Date of Award

1-1-2017

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Organizational Unit

Morgridge College of Education, Research Methods and Information Science, Research Methods and Statistics

First Advisor

Kathy E. Green, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Nicholas Cutforth

Third Advisor

Donald Bacon

Fourth Advisor

Frédérique Chevillot

Keywords

Attribution theory of motivation, Baby boomers, Involuntary deconsumption, Mixed methods, Scale development, Voluntary deconsumption

Abstract

This exploratory sequential mixed methods study of scale development was conducted among baby boomers in the United States to render conceptual clarity to the concepts of voluntary and involuntary deconsumption, to explore deconsumption behavior under the tenets of the attribution theory of motivation, and to examine the components, structures, uses, and measurement properties of scales of voluntary and involuntary deconsumption. It was also an attempt to reiterate the importance of the baby boomer segment(s) for marketing practitioners based on growth, economic viability, and the power of influence, and to establish a deep understanding of the deconsumption processes, which could enable marketers to devise strategies to pre-emptively avoid, pro-actively influence, and/or reactively mitigate deconsumption outcomes. The critical incident in a relationship context (CIRC) technique was used in conjunction with grounded theory approach in the qualitative phase (study 1); and survey research, principal components analysis, and Rasch analysis were used in the quantitative phase (study 2). Behavioral process theories of the experience of voluntary and involuntary deconsumption were posited; and motivations and consequences of both types of deconsumption were discussed. The differences in the experience of deconsumption based on variables such as deconsumption type (voluntary and involuntary), gender (male and female), and baby boomer type (trailing- and leading-edge) were explained as well. Subscales of voluntary deconsumption included four components, i.e., elevated state of purpose, social agency and activism, non-materialism, and acceptance of life circumstances. Subscales of involuntary deconsumption included three components, i.e., victim mentality, materialism, and non-acceptance of life circumstances. Finally, the unidimensionality, appropriate scale use, invariance, and levels of validity and reliability of all the subscales of voluntary and involuntary deconsumption were tested, and reported as acceptable and appropriate. In conclusion, the implications of the results for theory, research methodology, and practice were discussed, and recommendations for future research inquiry were made.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Kranti K. Dugar

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

en

File Size

470 p.

Discipline

Marketing, Statistics, Gerontology

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