Links between types of value orientations and consumer behaviours. An empirical study

Abstract

The present study concerns the phenomenon of the co-dependence of value orientations and consumer behaviours. Although the idea of the overall connections between both areas is not new, the article contributes to the knowledge about relations between very specific consumer behaviours and social value orientations among people married or in an informal partnership. Using the obtained data, we examine to what extent the prosocial, reciprocal, and egoistic value orientations coexist with compensative, compulsive, and demonstrative buying. The analysis confirms the hypotheses that representatives of the reciprocal and egoistic orientations show susceptibility to compensative and compulsive buying to a greater extent than persons preferring other value orientations. In addition, the data show co-dependence of the reciprocal value orientation and demonstrative buying, while the prosocial value orientation seems to protect against compulsive buying. According to the regression analysis, this effect disappears if prosocially oriented persons suffer from low self-esteem at the same time being characterised by strong materialism. All hypothesised relations between value orientations and consumer behaviours have been analysed in multidimensional models considering materialism, self-esteem, age, and gender as the main factors of compensative and compulsive buying. The findings come from the 2017 survey based on a statistically representative sample of 1,121 adult Poles who were then married or in an informal partnership. The German Compulsive Buying Indicator and Lange’s Scale of Demonstrative Buying were introduced to measure consumer behaviours.

Big Five Personality Traits and Compulsive Buying: The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem

“…In the previous literature, a close relationship between neuroticism and low self-esteem has been reported [49] and, also from a clinical perspective, psychological distress is linked to weak self-worth [81,82]. As for the influence of self-esteem on CB observed in the model, it should be mentioned that different empirical studies have reported that a negative self-worth contributes to predicting CB [15,36,65]. In this regard, there are a number of different hypotheses that can be found in the literature with regard to the function and/or usefulness, for some people, of CB: improving identity [83], a way to manage or enhance a poor sense of self [84] and bolstering one's self-esteem [85].…”

“…Similarly, it has been documented that compulsive buyers as compared to buyers who do not present with this problem, score significantly lower in self-esteem [17,[62][63][64]. Furthermore, low self-esteem has proved to be a significant predictor of CB [14,15,36,65].…”

What Do We Know When We Know a Compulsive Buying Person? Looking at Now and Ahead

“…Specifically, and on the basis of the classification of values made in the personal values theory [ 78 ], the positive association of stimulation and hedonism with compulsive buying has been confirmed [ 79 , 80 ], as well as the protective effect of self-transcendence and conservation values in the development of compulsive buying [ 79 ]. Research has shown that people who are characterized by a reciprocal and egoistic value orientation show high vulnerability to compulsive buying, while prosocial value orientation acts as a protective factor for this behavior [ 81 ].…”

The competence-based VET curriculum and teaching of work values: the case of Lithuania

“…(4) Egoistic-altruistic orientations. Egoistic or individualist value orientation is related to the preference and maximization of own benefits and outcomes of the work with indifference to the outcomes for other people, society and environment (Adamczyk et al, 2022). This orientation has a lot of parallels with the instrumental orientation in respect to work values.…”