Trans-Generational Equity: The Transmission of Consumption Practices between Mother and Daughter

Abstract

This paper addresses the intergenerational transmission of consumption practices within the family. We explore such transmission across time. In particular, we study the transmission of practices between mother and adult daughter, concentrating solely on the reception of these practices on the part of the daughter. Results from qualitative methodology based on interviews with 44 women, and further supported by 42 personal narratives, reveal that a number of consumption practices are in fact transmitted by the mother and appropriated by the daughter. This transmission and appropriation together constitute what we call “trans-generational equity”, equity which is subsequently integrated by the “owner” over her entire lifetime. From a theoretical viewpoint, this “trans-generational equity” is a component of cultural capital and brand equity. The managerial implications of this research have a strong impact on strategies of the development of customer loyalty as well as on the approach of the notion of brand.