Tentamenstof - Marketing & Consumer Well Being
Week 1 - Introduction MCWB
Central proposition = marketers who take the well-being of consumers serious can improve
their own financial well-being as well as the well-being of consumers → reinforce each
other through win-win strategies
Win-win strategies = Marketers can improve the well-being of consumers at a financial
profit by improving
1. consumer’s freedom of choice
2. and consumers choice-making capabilities in the marketplace
→ Companies that improve both may profit by attracting customers, increasing loyalty and
reducing long-term societal costs
Marketing (business perspective) = business activities involved in the flow of goods and
services from production to consumption
Marketing (consumer perspective) = the activity, set of institutions and processes for
creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers,
clients, partners and society at large
Consumer behavior = all activities related to acquisition/purchase → consumption →
disposal
Consumer well-being: how consumption affects people’s quality of life in both short
(pleasure and satisfaction) and long-term (health, meaning, fulfillment)
→ Depends on whether consumption behavior is aligned with consumers own core values
- Increasing well-being = when consumption supports these values
- Decreasing well-being = when consumption conflicts, even when it is pleasurable in
the short-term
→ more choice, consumption and convenience do NOT automatically lead to higher
well-being
Two co-dependent perspectives
1. Hedonic well-being = focuses on happiness and defines consumer well-being in
terms of pleasure attainment and pain avoidance
→ short-term and affect-based (eg a new phone/nice car, tasty food, entertainment,
convenience)
2. Eudaimonic well-being = actualization of human potential and defines consumer
well-being in terms of the degree to which people are realizing their true nature
→ long-term and identity-based (eg health, personal growth, sustainability and
self-control)
, Who is to blame for the negative overconsumption?
Overconsumption is a systemic problem involving marketing, consumers, and society.
- Marketers stimulate excessive consumption by creating artificial differentiation and
promoting materialism.
- Marketing exploits psychological needs (status, social acceptance) and encourages
impulse buying.
- Marketers often ignore long-term environmental and well-being costs.
- Children and the elderly are especially vulnerable and need protection.
- Marketing has also improved living standards and satisfies genuine consumer needs.
→ Marketers are partly to blame, but responsibility is shared. Marketing should shift from
maximizing consumption to supporting long-term consumer well-being.
The role of marketing
- marketing is not inherently good/bad, its impact depends on how it shapes
consumer choices
- Improve well-being by helping consumers achieve valued goals
- Reduce well-being by exploiting biases, impulsivity and short-term desires
- Marketing often focuses on giving consumers what they want, rather than what is
good for them in the long run
- Consumers are influenced by biases, habits and social pressure so satisfying
immediate wants does not necessarily increase their well-being
→ Responsible marketing should aim for win-win solutions = both consumers (in terms of
well-being) and firms (in terms of profit, loyalty, trust) benefit
Means-End Chain Theory =
finding out the underlying
ideas of why something is
important to consumers; they
do not value products for
their own sake but see
products as means to achieve
ends
1. Product knowledge = driven by concrete and abstract attributes with functional
consequences
2. Consumer self-knowledge = driven by psychological consequences and core
values
Laddering approach = qualitative interview technique that uncovers the chains of attribute,
consequence and values to reveal what consumers really seek through consumption
- underlying motivation behind behavior
- Moving from a basic product attribute to a deeper personal value
- Short-term pleasure often serve deeper goals
Week 1 - Introduction MCWB
Central proposition = marketers who take the well-being of consumers serious can improve
their own financial well-being as well as the well-being of consumers → reinforce each
other through win-win strategies
Win-win strategies = Marketers can improve the well-being of consumers at a financial
profit by improving
1. consumer’s freedom of choice
2. and consumers choice-making capabilities in the marketplace
→ Companies that improve both may profit by attracting customers, increasing loyalty and
reducing long-term societal costs
Marketing (business perspective) = business activities involved in the flow of goods and
services from production to consumption
Marketing (consumer perspective) = the activity, set of institutions and processes for
creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers,
clients, partners and society at large
Consumer behavior = all activities related to acquisition/purchase → consumption →
disposal
Consumer well-being: how consumption affects people’s quality of life in both short
(pleasure and satisfaction) and long-term (health, meaning, fulfillment)
→ Depends on whether consumption behavior is aligned with consumers own core values
- Increasing well-being = when consumption supports these values
- Decreasing well-being = when consumption conflicts, even when it is pleasurable in
the short-term
→ more choice, consumption and convenience do NOT automatically lead to higher
well-being
Two co-dependent perspectives
1. Hedonic well-being = focuses on happiness and defines consumer well-being in
terms of pleasure attainment and pain avoidance
→ short-term and affect-based (eg a new phone/nice car, tasty food, entertainment,
convenience)
2. Eudaimonic well-being = actualization of human potential and defines consumer
well-being in terms of the degree to which people are realizing their true nature
→ long-term and identity-based (eg health, personal growth, sustainability and
self-control)
, Who is to blame for the negative overconsumption?
Overconsumption is a systemic problem involving marketing, consumers, and society.
- Marketers stimulate excessive consumption by creating artificial differentiation and
promoting materialism.
- Marketing exploits psychological needs (status, social acceptance) and encourages
impulse buying.
- Marketers often ignore long-term environmental and well-being costs.
- Children and the elderly are especially vulnerable and need protection.
- Marketing has also improved living standards and satisfies genuine consumer needs.
→ Marketers are partly to blame, but responsibility is shared. Marketing should shift from
maximizing consumption to supporting long-term consumer well-being.
The role of marketing
- marketing is not inherently good/bad, its impact depends on how it shapes
consumer choices
- Improve well-being by helping consumers achieve valued goals
- Reduce well-being by exploiting biases, impulsivity and short-term desires
- Marketing often focuses on giving consumers what they want, rather than what is
good for them in the long run
- Consumers are influenced by biases, habits and social pressure so satisfying
immediate wants does not necessarily increase their well-being
→ Responsible marketing should aim for win-win solutions = both consumers (in terms of
well-being) and firms (in terms of profit, loyalty, trust) benefit
Means-End Chain Theory =
finding out the underlying
ideas of why something is
important to consumers; they
do not value products for
their own sake but see
products as means to achieve
ends
1. Product knowledge = driven by concrete and abstract attributes with functional
consequences
2. Consumer self-knowledge = driven by psychological consequences and core
values
Laddering approach = qualitative interview technique that uncovers the chains of attribute,
consequence and values to reveal what consumers really seek through consumption
- underlying motivation behind behavior
- Moving from a basic product attribute to a deeper personal value
- Short-term pleasure often serve deeper goals
