The Impact of Purchase Type, Pre-purchase Mood, and Gender on Levels of Consumer Guilt in an Impulse Purchase Context
Open Access
Author:
Hanks, Lydia
Graduate Program:
Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
May 10, 2012
Committee Members:
Anna S Mattila, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor David Allen Cranage, Committee Member Daniel John Mount, Committee Member Dr Harry Zinn, Committee Member
Keywords:
consumer guilt impulse purchase guilt mood
Abstract:
In this mixed-methods study, we examine the emotion of consumer guilt. Two focus groups were conducted to establish the presence of consumer guilt and explore the ways in which consumers experience guilt about purchases. Subsequently, we conducted a quantitative study using scenarios and a survey to investigate the relationship of purchase type, pre-purchase mood, and gender on consumer guilt. ANCOVA analysis revealed a significant three-way interaction among these variables, and hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated a significant effect of consumer guilt on anticipated satisfaction with the purchase. Using information processing theory as a framework, we found that gender-based and mood-based information processing had a clear impact on levels of consumer guilt. Our results contribute to the literature on emotions by shedding light on the construct of consumer guilt and its impact on anticipated satisfaction. These findings have significant implications for service managers and marketers as well, as they suggest ways in which the effects of consumer guilt may be mitigated.