Is luxury consumption incompatible with simple living? ... or not? For most of the people the question and the answer are obvious. On the first sight, it seems that there is no compatibility at all. How can luxury that is often connected and used as a synonym for opulence, excessive useless things and so on be even placed in one sentence with such a frugal concept as simple living? The purpose of this thesis is to define the framework and the issues that arise when putting the two concepts together. The findings of the thesis can be treated in deeper research that can follow and be inspired by this thesis. In order to prove and explain the analytical part, the findings are applied on real life examples. The theoretical part defines what luxury is, what its specific attributes are and why it stands apart from the "traditional" marketing approach. What is more, the impact of internalization and globalization on the luxury products and services is particular and cannot be treated in the same manner as for the mass consumption brands. The second analytical part treats the concept of simple living, the common misunderstandings and the philosophy of the concept. The two concepts are then put together in order to search for some for the points in common and the incompatibilities. The last chapter is dedicated to a practical illustration of the theory stated. Five star spa hotel and forest retreat Chateau Mcely is used as an example of luxury meeting simple living in some areas. The hotel is briefly introduced starting with the history of the building and then the modern history of the today's hotel after it was acquired by the actual owners, Inéz and James Cusumano. The mission statement and the principal idea of the project are detailed same as is the marketing mix of Chateau Mcely. And finally, the sustainability and ways of creating it are presented in order to underline the symbiosis of luxurious hotel and simple living, at least in some domains.

In recent years, second-hand products have received more attention and the demand for secondhand products has increased. In line with the demand for second-hand products, ethical consumption has also increased. There have been earlier studies done on ethical consumption and the drivers of its consumers. Meanwhile, there is a lack in the research regarding what it is that drives and motivates consumers to purchase second-hand products. The purpose of this study was to explore what drives and motivates consumers to shop second-hand products. The study used a qualitative method. The data was collected through interviews with employees and volunteers at second-hand stores, and through a focus group with second-hand customers. The empirical findings show that there are various drivers and motivations for second-hand consumption. However, there are some drivers and motivations which are more common than others. The conclusion is that consumers are motivated and driven by various factors. They are motivated by consumer responsibility, decrease of impulse purchases and reference groups. They are driven by dissonance, self-fulfillment, thrill of the hunt and finding unique products.

This doctoral dissertation investigates the impact of incidental aesthetics on consumer perceptions. The author refers to incidental aesthetics in two dimensions. One is in the aesthetic properties of product context that is not directly related to its functional performance. And second is in the aesthetic attributes found in unexpected sources defined as ordinary objects, places, and people. Drawing on theories from aesthetics, psychology, and consumer behavior, this dissertation examines in two manuscripts how and why incidental aesthetics influence consumer evaluations. The first paper, 'Welded Together: How Responses to Incidental, Nondiagnostic Sensory Context (Mis)Guide Simultaneous Product Evaluations,' studies how evaluations of incidental aesthetics from a sensory experience with nondiagnostic product contextual cues are merged with the evaluations of the target product. The second paper, 'Consumer Attentiveness to Beauty in the Ordinary,' examines an understudied dimension of beauty. The construct of attentiveness to beauty in the ordinary is defined as the degree to which individuals mindfully identify and formulate an aesthetic judgment of common visual elements and integrate this mindset into their daily experiences. The authors develop a four-item Attentiveness to Beauty in the Ordinary Scale to measure the construct. Using a mixed-methods approach, combining a series of laboratory experiments and field studies from a diverse sample of consumers (Npaper1 = 49,435; Npaper2 = 2,051), the authors show in the first paper that unappealing (appealing) incidental sensory experiences lead to lower (higher) product evaluations, including perceived quality and purchase intention. The effect emerges when the incidental evaluation pertains to a dimension closely related to the product dimension being evaluated. In the second paper, the findings provide evidence of validity and reliability of the Attentiveness to Beauty in the Ordinary Scale, situate the scale in a network of related constructs such as appreciation of beauty, engagement with beauty, dispositional awe, voluntary simplicity, materialism, mindfulness, and subjective happiness, and demonstrate the predictive value of the scale for consumer perceptions and behavior. Specifically, people high (vs. low) in ordinary beauty attentiveness are less discriminating in aesthetic evaluations of ordinary elements, find higher product quality in naturally-aesthetic packaging, are less persuaded by endorsers' attractiveness, and are more likely to buy imperfect produce. This dissertation contributes to the literature on aesthetics and sensory marketing by revealing that aesthetic experiences that are not intentionally designed or not expected but naturally occur in consumption environments have a significant impact on consumer evaluations. The results have practical implications for marketers and designers, who can leverage the power of incidental aesthetics in marketing strategies to enhance product perceptions. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation explores, across two papers, how natural aesthetic qualities found in things, people, places, or in product contexts, referred to as incidental aesthetics, can influence our perceptions and evaluations of products. In the first paper, the authors find a novel effect in which consumers "merge" aesthetic evaluations of incidental product context that do not affect the functionality of the product (e.g., bad/good music on headphones) with product evaluations they make at the same time (e.g., bad/good quality headphones). This effect occurs because people spontaneously mix the evaluation of the context (e.g., music sound) with the evaluation of a closely related product attribute (e.g., sound quality). In the second paper, the authors define attentiveness to beauty in the ordinary as a disposition that some people have of being more open to finding beauty when it is not expected (i.e., incidental aesthetics) and therefore seeing beauty more frequently in everyday situations than other people. The authors create a scale to measure this individual disposition and find that 1) people with high (vs. low) attentiveness to ordinary beauty see less of a difference in the beauty of elements high and low in aesthetics, 2) find higher product quality in naturally-aesthetic packaging, 3) are less persuaded by the attractiveness of an endorser in an advertisement, and 4) are more likely to buy aesthetically imperfect produce. Adding to existing research, the findings of both papers provide new insights into the impact of incidental aesthetics in consumption settings. Surprisingly, even when aesthetic experiences are not intentionally designed or expected to be found, they can still play a significant role in shaping consumer behavior. These findings have practical implications for marketers, who should consider the incidental aesthetics of their products and contexts to create a more positive experience for consumers, leading to higher product perceptions. Overall, this research suggests that the power of aesthetics in influencing behavior extends beyond what consumers consciously perceive or expect to find.

Sustainability is a buzzword covering a variety of fields and subjects. For the purposes of my research sustainability is “the ability to keep going over the long haul. As a value, it refers to giving equal weight in your decisions to the future as well as the present” (Gilman 1). The sustainability movement refers to activists, educators and researchers who are dedicated to finding high quality ways of living in the world that are environmentally benign for all who are now living as well future generations to come (Gilman 1). This research focuses on three women who engage in voluntary simplicity— “simplicity that is voluntary-consciously chosen, deliberate, and intentional- [and] supports a higher quality of life” (Elgin 4). The complexity of the subject of sustainability is why I chose to narrow my focus to such a worldview and because much of my educational background is in Gender and Women’s Studies I specifically focus on women. Feminist ethnographic methods of participant observation are utilized as well as rhetorical analysis. I examine the attentive roles that have afforded these women the ability to form intimate social as well as ecological relations in their community. The observations are recorded in a narrative form and contribute to the growing knowledge base of sustainability as well as resilience studies. The lack of sustainable practices on a large scale in our country affects every citizen who lives here through environmental problems like climate change and peak oil. The narrative form allows the research I have collected to maintain an accessible language which is important in reaching a greater audience beyond that of academia. The narrative shows easy, manageable sustainable choices and changes that can be applied at the micro as well as macro level. These choices and changes are not exhaustive or all inclusive; rather they are suggestions for those who are interested in joining the sustainability movement.

Deep ecology is the field of environmental ethics, which seeks to change human values and attitudes that would lead to the solution to environmental problems. The aim of this thesis is to confront the selected propositions which deep ecology include (overpopulation, economic growth, decentralization, ethics of voluntary simplicity and biodiversity) with views of other authors and to seek answers to the ethical and social issues associated with them. Opinions on the topic and their role in solvin

We often speak of our society as a consumption society, a label that emerged after World War II. But the consumption society dates back longer than that, and can be deduced as far back as the colonialist era and the rise of luxury goods. One could say that the consumption society is the cultural answer to the transfer of the economy into capitalism as well as a consequence of industrial mass production. Swedes’ consumption habits negatively affect the environment, being part of the wealthiest 20% of the world’s population that stands for more than three-quarters of total private consumption. More and more people consciously change their lifestyle into consuming less. This aversion from the capitalistic consumer society has been around for quite some time but continues to grow stronger. But how does these voluntary non-consumers experience the city that they live in? With major cities today being so focused around an ever-increasing consumption, this study aims to find out how Swedish non-consumers experience the city of Stockholm by the use of qualitative interviews. The empirical result shows that the interviewed non-consumers primarily choose their lifestyle due to environmental concerns, and that they feel that Stockholm is too centered on consumption, not having enough mixed areas, and that they are missing greenery and cultural activities in the city. Non-consumers seem to influence friends and family to adopt a more sustainable consumption habit, something that could be useful for the further development of a more environmentally friendly and sustainable consumption behavior in Sweden. / Vi talar ofta om vårt samhälle som ett konsumtionssamhälle, ett uttryck som dök upp efter andra världskrigets slut. Men konsumtionssamhället är äldre än så och kan härledas till kolonialismen och ökningen av lyxvaror. Man kan säga att dagens konsumtionssamhälle är ett kulturellt svar på omställningen av ekonomin till kapitalism, liksom en konsekvens av den industriella massproduktionen. Svenskar är en del av världspopulationens rikaste 20 %, som står för mer än tre fjärdedelar av total privat konsumtion, vilket har en negativ miljöpåverkan. Fler och fler människor förändrar medvetet sin livsstil till att konsumera mindre. Det här avståndstagandet från det kapitalistiska konsumtionssamhället har funnits länge, men fortsätter att växa sig starkare. Men hur upplever dessa frivilliga icke-konsumenter staden de bor i? Med större städers fokus idag kring en evigt växande konsumtion, syftar denna studie till att undersöka hur svenska icke-konsumenter upplever Stockholm, med hjälp av kvalitativa intervjuer. Det empiriska resultatet visar att de intervjuade icke-konsumenterna framförallt valt sin livsstil på grund av miljömedvetenhet, och att de upplever att Stockholm är för centrerat kring konsumtion och inte har tillräckligt med blandområden. De saknar även grönska och kulturella aktiviteter i staden. Icke-konsumenter verkar influera vänner och familj till att välja ett mer hållbart konsumtionsmönster, något som kan vara användbart för en fortsatt utveckling av ett mer miljövänlig och hållbart konsumtionsbeteende i Sverige.