Materialism among adolescents in China: a historical generation perspective.

• Author: Gu, Flora F.

INTRODUCTION

Whether materialistic values, luxury consumption, and the craving for prestigious brands increase or decline over time among consumers in the United States is open to debate (Achenreiner, 1997; Easterlin and Crimmins, 1991). However, the escalation of consumers' desire for a materialistic lifestyle is obvious in less affluent countries. Ger and Belk (1996) note that materialistic values in some transitional economies have surpassed those in developed economies. In China, the largest transitional economy and a market arena for global firms (Child and Tse, 2001), consumers' desire for a luxurious and materialistic lifestyle has risen to an unprecedented level. According to a recent report, the country is now the third-biggest consumer of luxury goods, accounting for twelve percent of sales worldwide, up from one percent just five years ago (The Boston Globe, March 21 2006). However, not all consumers in China share the heightened orientation towards materialism.

Previous research identifies different segments of American consumers according to the historical events consumers experience during their formative years. For example, the leading-edge baby boomers, (aged 50-58 in 2004), suffered the loss of J.F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. but watched the first man walk on the moon. This segment is self-assured and champions causes (e.g., civil rights). The trailing-edge baby boomers, (aged 39-49 in 2004), witnessed the fall of Vietnam, Watergate, and Nixon's resignation. This segment disregards authority and indulges in self-expression. Many members of Generation X, (aged 27-38 in 2004), have seen the trauma of divorce first-hand and they emphasize a balance between work and family life (Meredith and Schewe, 2002; Noble and Schewe, 2003). These consumer segments have been shown to hold differential consumption behavior based on their value orientations (Meredith and Schewe, 2002).

China's socio-political environment substantially differs from that of the USA, and historical events--and the macro social-political forces behind them--have shaped a distinctly different pattern of generational cohorts in China. However, little research to date has systematically linked the macro societal forces to consumers' materialistic orientations. There is also limited exploration of the effects of micro-level socialization processes (e.g., media exposure) on these consumer cohorts.

Thus, we have two objectives in the current study. First, we take a historical generation perspective and propose that there are substantive differences in materialistic orientations in China between late adolescents (aged 15-19) and the parent generation (aged 40-49). Specifically, we examine the influence of cataclysmic events such as the Cultural revolution (1965-1975) on the parent generation, and the influence of globalization (1992-present) on late adolescents. Inglehart (1990, 2003) shows that the younger generation in the West places a stronger emphasis on belonging, self-expression, and quality of life (termed "postmodern values" by Inglehart) than on economic and physical security (termed "materialist values" by Inglehart). By examining the generational change of values in China, researchers can assess the cross-cultural applicability of Inglehart's thesis.

Second, we examine the effects of two micro-level socialization processes on the cohorts' materialistic orientations: financial resources and media exposure. Previous research has shown that in developed countries where the social structure is relatively stable, the transfer of values across generations is effectively linear (Churchill and Moschis, 1979; Kilby, 1993). Thus, parents play a strong role in the development of their children's materialistic orientations (Kasser, Ryan and Zax, 1995; Goldberg, Gorn, Peracchio and Bamossy, 2003). However, in a transitional economy such as China, the intergenerational transfer of values from parents to children may be disrupted. We propose that societal forces (i.e., the Cultural revolution and globalization) affect the micro-level socialization process and differentiate the effects of financial resources and media exposure on late adolescents and the parent generation.

THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND HYPOTHESES

MATERIALISM AMONG ADOLESCENTS

Our focus on adolescent consumers rather than the parent generation carries both theoretical and managerial implications. Previous research on materialism has examined the dimensionality of materialism (Belk, 1985; Richins and Dawson, 1992), its social and psychological antecedents (Braun and Wicklund, 1989; Chang and Arkin, 2002), personality correlates (Founier and Richins, 1991), and the manifestation of materialism across cultures (Ger and Belk, 1996; Wong and Ahuvia, 1998). However, few studies have examined adolescents' materialistic orientations (Dittmar and Pepper, 1994; Goldberg et al., 2003) although adolescents are at the developmental stage of identity seeking (Belk, 1985) when they are developing values, self-definitions, and consumption orientations that are likely to have lifelong effects (Harris, 1995; Rugler, 2002). Further, many multinational corporations (MNCs) primarily target adolescents both in their short-term efforts to sell global brands of music, videos, T-shirts, and soft drinks, and to encourage them to identify with specific brand names and global culture to reap long-term benefits (Arnett, 2002). Thus, adolescents represent a market with substantial economic potential.

MATERIALISM AND ITS DIMENSIONS

We are interested in materialism as a consumption orientation. Thus, we adopt a marketing researchers' definition of materialism, as the importance a consumer attaches to worldly possessions, which, in extreme cases, assume a central place in a person's life and are believed to provide the greatest sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction (Belk, 1984). The literature considers many behaviors and personality characteristics of materialists. The following discussion includes only those dimensions that have been consistently adopted in the literature to describe materialism (Richins and Dawson, 1992; Goldberg et al., 2003; Achenreiner, 1997). Based on socialization theory (Goslin, 1971), we believe that a person socialized to materialistic values during the formative stages of his/her personality acquires cognitions and behaviors along the following dimensions.

Acquisition Centrality.

The essence of a materialistic orientation is an individual's emphasis on his/her possessions (Belk, 1984; Richins and Dawson, 1992). The driving goal of a materialistic individual's daily endeavors, and a great source of satisfaction in life, is the possession or acquisition of products (Belk, 1984). The value of a materialistic possession often stretches beyond a product's utility to convey consumer status and a desired self-image. Thus, acquisition centrality is positively related to materialism (Richins and Dawson, 1992).

Novelty Seeking.

Goldberg et al. (2003) show that novelty-seeking can be an important consequence of materialism. Materialistic youths are most interested in new products and they are responsive to advertising and promotional efforts (Hung, Gu, and Tse, 2005). This vulnerability to new product promotion can be traced to the materialist's inner trait of acquisitiveness that urges them to own more products (Goldberg et al., 2003). Thus, we expect individuals with high novelty seeking scores to hold materialistic values.

Susceptibility to Social Influence.

While materialists are self-centered, alienated, unconcerned with others, and have weaker interpersonal relationships (Fournier and Richins, 1991), the materialist's reference system is other-oriented, with attributions based on factors outside of their control (Achenreiner, 1997). Indeed, materialists may see themselves as searching to live an imagined perfect life (Campbell, 1987). An individual's underlying feelings of insecurity may result in a susceptibility to influence, and materialism may be a substitute for a lost sense of community (Achenreiner, 1997; Easterlin and Crimmins, 1991; Fournier and Richins, 1991). We expect susceptibility to social influence to be positively associated with materialism.

We propose that materialism is a core value acquired through the process of socialization within one's environment. Previous research has shown that socialization can occur both at the macro level and at the individual level through a person's interaction with socialization agents (Moschis and Moore, 1979; Noble and Schewe, 2003). Our analysis follows two paths. At the macro level, we apply the historical generation theory to identify key historical events that may have shaped materialistic orientations among adolescents in China compared to the parent generation. Accordingly, we propose a generational difference hypothesis. At the micro level, we recognize that the mass media represent a powerful...