International Journal of Marketing and Business Communication

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

A Study on the Role of Materialism in Triggering Conspicuous Consumption among Emigrants from Kerala


Affiliations
1 Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


Conspicuous consumption involves the overt display of possessions that denote wealth and status, to communicate a distinctive self-image to others. Here, product satisfaction is often derived from audience reaction as opposed to utility from product use. Materialism is the importance a consumer attaches to worldly possessions. Materialists place possessions and their acquisition at the centre of their lives. Several studies have established that various personality traits such as materialism and social factors like susceptibility to social influence explain conspicuous consumption. This paper examines the extent of influence of materialism on conspicuous consumption tendencies of a convenience sample of 640 emigrants from Kerala. The study validates that materialism significantly relates to conspicuous consumption which means materialism is positively related to buying products that confer status. It is also seen to be instrumental in triggering conspicuous consumption among the expatriate community. Variation in conspicuous consumption with respect to gender, age, education, occupation, and income levels are also examined. The study provides interesting insights for marketers in developing consumer-centric approach towards product-development, pricing and promotions and also assists in psychographic segmentation of status seekers. It proposes means to develop and manage meaningful engagement with consumers by exhorting marketers to assume greater social responsibility and focus on societal outcomes stemming from promoting a lifestyle centred on materialism and conspicuous displays of wealth.

Keywords

Materialism, Conspicuous Consumption, Emigrant, Kerala, Consumer, Status.
Subscription Login to verify subscription
User
Notifications
Font Size


  • Abdulla, M. P. (2014). Emigration and consumerism- A regional experience. IOSR Journal of Economics and Finance, 2(4), 41-44

  • Achenreiner, G. B. (1997). Materialistic values and susceptibility to influence in children. In Advances in Consumer Research, 24, 82-88.

  • Ahuvia, A. C., & Wong, N. (2002). Personality and values based materialism: Their relationship and origins. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 12(4), 389-402.

  • Batra, R., Ramaswamy, V., Alden, D. L., Steenkamp, J. E. M., & Ramachander, S. (2000), “Effects of brand - local and non-local origin- on consumer attitudes in developing countries. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 9(2), 83-95.

  • Belk, R. W. (1988). Third world consumer culture. Research in Marketing, 4, 113-127.

  • Belk, R. W. (1985). Materialism: Trait aspects of living in a material world. Journal of Consumer Research, 12, 265-280.

  • Bernard, R. H. (1994). Research methods in anthropology (2nd Ed.). Sage Publications, Inc., California

  • Braun, O., & Wicklund, R. (1989). Psychological antecedents of conspicous consumption. Journal of Economic Psychology, 10, 161-87.

  • Browne, B., & Kaldenberg, D. (1997). Conceptualizing self-monitoring: links to materialism and product involvement. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 14, 31-44.

  • Bryan S. K., Lisa C. Li, & Gladys F. (2011). The Asian American values scale - multidimensional: Development, reliability, and validity. Journal of Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 11(3), 187-201

  • Chan, R., & Joseph, C. (2000). Dimensions of personality, domains of aspiration, and subjective wellbeing. Journal of Personality and Individual Differences, 28, 347-354.

  • Chan, K., Zhang, H., & Wang, I. (2006). Materialism among adolescents in urban China”, Young Consumers: Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers, 7(2), 64-77.

  • Chaudhuri, H., Majumdar, S., & Ghosal, A. (2011). Conspicuous consumption orientation: conceptualization, scale development, and validation. Journal of Consumer Behavior, 10(4), 216-224.

  • Chung, E., & Fischer, E. (2001). When conspicuous consumption becomes inconspicuous: The case of migrant Hong Kong consumers. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 18, 474-488.

  • Churchill, G. A., & George, M. (1979). Television and interpersonal influences on adolescent consumer learning. Journal of Consumer Research, 6, 23-35.

  • Clark, R. A., Zboja, J. J., & Goldsmith, R. E. (2007),”Status consumption and role-relaxed consumption: A tale of two retail consumers. Journal of Retailing & Consumer Services, 14(1), 45-59.

  • Dittmar, H. (2005). A new look at “compulsive buying: Self-discrepancies and materialistic values. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 24(6), 832-859.

  • Eastman, J. K., Calvert, S., Campbell, D., & Fredenberger, B. (1997). The relationship between status consumption and materialism: A cross-cultural comparison of Chinese, Mexican and American students. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 5, 52–66.

  • Eastman, J. K., Goldsmith, R. E., & Flynn, L. R (1999). Status consumption in consumer behavior: Scale development & validation. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice 7(3), 41-51

  • Economics and Statistics Department-Government of Kerala. (2013). Pravasi Malayali Census p.7

  • Fitzmaurice, J., & Comegys, C. (2006). Materialism and social consumption. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 14(4), 287-299

  • Fournier, S., & Richins, M. L. (1991). Some theoretical and popular notions concerning materialism. Corte Madera, CA

  • Ger, G., & Belk, R. W. (1996). Cross-cultural differences in materialism. Journal of Economic Psychology, 17, 55-77.

  • Gilman, N. (1999). Thorstein Veblen’s neglected feminism. Journal of Economic Issues, 32, 689-711.

  • Goldsmith, R. E. (2012). Materialism, status consumption, and consumer independence. The Journal of Social Psychology, 152(1), 43-60

  • Goldsmith, R. E., & Clark, R. A. (2012). Materialism, status consumption, and consumer independence. The Journal of Social Psychology, 152(1), 43-60.

  • Hair, J. F., Jr, Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2009). Multivariate data analysis (7th Edn.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

  • Handa, M., & Khare, A. (2013). Gender as a moderator of the relationship between materialism and fashion clothing involvement among Indian youth. Journal of Consumer Studies, 37, 112-120.

  • Kasser, T. (2002). The high price of materialism. Cambridge, MA, The MIT Press

  • Kahle, L. R. (1995). Role-relaxed consumers: A trend of the Nineties. Journal of Advertising Research, 35, 66-71.

  • Kamineni, R. (2005). Influence of materialism, gender, and nationality on consumer brand perceptions. Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, 14, 25-32.

  • Kellett, S., & Totterdell, P. (2008). Compulsive buying: a field study of mood variability during acquisition episodes. The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 1, 16-26.

  • Kim, J. (1998). Assessing the causal relationship among materialism. Consumer Interests Annual, 44, 155-61.

  • Larsen, V., Sirgy, J. M., & Wright, N. D. (1999). Materialism: The construct, measures, antecedents and consequences. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 3(2), 78-110.

  • Marcoux, J. S., Filiatrault, P., & Cheron, E. (1997). The attitudes underlying preferences of young urban educated Polish consumers towards products made in western countries. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 9(4), 5-29.

  • Markova, E. (2006). Economic and social effects of migration on sending countries: The cases of Albania and Bulgaria. Paper from Gaining from Migration Expert’s Meeting, OECD Development Center, Issy-Les-Moulineaux, Paris. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/34/4/38528396.pdf

  • Mason, R. S. (1981). Conspicuous Consumption: A Study of Exceptional Consumer Behavior. St. Martin’s Press, New York, NY

  • Moorthy, S. R. (1997). Consumption to Consumerism in the context of Kerala. Classical Publishers, New Delhi

  • Nair, G. (1986). Asian migration to the Arab world – Migration from Kerala (India). Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram

  • National Sample Survey Office. (2011). Key indicators of Household Consumer Expenditure in India, p.10 O’Cass, A., & McEwen, H. (2004). Exploring consumer status and conspicuous consumption. Journal of Consumer Behavior, 4, 25-39.

  • O’Shaughnessy, J. (2002). Marketing, the consumer society and hedonism. European Journal of Marketing, 36(5), 524-547.

  • Penman, S., & McNeill, L. (2008). Spending their way to adulthood: consumption outside the nest. Young Consumers, 9(3), 155-169

  • Podoshen, J. S., Li, L., & Zhang, J. (2011). Materialism and conspicuous consumption in China: a cross-cultural examination. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 35, 17-25.

  • Podoshen, J. S., & Andrzejewski, S. A. (2012). An examination of the relationships between materialism, conspicuous consumption, impulse buying, and brand loyalty. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 20(3), 319-333.

  • Pushpangadan, K. (2003). Remittances, consumption and economic growth in Kerala: 1980-2000. Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum.

  • Richins, M. L. (1994). Special possessions and the expression of material values. Journal of Consumer Research, 21, 522-533.

  • Richins, M. L. (2004). The positive and negative consequences of materialism: What are they and when do they occur? Advances in Consumer Research, 31, 232-235

  • Richins, M. L., & Dawson, S. (1992). A consumer values orientation for materialism and its measurement:Scale development and validation. Journal of Consumer Research, 19(2), 504-521.

  • Richins, M. L., & Rudmin, F. W. (1994). Materialism and economic psychology. Journal of Economic Psychology, 15, 217-231.

  • Richins, M., & Floyd, R. (1994). Materialism and economic psychology. Journal of Economic Psychology, 15, 217-31.

  • Rindfleisch, A., Burroughs, J. E., & Denton, F. (1997). Family structure, materialism, and compulsive consumption. Journal of Consumer Research, 23(4), 312-25.

  • Riquelme, H. E. (2011). Antecedents of ostentatious consumption in Kuwait. Journal of Islamic Marketing, 2(3), 295-308

  • Robert, J. A., & Clement, A. (2007). Materialism and satisfaction with over-all quality of life and eight life domains. Social Indicators Research, 82, 79-92.

  • Roberts, J. A., Tanner, J. Jr. & Manolis, C. (2005). Materialism and the Family Structure-Stress Relation”, Journal of Consumer Psychology, 15(2), 183-190.

  • Roth, M. S. (1995). The effects of culture and socioeconomics on the performance of global brand image strategies. Journal of Marketing Research, 32(2), 163-176.

  • Schaefer, A. D., Hermans, C. M., & Parker, R. S. (2004). A Cross-cultural exploration of materialism in adolescents. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 28(4), 399-411.

  • Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2007). Using Multivariate Statistics (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education.

  • Tatzel, M. (2002). Money worlds and well-Being: An integration of money dispositions, materialism & price-related behavior. Journal of Economic Psychology, 23(1), 103-126.

  • Tse, D., Belk, R., & Zhou, N. (1989). Becoming a consumer society. Journal of Consumer Research, 15, 475-472.

  • Veblen, T. (1899). The Theory of the Leisure Class. Routledge, London.

  • Volkan, D., & Torlak, O. (2014). The relationship between symbolic money meanings and materialism. Business and Economics Research Journal, 5(2), 1-17 World Bank. (2013). Migration and Development Brief No. 22, p.4

  • Wilhite, H. (2008). Consumption and transformation of everyday life – A view from South India. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 89-127, 165-176

  • Wong, N. Y., & Ahuvia, A. (1995). Self-concepts and materialism: A cross-cultural approach. American Marketing Association, 2, 112-119.

  • Wong, N. (1997). Suppose You Own the World and No One Knows? Conspicuous Consumption, Materialism and Self. In Advances in Consumer Research, 24, 197-203

  • Zachariah, K. C., & Irudaya Rajan, S. (2015). Dynamics of emigration and Remittances in Kerala: The Kerala Migration Survey 2014. Working Paper No. 115, Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum

  • Zachariah, K. C., Mathew, E. T., & Irudaya Rajan, S. (2003). Dynamics of migration in Kerala-Dimensions, differentials and consequences. Orient Longman, New Delhi.


Abstract Views: 399

PDF Views: 0




  • A Study on the Role of Materialism in Triggering Conspicuous Consumption among Emigrants from Kerala

Abstract Views: 399  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

Daly Paulose
Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract


Conspicuous consumption involves the overt display of possessions that denote wealth and status, to communicate a distinctive self-image to others. Here, product satisfaction is often derived from audience reaction as opposed to utility from product use. Materialism is the importance a consumer attaches to worldly possessions. Materialists place possessions and their acquisition at the centre of their lives. Several studies have established that various personality traits such as materialism and social factors like susceptibility to social influence explain conspicuous consumption. This paper examines the extent of influence of materialism on conspicuous consumption tendencies of a convenience sample of 640 emigrants from Kerala. The study validates that materialism significantly relates to conspicuous consumption which means materialism is positively related to buying products that confer status. It is also seen to be instrumental in triggering conspicuous consumption among the expatriate community. Variation in conspicuous consumption with respect to gender, age, education, occupation, and income levels are also examined. The study provides interesting insights for marketers in developing consumer-centric approach towards product-development, pricing and promotions and also assists in psychographic segmentation of status seekers. It proposes means to develop and manage meaningful engagement with consumers by exhorting marketers to assume greater social responsibility and focus on societal outcomes stemming from promoting a lifestyle centred on materialism and conspicuous displays of wealth.

Keywords


Materialism, Conspicuous Consumption, Emigrant, Kerala, Consumer, Status.

References