Values and consumption behaviour: Exploring the link in Indian context
Description
This study develops and tests a conceptual model demonstrating that personal values play a significant role in shaping individuals’ sustainable consumption behavior. The research examines the applicability of the Schwartz Value Survey (SVS) as a universal values scale for measuring Indian values and establishes the need to construct a new scale incorporating context-specific Indian values. Using self-assessment questionnaires administered to 526 respondents across two studies, and employing Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the research reconceptualizes Schwartz’s Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ) and the ten motivational value dimensions. Based on this, it develops an 81-item Holistic Values Scale (HVS) to measure value orientations. The relationship between values and behavior was examined through two survey-based studies. Sustainable consumption behavior was categorized into three levels—high, medium, and low—based on survey responses. Using partial least squares (PLS)–based structural equation modeling, the study assesses the relationship between values and these three levels of behavior. Results indicate that values do influence consumption behavior; however, the strength of these relationships varies across value dimensions and depends on the context of analysis. In addition to value constructs identified in prior literature, the study identifies new value dimensions that play a role in guiding sustainable behavior. Further, adopting a means–end approach, the study investigates the relationship between personal values and the decision to purchase a sustainable product (“Reva”) in a real consumption context. Data were collected using a semi-qualitative laddering approach, and the findings are consistent with the results from the survey-based analyses. The research also explores the moderating role of attitude in the values–behavior relationship. Evidence suggests that some values directly impact sustainable consumption behavior, whereas, for others, the relationship is mediated by attitudes. This study is among the first in the values domain to categorize values based on whether their influence on behavior is moderated by attitudes. Specifically, attitudes were found to moderate the influence of internally oriented values, while externally oriented values exhibited a direct impact on behavior. In addition, the study examines the moderating effect of perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE) on the attitude–behavior relationship. PCE is found to have a direct impact across all levels of sustainable consumption behavior, but a moderating effect only for high-level sustainable behaviors. Finally, the research investigates how descriptive characteristics—such as demographic, mediagraphic, and geographic variables—influence value orientations among Indian consumers. The analysis identifies household income, gender, education level, place of birth, and family type at birth as key determinants of value differences across individuals. The study concludes by highlighting important implications for marketing managers and policymakers aiming to promote sustainable products and services.
Copyright Date
January 2012
Publication Date
1-1-2012
Keywords
Value-behaviour relationship, Personal values
Conference
2012 INFORMS Marketing Science Conference, 7-9 June, 2012, Boston, USA
