Desire-Induced, Innate, Insatiable?

Abstract

An explosion of interest in consumption has occurred among American and European historians. While social historians have paid the most attention to consumption a broad array including economic, communications and intellectual historians have taken up this issue. These authors have varying views of the nature of changes in consumption and of the dimensions and causes of these changes. This article attempts to summarize the historians' views.

Value‐based segmentation of luxury consumption behavior

“…But with researchers interpreting materialism from different perspectives, theorists have not yet agreed on a single definition (Richins & Dawson, 1992). Nevertheless, possession and acquisition play a central role in the definition of materialism (Daun, 1983;Bredemeier & Toby, 1960;Wackman, Reale, & Ward, 1972;Heilbroner, 1956;Rassuli & Hollander, 1986;Du Bois, 1955). More specifically, materialism can be described as the degree to which individuals principally find that possessions play a central role in their lives (Chang & Arkin, 2002).…”

Analysing Sustainable Consumption Patterns: A literature review

“…There is an ongoing tendency to ignore the topic of consumption reduction within the mainstream marketing debate as that 'it does not fit comfortably with accepted marketing theory and practice. On the contrary, marketing has been held responsible for facilitating excessive buying and a Hoque: Analysing Sustainable Consumption Patterns materialistic lifestyle (Rassuli and Hollander, 1986;Malhotra et al, 2006;Assadourian, 2010;Varey, 2010). The promotion of a hedonic attitude towards consumption and the association of consumption with positive values, such as happiness, 'the good life' or quality of life endorses an urge to over-consume (Van Dam and Apeldoorn, 1996;O'Shaughnessy and O'Shaughnessy, 2002;Pereira Heath and Heath, 2008).…”

A cross-cultural examination of the relationship between materialism and individual values

“…The definition posed by Belk (1985) suggests that materialism is ''the importance a consumer attaches to worldly possessions' ' (p. 291). Rassuli and Hollander (1986) refer to ''. .…”