathy. Most studies related to consumer empathy divide the responsive dimension of consumer empathy into rational and emotional dimension based on empathy theory, and look at the empathic response perceived by consumers to the stimulus presented from the current point of view. In this study, however, we want to go one step further and confirm that the consumers themselves can ultimately go to the self-empathy stage by forming a creative street of reproduction and redevelopment. As a result of exploratory research through in-depth interviews, it was indirectly confirmed that consumer's empathetic response to specific marketing stimulus exists at the level of creative and self-empathetic as well as the emphasis of previous studies. Based on these findings, this study confirmed that consumer empathetic responses could go beyond a single dimension to form a multidimensional structure and move toward an expanded structure of empathic self-creation. This suggests that consumers' empathic responses should be grasped in terms of continuity of empathic responses rather than explained in a specific dimension. Although this study is meaningful as an early research of exploratory nature, it is necessary to supplement various content validity and refine the research method through subsequent studies. This study is expected to expand the understanding that consumer's empathy can be extended to other people's empathy and to be self-empathy.