An Examination of the Gift Attributes on Happiness: Moderating Roles of Gender Traits and Product Complementing

• Main Authors: Hsin-Hung Lin, 林信宏
• Other Authors: Hsiao-Ching Lee
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/72738006760983797283

碩士 === 國立高雄應用科技大學 === 國際企業系碩士在職專班 === 101 === “A sense of happiness” is an abstract emotion that is difficult to be quantified, and consumers may have different feelings under different situations. Consumers are more likely to re-purchase if their previous purchasing experience is pleasant. In other words, pleasant purchasing experiences may lead to customer loyalty and satisfaction, which are essential elements of consumer happiness. One of the most common ways for businesses to promote sales is to give free gifts to consumers. The promotion types could be “free gifts with purchase”, “point-collecting” or “buy A and get B free.” No matter what type of promotional strategies is used, all of them need to choose a product as free gift. That is, choosing the appropriate gifts is beneficial for the enhancement of consumer happiness. In addition to discussing the influence of gift category on consumer happiness, the present study examines the moderating roles of gender traits and complementarity of free gifts. The study adopts a 2 (gift categories: utilitarian vs. hedonic) x 2 (gender traits: male vs. female) x 2 (complementarity: complementary vs. non-complementary) experimental design. Since gender trait is measured, we finally conduct a 2x2 experimental design. Results of the study indicate that hedonic goods generate more sense of happiness for consumers than utilitarian goods do. Further analysis also indicates that compared to utilitarian gifts, consumers with female trait tend to have higher levels of happiness when receiving hedonic gifts than those with male trait. Furthermore, in terms of hedonic gifts, non-complementary gifts produce more sense of happiness than complementary gifts. Based on the findings, we suggest marketers to consider different gift categories and the complementarity of free gifts under different gender traits when designing promotional campaigns in order to maximize consumers’ sense of happiness.