Consumer wisdom and well-being investigated via intergenerational interactions

ABSTRACT

This study examines consumer wisdom and well-being in family life. Drawing on Luchs et al. (2021), it specifically examines how consumer wisdom develops and is transmitted in intergenerational interactions via consumption. Qualitative data was gathered via twenty long interviews with Moroccan grandmothers and eleven long interviews with their teen/adult grandchildren. The data analysis uncovers how wisdom interacts with intrapersonal, interpersonal, and extrapersonal well-being in families. First, it examines how grandmothers develop and transmit their wisdom to their grandchildren through intergenerational interactions embedded in consumption. Second, it shows how grandmothers manifest wisdom as they balance their well-being. Finally, the study provides a novel perspective on grandchildren’s development of wisdom. This study extends our knowledge about the complexity of consumer wisdom and how wisdom contributes to well-being. The findings suggest how wisdom can be used in marketing strategies and marketing communications, and provides societal implications related to consumer wisdom and well-being.

KEYWORDS:

• Consumer wisdom
• family
• intergenerational interactions
• grandmothers
• grandchildren
• well-being

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Delphine Godefroit-Winkel

Delphine Godefroit-Winkel is Associate Professor of Marketing at Toulouse Business School, Casablanca Campus, Morocco. Her research centres on consumers’ responses to innovations and sustainability, with a particular interest in the socio-cultural aspects of consumption. Her work has been published in several academic journals like the Journal of International Marketing, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Business Research, European Journal of Marketing, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, in book chapters, and in refereed conference proceedings such as Academy of Marketing Science, Advances in Consumer Research, and Association Française du Marketing.

Marie Schill

Marie Schill is Professor of Marketing at the University of Jean Monnet, France. Her research interests focus on family daily consumption practices and sustainable development. Her work has appeared in the Journal of International Marketing, Ecological Economics, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Consumer Marketing, European Management Journal, and European Journal of Marketing.

Margaret K. Hogg

Margaret K. Hogg is Emeritus Professor of Consumer Behaviour and Marketing at Lancaster University. Her research examines the relationship between identity, self and consumption. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Advertising, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Services Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, International Journal of Advertising, Sociology and The Sociological Review. She is a co-author of the textbook: Consumer Behaviour: A European Perspective (2019) 7th ed.