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Social Class and Consumer Choice

Marketing research is lacking in the study of how SES influences consumption choices beyond access to purely economic resources, which merely represent purchasing power without explaining consumer preference. The first essay of this dissertation addresses this gap by examining an understudied social resource known as cultural capital—internalized knowledge, skills and behaviors reflecting cultural competence—that can influence the types of products consumers choose. The second essay examines low SES politically conservative consumers' desire to use consumption choices as signals to attain more status. Together, this dissertation extends our understanding of how SES influences consumer preferences for hedonic (vs. utilitarian) products, as well as their preference for product acquisition via access-based consumption (vs. ownership). Furthermore, the psychological processes underlying these effects and the conditions and personality differences moderating these effects are uncovered. Managerial and theoretical implications are provided.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc1538668
Date08 1900
CreatorsMas, Erick M
ContributorsKidwell, Blair, Spears, Nancy, Kidwell, Virginie
PublisherUniversity of North Texas
Source SetsUniversity of North Texas
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis or Dissertation
Formatviii, 70 pages, Text
RightsPublic, Mas, Erick M, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved.

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