Personal values and gift giving act: a proposed connection/Valores personales y el acto de dar regalos: una propuesta de conexion/Valores pessoais e o ato de dar presentes: uma proposta de conexao.
| Autor | Passos, Sergio Cruz |
| Cargo | Research article texto en ingles |
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Introduction
In the 1970s, the first studies on this topic began to take shape. Belk (1976) presented and tested a gift selection model based on cognitive consistency theories. Among the various functions of gift-giving, those of communication, social exchange, economic exchange and socialization stand out. However, the main function of the gift is to enable symbolic communication between the gift giver and the gift recipient (Belk, 1976).
The act of buying is part of a more complex process, ranging from selecting the gift to building the relationship (Davies, Whelan, Foley & Walsh, 2010). Gift-giving is initiated by an event (or occasion), involving a considerable investment in terms of financial resources, time and effort, with some type of expectation regarding consequent results in the relationship.
Among the studies on gift-giving, several motivations are identified that lead to the purchase of gifts. According to Beatty, Kahle, Homer and Misra (1985), people give gifts for three main reasons: to give pleasure, to obtain pleasure or out of obligation. Belk and Coon (1993), in turn, claim that people give gifts because they want to express feelings.
Obligation and reciprocity are characteristics typically observed in studies on the act of giving. The obligation can present itself as the main motivation for the purchase of a gift, as occurs, for example, on Valentine's Day (Rugimbana, Donahay, Neal & Polonsky, 2003). The obligation to give may also be accompanied by the obligation to give back (Belk & Coon, 1993).
On the other hand, some contextual factors influence the gift giving act, two of which are frequently studied in the extant literature, namely culture and gender (Davies et al., 2010). The cultural context in which the gift is given includes not only the relationship between the parties, but also the wider social context. The gender (mainly of the person who gives the gift), already considered an important factor in consumer behavior studies, becomes even more significant in the gift-giving act (Davies et al., 2010).
Once people present distinct perceptions and actions regarding gift-giving, it becomes important to understand the factors influencing such differences. Some studies point out that personal values reflect a set of motivational factors that significantly influence the individuals' attitudes and behaviors (Beatty et al., 1985; Borg, Bardi & Schwartz, 2015).
In this sense, Schwartz's (1992) Theory of Personal Values presents itself as a possible theoretical lens for understanding consumer behavior with regards to the gift-giving act. Through the "values hierarchy" approach, it is possible to map the value system of a group of individuals by analyzing a psychographic or cultural characteristic that influences their way of acting and the direction of their behaviors (Borg et al., 2015). This kind of approach presupposes coherence between the declaration of values and the consumers' behavior, making it the most appropriate choice for the purposes of this study.
This paper aims to fill a gap in the literature on Gift-giving Theory by incorporating Personal Values Theory in understanding the attitudes and behaviors of consumers in the act of gift-giving. Thus, the main objective of this study is to propose and validate a model to determine if personal values influence the attitudes and behaviors observed during the act of giving, while also considering the role of gender in these relationships. To this end, a survey was conducted with an online panel of Brazilian consumers. The stratified sample consisted of 1,085 individuals of both sexes, covering all age groups (over 18 years), marital statuses, socioeconomic classes and states in Brazil. The data was analyzed using factor analysis and structural equation modeling.
Broadening comprehension of factors that influence perceptions and consumers' behavior in regards to gift-giving is relevant not only in academic terms, but in managerial terms also (Ferrandi, Louis, Merunka & Valette-Florence, 2015). On the other hand, for Davies et al. (2010), there have been few attempts to apply consumer behavior models in the context of gift-giving, with a limited number of rare cases where these models were empirically tested. Consequently, linking studies related to gift-giving and Schwartz's (1992) Personal Values Theory is the main contribution of this study. The proposal and testing of an integrative model of these two theories will broaden the knowledge generated by the few studies already done.
This paper is structured in five sections beyond this introduction. The next section presents a review of the literature on gift-giving and Personal Values Theory. Based on these theories, the third section presents the research model used in this paper. In the following sections, the methodological procedures are presented, the data is analyzed and final considerations are made. In the last section, theoretical and practical implications are discussed and further studies suggested.
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Literature review
This section presents the conceptual basis used to support and guide the paper. The objective was to address studies related to the themes of gift-giving and personal values. First, Gift-giving Theory will be detailed, with a primary focus on efforts made to understand and model consumer behavior in all phases of gift-giving. Following this, Personal Values Theory will be presented. Finally, studies that relate the two theories with the aim of predicting behavior will be addressed.
2.1. The gift-giving act
The first studies involving the behavior of consumers in the act of gift-giving date back to the 1970s, including noteworthy research carried out by Belk (1976). In it, the author develops an exploratory analysis, pointing to a gap in consumer behavior studies at the time. Belk (1976) identified four gift-giving elements, namely the person who gives the gift, the gift itself, the person who receives the gift and the situational conditions. For him, individuals, families or organizations can take on both the roles of gift-givers or receivers. The gift may vary greatly, being that it can be given in cash, acquired as a good or service, or even donated, as in the case of organs and blood. However, the situational conditions vary according to the occasion upon which the gift is given.
Among gift-giving functions, Belk (1976) highlights communication, social exchange and economic exchange. Communication is made possible by the perceptions embedded in the gift and the images that the giver possesses and wishes to communicate about himself and the gift. Social exchange occurs through reciprocity of the trade between the giver and the recipient, having an important impact on the social relationship between both parties. Economic exchange occurs through the pursuit of the giver's self-satisfaction, and the resultant reciprocity from the person who receives the gift.
In later studies, Sherry (1983) complemented Belk's studies from an anthropological perspective. The author proposed a model where gift-giving is composed of three phases: the gestation (of antecedent factors), gift presentation or delivery and reformulation. During gestation, the giver is encouraged by a situation (for example, Christmas parties or Valentine's Day), to conduct research into a gift, which will then be transported from the conceptual world to the material world. At the presentation stage, the ritual of delivering the gift occurs, which generally inverts the roles, so the giver becomes the receiver and vice-versa, since the one who receives the gift must now give a response to the gift-giver. This response is given by the decoding of the symbolic content of the gift and by the actual response, when the one who receives the gift infers the giver's intention and formulates his judgment about the gift. In the last phase, reformulation, the gift is given a destination by the recipient (utilization, exposition, storage, trade or rejection), and preexisting relationships are then restructured.
Sherry (1983) affirms that the physical and psychological effort in choosing, preparing and giving a gift attributes value to the object. The gift becomes a representation of the giver, who gives a portion of himself to the recipient. Flynn and Adams (2009) reinforce this, suggesting that the giver's primary concern should be commitment to finding something that delights the recipient, regardless of the price.
Obligation is another typical characteristic of the gift-giving act. In many cases, obligation can be the central reason for buying the gift, once there is the feeling that not giving a gift is inappropriate, such as not getting a Valentines gift for one's partner (Davies et al., 2010). Pepece (2000) posits that the feeling of being obliged to give a gift can be based on moral or religious matters, on the necessity of recognizing and maintaining a certain status hierarchy, on the necessity of establishing or maintaining peaceful relations between individuals, or simply on the expectation of reciprocity.
Sherry (1983) identifies two types of motivations related to the feeling of pleasure. The first, called altruistic, occurs when the giver seeks to maximize the recipient's feeling of pleasure as he or she receives the gift. The second, called agnostic, aims to maximize the feeling of pleasure experienced by the giver himself. Otnes, Kim and Lowrey (1992), on the other hand, mention some characteristics of gift choices that would make the process less pleasant: 1) the perception that the recipient does not want or need any kind of gift; 2) the fear of giving something that displeases; 3) the existence of extremely different tastes and interests between the giver and the receiver; 4) lack of familiarity with the receiver; 5) the perception of physical or personality limitations of the receiver; 6) limitations of the gift-giver such as financial constraints; 7) concerns about the...
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