GERMAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO - MARKETING DEPARTMENT

Antecedents To Consumerism
The Role Of Marketing
By Nabila Youssri El-Assar 22-3384
To Dr. Noha El-Bassiouny

On 10/12/2012

1

Literature Review Outline
1. Introduction 2. Consumerism in perspective 2.1. Definitions 2.1.1. First stream of thought: Benign Definitions 2.1.1.1. 2.1.1.2. 2.1.1.3. First definition: Manipulative Techniques Second definition: Customer is King Third definition: Globalization

2.1.2. Second stream of thought: Destructive Definition 2.1.2.1. Evolution Of The Consumer Culture

2.2. Implications Of The Benign Consumerism Definitions On Marketing Strategy 3. The Consumer Culture And The Consumption Society 3.1. Distinguishing Definition 3.2. Conditions For A Consumption Society 3.3. Unhealthy Pillars/Consequences Of The Consumption Society 3.3.1. Materialism 3.3.2. Compensatory consumption: The "Shopaholic" Phenomenon 3.3.3. I Shop Therefore I Am 3.3.4. Living Beyond Your Means 4. Antecedents To The Unhealthy Consumption Pillars 4.1. Intrinsic/Personal Influences 4.1.1. Personality Characteristics: 4.1.1.1. 4.1.1.2. 4.1.1.3. Self-Monitoring Personality Trait Innovativeness, Fashion Orientation And Opinion Leadership Ethical orientation

4.1.2. Psychological characteristics 4.1.2.1. 4.1.2.2. 4.1.2.3. 4.1.2.4. Co-morbidity and the Joint cycle of compulsive consumption Obsessive thoughts and Risk Taking Propensity Low self esteem Dealing with Negative Emotions and life challenges

4.2. Societal Influences: "Keeping Up With The Joneses"

2 5. The Role Of Marketing In The Consumption Culture 5.1. Marketing And Materialism 5.2. Marketing, Capitalism and Democracy 5.3. Marketing Creates False Wants 5.4. Marketing Raises Expectations 5.5. Marketing Ethics And Advertising 5.6. Consumer Perceptions Of The Role Of Marketing: Case Studies 6. Research Gap 7. Research Question/ Hypothesis 8. Methodology

3

1. Introduction
"We live in a greedy little world To Earn as much as they can possibly We've created us a credit card mess Our religion is to go and blow it all All we ever want is more That teaches every little boy and girl Then turn around and spend it foolishly We spend the money that we don't possess So its shopping every Sunday at the mall A lot more than we had before So take me to the nearest store... Can you hear it ring, It makes you want to sing Ka-ching.. (Lange, R. J. and Twain, S. ,2003) The previous verses belong to Canadian singer Shania Twain in the song "Ka-Ching". They aimed to describe, from an American citizens point of view, what is viewed to have become the defining nature of culture and consumption in this decade. A culture of materialism, of wanting more, of defining oneself and others by objects. A culture in which people are trapped in a cycle of work and spend, and in which their primary means of enjoyment is shopping, after which they must earn more to spend more. A culture in which people live beyond their means and in which the sound "ka-ching" of a cash register is purely euphoric. With all honesty, the researcher must contend that it was the starting point of the train of thought leading to the conceptual framework in this literature review as well as thesis formulation. This paper aims to shed light on the phenomenon of consumerism in society. What it means, and how it leads to or differs from "The Consumer Culture" we see ourselves living in today (Barber, 2009). Consumerism is defined in many sources in many ways (De-Soriano & Slater, 2009; Ali & Wisniesk, 2010; Lysonski, Durvasula, & Watson, 2003). The first stream of thought views consumerism in a benign way. It defines consumerism as a simple movement in society to protect and preserve the rights and welfare of consumers (De-Soriano & Slater, 2009; Lysonski, Durvasula, & Watson, 2003) . Sometimes it also views consumerism as an aspect of globalization that highlights how the diversity of consumers within and across national borders is a crucial emerging aspect in the market of the 21st century, and one that marketers must pay very close attention to, and adapt to when needed (Ali & Wisniesk, 2010). It's such a beautiful thing...

4 The second stream of thought however, views consumerism from the angle of social values and attitudes toward the significance and meaning of consumption in their lives. It observes the emergence of a new form of society: "The Consumption Culture". The one that was just described above in the song "Kaching". And a concept that was defined and studied by many scholars (Barber, 2009; Schmidt, Sturrock, Ward, & Greenwood, 1999; Bergadaa, 2007; Brown, 2000; Leonard, 2007; Tapp & Warren, 2010). This will be the focus of this study. The meaning of the consumer culture, its conditions, its causal factors and the pillars that define its consequences will all be analyzed while studying the role marketing plays in the consumer culture. Many views including: marketing created the consumer culture, marketing did not create but reinforces the consumer culture, or marketing surged as a result of the consumer culture, not the other way around will be displayed and counter-argued. The perception of consumers from different case studies on marketing and consumerism will also be viewed. The structure of this literature review is as follows: First, we will categorize and classify the many opposing opinions on the definition of consumerism among scholars. We will then divide them into two categories: benign and destructive. The implications for marketers on how to deal with the benign definitions of consumerism will be studied from available literature. Next, will be an in-depth analysis of the relatively "unhealthy" view of consumerism: The consumption culture. First, define it very clearly, then view its negative consequences and phenomena rising in concordance with it. The negative consequences/pillars of the consumption society from our personal point of view - after viewing all available cited literature in this document - can be braodly classified into these four main directions: materialism, I shop therefore I am, shopping addiction and living beyond your means (Ali & Wisniesk, 2010; O'Shaughnessy & O'Shaughnessy, 2002; Abela, 2006; Brown, 2000; Leonard, 2007; Schmidt, Sturrock, Ward, & Greenwood, 1999; Hamilton, K, 2009; Bergadaa, 2007; Adib & El-Bassiouny, 2012; Browne & Kaldenberg, 1997). We do not contend that these are the only proven consequences of the consumption culture, rather this is our personal interpretation and classification in light of the viewed literature. Following that, we will shed light on the never ending controversy on the role marketing plays in creating, vs. fueling, vs. contributing to, vs. not even blamable for the negative pillars. And in the end,

5 we will search for implications on how marketers should deal with the fact of the emerging consumption society. The research gap will therefore be: the perception of Egyptian consumers on the impact of marketing on society, cross- correlated with the consumerist level of these consumers. From that, we will extract recommendations for marketers in Egypt on how to win over their consumers by understanding how consumers view marketers first…

2. Consumerism In Perspective
Consumerism is generally viewed as a tendency to acquire material goods and enjoyment in life. This tendency is associated with the proliferation of retail outlets, and the widespread of consumerist values into social spheres.( Ali & Wisniesk, 2010, p.38 ) It is differentiated from mere consumption in that consumerism is consumption, not simply to satisfy basic needs, but as a means of achieving overall happiness and wellbeing.( De-Soriano & Slater, 2009) Meaning, consumerism is a defining feature of a society searching for its identity; And as the society starts to acquire a taste for affluence, it tends to engage in social and economic development and migration to more norms that portray an appreciation for leisure, pleasure, enjoyment, aestheticism; (Ali & Wisniesk, 2010, p.38 ) as well as searching for self definition and identity and differentiating oneself from the rest of society or "standing out". (Tapp & Warren, 2010). These are all societal and anthropological dimensions to the study of consumerism. The topic of whether consumerism is beneficial or damaging to society is as old as it is controversial. It is argued by some that consumerism not only does not promote consumer wellbeing, but has damaging consequences for consumers, society, the environment and for businesses in the end. (De-Soriano & Slater, 2009, p. 454; Abela, 2006, p.6) However, the debate is countered by many other scientists, stating that consumerism is merely a societal movement that is in support of consumer rights. Whether or not there are negative phenomena arising in the consumption society after consumerism movement emerged is not relatable to consumerism as a concept, or to marketing practices, but to consumers themselves (Kotler et al, 2005; De-Soriano & Slater, 2009, p. 455)

6 In this section, we will attempt to shed light on the main streams of thought that attempt to classify and define consumerism that co-exist in much of existing modern literature (De-Soriano & Slater, 2009; Abela, 2006; Ali & Wisniesk, 2010; Brown, 2000; Schmidt, Sturrock, Ward, & Greenwood, 1999)

2.1. Definitions
2.1.1. First stream of thought: Benign Definitions
2.1.1.1.First definition: Manipulative Techniques The first definition views consumerism from the angle of marketers using manipulative exploiting strategies to entice consumers into buying products any way they can. Other researchers linked consumerism with "strategies for persuading customers to quickly expand their needs and wants”. In “The hidden persuaders” book, Packard (1957) argued that from this view, manipulative marketing can be harmful to society, accusing organizations of being manipulative in how they market, in which they can harm consumers through subconscious messaging. Lambin (1997) agreed and associated consumerism with the overuse of advertising and selling to create customers. He referred to this as “manipulative” or “wild” marketing, which emphasizes selling at the expense of meeting real consumers’ needs, expectations and welfare, through enticing people to over consume; exploiting the insecurities, the anxieties or the suffering of individuals; resorting to promotional techniques that exploit impulsive consumer behavior; and exaggerating products content. (De-Soriano & Slater, 2009, p. 454) However, this view is countered by O'Shaughnessy & O'Shaughnessy (2002) who asserted from their point of view that marketing does not increase wants and needs or create them. 2.1.1.2.Second definition: Customer is King As a result of the above definition of consumerism being popular in the 50's, a revolutionary shift has occurred in the shape and dynamics of consumption in the last 50 years. Consumers are no longer passive actors in the market place. Instead, they have become an independent and active force in shaping events in the market and influencing corporations goals, behavior and activities in market and nonmarket decisions to make them respectful of consumer and society welfare (Ali & Wisniesk, 2010). This second definition therefore, is much wider in scope and depicts societal reactions to the type of marketing described in the first definition.

7 Here, consumerism is defined as “a social movement seeking to augment the rights and powers of buyers in relation to sellers” (Kotler, 1972, p. 49). Meaning, it describes the reaction and aligned movement of consumers today to the sense of exploitation and "depersonalization" of business and marketing efforts they are bombarded with every day. (De-Soriano & Slater, 2009, p. 455) This movement came from society's feeling that marketing focuses on consumers’ short-term needs to the detriment of their long-term wellbeing. As a reaction, the Consumer bill of rights and consumer protection agencies started to emerge all along the 1990s, and hence, business ideology transformed gradually to: "Consumer is King". Marketers make what consumers want, how they want it, in a way that enhances their lives and society around them... It also gave birth to the concept of "environmentalism" , “an organized movement of concerned citizens and government agencies to protect and improve people’s living environment” (De-Soriano & Slater, 2009, p. 455) This definition, along with the first are clearly seen as a positive force in consumers lives. Consumerism here is a mere method to assert consumers right to overall well-being and ensures that businesses set their overall strategy with consumer and societal well-being in mind. It is quite different from the second stream of thought, as will be shown later. 2.1.1.3. Third definition: Globalization Another angle from which the term consumerism was viewed is globalization, stating that consumerism is very much associated with and dependant on the phenomenon of globalization. It is rather related to the previous schools of thought, with the difference that is defines the term consumerism in today's world as defined by keywords: 1. Versatility and 2. individualism. From this light, consumerism represents a new socioeconomic trend which celebrates consumer individuality and unique personalities (Ali & Wisniesk, 2010; O'Shaughnessy & O'Shaughnessy, 2002). From the researchers interpretation, we infer that this means that individuality and uniqueness is not just based on different countries, cultures, backgrounds and norms, but also personality, belief systems and ideologies and that consequently, companies have no option but to recognize and respond positively to this emerging reality, and adopt the concept of Customization and adaptation to different unique versatile requirements and tastes.

8 The concept of individualism also has implications classified in two branches. First, that customers try to assert their identity in society using consumption with their ability to buy “supersized everything”, and consumption becomes a competition in society. Second, it becomes a way to protest and assert personal identity through political belief. In other words, it is a form of political activism manifested in boycotting certain products and corporations based on ethical and political considerations.(Ali & Wisniesk, 2010, p. 38-39) This stream of thought is extremely important for implications marketers and strategizing. Discussed in the next section

2.1.2. Second stream of thought: The Destructive Definition
2.1.2.1. Evolution Of "The Consumer Culture" The final stream of thought views consumerism as a part of an entire culture, and view of the world: the culture of consumption. It views consumerism in a relatively negative light. Consumption is a means for fulfillment, self definition, wellbeing and happiness, in other words: “that the self cannot be complete without a wealth of consumer goods and that goals can be achieved and problems solved through proper consumption". (De-Soriano & Slater, 2009,p.457) This definition is said to have evolved from the movement of consumers to augment the balance of rights and power of buyers vs. sellers in the market place, into a culture of over-consumption and unhealthy consumption phenomena (De-Soriano & Slater, 2009) Warde (1994) stated that in the consumer culture: people define themselves through the messages they transmit to others using the goods and practices they own and display. They manipulate and manage appearances and by that create and sustain a self as well as social identity. Furthermore, consumption offers security to individuals by confirming their self-image and therefore becomes an internalized marker of self-worth and a condition for external social acceptance and status. What is important is not the material possessions themselves or the demonstration of wealth by their display, but the accumulation of "symbolic capital'' (Schmidt, Sturrock, Ward, & Greenwood, 1999, p. 290); to quote a 1992 wall street banker : ``Net worth equals self-worth''. (Brown, 2000, p. 292). This symbolic cultural capital, usually used to "create envy in others" (De-Soriano & Slater, 2009,p.458) is only partly expressed through the goods actually bought. The rest of the person's self evaluation stuck

9 in a triangular perpetual fluid state of playing the role of the consumer, the consumed and consumption. (Schmidt, Sturrock, Ward, & Greenwood, 1999, p. 291). More on this in the chapter dedicated to the consumption culture.

2.3. Implications Of The First School Of Thought [Benign Consumerism definitions] For Marketers
Based on the aforementioned first three definitions of consumerism, scientists and researchers have developed many theories on how businesses should respond to these phenomena and their effects on consumers and society

2.3.1. The First Two Definitions:
From Manipulative Techniques to Customer is King Some researchers argue that the first two definitions of marketing are actually "pro-marketing" in that consumers support and want the marketing approach to business, only if its implemented in a sincere way rather than a cynical, or dishonest implementation, that conflicts with the original purpose of the marketing concept. (Jones, Hiller, Comfort, & Eastwood, 2005) The first and second definitions of consumerism agree on the fact that marketers were originally seen to exploit consumers' emotions and insecurities by emphasizing a holistic symbolic value of a product rather than a functional value; and favor their own profit maximizing goals over the goal of meeting customer needs and expectations; and that as a result, strong societal movements arised in reaction to this to re-create a balance between the rights, powers and influence of buyers vs. sellers in the marketplace (Kotler, 1972; De-Soriano & Slater, 2009; Ali & Wisniesk, 2010; Packard, 1957; Lambin; 1997) . Theories linking between adapting marketing strategy with these two definitions were as follows: Theoretically speaking, businesses exist to survive and make a profit. To make a profit, they must earn more than they spend. However, a 1990's renowned scientist, Peter Drucker argued that: “the purpose of business is the customer” and disagreed with the classical economists’ view that implies the purpose of business is profit maximization. Rather, he believed that profitability is not the sole purpose of business enterprise and activity, but merely a limiting factor on it. In other words, profit is not the explanation, cause or rationale of business behavior and business decisions, but the test of their validity and rationale

10 for continuing to exist (De-Soriano & Slater, 2009, p. 453). It is therefore irrational to put profit as the sole and first goal of marketing strategy and forget about others, that may be more important in maintaining profit on the long run; which is: long run consumer welfare. Peter Drucker is a renowned scientist studying consumerism, marketing and the marketplace in many publications from 1954 to 2002 (De-Soriano & Slater, 2009). Drucker (1980, 84) stated that “consumerism is the shame of marketing” What he meant was that consumers are not averse to marketing as a concept, rather the fact that it is being used in a way that is not aimed at their best interest, and so, it became something they have to protect themselves from. However, if marketing and the basic business goal of marketers was to satisfy consumer needs, and if it applied the "original marketing concept: making what the market wants", rather than create new wants for the market", consumers would be happy to buy products that readily meet their needs. And therefore, marketing will be serving its original intended function that by no means is detrimental or otherwise harmful to society (De-Soriano & Slater, 2009). This theory coincides with Lambin's (1997) that consumerism has demanded that business move from the selling concept – trying to sell what they make by using large-scale selling and promotion effort – to the marketing concept – making what the market wants as well as set their goal to understand the reality, truth and nature of the market, rather than try to change it to meet their own.

Drucker's theory (1980) supported this view by asserting that it is in the businesses best interest to embrace its social responsibility and show this through appropriate marketing behaviors. By this he meant that by adopting corporate social responsibility in marketing, companies are in no way forgoing or being apologetic about making profits. On the contrary, making revenues that exceed costs are in its self a social responsibility, and if this social responsibility is not met, no other responsibility can be. (De-Soriano & Slater, 2009, p. 455) The key here is to avoid the "cynical implementation" and take consumer rights, welfare and overall societal benefit seriously, very seriously (Jones, Hiller, Comfort, & Eastwood, 2005) However, many researches contend that marketers already "got the message" and are in fact shifting their strategies and priorities to put consumer and societal long run welfare as their first priority, next to, if not before immediate profits (McDonald, 2006; O'Shaughnessy & O'Shaughnessy, 2002). Or as

11 McDonald (2006, 102) put it: "Marketers have already absorbed the message, embraced the notion and taken the steps".

To support this, the currently prevailing management style pursued by businesses today states that the organization should aim at the fulfillment of human needs at three levels: (1) People in the organization. (2) Consumers, competitors, suppliers and distributors. (3) Society as a whole. (De-Soriano & Slater, 2009, p. 457) From this philosophy, the “societal marketing concept” emerged to extend the scope of the traditional “marketing concept” (satisfy consumer’s needs better than competitors) involving a concern for the consumer’s and society’s wellbeing. (De-Soriano & Slater, 2009, p. 458) From the concept of societal marketing, emerged the concept of "well-being marketing" (Kotler, 2002; Sirgy & Lee, 2008). This newly emerging marketing concept is based on the notion that marketers should perform every single step of the marketing mix throughout every stage of the product lifecycle with the focus of consumer subjective and objective well-being, while doing so safely in concordance with the wellbeing of all other relevant stakeholders (Sirgy & Lee, 2008). And this is the strategy the researcher recommends that marketers today undertake.

2.3.2. The Third Definition;
Globalization and Marketing Strategy Implications As for linking consumerism to globalization: Versatility and individualism; it is from the researchers point of view that: Marketers and strategy setters must be extremely cautious when keeping in mind the need to reach, adapt to the needs of, and win over the different personalities and social and cultural backgrounds in the ever growing target markets that keep transcending both economic, cultural, age as well as international boundaries. As for the concept of individualism, and the fact that customers use ethical beliefs and ideologies in judging businesses as well as asserting their identity in society; corporate social responsibility considerations must be in the forefront of decision makers strategies at all times. Otherwise, they may fall victim to one of the ever spreading movements of boycotting and defamation of businesses seen as "destructive to society"

12 Exploiting the idea that customers can use our products to compete in social settings can also be of great value to businesses. However, its ethical and social implications must also be considered.

The previous was just a preamble on the link between the theory of consumerism linked to business and marketing. More literature on this topic will be analyzed in discussing to what degree marketing is to blame for the consumption society and vice versa.

3. The Consumption Culture
In this section we come to one of the pitfalls of consumerism in society…When all the above definitions of consumerism turn society into a consumer culture, where over consumption arises due to self definition based on the objects purchased and possessed, and more negative phenomena arise to feed the cycle of work and spend (Brown, 2000).
"Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life. That we convert the buying and selling of goods into a ritual. That we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction in consumption. We have become a nation of consumers. Our primary identity has become that of being consumers. Not mothers, teachers, farmers, but consumers. The primary way our value is measured and demonstrated is by how much we contribute to the consumption arrow" (Leonard, 2007, The story of stuff, video file)

3.1. Definition
The above mentioned statements are quite a clear representation of the concept of "the consumer culture". It depicts that consumption has transformed into a social act where symbolic meanings, social codes, and relationships, in effect, the consumer's identity and self, are created, identified and sustained (Schmidt, Sturrock, Ward, & Greenwood, 1999, p. 290) and that shopping is now seen as a leisure activity designed for pleasure, rather than for a purely functional purpose (Ali & Wisniesk, 2010, p.34 ). We hear phrases like "Shop till you drop" and "I shop therefore I am" being televised, and more and more encrypted into consumers Psyches and lives (Schmidt, Sturrock, Ward, & Greenwood, 1999, p. 290).

13 Statistics show that consumption in the US has doubled in monetary value in the past 50 years. (Leonard, 2007). Expectations of people are also rising. In a study asking "how much more income do you need to fulfill all your dreams? Median response jumped from $50,000 in 1987 to $102,000 in $1994. Consumerism is skyrocketing in the USA. People are spending more, and saving less. Daily life is becoming more and more "commodified", with businesses now providing services like childcare, cleaning, running errands, even paying taxes that Americans used to handle for themselves. (Brown, 2000, p. 291)

3.2. Conditions Of A Consumer Culture
Hamilton, K (2009) asserted in her research four conditions necessary to fairly deem a society as prevalent in consumer culture: 1. A substantial portion of a population consume at a level substantially above subsistence 2. Exchange dominates self-production of objects of consumption 3. Consuming is accepted as an appropriate and desirable activity 4. People judge others and themselves in terms of their consuming lifestyles.

3.3. Negative Pillars/ Consequences of The Consumer Culture:
As a result of the trend of increasing consumption in today's society, we can point out some phenomena, clearly derived from and correlating with this consumption craze of today's society.

3.3.1. Materialism
A pivotal anchor, upon which the consumer culture stands, and at the same time, that can sometimes be derived from increasing consumerism, in the sense of the consumption culture only. The owning of objects seems to have long framed social relationships in Western society. In many societies, the ritual exchange of objects has structured family ties and the links between social classes (Bergadaa, 2007, p. 54) However, materialism is not necessarily a result of consumerism values. Meaning, the first three definitions of consumerism in this literature review do not necessarily lead to or imply the co-existence of materialistic values (De-Soriano & Slater, 2009; Abela, 2006; Ali & Wisniesk, 2010; Brown, 2000; Schmidt, Sturrock, Ward, & Greenwood, 1999). However, it clearly correlates with the consumption culture definition, and its societal trends. Materialism developed based on the belief that owning objects is the path to happiness, and it would take hold as a socializing force

14 (Bergadaa, 2007, p. 55). While consumerism in general, as previously stated, is consumption as a means to reach overall satisfaction and wellbeing. This can simply be to buy safe products, to get the products you need, or to use the products in a means that achieves happiness and wellbeing. Not necessarily that you create happiness by owning a material object. Materialism however is viewed to be an extension of the consumption culture phenomenon, not consumerism. Materialism generally refers to the enticing/ alluring character of a material object or good, rather than its actual value for sustenance. (Bergadaa, 2007, p. 54). It is defined in literature as the magnitude a person attributes to the process of attaining and owning a material product in order to reach important life goals and desired states. It is argued that it is derived from social, economic and cultural conditions of a country (Adib & El-Bassiouny, 2012, p. 257). And in other cases materialism can be thought of as a cluster of related traits, attitudes, and values focusing on possessions and guiding the selection of events and things (Browne & Kaldenberg, 1997, p. 33). It is also said to be derived from family and parental materialistic values (Adib & El-Bassiouny, 2012). Regardless of the specific definition however, or the precise cause behind it, it has become a clearly destructive infestation in today's societal culture. "Materialism has become a prevailing phenomenon around the globe" (El-Bassiouny & Adib, 2012, p. 256). Young people are consuming in more and more trivial ways, and children are more materialistic at an early age than when they move up the ladder of primary school (Bergadaa, 2007, p. 55). This is consistent with a case study by Chan (2006) in Hong Kong that depicted serious increases in shop lifting cases with over a third of the suspects being elementary school students. (El-Bassiouny & Adib, 2012, p. 256). The culture of materialism is also increasing significantly within the past two decades. Materialism is an integral part of the development of an individual in our society (Bergadaa, 2007, p. 55). It spreads through society with "consumer socialization" (El-Bassiouny & Adib, 2012, p. 256). And since we know that people today consume much more than they did 50 years ago, for instance, in the US, size of overall consumption doubled (Leonard, 2007), and children today spend more than 24 billion dollars on direct purchases (Bergadaa, 2007, p. 55) this also confirms the correlation of materialism and the rise of the consumption culture.

15 However, there can be many other factors upon which materialism develops, for instance, Brown and Kaldenberg (1997) viewed that personality characteristics were both the determinant of level of materialism, as well as brand choice and product involvement. While Adib & El-Bassiouny's research trailed materialism in children to parent materialistic values and family communication and consumption patterns (2012). More on the determinants of materialism and how far marketing plays a role in weaving materialistic values in society later in this literature.

3.3.2. Compensatory Consumption or "The Shopping Addiction" Phenomenon
In a time and culture where what you buy and own defines you, a newly emerging phenomenon that turns shopping into a psychological ailment/ illness or a compulsive activity has surprisingly risen. There seem to be two main branches in literature: Compensatory consumption (which includes compensatory buying) and Compulsive consumption (which includes compulsive buying).

Woodruff-Burton (1998) defined Compensatory consumption as when an individual feels a need, lack or desire which they cannot satisfy with a primary fulfillment so they seek and use an alternative means of fulfillment in its place.

Compulsive buying however, is defined by Park and Burns (2005) as chronic, repetitive purchasing that becomes used as a primary response to negative feelings, and is depicted as a branch of compulsive consumption. They also viewed Compulsive consumption as inappropriate, excessive, unnecessary overconsumption that is clearly destructive to the lives of individuals who appear impulsively driven to consume. And its other branches include addictive gambling, drug addiction, alcoholism, and overeating. (Park & Burns, 2005, p. 136). In other words, its described as an addiction that an individual develops to deal with negative emotions or life's problems, and cannot get rid of, even if it is destroying his life. To agree with this, Woodruffe (1997) had earlier linked compulsive and compensatory consumption by viewing compulsive buying as a chronic form of compensatory consumption behavior in an extreme form.

From this, we conclude that compensatory consumption is the act of replacing regulating your emotions in a productive way, with dealing with them in an alternative destructive way that solves nothing, which

16 can be: Buying. However, compulsive buying is when this act of using shopping to deal with your negative emotions becomes an addiction that you cannot control. You are compulsively lead to

shopping, no matter how much it hurts you or the people around you. And this is where the term "shopping addiction" is developed or extracted. Elliott (1994) drew a picture of a shopping addict as: " Someone who doesn’t know how to say “no” or when to stop…someone whose life is so ruled by shopping that they even take time off work to shop and run into debt…someone who can spend hours trying on clothes to get the perfect look…someone who is trying to escape from boredom…someone who is trying to make up for a lack of confidence maybe, or cope with a personal loss…." (Woodruffe-Burton, 1998, p. 301). Shopping addiction is clearly one of the destructive phenomena of the modern, consumption driven, consumerist society of the 21st century. And it is one that is very recent but also on the rise. From the authors point of view, and in agreement with all the cited sources in this literature, it is evident that it is becoming more and more benign to use consumption as a way of defining your status and value in society, and before you know it, yourself... It is no surprise that this act of self affirmation will therefore turn into an addiction... "I shop therefore I am" And this brings us to our next point...

3.3.3. I Shop Therefore I Am
Bengamin Barber (2009) wrote about this phenomenon in the book "Consumed…". This thought provoking book linked marketing and consumerism to capitalism, and reflected Barbers view on the perils of the consumerist society of today. He highlighted that "I shop therefore I am" was starting to replace a much older, more valuable societal anecdote of "I think, therefore I am". Barber (2009) confronts the consumption culture, and blames it for creating children with consumer power and adults with the appetites of “spoiled kids.” In other words, in today's consumerist society, kids are trying to act like adults, adults are acting like "spoiled kids", and the whole community is being infested with the ideology that "you are what you own", rather than what you believe, what you stand for or how you think and act or who you are.... Elliot (1997) illustrated that the acquisition and symbolic meaning of products in the consumption culture implies two-fold identity definition for the buyer: Outward, in constructing one's identity in

17 social context (social symbolism) and inward, when constructing self identity (self symbolism) (Schmidt, Sturrock, Ward, & Greenwood, 1999) It is becoming evident that people buy products not due to the functional value it provides, but to use it as a way to define who they are and what they are worth. In other words, material objects have become a way to define yourself in society. The product becomes an extension to one's self; a definition of oneself and psyche. It sometimes even becomes sacred due to the social ties it allows the owner to forge. For instance, stores like ZARA continually seek new trends throughout the world to urge people to consume. In this light, it is not the purchase of the product itself that is the most important factor but the stress of experience in buying it that makes the buyer feel like they belong to a certain tribe, and by belonging to the acceptable social tribe, being accepted by oneself (Bergadaa, 2007).

3.3.4. Living Beyond Your Means
Hamilton (2009) defined consumer society as one in which discretionary, open and unending consumption has become a mass phenomenon, not just a quality reserved for the rich or even the middle classes. In this sense, people, no matter what they actually do earn, keep responding to the rising expectations of society and themselves by always trying to keep up. So, they shop and shop way beyond their means… There has been a dramatic increase of credit card use in recent years by consumers. This was depicted in a case study targeting Korea (Park & Burns, 2005, p.136 ) The study showed that credit card use increase has accelerated, transforming Korea into a mass consumption society. And since credit cards offer convenience if used, and due to the fact that credit card companies undergo massive relentless promotion on a relatively unsuspecting and un-heavily informed public, more and more people are paying beyond their financial ability... And it doesn't look to be getting better.. over 100 million credit cards were issued to the public around the end of 2002 (Kim, 2002), consumer bankruptcies have exploded in recent years and there are grave concerns that the number will significantly rise as credit card debts pile up and distress more people. (Park & Burns, 2005, p.136 ) From what is said above, and from the researcher's point of view, it seems that with the rise of consumerism, as well as the rise of credit card availability, it becomes easier and easier to "spend", just locate funds and use them whenever deemed "necessary". And as the list of justifiable essentials continues to grow (Tapp & Warren, 2010), so does the sense rightfulness in paying for them does, even if we can't really afford it. We just "must" have it, and we'll figure it out later. And that is how the lack of responsibility in spreading credit cards to unsuitable people can keep credit card dept on the rise.

18 And as Dorothy Sayers (1993, p. 153) sais in her story: Must Advertise: "The comparatively poor, . . . those who, aching for a luxury beyond their reach and for a leisure ever denied them, could be bullied or wheedled into spending their few hardly won shillings on whatever might give them, if only for a moment, a leisured and luxurious illusion" (Abela, 2006, p. 8).

Now that we have reflected on the most prominent phenomena emerging in congruence with consumerism, next we will try and classify the different causal factors behind them. We shall reach a point where we evaluate the extent to which marketing plays a role in creating, or sustaining the above mentioned phenomena

4. Antecedents to the Consumption Society Pillars
4.1. Personal (Intrinsic) influences
Many researchers attributed consumption characteristics and consumerism behavioral tendencies to personal (intrinsic) characteristics of the shoppers, as will be seen.

4.1.1. Personality Characteristics:
The first set of relatable characteristics are personality related. Most of the literature viewed in this section is in general agreement that personal characteristics are a very important determinant in consumerism levels and tendencies among consumers (Park & Burns, 2005; Goldsmith, 2002; Browne & Kaldenberg, 1997). Interestingly enough, a study by Goldsmith (2002) comparing the effect of demographic variables vs. Personality variables on compulsive or compensatory consumption found that the latter set was a much more significant predictor. Although the most two prominent demographic variables were age and gender, personal/ psychological variables were still found to be more significant. (Goldsmith, 2002) 4.1.1.1. Self-Monitoring Personality Trait Browne and Kaldenberge (1997) studied the relationship between self monitoring and negative consumerism characteristics including materialism, need for acquisition and purchase involvement. According to Snyder (1974), self-monitoring is the tendency to notice cues for socially appropriate behavior and modify one’s behavior accordingly (close to but not quite the same as social desirability).

19 High self monitors are sensitive to social queues and are able to "act" as different people in different social situations, depending on which "character" is most suitable in every situation. They ask "what role should I be playing in this situation?". Low self monitors are insensitive to social queues and are more interested in their personal value systems and private realities. They ask "how can I act like the person I truly am?" (Browne & Kaldenberg, 1997). The results of their study showed a positive correlation between high self monitoring and materialism, product involvement, purchase frequency, relating material objects to self definition as well as social prestige and overall negative consumeristic behavior.

4.1.1.2. Innovativeness, Fashion Orientation And Opinion Leadership
Two sets of researchers (Park and Burns, 2005; Goldsmith, 2002) conducted experimental studies on the effect of personality traits like 1. Innovativeness, 2. fashion orientation and 3. opinion leadership on compulsive buying, as well as general consumer culture behavior. The hypothesis of Park and Burns (2005) - that the factors of fashion orientation (fashion leadership, fashion interest, and importance of being well dressed ) spur compulsive buying, while anti-fashion attitude discourages compulsive buying - was supported and confirmed with high significance. The other researcher (Goldsmith, 2002) confirmed some very similar results. His study however was on Innovativeness, Opinion leadership and Product knowledge. These three personality characteristics were found to be positively correlated with the tendency to over consume (living beyond your means pillar). Goldenberg however, also studied the social identity function and personal identity function on a group of highly consumeristic shoppers (I shop Therefore I am Pillar). He discovered that these people, who view products or conspicuous consumption patterns as a means to establish self and social identity were very high on the consumerism scale. A concept close to materialism, a defining characteristic of consumerism and findings that are in agreement with most of the facts reviewed in this document.

4.1.1.3. Ethical orientation Most of the existing literature find that the tendency to spend is negatively correlated with ethical values; for instance, Muncy and Eastman (1998) studied that ethical orientation is negatively correlated to materialism (Ali & Wisniesk , 2010). However, the 2010 study by Ali & Wisniesk in the UAE, found that people who scored high on the consumerism scale, i.e.: have a high tendency to spend and enjoy shopping as a leisure activity, did not score low on their ethics scale. In fact, there was a positive

20 relationship between spending and ethics! This is a very interesting finding that suggests that religion may play an important role in shaping consumers' ethical orientations.

4.1.2.Psychological characteristics
Psychological characteristics were mostly associated with compensatory or compulsive consumption (Shopping Addiction and Living Beyond Your Means Pillars), rather than consumerism as a whole. 4.1.2.1. Co-morbidity And The Joint Cycle Of Compulsive Consumption The concept of "co-morbidity" in compensatory consumption is defined as the co-existence of multiple compulsive behavior. It is asserted that there is a very high probability that a person with one of the main branches of compulsive consumption (buying, drugs/alcohol, eating, gambling) already has or will acquire another impulse-control disorder (Kwak, Zinkhan, & Lester Roushanzamir, 2004) Therefore, it is suggested that compulsive shoppers most probably already do or will suffer from other compensatory/compulsive/impulse-control disorders, apart from any marketing or other influences. 4.1.2.2. Obsessive thoughts And Risk Taking Propensity A second discovery was that: Obsessive thoughts and risk taking propensity are causal factors for compulsive behavior (including compulsive buying). (Kwak, Zinkhan, & Lester Roushanzamir, 2004) Consumers who have obsessive thoughts (about fears of perfectionism, contamination, causing harm to others, or socially unacceptable behavior), as well as consumers with high risk taking propensity are likely to engage in compulsive buying tendencies, compulsive gambling/lottery behaviors, as was confirmed in the study by Kwak, Zinkhan, & Lester Roushanzamir (2004).

4.1.2.3. Low Self-Esteem Low self esteem has been strongly linked by many researchers and scholars to compensatory consumption (Woodruffe, 1997; Woodruffe-Burton, 1998). Low self-esteem is when one has a negative self image. And naturally, the concept of materialism and the anchor upon which the consumer culture stands, which is defining oneself to oneself and to society through things attests that if you have a low self image, you will try to "compensate" for it in any way. That may be compulsive buying. Ferguson (1992) noted the idea of self concept and the idea of desire to consume. He noted that sometimes people associate material things to psychological meanings, and then use them to incorporate

21 them in an "idealized self"; to add it to self identity and end the inner despair of "not having a self" (Woodruffe-Burton, 1998, p. 308) Wallace (1996) also confirmed the co-existence of self esteem with compulsive buying and other compulsive and addictive behavior (Kwak, Zinkhan, & Lester Roushanzamir, 2004) 4.1.2.4. Dealing with Negative Emotions and life challenges There have been many motivational explanations for compensatory consumption in literature. In 1994, Elliott related things like stress management, low self esteem, coping with anxiety (lack of calm or inner peace/wellbeing) with compensatory consumption. They all perceived inadequacies or emotional deficits through their descriptions of their own addictive consumption tendencies in relation to insecurities, childhood problems, feelings of being unattractive, depression and lack of emotional support from partner and relationships. Other psychology research examining antecedents to of compulsive consumption also indicate that the sufferers generally share intolerable feeling states such as anxiety, loss of control, helplessness, depression, guilt, and selfdeception, that they use their compulsive behavior to deal with (Faber and O’Guinn, 1992; Hanley and Wilhelm, 1992; O’Guinn, T.C. and Faber, R.J., 1989;Wallace, 1996 ;Kwak, Zinkhan, & Lester Roushanzamir, 2004, 422)

Two case studies on this phenomenon

Woodruffe (1997) and in 1998 as " Woodruffe-Burton " agreed with him in both her studies, one of which was a case study on female compulsive shoppers, and the other on male compulsive shoppers. In both years and both sets of her interviews, respondents showed a general trend of responding to a perceived “lack”. They spoke of their need to lead more exciting lives (a lack of excitement), “feel alive” (a lack of fulfilled life, or “get a life") and be stimulated by their surroundings (a lack of stimulation: boredom). Phrases like: "I feel I'm trying to fill an emotional hole" or "I feel like I'm taken for granted and this is a time for me to assert my personality" were used by female respondents. Along with "It's all about the chase" or " so exciting" or by some of the male respondents.

22

4.2. Society: "Keeping Up With The Joneses"
Where consumption becomes a competition … The idea of attributing the pillars of the consumption society/ culture to society itself is a concept not ignored by scholars (Bourdieu, 1984, 1986; Tapp & Warren, 2010) Tapp and Warren's (2010) research aimed at building on Bourdieu's (1984, 1986) capital field theories on consumerism, concentrating in particular on the importance of social competition. Bourdieu's theory classified society into different groups. He defined fields as arenas in which people use their capital to compete for “position”. Bourdieu then attributed all consumption behavior to how different people reacted to different groups in society and stated: “if we want to understand human practices, we must first make sense of the fields in which they are played out” (Tapp and Warren, 2010, p. 212) In his book How Much Is Enough, Durning (1992) theorized that humans have an innate desire to belong, and in today's consumer culture, the need to be valued and respected by others is expressed by consumption. It has become completely common to believe that "Net worth equals self-worth'' (Brown, 2000). Fifty years ago, people primarily used "economic means" to establish their status in society and, especially with the middle class trying to establish "prestige" in society by setting apart their tastes and preferences (Tapp & Warren, 2010). Today however, with more and more commodities being sold, and more and more media telling us what's hot and what's not (Leonard, 2007; Schmidt, Sturrock, Ward, & Greenwood, 1999, p. 290) , the concept of competition between social reference groups has become more complex and demanding. (Tapp & Warren, 2010). It is further added that consumption offers security to individuals by confirming their societal image (Warde, 1994, p. 882; Schmidt, Sturrock, Ward, & Greenwood, 1999, p. 290). With the spread of affluence, and increasing number of life choices, people are not just trying to "Keep up with the Joneses", they are trying to stand out from them. (Tapp & Warren, 2010)

These opinions are supported by Brown (2000) who built on this by asserting that society's reference groups have changed. If in the past, people in the middle class simply tried to "keep up with the Joneses''; today the reference/aspirational group for most people is not the neighbor who shares the same socio-economic stratus, but the super-star athlete earning a six-figure salary. "We do not want what the Joneses have; we want what Michael Jordan has"

23 She attributed this change partly to the daily exposure to an economically diverse set of people but mostly to the heavy spread of mass media advertising, as well as the globalised culture.

Another interesting phenomenon is that as a result of social pressures, more and more things are being viewed as necessities, rather than luxuries. Whether its upgrading my computer or cell-phone to keep up with technology, or having that new handbag that will surely make me "walk better" or trading in a sedan to buy a sport utility vehicle for family safety, they are all justifiable in our minds and the list of essentials continues to grow. (Brown, 2000) Two case studies on this phenomenon The first study is by Hamilton, K (2009). It aimed to study the effects of the competitive consumer culture on low income consumers. It reported that the harsh negative effects of the consumption society included negative phenomena like consumer exclusion, disempowerment, social deprivation and stigmatization to those who could not always attain/ afford the "desirable" social material objects. However, a very interesting finding was also that low income consumers found many ways to cope with these negativities, by stigma management and stigma rejection techniques.

The second study is by Tapp and Warren (2010). They conducted personalized in-depth interviews studying the phenomenon of competitiveness in consumption in the emerging consumer culture. One of the respondents was of Jewish (religious) origin and the other was British-Asian (cultural) origin. Both expressed concern and angst due to their observation of consumption competitiveness between people in their reference groups. The first complained of the competition in "what I earn vs. what you earn", and the second in "what I own vs. what you own". Both are expressions in comparing incomes that are used for consumption to define personal worth, or what you already have purchased and are now showing off to define personal worth all in the context of competitiveness in societal settings. It seems that even if a person is not naturally inclined to become competitive in consumption patterns or showing off/ portraying a certain lifestyle, they may still be sucked into the vortex due to social influences, as the two interviewees above were describing. Another interviewee quoted the following
"This watchstrap, not even the watch, cost me £200. It’s a watchstrap. Why spend £200 on a watchstrap? That money should really go to the Tsunami relief. There’s plenty things that money could go to than a watchstrap" (Tapp & Warren ,2010, 219)

24

5. Marketing And The Consumer Culture
The argument of whether or not marketing is to blame for one or all of the previously listed negativities of the consumer culture is never ending… This literature review was not written to try and deny the fact that we do live in a consumer culture. The above stated and described phenomena of materialism, shopping for self and social identity, and judging others by what they own are absolutely undeniable. They do exist in today's society whether we chose to admit it or not. However, this literature review was written to try and explore how far marketing plays a role in these phenomena. Marketing is clearly not the sole antecedent to the consumer culture. We have described above multiple reasons and causes for the 4 negative pillars. They can range from one's self and intrinsic personality or psychological traits, to family and parents, and all the way to societal cultural conditions… However, the question we aim to ask is: where does marketing stand in this cycle ? Is it a creator of one of the antecedents that lead to negative consumerism ? Or rather another antecedent that stands in line with the others examined in this literature ? Or is it just a result of the consumption culture ? The fact of the matter is.. we do not know. Researchers have repeatedly analyzed and studied, and even attempted to quantify the relationship between marketing and consumerism in a way that can attribute one to the other, making one the independent and the other dependant variable… but still the answers are in-definitive, inconclusive and unclear (Abela, 2006; O'Shaughnessy & O'Shaughnessy, 2002).

5.1. Marketing And Materialism
O'Shaughnessy & O'Shaughnessy (2002) contended that materialism is a cultural phenomenon that has existed since the early ages of humanity, and that marketing can in no way be accused of creating or inventing it. The accumulation of material possessions is merely a consequence of the accumulation of wealth. Furthermore, material possessions have always been used as a means to reflect to others the owners social position, value and image of himself. From the time of the Pharaohs to Roman Kings to The French Aristocrats; rich people like to own and show off valuable things to display their own value in society, and marketing cannot by any means be blamed for that ! Abela however, argued that since the volume of marketing and consumption increase in history are positively correlated, then marketing

25 could possibly be at least a contributing factor to consumerism. He asserted this by referring to the sheer increasing frequency of studies on consumerism in society over time, combined with the increasing complexity and tools of marketing practices (Abela, 2006). This however, was weakened by Abela's own counter-argument that stated: even though the parallel in increase in both marketing and consumerism is notable and interesting, it by no means confirms that marketing is the driving cause for consumerism and materialism. Rather, he partly agreed with what O'Shaughnessy & O'Shaughnessy (2002) and others (Twitchel, 2000) contended, in that materialistic tendencies are a natural innate part of human nature, and that as widespread materialism susceptibility arose, so did consumerism and therefore, marketing. However, this does not answer the exact question regarding the role of marketing on increasing materialism (Abela, 2006).

5.2. Marketing, Capitalism And Democracy
Another extremely important argument is that marketing as a concept is a societal phenomenon that arised as an expression of capitalism and democracy (Abela, 2006; O'Shaughnessy & O'Shaughnessy, 2002; Jocz & Quelch, 2008; Barber, 2009). That is shown by the fact that marketing is a result of free trade and the concept of encouraging the healthy cycle of production, selling and consumption that promote economy (Barber, 2009), as well as the act of showing consumers all their different options by highlighting the benefits of each, which provides them with free choice, and therefore promotes societal health and democracy (Jocz & Quelch, 2008; McDonald, 2006). These arguments must be dissected and probed into further.

The first argument is one concerning the link of marketing to capitalism, the economic notion of free trade, therefore free production and selling and an encouragement of buying and consumption to enrich the economic cycle. This is one that Barber (2009) and Sodhi (2011) use, by stating that capitalism, which is closely tied to marketing and which was once a virtuous concept, tied with democracy, productivity, responsibility and citizenship; has come full circle and is now tied with vices like materialism and the negative pillars of the consumption society. Those as a result undermine democracy, responsibility and citizenship. However, the two opposing theorists Abela (2006) and O'Shaughnessy & O'Shaughnessy (2002) surprisingly agree on disagreeing with Barber. They state that even though the perils of the consumption society today are undeniably destructive, the question of whether there is a "credible alternative" must also be considered. Meaning, they both contend that we are probably living

26 in "the best of all possible worlds", in that even if we are unhappy with the negative effects of the consumer culture, and even if we suspect (not attest) that marketing may have a partial role in it, is there anything to do short of rejecting the whole free market economy altogether, and return to an oppressed communist world? A world where people do not know all their options, and are deprived of free judgment and will ; or a world in which we smother the perils of the market economy by giving away all the benefits provided by it.

The second argument, concerning the link between marketing and societal democracy is a

very

complicated one, upon which no consensus in research was reached (Jocz & Quelch, 2008). It is not rare to think that there is a strong link between societal development, democracy and commercial institutions like marketing. It is also evident from empirical evidence of existing developed vs. developing countries, and their level of democracy and social development in correlation with the intricateness of marketing techniques used (Jocz & Quelch, 2008). This relationship is also clarified by the basic idea that people should be allowed freedom of exchange, and marketing allows that. However, the paradox here is when this attempt at freedom of exchange is actually hurting society. However, as O'Shaughnessy & O'Shaughnessy (2002, p. 529) put it: "Without marketing, society may appear to be less materialistic, but without the ability to chose, there would be no merit in virtue"

And that brings us to the next argument, of whether marketing can damage society by "creating false wants".

5.3. Marketing Creates False Wants
This is an argument many researchers have shared in (Mcdonald, 2006; Rotfeld, 2007; O'Shaughnessy & O'Shaughnessy, 2002; Abela, 2006). Rotfeld (2007) who broadly pointed out the difference between what consumers need or want, and what is actually in their best interest, criticized marketers for sometimes ignoring that distinction and "exploiting" an unsuspecting public. This argument can be divided into two parts: The claim that people do not know what they want, and so marketing exploits them by creating false ones. And that people know what they want, but do not know what is good for them, and in that case, marketers exploit them by not giving them what is in their best interest, rather than what they want. O'Shaughnessy &

O'Shaughnessy (2002) replied to the first part, stating that marketing cannot possibly create wants out of

27 nowhere. That is not possible. This argument assumes that people are "empty" and waiting to be filled by whatever wants marketers instill upon them. It ignores the fact that people already have a mind and wants and desires and lives that are affected by personal, social and familial influences that can all form a part of their existing mentality and psyche. Rather, O'Shaughnessy et al (2002) argue that there are latent, pre-existing wants that marketers either work on, or activate. Mcdonald (2006) added to the second part of this argument by also criticizing the insinuation that the consumer is "defenseless" or that he does not know what is good for him. He argued that no matter how marketing is performed, we cannot assume the public and consumers to be undiscerning, unwise and incapable of making their own free responsible choices. He added that , by extending the range of choices that the available to consumers has available, marketing is actually supporting and strengthening their sovereignty, not the other way around. What would really erode their sovereignty is assuming they are incapable of deciding what is good for them on their own! He also added that even if marketing or promotion makes you try out a product for the first time, there is no way repetitive purchases will occur unless the consumer is satisfied with or seeking some other actual benefit from the product. And therefore, he refuted the possibility that marketing could be responsible for shopping addiction, or living beyond your means, because its purpose is to get you to try out a product, and discover its true potential for providing you with a needed benefit. Not make you buy compulsively, or buy what you cannot afford. Moreover, as we stated above, psychological disorders like compulsive or compensatory consumption are illnesses, that usually occur as a predisposition in the sufferer. Moreover, they usually exist in co-morbidity; person suffering from one compulsive disorder will most probably be suffering from another. (Kwak, Zinkhan, & Lester Roushanzamir, 2004).

5.4. Marketing Raises Expectations
This argument is fueled by the notion that marketing, due to incessive messaging, feeds the acquisitive and greedy urges of society, and feeds on them in return. It raises the level of consumer expectations. These expectations then turn to desires, and then to "must haves", or a list of gratifications shopping can fix. The problem arises when what we "must have" is not what we can afford (Mcdonald, 2006). This is when the problem of dissatisfaction, social discrepancies, consumer exclusion, disempowerment and frustration occurs (Hamilton, 2009; Mcdonald, 2006) and the negative pillar of I shop therefore I am, and self as well as social definition of one's self is based on consumption.

28 However, it is counter-argued that marketing does not raise social expectations and lead to social disparity; rather, it clarifies the discrepancies that already exist in society. And in that light, can be positive because it pushes for faster re-distribution of wealth. In this sense, we can interpret that marketing does not lead to the "keeping up with the Joneses" , or the I Shop Therefore I am phenomena. Rather, it shows societal differences and therefore merely opens an avenue for those inclined to compete for self definition in social arenas to come out.

The author in concluding this segment, and after analysis if all the cited literature therefore personally inferred the following: Marketing cannot be blamed for the consumer culture, in which people are materialistic, because materialism has existed for centuries. We cannot blame marketing for some people's psychological disorders to buy compulsively any more than we can blame the pharmaceutical industry for drug addictions! We cannot blame marketing for people going into dept, because this ignores the fact that adult responsible individuals are assumed to be capable of handling their own finances, no matter how enticing or alluring some things that they cannot afford may be. Finally, we cannot blame marketing for an entire culture of shallowness and competitiveness in what is owned and displayed to others. We can however, certainly blame marketing in the case of knowingly and purposefully exploiting said corrupt negative pillars in today's society, given that they already exist. And by exploiting them, it adds to the said "snowball", and contributes to the escalation of such negative phenomena. This brings us to the next segment.

5.5. Marketing Ethics And Advertising
For instance, DeSoriano & Slater (2009) conducted a study that concluded that the growth of consumerism has led to the over-use of marketing and explained why, in twenty-first century marketing, social responsibility should be extended to a wider group of stakeholders that includes government, businesses and consumers. Park and Burns (2005) stated that just as it is wrong for a barman to continue to serve a drunk, it is wrong for marketers to continue to serve a compulsive shopper. However, they also take the trail away from marketing by attesting that compulsion has always been a problem, however, the crisis now is due to the fact that people with compulsions have far easier access to credit. So, they say marketing merely has a role in dealing with this situation, rather than marketing is blamed for it. Consumer credit regulations also have the biggest role, in that compulsive shoppers must be

29 identified, and prevented from excessive access to credit. Bergadaa (2007) focused on the area of ethics when marketing to children, and criticized the idea of using young people as purchasing advisors, or in manipulating the younger segment into buying to appear more "cool". In other words, exploiting the "I shop therefore I am phenomenon". Most of society's criticism directed at marketing is in the advertising field (Mcdonald, 2006). Advertising practitioners themselves are aware of this disapproval, which includes the claim that advertising: makes misleading claims about product or services; uses hidden, dangerously powerful techniques of persuasion; . encourages undesirable attitudes; works through the exploitation of human inadequacy; an . and therefore creates the adverse four consumer culture pillars and consequences (McDonald, 2006). In this light however, a clear distinction must be made between

the advertising profession as a whole and the irresponsible acts of a select few. Mcdodald (2006) agreed that the existence of some unethical marketing and advertising practitioners is undeniable. However, one cannot disclaim and label the entire marketing and advertising profession because of it. Furthermore, even is a select few use advertising to manipulate or defraud consumers into buying harmful products; advertising as a tool can also be used to promote "green" environmentally friendly products. It can be used for social marketing campaigns. It can be used to encourage the destruction of the four negative pillars it is accused of co-creating. For instance, awareness on dept and compulsive shopping problems, as well as documentaries to paint a picture of consumer exclusion due to the I shop therefore I am and keeping up with the Joneses phenomena. We cannot overlook the fact that the true, basic function of marketing and advertising is essentially not to hurt the consumer. It is to make what he wants and asks for, and show him his available options. However, the most important question to ask here is the perception of society, or consumers on the institution of marketing. New marketing evolutionary concepts are therefore dealing with the above criticisms. Sirgy M. J. and Lee, D.J. (2008) for instance, adapted a new concept of "well-being marketing", that the marketing concept should assume social corporate responsibility in the field of socially responsible business practices. They argued that traditional marketing, albeit aim to satisfy consumer wants and needs, sometimes focus on short term wants and needs vs. long run consumer well-being and societal welfare. And this is the philosophy they are encouraging marketers to undergo today, where marketers devote every step in the marketing process to enhancing the quality of life of consumers, including long run well-fare. However, as argued by Mcdonald (2006), this is already happening. Marketers have already "absorbed the message, embraced the notion and taken the steps". The message that consumer

30 perception of them as well as their long run welfare must be taken to consideration, since what your customers think of you is everything. And this brings us to our research gap, and the next section.

5.6. Consumer Perceptions on Marketing: Previous Case Studies
Kumar, S., & Bishnoi, V. K. (2007) attempted to measure the perception of rural consumers in India on the impact of marketing on society. He used scales measuring their view of the claimed negative vs. positive impact. Surprisingly, the majority of urban consumers had quite a positive view of the marketing profession. They claimed increased their awareness of products and services, and had an overall positive impact on society from the way they saw it. Nicholas J. Ashill, Ugur Yavas, (2005) also had a case study studying consumer perception but on advertising in Turkey and New Zealand. Their results however, portrayed a rising level of consumer skepticism in both countries. And this is a keyword. That’s why they recommended that advertisers create messages that are believable, rather than designed to impress to achieve the best results.

In 2004, Chan, T.S. and Cui, G. (2004) studied consumer perceptions of marketing in a transitional economy like China, and the results were a discovery of a relatively positive view. In 2012 however, Cui, G., Lui, H. K., Chan, T. S., & Joy, A. (2012), conducted a cross- country examination of consumer perceptions toward marketing in China vs. Canada. The results showed that Chinese consumers have more positive attitudes toward marketing than Canadians and the two countries differ significantly across all predictor variables.

And this is where our research gap/ aim present themselves. What is the consumer perception of marketing in Egypt and how far a role does marketing play to create a consumption culture in Egypt ??

Research Gap
Even though the above mentioned arguments concerning the role of marketing in the consumption culture are opposing and in most cases contradicting, there is one single point of agreement and intersection among all these authors: that this field needs more study. And that the conclusive empirical

31 evidence clarifying and supporting claims on the relationship between marketing and consumerism is seriously lacking (O'Shaughnessy et al, 2002; Abela, 2006; Mcdonald, 2006) Also, O'Shaughnessy et al (2002) added that even though empirical evidence studying this phenomenon is lacking, it is probably due to the fact that constructs like "materialism" , "consumerism" and "hedonism" are relatively vague and difficult to measure. However, given the fact that there is a huge research gap to answer the argument of how far a role marketing plays in the consumer culture, and also given the fact that the variables are quite difficult to measure and precisely define and construct, we proposed a different direction of research. One that marketers can benefit truly from. It is one built on the above mentioned fact that there exists such a lack in conclusive evidence to clarify how exactly marketing affects the consumption culture, and the fact that it is so controversial. We do not know with certainty whether or not it is truly an immoral practice that can sometimes lead to or at least feed the negative pillars of today's consumption society, or not. Regardless of the answer, the most important and critical question that we truly, as marketers need to be concerned with is: what the consumers themselves think of this… As well as how this is linked to their level of consumerism… We believe this is a research area very rarely visited in Egyptian context. The insights it provides can be quite beneficial. Let us elaborate: In the height of all these negative phenomena arising related to consumption in today's society, and given that marketing is usually seen in the center of it all, and its practices therefore come into question in society's view, it would be quite beneficial if marketers in Egypt could know exactly society and consumers' view on them, their ethical stance, how exactly they affect society and consumerism and therefore: their credibility … Because in the marketing world, credibility is everything. How can marketers be expected to sell to/ convince consumers if they know these consumers neither trust nor believe them…?

Research aim/Question/ Hypothesis:
The research aim is to discover and analyze the perception consumers have on marketing practices in the Egyptian market. Research Questions in detail: Do they believe marketing is there to exploit them ? Do they believe in the existence to societal phenomena like the consumer culture and its negative pillars discussed above? How far do they think marketing is to blame for the existence of these negative pillars ? Do they think the marketing approach in Egypt should be modified to suit the welfare of society? or do they already

32 believe this is the best that can come out of them ? How far do they believe marketing message and how far does it affect their own consumerism level ? All these variables will also be measured in correlation with the respondents' consumerism levels on the consumerism scale. Our first hypothesis is merely a research question: What is the level of negativity/positivity in perception of the marketing concept, activities, purpose and effect on consumer and societal welfare in Egypt? Our Second hypothesis: That the consumerism level and the positive view of the marketing profession will be positively correlated.

8. Methodology:
We have two constructs and variables, which are: V1: Consumer perceptions of marketing practices in Egypt V2: Consumerist tendencies in these same respondents we will attempt to measure them as previous researchers using survey questionnaires, as such: The first variable: Consumer perception of marketing practices: We aim to adapt the scale used by Kumar, S., & Bishnoi, V. K. (2007) to measure consumer perceptions on the impact of marketing on society. We will attempt to add six scales after each claim marketing causes starting from strongly disagree to strongly agree, and from that adapt a proper map of perception and attitudes. Part One: Perception of Consumers Regarding Positive Impact of Marketing on Society measuring Types of Impact vs. Frequency Percent Please tick the degree to which you agree with these claims that marketing causes: No Impact - Increased aspirations - Awareness - Self-consciousness - Gap reduced between urban and rural - Competition among marketers - Reach of products in rural area - Increased standard of living Better quality products and more choice - Gives the confidence to buy the product - Openness in thoughts and attitude Part two:

33 Perception of the Rural Consumers Regarding Negative Impact of Modern Marketing measured by types of Impact vs. Frequency Percent: Please tick the degree to which you agree with these claims that marketing causes: Sexual exposure - Creating confusion - Increase spending unnecessarily - Leads to competitive

purchasing - Increased fashion - Wastage of time - Inferiority complex among non-users - Creates false image of products - Negative impact of liquor and cigarettes - No impact - Couldn’t answer

The second variable: Consumerist tendencies

We will be using Ali and Wisniesk's (2010) "consumerism scale"; a scale designed to measure the extent of consumerism traits in a sample of consumers. Statements in this scale covered areas related to materialism, overspending, shopping and personal growth and identity, and the role of spending and buying in the society, among others, that would be ranked from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The Consumerism Scale in a nutshell: Please tick your agreement level with attributes from strongly disagree to strongly agree: Overall, I enjoy shopping and spending money Purchasing luxurious and prestigious items is a gratifying experience Engaging in shopping is a source of happiness Shopping is a means for socialization I fully express my identity through consumption Acquisition of goods that are admired by others is a testimony of my unique personality An exposure to brand advertisement almost always leaves an immediate impression upon me I find shopping as a useful means to minimize exposure to social and political problems Consumption is instrumental in improving customers’ welfare I often buy more than I basically need I often find myself buying additional items than what I had originally intended Shopping has special meanings far exceeding mere buying of goods Consuming materials is an exercise of my rights to be somebody Life has little meaning without shopping Increasing the consumption of goods is closely and positively linked to societal prosperity

34 In today’s world, personal growth is inherently linked to market growth

The Sample
Age: The sample is likely to be chosen as a convenience sample, with 80% of respondents under age 30 (teens and tweens), and the rest above. That is because we believe the younger generations are the ones most crucial to the marketing philosophy, if we wish to adapt it. This is not only because they project a huge proportion of current spending in Egypt, but also since they pave the shape of future generations. Income: Since it will be a convenience sample, it is also most likely that they will be of average to above average to high income respondents. This is also a better construct since very low income consumers in Egypt are very unlikely to have the financial means to have experienced the full on negativities of consumer culture at all. In fact, they would be lucky to make ends meet. Education: The survey will be conducted on educated consumers, either still in the educational system or graduates. Location: The convenience sample justifies the fact that the majority of respondents will be living in Cairo.

Method of distribution: We will distribute a minimum of 100 questionnaires mainly on-line to respondents satisfying the above criteria, as well as physically to the respondents above 30, and university students at the GUC.

35

References
Abela, A. V. (2006). Marketing and consumerism A response to O’Shaughnessy and O’Shaughnessy. European Journal of Marketing, 40(1/2), 5-16. Adib, H., & El-Bassiouny, N. (2012). Materialism in young consumers An investigation of family communication patterns and parental mediation practices in Egypt. Journal of Islamic Marketing, 3(3), 255-282. Ali, A. J., & Wisniesk, J. M. (2010). Consumerism and ethical attitudes: an empirical study. International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, 3(1), 36-46. Barber, B. R. (2009). Con$umed: How markets corrupt children, infantilize adults, and swallow citizens whole. Princeton, N.J: Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic. Bergadaa, M. (2007). Children and Business: Pluralistic Ethics of Marketers. Society and Business Review, 2(1), 53-73. Bourdieu, P. (1984), Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste, Routledge, London. Bourdieu, P. (1986), “The forms of capital”, in Richardson, J. (Ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, Greenwood Press, New York, NY, 241-58. Brown, V. S. (2000). Sustainable living Strategies for breaking the cycle of work and spend. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 1(3), 290-296. Browne, B. A., & Kaldenberg, D. O. (1997). Conceptualizing self-monitoring: links to materialism and product involvement. Journal Of Consumer Marketing, 14(1), 31-44. Chan, K. (2006a), “Consumer socialization of Chinese children in schools: analysis of consumption values in textbooks”, Journal of Consumer Marketing, 23(3), 125-32. Columbia University Press, New York, NY. Chan, T.S. and Cui, G. (2004). Consumer attitudes toward marketing in a transitional economy: a replication and extension, Journal of Consumer Marketing, 21(1), 10 - 26 Cui, G., Lui, H. K., Chan, T. S., & Joy, A. (2012). Decomposition of cross-country differences in consumer attitudes toward marketing. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 29(3), 214 - 224. De-Soriano, M. Y., & Slater, S. (2009). Revisiting Drucker’s theory Has consumerism led to the overuse of marketing? Journal of Management History, 15(4), 452-466.

36 Durning, A. T. (1992). In How much is enough?: The consumer society and the future of the earth. New York: Norton. Faber, R.J. and O’Guinn, T.C. (1992), A clinical screener for compulsive buying, Journal of Consumer Research, 19, 459-69. Goldsmith, R. E. (2002). Some Personality Traits of Frequent Clothing Buyers. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 6(3), 303-316. Hamilton, K. (2009). Low-income Families: Experiences and Responses to Consumer Exclusion. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 29(9/10), 543-557. Hanley, A. and Wilhelm, M.S. (1992), “Compulsive buying: an exploration into self-esteem and money attitudes”, Journal of Economic Psychology, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 5-18. Jocz, K, E and Quelch, J, A. (2008), An Exploration of Marketing’s Impacts on Society: A Perspective Linked to Democracy, American Marketing Association, 27(2), 202-206. Jones, P., Hiller, D., Comfort, D., & Eastwood, I. (2005). Sustainable Retailing and Consumerism. Management Research News, 28(1), 34-44. Kim, J. (2002), “Top 10 news in the retail industry”, Jungang Ilbo, 25 December, p. 14. Kolter, P., Roberto, N. and Lee, N. (2002), Social Marketing: Improving the Quality of Life 2nd edn., (Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA). Kotler, P. (1972), “What consumerism means for marketers”, Harvard Business Review, 3 , 48-57.. Kotler, P., Wong, V., Saunders, J. and Armstrong, G. (2005), Principles of Marketing, 4th European ed., Pearson Education, Harlow. Kumar, S., & Bishnoi, V. K. (2007). Influence of Marketers’ Efforts on Rural Consumers and Their Mindset: A Case Study of Haryana. The Icfai Journal of Brand Management,4(4), 28-50. Kwak, H., Zinkhan, G. M., & Lester Roushanzamir, E. P. (2004). Compulsive co-morbidity and its psychological antecedents: a cross-cultural comparison between the US and South Korea. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 21(6), 418–434. Lambin, J. J. (1997). Strategic Marketing Management. McGraw-Hill, Maidenhead. Lange, R. J. and Twain, S. (2003). Ka-Ching [S. Twain], On "Up" [CD]. Nashville: Mercury Nashville Records (2002) Leonard, A. (2007). Story of Stuff « The Story of Stuff Project [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-stuff/

37 Lysonski, S., Durvasula, S., & Watson, J. (2003). Should marketing managers be concerned about attitudes towards marketing and consumerism in New Zealand? A longitudinal view. European Journal of Marketing, 37(3/4), 385-406. McDonald, M. (2006). Right To Reply: Good marketers know the score. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 24(2), 102-105. Nicholas J. Ashill, Ugur Yavas, (2005). Dimensions of advertising attitudes: Congruence between Turkish and New Zealand consumers, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 23(4), 340 - 349 O’Guinn, T.C. and Faber, R.J. (1989), Compulsive buying: a phenomenological exploration, Journal of Consumer Research, 16, 147-57 O'Shaughnessy, J., & O'Shaughnessy, N. J. (2002). Marketing, the consumer society and hedonism. European Journal Of Marketing, 36(5/6), 524-547. Park, H. J., & Burns, L. D. (2005). Fashion orientation, credit card use, and compulsive buying. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 22(3), 135-141. Rotfeld, H, J. (2007), Mistaking a marketing perspective for ethical analysis: when consumers can't know that they should want, Journal of Consumer Marketing, 24(7), 383 - 384 Sayers, D.L. (1933), Murder Must Advertise, Hodder & Stoughton, London. Schmidt, R. A., Sturrock, F., Ward, P., & Greenwood, G. L. (1999). Deshopping: The Art of Illicit Consumption. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 27(8), pp. 290-301. Schor, J. (1998). The overspent American: Upscaling, downshifting, and the new consumer. New York, NY: Basic Books. Sirgy, M. J., & Lee, D. J. (2008). Well-being Marketing: An Ethical Business Philosophy for Consumer Goods Firms. Journal of Business Ethics, 77, 377-403. Snyder, M. (1974), Self-monitoring of expressive behavior, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, (30), pp. 526-37. Sodhi, K. (2011), Has marketing come full circle? De-marketing for sustainability, Business Strategy Series, 12 (4), 177 - 185 Tapp, A., & Warren, S. (2010). Field Capital Theory and Its Implications For Marketing. European Journal of Marketing, 44(1/2). Twitchell, J.B. (2000), Lead Us into Temptation: The Triumph of American Materialism, Wallace, J. (1996), Theory of 12-step-oriented treatment, in: Rotgers, F., Keller, D.S. and Morgenstern, J. (Eds), Treating Substance Abuse, The Guilford Press, New York, NY

38 Woodruffe, H. (1997). Compensatory consumption: why women go shopping when they’re fed up and other stories. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 15(7), 325–334. Woodruffe-Burton, H. (1998). Private desires, public display: consumption, postmodernism and fashion’s “new man”. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management,26(8), 301–310.