O constrangimento é uma emoção que emerge em várias situações de compra e de consumo. Faltam estudos que abordem de forma abrangente como o consumidor se comporta no momento que está constrangido. Por isso, o objetivo deste artigo é mapear como o consumidor age durante o processo de compra em situações que geram constrangimento. Para isso, foi escolhido o varejo farmacêutico, onde é possível comprar uma série de produtos que podem causar constrangimento, como preservativos, testes de gravidez, pílula do dia seguinte, entre outros. Como estratégia de investigação empírica, entrevistas em profundidade com 30 balconistas de farmácia e 26 consumidores foram realizadas. A análise de conteúdo efetuada propiciou a elaboração de um frameworkconceitual e um conjunto de proposições. De acordo com oframework, o consumidor, ao se sentir constrangido, decide se abandona a compra (desistindo ou pedindo para outra pessoa fazê-la) ou se encara a situação; se optar por encarar a situação, toma coragem e desenvolve estratégias para enfrentá-la e terminá-la o mais breve possível. As ações dos consumidores são detalhadas neste framework.

Embarrassment is an emotion that emerges during various purchase and consumption situations. There is a lack of studies comprehensively addressing how consumers behave when they are embarrassed. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to map how consumers behave during purchase process situations that cause embarrassment. To do so, drugstores were selected since they are places where a number of products that can cause embarrassment, such as condoms, pregnancy tests, and day-after pills, can be purchased. In-depth interviews with 30 drugstore sales representatives and 26 consumers were conducted using an empiric investigation strategy. Content analysis resulted in the creation of a conceptual framework and some theoretical propositions. According to the framework, consumers, when feeling embarrassed, decide whether to abandon the purchase (by giving up or asking someone else to make the purchase) or if they face the situation, remain confident, and develop strategies to deal with the situation and finish it as soon as possible. The framework details consumers’ actions.

Hope is an important construct in marketing, since it is an antecedent of important marketing variables, such as trust, expectation and satisfaction (MacInnis & Mello, 2005). Specifically, literature suggests that hope plays an important influence in risk perception (MacInnis & Mello, 2005) and propensity for indebtedness (Fleming, 2008). Thus, we aim to investigate the relationships among hope, risk perception related to purchasing and consumption and propensity for indebtedness by conducting two empirical studies. The first is a laboratory experiment, which accessed hope and risk perception of getting a mortgage loan. The second is a survey, investigating university students' propensity to get indebted to pay for their university tuition, analyzed through the Structural Equations Modeling method. These studies found that higher levels of hope predicted an increase in the propensity to accept the mortgage loan, independent of actual risks, and an increase in the propensity of college students to get indebted to pay for their studies. In addition, the first study suggests that hope may lead to a decrease in risk perception, which, however, wasn't confirmed by the second study. Finally, this research offers some methodological contributions, using an experimental approach to understand hope and its relationship with perceived financial risk and propensity for indebtedness.