Assessing Materialism among the Future Elites of China

This study assesses Chinese college-attending future elites as to their materialism values. Its intent is to reveal suggestive insights into the extent of materialism being manifested for China's needed increase in domestic consumption. The results revealed a bifurcation of materialism values,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of international consumer marketing Vol. 26; no. 2; pp. 88 - 105
Main Authors Van Auken, Stuart, Wells, Ludmilla Gricenko, Borgia, Daniel J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Taylor & Francis Group 15.03.2014
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
advertising attitudes
and life satisfaction
Consumption
Materialism
Prosperity
Social classes
Studies
validation
Values
vertical collectivism
vertical individualism
China
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Summary:This study assesses Chinese college-attending future elites as to their materialism values. Its intent is to reveal suggestive insights into the extent of materialism being manifested for China's needed increase in domestic consumption. The results revealed a bifurcation of materialism values, and theory-based difference assessments validated the study results. The most powerful predictors of materialism were vertical individualism, vertical collectivism, and life satisfaction, with the latter evidencing an inverse relationship. The study's overall results suggest that the materialistic values of future elites may both facilitate and impede China's economic prosperity. Insights are also revealed into the unique nature of materialism among future elites, and strategic perspectives are presented.
ISSN:0896-1530
1528-7068
DOI:10.1080/08961530.2014.878202