This paper aims to examine coping approaches used by receivers to deal with failed gift experiences, thereby dealing with misperceptions between givers and receivers that could affect their relationship.,This study uses a sequential, multimethod methodology using background questionnaires, online diary method and 27 semi-structured interviews.,Receivers cope with failed gift experiences through concealing, disclosing or re-evaluating the gift experience. These approaches encompass several coping strategies, allowing receivers to deal with their experiences in ways that help them manage their relationships with givers.,Informants described gift experiences in their own terms without being prompted to talk about coping, thus some insights of coping with failed gifts may have been missed. Multiple data collection methods were used to minimise this limitation, and the research findings suggest new avenues for future research.,The present research helps retailers and brands to minimise gift failure by promoting gifts that emphasise aspects of the giver–receiver relationship, assists givers in their learning from gift failure by making them aware of the receiver’s preferences and reduces the cost of gift failure by offering further opportunities to dispose of unwanted gifts.,This paper contributes to the emerging topic of consumer coping by providing a novel and rounded understanding of coping in the context of failed gift events, identifying new reasons for gift failure, highlighting receivers’ ethical considerations when responding to failed gifts and proposing new insights for the coping literature.
#2Toni Schmader(UBC: University of British Columbia)H-Index: 36
Last. Navio Kwok(UW: University of Waterloo)H-Index: 4
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Abstract Both giving and receiving money have emotional benefits, but when gifts of value are made in the context of socioeconomic differences, there might also be emotional costs. Four studies (and an internal meta-analysis) tested the idea that receiving a generous gift from someone higher in perceived socioeconomic status (SES) signals social identity threat. In Study 1 ( N = 218), participants on average, but especially those with relatively lower SES, reported experiencing more self-conscio...
Abstract Past research in gift giving has largely treated asymmetries between the types of gifts givers give and the ones recipients prefer to receive as unintentional errors on the part of givers. In contrast, we show that givers sometimes intentionally bypass gifts that they know will bring the most joy and happiness to their recipients. Specifically, we demonstrate that givers dislike giving gifts that compare favorably to their own possessions, because they feel that doing so would lead them...
#2Paolo Antonetti(QMUL: Queen Mary University of London)H-Index: 12
Last. Isabel Carrero(Comillas Pontifical University)H-Index: 6
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Purpose Research on sustainable consumption (SC) has shown how, faced with barriers that prevent them from embracing a sustainable lifestyle, consumers experience classic symptoms of distress. Although distress emerges as a constitutive dimension of sustainable lifestyles, research has not yet provided a comprehensive account of how consumers cope with it. This paper aims to provide such an account. Design/methodology/approach In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 people who defined themsel...
Abstract Sentimental value is the value derived from an emotionally-laden item's associations with significant others, or special events or times in one's life. The present research demonstrates that when faced with the choice between sentimentally valuable gifts and gifts with superficial attributes that match the preferences of the recipient, givers give the latter much more often than recipients would prefer to receive such gifts. This asymmetry appears to be driven by givers feeling relative...
This research investigates the feelings linked to the transmission of luxury watches from father to son. Based on three studies, an iterative content analysis of individual discourses investigates the three stages of the gift-giving process (Sherry, 1983). Study 1 investigates the gestation stage through the discourse of 15 fathers who offered their luxury watch to their son. Study 2 examines the prestation stage via the “Album On Line” technique on 48 owners. Study 3 explores the reformulation ...
We propose that many giver-recipient discrepancies in the gift-giving literature can be explained, at least partially, by the notion that when evaluating the quality of a gift, givers primarily focus on the moment of exchange, whereas recipients primarily focus on how valuable a gift will be once owned. In this review, we summarize the variety of errors givers make and, more critically, position these errors within our newly developed framework. We hope this framework will provide a single point...
Last. James G. Hutton(Fairleigh Dickinson University)H-Index: 7
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Regifting is explored through content and thematic analysis of self-reported stories about regifting exchanges narrated by regifters, regiftees, original gift givers and observers. Analyses reveal four modes of regifting, diverse tactics employed by regifters, a variety of cues that signal regifts, as well as emotional, relational and behavioral outcomes of regifting. Findings highlight the need to examine regifting as a phenomenon related to but distinct from traditional, dyadic gift giving, an...
Last. Christine Ennew(University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus)H-Index: 4
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a contextualized view of participants’ accounts of self-gift consumer behaviour (SGCB) throughout the consumption cycle, from the motivations to the emotions that follow. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses an interpretive approach, focused on participants’ constructions of meanings, using 99 critical incident technique interviews, which followed 16 in-depth interviews. Findings – This paper identifies the following self-gift motivation...
Last. Joanne Lloyd(University of Wolverhampton)H-Index: 6
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While there has been extensive research into consumption of “traditional” forms of explicit sexual and violent media (within pornography, videogames and movies), the informal exchange and viewing of explicit real-world violent and sexual content via social media is an under-investigated and potentially problematic behaviour. The current study used an online survey (n= 225: 169f, 55m, 1x, mean age 30.61 (SD 12.03)) to explore self-reported reactions to unsolicited explicit violent and sexual cont...