This paper presents a simple evolutionary model to study the diffusion patterns of product innovations for consumer goods. Following a Veblenian theme, we interpret consumption as a social activity constrained by social norms and equality of opportunity. Societies that allow for more behavioral variety will experience faster adoption of new consumer goods. We also find that the speed of diffusion as well as the saturation levels reached highly depend on the equality of opportunity. Combining these two effects, we conclude that a social structure displaying behavioral variety and equal opportunities dominates any other social set-up in terms of the speed of adoption of product innovations. (author's abstract) / Series: Working Papers Series "Growth and Employment in Europe: Sustainability and Competitiveness"

The Fence Lizard (Sceloporus undulatus complex) is a wide ranging North American species complex occurring from the eastern seaboard westward through the great plains and central Rocky Mountains and into the American Southwest. A recent phylogeny suggests four species lineages occur within S. undulatus. Traits within an interbreeding species that are influenced by sexual selection are under different selection pressures and may evolve independently from the selective forces of habitat. Sceloporus lizards have several characters that are influenced by sexual selection. I investigated sexual size dimorphism and allometric relationships of body size (snout vent length), torso length, rear leg length and three measurements of head size in 12 populations from the four species in the S. undulatus complex (N=352) specifically looking for variation among the 4 species. Additionally I investigated the size of signal patches between males and females in three species (N=339 specimens of S. consobrinus, S. cowlesi, S. tristichus) of the S. undulatus complex. Sexual confusion, was recently described in a population of the Sceloporus undulatus complex occurring in White Sands, New Mexico and the behavior is correlated with variation in badge size between male and female lizards. To make inferences about sexual confusion at the species level I investigated the presence and absence of signal patches in female lizards, and compare the sizes of signal patches between males and females. My analyses suggest that torso length and head size are significant sources of sexual size dimorphism but the findings differ from earlier published investigations of sexually dimorphic characters in the species complex. I also find support for the S. undulatus complex being generally a female larger species complex. However two of the 12 populations I investigated displayed male biased sexual size dimorphism. Analysis of signal patches across three species of the S. undulatus complex suggests that sexual dimorphism in signal patch size for S. cowlesi and S. tristichus may not prevent sexual confusion. While the near total absence of signal patches in female S. consobrinus is evidence that sexual confusion is not possible with regards to signal patches.

The aim of the thesis is to contribute to the CCT research field on social identity, by placing a focus on power from a customer perspective and studying how power can be accentuated within social identity. Theory from CCT with a focus on social identity has been used in combination with extensive literature on power and authority from a sociological perspective and literature from Fashion-Studies focusing on power-dressing, conspicuous consumption and luxury. The research question is: How is power-dressing and consumption of high-end luxury fashion brands used by female executives/senior managers in an attempt to accentuate power as a part of their social identity? In-depth semi-structured interviews where used as the main data collection method interviewing five female senior managers/female executives working in Stockholm; using the fashion consumption of female senior managers as its empirical sample. The main conclusion on this thesis is the creation of the concept of power-coded-dressing.This thesis implications are that it develops the CCT field slightly by adding a consumer-power perspective into the theoretical discourse. Its practical and social implications help women accentuate their power through, power-coded-dressing.

As consumers seek social status through displays of mindful consumption, it becomes common to observe a new type of environmentally responsible but conspicuous behavior called conspicuous conservation. Intentionally engaging in environmental activities to show off your `greenness' or over-spending on green products to display your ability to support environmental causes is an example of conspicuous conservation. Given the recent consumer trend involved in green consumption, the study begins with the question of whether consumers' value orientations explain their environmentally conscious behaviors, including their responses to environmental claims in advertising and intentions to purchase a green product. Based on theoretical premises, the study hypothesizes that consumers driven by self-enhancement (proself) values are more likely to respond to a green product whose consumption is primarily seen in public, promoting strong public self-awareness, rather than a product whose consumption is mainly in private and proself-oriented consumers are more likely to respond to green claims that bring immediate benefits than distant and uncertain benefits to the environment. The results of the online experiment confirm that there is a main effect of social value orientations on consumers' environmentally conscious behavior, including attitudinal and behavioral responses regarding green advertising and green products. Specifically, public self-awareness is a significant moderator, indicating proself-oriented consumers generally show less favorable attitude and behavioral responses with regard to green advertising and green purchase than prosocial-oriented consumers; however, when an advertised product and its consumption is mainly seen in public, promoting strong public self-awareness, proself-oriented consumers change their attitudes and behavioral responses in a positive direction. The study has several contributions to the current stream of environmental advertising research and practice. First, the study establishes the relationship between social value orientations and green advertising effectiveness. Second, the study identifies that conspicuous conservation can be explained with social value orientations and public self-awareness. Last, the finding of the study suggests that social value orientations help marketers understand the consumers' underlying motivations and to know whether greenness is an appropriate selling attribute. Further, the marketers can understand how the consumers' value orientations could be incorporated into the brand communications.

This thesis stands result of a research conducted in Entebbe Uganda, during approximately five weeks in the autumn of 2009. The aim was to understand the reasoning behind decisions taken concerning the use of economic means, after covering the consumption of necessities. The options set were either to increase the level of conspicuous consumption or enhance the level of investments or consumption of necessities. The point of departure and ontological approach is taken from a household member i.e. individual level. The analytical framework applied elaborating the empirical material collected was Bourdieu’s conceptualisation of habitus. Enhancing the understanding of habitus concepts e.g. needs, methods introduced by Lull was utilised. The primary data consisted of assembled interviews and direct observations. The secondary data consists of qualitative literature.   The results display an individual vision of vertical or transversal social movement. Identified incentives were inter alia peer pressure and competition. Conspicuous consumption is viewed as a process decreasing the distance from an individual social movement i.e. changes habitus. Methods realising a status increase of social position and status, is of symbolic items possessed through conspicuous consumption in combination with social capital, economic capital and level of knowledge.

This study aimed to determine the potential of packaging to strengthen brand equity in female apparel retail stores. A field experiment was conducted in the Tshwane metropolitan - a key political, economic and urban area in South Africa - to investigate the potential of packaging to be acknowledged as an additional element of the marketing mix in terms of its influence on consumers’ perceptions of the service offering of retailers and their brand equity. The study was done in the context of an emerging economy, where international clothing brands have infiltrated the market and become widely accessible in recent years. The data was collected by using convenience sampling methods, and the self-completion of a structured questionnaire after respondents acted as mystery shoppers at a Single Brand Retailer (SBR) and a Department Store (DS) that carry the same footwear brand in a major shopping centre in this metropolitan. The SBR offers consumers a branded high quality canvas tote bag after purchase, whereas the DS offers a generic plastic bag irrespective of the type of purchase or the price paid. Willing females, all final year students at the University of Pretoria (n =103) were divided in two groups. Individuals visited the two retailers according to a schedule compiled by the researcher. One group visited the SBR first, followed by the DS. The other group did the task in the reverse order. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, specifically Principle Component analysis using PROMAX and PROCRUSTES rotation for the two scales that investigated the service offering and brand equity respectively, Means, Standard deviations, Cronbach’s Alpha as well as paired and non-paired 2-tailed t-tests. This study confirmed the potential of secondary packaging as an independent element of the marketing mix in the branded clothing retail industry. The packaging construct dissociated it from the construct ‘Product’ as the literature suggests, which confirms that marketing elements adapt over time and that these changes have to be acknowledged in retail. Respondents generally had a less favourable instore experience in the DS compared to the SBR. The packaging format of SBR was also evaluated more favourably, which enhanced perceptions of the overall service offering. This suggests that respondents’ less favourable evaluation of the less prestigious packaging offered in the DS, is partly to blame for the lower overall evaluations of the service offering of the DS. Packaging also contributed/enhanced brand equity as consumers’ perceptions of the packaging formats – irrespective of whether it was a SBR or a DS – positively contributed to consumers’ perceptions of the brand equity of the retailers that they visited. The contribution of packaging towards brand equity was mostly more prominent than the contribution of other marketing elements such Advertising and Promotion. An order effect was noted. Respondents who visited the DS first, were significantly more impressed with the SBR. Those who went to the SBR first, seemed more forgiving and evaluated the service offering and the brand equity lower compared to the SBR but nevertheless evaluated it more favourably than the group that patronized the DS first. Packaging does not seem to relieve post purchase regret. Respondents were more regretful after their SBR experience. Several explanations may be used to explain this and future studies are envisaged to expand the findings. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / Consumer Science / unrestricted

This research tested a conceptual model predicting the propensity to engage in two distinct forms of conspicuous consumption (bandwagon and snob consumption) that was developed by Kastanakis and Balabanis (2014) in a collectivistic Iranian context. This study found that this conceptual model was more successful in accounting for the variance in bandwagon consumption (i.e., conformity seeking conspicuous luxury consumption) than snob consumption (i.e., uniqueness seeking conspicuous luxury consumption) in the Iranian context. In addition to status seeking, it was found that consumer susceptibility to normative influence (CSNI) and consumer need for uniqueness (CNFU) mediates the influence of self-concept on bandwagon consumption. This finding suggests that the relationship between snob consumption and CNFU may differ in the Iranian context. Results also show that the relationships between CSNI, unpopular counter choice conformity (a sub-construct of CNFU) and status seeking with bandwagon consumption were all negatively moderated by consumer knowledge for fashion luxury goods. These findings extend the original conspicuous consumption model and provide some insight for the development of marketing strategies in Iran.

The following premise is based on the ideas of social theorists who have contributed to understanding the importance of image in society. This proposal argues that political participation is susceptible to exploitation in the form of conspicuous consumption as defined by Thorstein Veblen. The analyses that follow will test the degree to which Americans who demonstrate more traditional forms of conspicuous consumption also tend to show more activity in political venues. While the correlation of these two variables is not sufficient to demonstrate cause and effect, it may be significant enough to attract more researchers to this question: are Americans using political involvement to positively influence the way that their social status is perceived by others?

By examining the donations by the local nobility to the local church, this thesis aims to study the church as a public room. By analyzing the donations of the nobility in relation to Habermas concept of the public sphere and the concept of conspicuous consumption the donations to the churches can be viewed as manifestations of power. This thesis studies all donations to the churches that leaves material and visual remnants in the church room. The results shows that there was a conscious strategy for the nobility to use the church for manifestation and representation of power. The nobility used their donations to manifest their power and to represent the power towards the people. This was done by filling the church with their names and coats of arms. By donating liturgical objects, church silver, chapels and coats of arms used for funerals the nobility was able to symbolically place themselves in the religious rituals. The church as a room was a symbolically and hierarchical place, and by connecting themselves with this room by donations the nobility could manifest their position in society, both locally and nationally.

This study is based on young adults’ identity in Japan and Hong Kong and its relation to conspicuous consumption. The purpose of this study is to explore how conspicuous consumption influenced the young adults’ identities in Japan and Hong Kong. In order to study this phenomenon, we created a conceptual model, we named “Young Adults Conspicuous Consumption Identity” (YACCI), which is based on previous research on identity and luxury values. The research is based on a qualitative study and the empirical data was gathered through 11 semi-structured interviews with young adults from Hong Kong and Japan. Findings show that the identities of young adults in Japan and Hong Kong are heavily influenced by the society that surrounds them. The results of the societal pressures force them to keep up with a certain standard of image which increase their conspicuous consumption behaviour. This study has contributed to a further understanding of underlying factors that influence young adults’ identities in Japan and Hong Kong.