Three Essays on the Role of Indulgence vs. Restraint in Consumer Behavior

The purpose of this thesis was to conceptualize and develop a valid and reliable scale for the sixth dimension of Hofstede's cultural framework (Hofstede 1980; 2001; Hofstede et al. 2010), indulgence vs. restraint, at the individual level. It also examined the impact of individual-level indulgence vs. restraint on two areas of consumer behavior, hedonic-utilitarian attitudes and vice-virtue consumption. Despite the importance of indulgence vs. restraint culture influence on consumer behavior and human behaviors, little research has been done to measure this dimension at the individual level. Essay 1. Following Churchill's (1979) approach, a first data collection served to reduce an initial pool of 40 items to a final 6-item scale for indulgence vs. restraint at the individual level. A second data collection confirmed the strong reliability of the scale. Essay 2. Through an online survey using three different contexts (restaurant re-visited, car or cellphone repurchase) to capture the variance, the results demonstrated the nomological validity of the construct at the individual-level indulgence. The hedonic and utilitarian attitudes mediated the impact of individual-level indulgence on repurchase intentions and WOM intention. The impact of individual-level indulgence on hedonic and utilitarian attitudes was also mediated by positive post-purchase emotions (confidence and delight). Essay 3. Using an online survey, we demonstrated that the scale had a significant correlation with constructs associated with indulgence vs. restraint, establishing the criterion validity of the scale. We investigated the influence of individual-level indulgence on vice and virtue consumption behavior in the context of food consumption. The results of binary logistic regression showed that indulgence vs. restraint was a strong predictor of preference between vice and virtue (for all three pairs of snacks used in the study). Compared to low-indulgence people, high-indulgence people were more likely to choose vice over virtue. Essays 1 to 3 demonstrated the individual-level indulgence scale's convergent validity and the discriminant validity against hyperopia and self-control