Seven dimensions of consumption

Abstract

This thesis presents the development of the integrative, context-sensitive, and multi-dimensional Consumer Motivation Scale (CMS). The CMS is based on the three higher-order master goals of goal-framing theory: the gain goal (“to guard or improve one’s resources”), the hedonic goal (“to feel better right now”), and the normative goal (“to act appropriately”). Across three articles, nine empirical studies, and various product categories and consumption contexts, the dimensionality and situational variability of the master goals are examined. The emergent goal structure—consisting of the three gain sub-goals Value for Money, Quality, and Safety, the two hedonic goals Stimulation and Comfort, and the two normative goals Ethics and Social Acceptance—is demonstrated to be linked to corresponding consumption behaviors and preferences. The resulting 34-item measure draws on a broad range of research, from economics and marketing to social and environmental psychology, and takes the cognitive, context-dependent, and multi-dimensional nature of motivation into account, providing consumer researchers and practitioners with a more nuanced and psychologically accurate measure of consumer motivation. It should prove useful in standard marketing research, as well as in the development of tailored marketing strategies and the segmentation of consumer groups, settings, brands, and products.