Status Goods: A Brief Survey

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rogerio Mazali ◽  
Luciana Costa Fiorini ◽  
José A. Rodrigues-Neto
Keyword(s):  
2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 131-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nkosivile Welcome Madinga ◽  
Eugine Tafadzwa Maziriri ◽  
Thobekani Lose

South Africa is one of the most important countries in the status goods market. In addition, it has the biggest share from the status consumption market in Africa and it is amongst fastest growing countries worldwide in status consumption. The growth in status consumption in South Africa is attributed to the growth of the high-income and middle-income groups. As the demand for status increases and status goods become more available, the concept of status has become an important research area for academics and marketers. The aim of this study is to explore the concept of status consumption and provide an overview of status consumption. In this study, the literature has been reviewed for the studies on the same subject to make a compilation


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo Bursztyn ◽  
Bruno Ferman ◽  
Stefano Fiorin ◽  
Martin Kanz ◽  
Gautam Rao

Author(s):  
Anna K. Hodgkinson

This final chapter addresses the individual research questions posed in the Introduction (Chapter 1), in the light of the data and discussion presented in Chapters 2–7. According to the range of settlement types defined by Troy (see Section 1.1), Amarna and Gurob may be regarded as cities, with a less specialized character and the presence of both a royal court and temples. While Amarna was not long-lived, it was specifically founded as a capital city with a large amount of urban planning. Gurob was certainly occupied for a long period, before and after the New Kingdom. Although Malqata can be defined as a royal city, it does not fulfil Troy’s definition of a city in that it was only very short-lived and served the sole purpose of a location for the festivities in honour of Amenhotep III, for which reason it should most likely be regarded a specialized settlement. In conclusion, it can be said that the presence of high-status goods and evidence of their manufacture enhances a settlement’s status. On the one hand, it proves that a strong demand existed for these types of objects, most of which were not for everyday use, and therefore implies the presence of either a consuming elite or royal court. On the other hand, should no royal court be present, it indicates at least the settlement’s dependence on the favours of royal personages acting as recipients of high-status goods. The presence of such personages would also enhance the settlement’s status. Hence, a developed infrastructure, together with a well-managed system of redistribution, as observed in all three case-studies discussed in this book, may very well be a factor determining a high-status settlement, such as a royal city. It can be stated that the analyses of the archaeological material from Amarna, Gurob, and Malqata have been successful in highlighting several areas of intensive industrial activity despite some issues regarding the nature of the data (see Section 1.4.3). In addition, it has been possible to further define the locations in which most of the finished products were found and, probably, used.


Author(s):  
Anna K. Hodgkinson

This book aims to establish knowledge of the infrastructure and organization of the excavated cities in Late Bronze Age (LBA), or New Kingdom Egypt (c.1550–1069 BC), and provide an understanding of the accessibility and control of the high-status products and the raw materials and tools used for their manufacture. This is done by analysing the distribution of the artefactual and structural evidence of the manufacture of high-status goods from three sites used as case-studies, namely Amarna, in Middle Egypt, Gurob, in the Faiyum region, and Malqata, in ancient Thebes (Chapters 2–5). It attempts to achieve some knowledge of the control and distribution of the finished goods, highlighting buildings and areas in the settlements that were involved in the production, and others that would be the consumers of high-status goods. By detecting some mutual patterns between the sites analysed, it has been possible to achieve an understanding of urban high-status manufacture throughout the New Kingdom and its influence on the internal organization and status of settlements. Moving inwards, the study then focuses on workshops, their layouts and functionality (Chapters 6 and 7). A number of research questions will be answered, which address the issues of settlement status, craft production and its social context, the character of workshops as well as their influence on LBA settlements. These questions are presented in Sections 1.1–1.6 together with the data and methods used to address them. In the discussion of the status of a larger settlement we have to take into account the work and opinions of previous scholars. Trigger, for instance, differentiates between two approaches to settlement archaeology as a whole: (a) one focusing on the location, size, spacing, material culture, and activities, as opposed to another (b) focusing on the interactions of their environmental, economic, and technological determinants. While much information concerning the first approach existed by this date, he states that at the time of publication (in the early 1970s) there was still a lack of understanding concerning the economic and technological interactions within the settlements.


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian M. Taplin

Purpose This paper aims to examine the purposive strategy behind the growth of cult wines in Napa California since the 1980s. By leveraging the growing wine reputation of the region, a small number of new owners used extensive financial resources from other ventures to make a finely crafted, high-priced wine, in small quantities and sold through restricted distribution channels. Their aim was to compete with Bordeaux first-growths and create wine that would evoke the luxury connotations of craft, heritage, reputation and exclusivity. Because they were new, they relied upon experts to rate their wine, thus creating instant legitimacy with high scores and appealing to a small group of wealthy wine enthusiasts, many of whom were insecure in their knowledge of high-quality wines. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured in-depth interviews with a sample of 13 cult winery owners, wine makers and a CEO were utilized in addition to descriptive statistics and secondary historical information drawn from public records. Findings Certain Napa producers have created iconic wines through purposeful behavior and extensive resources that are rare and difficult to imitate. Their success is also a function of positive accolades by influential wine critics whose scoring sanctioned their status as a luxury good. High prices and limited availability further manufactured the scarcity element that is crucial to maintaining demand for high-status goods. Originality/value This study examines the interface between supply of a product, external validation that legitimized it and a small but significant market of wealthy individuals who created the demand for it. This mosaic behind market creation reveals how successful producers have been in realizing the multidimensionality of luxury goods.


2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wai Chiu Woo

Abstract Status goods are often produced by firms with market powers. Taking this into account, we construct a new class of models of status goods, which refutes many important results in the conventional models without assuming market powers. Specifically, relative consumption effect normally leads to under-consumption of status goods, which is the opposite of the conventional result. Generally speaking, status goods may be over- or under-consumed, depending crucially on a widely overlooked factor in the literature- the elasticity of marginal status. More competition tends to support overconsumption and is not necessarily welfare-enhancing. Our results call into questions if, as often suggested in existing literature, a general taxation is an appropriate solution to tackle market bias from status seeking.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 1431-1450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongjing Cui ◽  
Taiyang Zhao ◽  
Slawomir Smyczek ◽  
Yajun Sheng ◽  
Ming Xu ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of self-worth on status consumption, focusing on the mediation of self-enhancement and self-compensation and the moderation of power distance belief (PDB) in the relationship of threats to self-worth and consumer choice. Design/methodology/approach Experiments are used to collect data. Three studies are designed to test the relationship between self-worth, self-enhancement and self-compensation, PDB and status consumption. In total, 180 MBA students participate Study 1, 186 and 244 undergraduate students participate Studies 2 and 3, respectively. ANOVA and bootstrapping method are adopted to analyze the data by using SPSS version 19.0. Study 1 tests the influence of self-worth on status consumption; Study 2 examines the mediation role of self-enhancement and self-compensation; and Study 3 tests the moderation role of PDB. Findings Results indicate that situational self-worth perception has dual path effects on status consumption. Both improvements in – and threats to – self-worth have a positive impact on status consumption. Improvements in self-worth affect status consumption through the mediation of self-enhancement motives. Threats to self-worth affect status and non-status consumption through the mediation of the self-compensation motive. In the context of a threat to self-worth, compared with consumers with a low PDB, high-PDB consumers have higher purchase intention for status goods but not non-status goods. Research limitations/implications In this study, improvements in – and threats to – self-worth are momentarily manipulated. The authors present one product in each experiment, but what would happen if both status goods and non-status goods were shown to participants? Which one will the authors choose under different self-worth manipulations? And how long can the effects last? These questions should be answered in future research. Practical implications This research provides a venue for marketers to introduce and advertise status goods. Marketing practitioners should establish the link between self-worth and status consumption appeals. In the Asia-Pacific markets, Confucian value is important to consumers, and high power distance is important in Confucianism. Thus when developing markets in China, international companies should emphasize Confucian values in the design of advertisements or other promotional items. Further, marketing for status goods should attach importance to the expression of their symbolic meanings. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on self-worth and status consumption. It also explores the dual path of the effect of self-worth on status consumption. The motives of self-enhancement and self-compensation are first proposed and tested to explain the mechanism, which differentiates the study from prior work and gives a more reasonable explanation for status and compensatory consumption. The moderation role of PDB delineates the boundary for the effect of a threat to self-worth on status consumption.


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