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Subjective Wellbeing and its Influence on Consumer Sentiment Towards Marketing: A New Zealand Example

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Abstract

Consumption is a central component of many peoples’ lives. Providing satisfaction and happiness with the products and services we buy and with the institutions that supply them is a fundamental part of marketing (Wilkie and Moore in J Macromark 26(2):224–232, 2006). Many studies investigate the influence of various microaspects of products/services—or of specific situational customer characteristics—on satisfaction evaluations. This study examines how a macro-variable, Subjective Wellbeing (SWB), relates to consumer satisfaction and illustrates the importance of SWB in studies examining determinants of the concept. Using the idea of spill-over effects, a well established concept in psychology and marketing that has received little attention in the area of consumer satisfaction research, it investigates whether attitudes towards marketing activities, measured by the Index of Consumer Sentiment Towards Marketing, are influenced by SWB. The research finds that Subjective Wellbeing, as determined by the International Wellbeing Index, contributes significantly to the explanation of consumer sentiment and makes a case for its inclusion in more consumer satisfaction studies.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Bob Cummins, Joe Sirgy and two independent reviewers for their helpful comments during the development of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marketing, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Alexandra Ganglmair-Wooliscroft & Rob Lawson

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  1. Alexandra Ganglmair-Wooliscroft
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  2. Rob Lawson
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Correspondence to Alexandra Ganglmair-Wooliscroft.

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Ganglmair-Wooliscroft, A., Lawson, R. Subjective Wellbeing and its Influence on Consumer Sentiment Towards Marketing: A New Zealand Example. J Happiness Stud 13, 149–166 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-011-9255-9

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