| Gift-giving is a common social phenomenon,where people give gifts to establish,maintain,or strengthen interpersonal relationships out of motives such as reciprocity,self-interest,altruism,or obligation.Sometimes people need to purchase gifts for multiple recipients simultaneously,referred to as multiple recipients gift-giving.Under the premise of the gift-giving motive being emotional expression,people’s gift-giving behavior in multiple recipients situations,whether in Eastern or Western societies,generally exhibit two tendencies.One is allocating gift spending based on the emotional intimacy with different recipients,referred to as "differential spending." The other is disregarding emotional intimacy and allocating equal spending to multiple recipients,referred to as "equilibrium spending." The presence of these two different gift spending behaviors under the same gift-giving motive deserves attention from marketers.Therefore,what causes people to exhibit differential or equilibrium spending behavior among multiple recipients? What are the underlying mechanisms of these two different gift spending behaviors? Under what circumstances do consumers engage in differential spending among different recipients,and under what circumstances do they engage in equilibrium spending? This study attempts to address these questions.Gift consumption is based on certain interpersonal relationships,and from the perspective of the binary gift-giver and gift-recipient relationship,scholars have discovered and validated the significant influence of interpersonal relationship context on gift spending behavior.When giving gifts to multiple recipients,consumers face more complex interpersonal relationship contexts.They not only have to assess and compare the differences in emotional intimacy and relationship types among different recipients but also consider whether the recipients will discuss the gifts,as this represents whether the consumer’s gift-giving behavior is relatively public or private.How these elements of interpersonal relationship context influence consumer gift spending behavior is the first question that needs to be explained in this study.Under the same interpersonal relationship context,consumers exhibit both differential and equilibrium spending behaviors,indicating the existence of boundary effects related to certain consumer characteristics.Different consumers select different behavioral patterns when facing the same interpersonal relationship context.To identify these boundary effects related to consumer characteristics,this study introduces self-monitoring as a differentiating variable.Self-monitoring is a personality trait that refers to the extent to which individuals adjust their behavior based on the situation,with high and low self-monitoring being distinct levels.How do consumers with high/low self-monitoring engage in gift spending behavior among different recipients in the same interpersonal relationship context? This is the second question to be addressed in this study.To better understand the underlying mechanisms of consumer gift spending behavior when giving gifts to multiple recipients,this study introduces the mediating role of self-concept.In the field of consumer behavior,the gift-buying process is seen as a form of self-expression,where individuals use gift spending behavior to express their self-concept.The specific self-concept expressed dynamically changes based on situational characteristics.Once individuals determine the self-concept they want to express in a given situation,they will seek and execute corresponding behavioral expressions.The dynamic mediating role of self-concept between the situational and behavioral dimensions aligns perfectly with the relationship between interpersonal relationship context and gift spending behavior in this study.Therefore,it is reasonable to introduce self-concept as a mediating explanatory mechanism.Additionally,China’s social structure and cultural background determine that individuals’ self-concepts possess dual cultural characteristics of individual self and social self,and gift giving is also an individual behavior nested in the social background,therefore,this paper speculates that when giving gifts to multiple receipients at the same time,the self-concept that mediates between the interpersonal relationship context and consumer gift spending behavior should be the individual self-concept and the social self-concept.Take the above into consideration,the research designs two paths for consumer gift spending behavior based on differences in self-monitoring.Firstly,for consumers with low self-monitoring,the study proposes the research path of " interpersonal relationship context-individual self-concept-differential spending behavior." Similarly,for consumers with high self-monitoring,the study suggests the research path of " interpersonal relationship context-social self-concept-equilibrium spending behavior." Through these research designs,the study constructs an effect model that distinguishes self-monitoring and uses self-concept as a mediating mechanism to explain the impact of interpersonal relationship context on consumer gift spending behavior from a multiple recipients perspective.Before conducting formal research,it was found that the existing measurement scales for self-concept in the academic field cannot capture dynamic self-concepts relevant to situations,thus lacking effective measurement tools to validate the dynamic explanatory mechanism of self-concept.To meet the research needs,the study develops dynamic and context-related measurement scales for individual self-concept and social self-concept through literature research,in-depth interviews,expert reviews,and pre-surveys.The individual self-concept scale includes three dimensions: individual evaluation,individual attitude,and individual self-construction,while the social self-concept scale also consists of three dimensions: social role,others’ evaluation,and social self-construction.Both scales demonstrate good reliability and validity.Subsequently,the study collects 1538 valid data through rigorous survey experiment designs to test the constructed theoretical model.The study derives the following main conclusions: First,when giving gifts to multiple recipients simultaneously,the interaction between interpersonal relationship context and self-monitoring influences consumer gift spending behavior.Specifically,consumers with low self-monitoring are more inclined to engage in "differential spending behavior" among different recipients,and their gift spending behavior is influenced significantly by the interpersonal relationship context element of "differences in interpersonal relationship intimacy." On the other hand,consumers with high self-monitoring prefer to engage in "equilibrium spending behavior" among different recipients,and their gift spending behavior is also influenced by interpersonal relationship context elements beyond "differences in interpersonal relationship intimacy." Second,consumers’ individual self-concept acts as a mediator between the "interaction between interpersonal relationship context and self-monitoring" and consumers’ "differential spending behavior," while consumers’ social self-concept serves as a mediator between the "interaction between interpersonal relationship context and self-monitoring" and consumers’ "equilibrium spending behavior." The research findings have theoretical and practical implications.On a theoretical level,the study fills the theoretical gap in gift spending behavior research from a multi-recipient gift-giving perspective and enriches the explanatory mechanism of gift spending behavior.Additionally,the study develops individual self-concept and social self-concept scales that can measure dynamic self-concepts in contextual settings,providing foundational measurement tools for future empirical research.On a practical level,the research conclusions can guide gift retailers in implementing targeted marketing strategies based on the mechanisms of self-monitoring for different types of target customers.It can also assist business operators in utilizing self-concepts to facilitate gift spending behavior,consciously guiding consumer gift spending behavior,and thereby enhancing gift retail performance. |
PDF Full Text Request