Anti-consumption: The lifestyles of the disciplined materialists

This thesis examines why some people row against the consumerism tide and adopt anti-consumption lifestyles. Reasons for understanding this resistance are twofold. First, companies should create value for consumers who normally resist consumption by identifying the needs of this segment. Second, policy makers concerned with sustainability might benefit from understanding the antecedents of anti-consumption lifestyles, because these lifestyles can be used to promote sustainability (Black, 2010). Three anti-consumption lifestyles are considered: frugality (Lastovicka et al. 1999); tightwadism (Rick, Cryder and Loewenstein 2008); and voluntary simplicity (Iwata, 1997, 1999, 2006; Zavestoski 2002). All these lifestyles result in reducing consumption. However, they are adopted for different reasons. To understand these differences, this thesis tests the model in four countries. In addition, multiple methods and multiple studies were used, to avoid falling into undesirable biases. The pre-test, Study 1 and Study 2 use experimental design in samples of Canadian students. It was found that frugality seems to be adopted by disciplined individuals to attend to materialistic motivations. On the other hand, tightwadism seems to be adopted by disciplined individuals who wish to answer to antimaterialistic motivations. Finally, the scores on voluntary simplicity are affected by materialism alone, and not by one's self-discipline. Study 3 tests the generalizability of the results, using a survey method on non-student samples from four countries: Canada, Brazil, India and USA. In Brazil, undisciplined individuals who score high on materialism adopt the three anti-consumption lifestyles. However, if a person is disciplined, all lifestyles are used to answer to materialistic and antimaterialistic goals. With Canadians one's self-discipline increases the scores on all anti-consumption lifestyles to answer to materialistic and antimaterialistic ambitions. However, materialism influences all lifestyles negatively in Canada. In the US and India, materialism correlates strongly with all anti-consumption lifestyles. However, for Americans the scores on all lifestyles increase to attend to materialistic goals, though it seems that this same discipline is more often used to answer to antimaterialistic goals. In India, only tightwadism increases for highly disciplined and highly materialistic individuals. Study 4, conducted with Brazilians, examines how demographic variables affect anti-consumption lifestyles, and what is the impact of these lifestyles on account balance and balance due. In short, income has a negative impact on frugality only. In addition, it was found that all lifestyles correlate negatively with number of children. Interestingly, no lifestyle affects account balance directly, but the interaction between the antecedents provided interesting insights. Finally, only voluntary simplicity correlates negatively with balance due, whereas frugality and tightwadism do not. Also interestingly, several interaction terms showed the profile of individuals who own high debt. The contributions of the paper are discussed at the end of each chapter. Three notable contributions should be highlighted. First, policy makers can use the findings to guide their practices while promoting consumer resistance. Second, practitioners interested on consumers who resist consumption can use the results to attract this audience. Third, this study improves current knowledge about anti-consumption, paving the way for future studies in the field

Validação da escala de julgamento e significado do produto

O significado que um produto tem para o consumidor – considerado como simbólico ou utilitário – e o julgamento que o indivíduo realiza para avaliar o significado do produto têm sido variáveis estudadas na predição do comportamento de compra. O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a fidedignidade e confiabilidade do modelo teórico proposto por Allen (1997), através da tradução e validação da Escala de Significado e Julgamento do Produto. A amostra foi composta de 588 participantes, possuindo uma boa distribuição demográfica entre sexos e idade. Os resultados desta pesquisa indicaram dois fatores: Julgamento e Significado Racional (variância explicada de 18,33; alfa de 0,76) e Julgamento e Significado Emotivo (variância explicada de 15,97; alfa de 0,73). Após as análises, todos os 19 itens iniciais permaneceram na escala. Os dados encontrados indicam a necessidade de adaptação e melhoria da escala para a realidade nacional. Aparentemente, a contradição encontrada entre o modelo proposto por Allen (1997) e os resultados advêm de problemas psicométricos da escala, o que sugere a necessidade de novas pesquisas para confirmação dessa possibilidade.The meaning that a product has for the consumer – which can be considered as symbolic or utilitarian – and the judgment made by an individual to evaluate the product meaning are both variables that have been studied to predict the buying behavior. The objective of this study was to verify the reliability of the model proposed by Allen (1997), through the translation and validation of the Scale of Judgment and Meaning of the Product. The study sample was composed by 588 participants, with a good distribution between sex and age. Results indicated the presence of two factors: Rational Judgment and Meaning (18.33% of explained variance, with alpha of 0.76) and Emotional Judgment and Meaning (15.97% of explained variance, with alpha of 0.73). After the analysis, all 19 original items of the scale were retained. The obtained data indicated the need for adaptation and enhancement of the scale to the national reality. Apparently, the contradiction between the model proposed by Allen (1997) and results found in this study reveals psychometric problems of the scale, suggesting the need for new studies to confirm this possibility

Attitudes toward bank products: the employee's perspective

Esta pesquisa verifica a relação entre atitudes ante produtos bancários e variáveis sociodemográficas. Os produtos estudados foram: seguro de automóvel, seguro de vida, seguro residencial, previdência complementar, título de capitalização e consórcio imobiliário. As atitudes são consideradas um processo avaliativo de objetos, que gera uma avaliação positiva ou negativa, envolvendo três componentes (afetivo, cognitivo e conativo), sendo uma ligação entre dois conceitos. Os dados foram coletados juntamente aos funcionários de um grande banco nacional que vendem esses produtos e que se encontram nos pontos-de-venda. A pesquisa contou com 975 questionários válidos com respostas de quase todos os Estados. A escala desenvolvida para a pesquisa demonstrou confiabilidade após as análises fatoriais. Para testar as hipóteses, foram realizadas Regressões Stepwise que indicaram que idade, renda e principalmente gênero são variáveis relevantes para a atitude ante os produtos. Por fim, as contribuições e limitações da pesquisa são apresentadas.This research verifies the relation between attitudes toward bank products and social demographics variables. The products studied were: car insurance; life insurance; home insurance; retiring plan; capitalization heading; real state trust. The attitudes are considered as an evaluative process of objects, which generates a positive or negative evaluation, involving three components (affective, cognitive and conative), being a link between two concepts. The data was collected with employees of a large Brazilian bank who sell these products and are located in its point of sale. The research counted with 975 valid questionnaires with answers from almost all states. The measurement developed for this research has demonstrated high reliability after the factor analyses. To test the hypotheses Stepwise Regression were made which indicated that age, income and mainly gender are relevant variables for the attitude toward the products. Finally, the research contributions and limitations are presented

How do involvement and product knowledge affect the relationship between intangibility and perceived risk for brands and product categories?

Purpose – Intangibility has long been studied in marketing, especially its physical aspect. This paper seeks to verify whether a branding strategy is efficient in reducing the risk perceived by customers. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of university students answered the measurements considering both perspectives (brands and product categories). The paper uses a three-dimensional approach of intangibility and explores its relationships with evaluation difficulty (ED) and perceived risk (PR). These relationships were tested in two different perspectives: brands and product categories. Findings – Two analyses were made to test the hypotheses which were generally supported. Several relationships between the variables were found, but three should be highlighted. First, it was shown that brands are more mentally intangible than product categories, which may lead to a difficulty to evaluate. Second, it was found that evaluation difficulty increases the perceived risk in the product category perspective. Third, it was found that higher involvement generates a stronger relationship between evaluation difficulty and perceived risk for the product category perspective. Practical implications – Theoretical and managerial implications to the literature are discussed along with examples of how managers could use the findings. Originality/value – The research incorporates prior knowledge and involvement as moderating variables of the proposed framework and reinforces their relevance to the field. The results not only show the importance of branding, but also support the argument of considering evaluation difficulty in future research

Relações entre valores pessoais e atitudes frente a produtos bancários

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Psicologia, 2007.O principal objetivo desta pesquisa foi verificar a relação entre valores pessoais e atitude frente a alguns produtos oferecidos por instituições financeiras. Neste sentido, esta pesquisa visa compreender a relação valores-atitude para os produtos citados. Objetiva-se também, verificar a influência das variáveis sóciodemográficas (idade, gênero e renda) nestas atitudes. Os produtos estudados foram: Seguro de Automóvel; Seguro de Vida; Seguro Residencial; Previdência Complementar; Título de Capitalização; e Consórcio Imobiliário. Os valores pessoais são definidos como metas que transcendem ações e situações específicas e que servem como princípios que guiam a vida do indivíduo. As atitudes são consideradas como um processo avaliativo de objetos, que gera uma avaliação positiva ou negativa, envolvendo três componentes (Afetivo, Cognitivo e Conativo), sendo, portanto uma ligação entre dois conceitos. A relação entre valores e atitudes frente aos produtos é relevante, pois, possivelmente, as pessoas buscam os produtos pela sua imagem, utilidade ou mesmo porque possibilitam expressar seus valores. Uma grande variedade de estudos investigou a influência dos valores no comportamento e nas atitudes, mas não se tem conhecimento de pesquisa que tenha investigado a relação dos valores com estes produtos. Para realização da pesquisa foram utilizados o Inventário de Valores de Schwartz (IVS), já amplamente aplicado, e a Escala de Atitude frente a Produtos Bancários (EAPB), desenvolvida para esta pesquisa. Os dados foram coletados juntamente aos funcionários de um grande banco nacional, que vendem estes produtos e que se encontram nos pontos de venda. A pesquisa contou com 1061 questionários válidos com respostas de quase todos os estados. Foram realizadas Regressões Stepwise onde se verificou a influência dos tipos motivacionais e variáveis sóciodemográficas na atitude frente a estes produtos. Os resultados indicam que todos os produtos encontram-se fortemente ligados a tipos motivacionais de interesse coletivo, demonstrando que a sua atitude é explicada em grande parte pela preocupação com o outro. É interessante este resultado, pois se poderia imaginar que os produtos bancários estariam mais ligados a valores de interesses individuais. Por fim, o estudo contribui na compreensão da relação entre valores e atitude, auxiliando também no desenvolvimento da área de psicologia do consumidor no Brasil, principalmente em relação ao consumidor de produtos bancários. _______________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThe main objective of this research was to verify the relation between human values and attitude towards some products offered by financial institutions. In this sense, this research aims to understand the ‘values-attitude’ relation for these products. It also aims to verify the influence of the social-demographic variables (age, gender and income) on those attitudes. The products studied were: Car Insurance; Life Insurance; Home Insurance; Retiring Plan; Capitalization Heading; Real State Trust. The human values are defined as objectives which exceeds specifics actions or situations and which serves as guiding principles for the individual’s life. The attitudes are considered as an evaluative process of objects, which generates a positive or negative evaluation, involving three components (Affective, Cognitive and Conative), being, therefore a link between two concepts. The relation between values and attitudes towards the products is relevant, because, possibly, people search products considering their image, utility or even because they make possible for a person to express his values. A great variety of studies have investigated the influence of values on behavior and attitudes, however no research concerning values and those products was found. For this research, the Schwartz Value Survey (SVS), widely applied, and the Attitude Scale towards Bank Products (ASBP), developed for this research, had been used. The data was collected with employees who sells these products and works on a large Brazilian bank. The sample collected was of 1061 valid questionnaires with participants of almost all Brazilians states. A Stepwise Regression was made to verify the influence of human values and social-demographic variables on the attitude towards the products. The results indicated that all products were strongly tied to values of collective interest, demonstrating that its attitude is explained mostly by the concern with the other. This result is interesting because it is possible to imagine that bank products are more tied to values of individual interests. Finally, this study helps the comprehension of the relation of values and attitudes, assisting also on the development of the consumer psychology field in Brazil, especially for bank consumers

The Environmental Impact of Consumption Lifestyles: Ethically Minded Consumption vs. Tightwads

This study investigates the environmental impact of anti-consumption lifestyles and compares it to environmental concern and ethically minded consumption. Environmental impact was measured in a sample of 357 individuals with a carbon footprint calculator capturing all greenhouse gases released by an individual’s activities. Three types of anti-consumption lifestyles were considered: frugality, voluntary simplicity, and tightwadism. Results suggest that tightwadism is negatively associated with environmental impact. This negative association is stronger when participants are knowledgeable about the emissions impact of their behaviors. These findings suggest that tightwadism can lead to positive outcomes to achieve sustainability. Surprisingly, frugality and voluntary simplicity, as well as environmental concern, are not significantly associated with environmental impact, whereas ethically minded consumption correlates positively with the latter. This study demonstrates that increasing consumers’ environmental and ethical concerns alone might not be an effective way to lead them towards a more sustainable lifestyle. Such findings have important implications for sustainability and public policy makers

Advances on the Measure of Judgment and Meaning of the Product for Brazil

The purpose of this paper was the development a measure of judgment and meaning of the product valid for Brazilian consumers. It consisted in a two-stage study including both qualitative and quantitative approaches. In the qualitative stage, focus groups with 16 Brazilian participants allowed the generation of 40 items for a new scale of judgment and meaning of the product. After semantic validation and expert analysis, the found items composed a questionnaire administered to 684 participants in a paper-and-pencil survey. Results suggest that the items performed considerably better when compared to the previous version, indicating their potential of usage not only in Brazil, but also in other countries. The final measure remained with 20 items that were distributed in four factors, as pointed by the literature review. Two factors are related to judgment types (piecemeal and affective), whilst the other two are related to meaning types (utilitarian and symbolic). Additional results, as expected, showed that product's utilitarian meaning is positively correlated to a piecemeal judgment, whereas symbolic meaning is positively related to affective judgment. Managerial implications for marketing, and future research directions are proposed