Abstract
Abstract People have fundamental beliefs about what constitutes a good relationship, known as implicit theories of relationship, where some people have destiny beliefs whereas others have growth beliefs. People with destiny beliefs believe that potential partners are meant either for each other or not, whereas people with growth beliefs believe that successful relationships are cultivated and developed. This research shows that different implicit theories of relationship influence consumers’ gift choice to their significant others. We demonstrate, through two studies, that consumers with destiny beliefs prefer giving gifts that are more feasible in nature, whereas consumers with growth beliefs prefer giving gifts that are more desirable in nature. We show that this effect is mediated by desirability-feasibility considerations. Specifically, consumers with destiny beliefs focus on feasibility considerations, which leads them to choose a highly feasible gift. Conversely, consumers with growth beliefs focus on desirability considerations, which leads them to choose a highly desirable gift. We also discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of our research.
Highlights
The tradition of gift-giving has become a ubiquitous part of consumers’ lives where gifts serve as a way to create and maintain social bonds that are a central component in the society (Baskin et al, 2014)
Study 1 shows that participants with growth beliefs prefer buying highly desirable gifts whereas participants with destiny beliefs prefer buying highly feasible gifts for their significant others
We measured the underlying mechanism of the effect where participants with growth beliefs focus more on the desirability considerations whereas participants with destiny beliefs focus more on the feasibility consideration of the gift
Summary
The tradition of gift-giving has become a ubiquitous part of consumers’ lives where gifts serve as a way to create and maintain social bonds that are a central component in the society (Baskin et al, 2014). Recent research has investigated the various factors that influence gift-giving (Ward and Broniarczyk, 2016; Baskin et al, 2014; Gino and Flynn, 2011). There is scant research investigating the phenomenon of gift-giving in the context of romantic relationships. Recent research in marketing has shown that various factors such as attachment orientations, relationship satisfaction, and relationship commitment influence gift giving behavior (Nguyen and Munch, 2011). Research has not considered whether consumers’ gift-giving behavior is driven by their belief of what constitutes a good relationship. We investigate how the different implicit theories of relationship influence consumers’ gift giving behavior. Since romantic relationships are an important component of consumers’ lives, understanding the role of implicit theories of relationships on consumer decisions is an important area to explore for marketing researchers. Explicating how implicit theories of relationships influence gift giving behavior helps us advance our understanding of the impact of implicit theories of relationship on consumer decisions
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