Attitudes Toward Money and Control Strategies of Financial Behavior: A Comparison Between Overindebted and Non-overindebted Consumers

This paper addresses whether overindebted and non-overindebted consumers differ in their attitude toward money (specifically, the degree to which consumers care about money and feel difficulties keeping track of their money) and how this attitude impacts three different financial behavior categories: record keeping (e.g., recording spending in writing), adjusting balance (e.g., trying to find ways to decrease one’s expenses to match income), and monitoring balance (e.g., monitoring one’s spending to see if it is in line with what is expected). Overindebted consumers were recruited via an NGO for consumer defense and were categorized (whenever possible) into two subgroups: consumers who became overindebted due to internal causes (e.g., bad financial management) and consumers who became overindebted due to external causes (e.g., unemployment). Non-overindebted consumers were a convenience sample. Non-overindebted consumers showed more positive attitudes toward money than both groups of overindebted consumers and overindebted due to external causes showed more positive attitudes than overindebted consumers due to internal causes. All groups share similar financial management behaviors except for monitoring balance, which was more frequent among non-overindebted consumers. Furthermore, a regression analysis indicates that money attitudes helped explain financial behavior differences between consumers above and beyond their indebtedness status. Consumers’ attitude predicted financial behaviors, even when controlling for relevant socioeconomic variables (education, income, age, and gender). Further analyses comparing money attitudes and financial behavior for the three subgroups (non-overindebted, overindebted due to internal causes, and overindebted due to external causes) showed no differences.

PARENTAL SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS IN CHILDHOOD AND INDIVIDUAL’S ATTITUDES IN ADULTHOOD

The present publication focuses on the relationship between parental socioeconomic status in individual’s childhood and his/her attitude formation in adulthood. Based on prior empirical work on the effects of early life SES on general life outcomes in adulthood, as well as data collected in a series of semistructured interviews (N = 10), for this study we have identified several objects of relationship that can be influenced by the socio-economic situation. Specifically, in the analysis of interviews we have short-listed a number of objects, attitudes towards which were shown to vary across different socioeconomic categories in childhood, e.g. money, housing, food, clothes, time, regulations, schooling, creativity, parents, future spouse, children, friends and strangers. These topics were further developed in the questionnaire to test the results that emerged from the analysis of interviews. The quantitative stage was conducted in the form of self-administered survey (N = 245). Based on the results of ANOVA and regression analysis, those individuals whose parents have had stable to relatively stable financial situation in the past showed little difference from each other, while the individuals with more modest background displayed more distinct attitudes toward time, money, regulations and clothes. Unstable financial situation in childhood in our sample also affected consumer’s behavior regarding clothes — the ‘extra’ money was invested into expensive wardrobe items. Furthermore, depending on their past financial situation, individuals in our sample varied in their attitudes toward money and time. The importance of money as such increased if individual’s financial situation became more favorable throughout the life course. Financial situation in childhood also affected one’s attitudes toward food.

Fashion trendsetting, attitudes toward money, and tendency to regret

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine differences among fashion trendsetting groups in money attitudes and consumer tendency to regret (CTR). Design/methodology/approach Students completed questionnaires containing demographic items and scales measuring money attitudes (power/prestige, quality, anxiety and distrust), CTR (CTRpurchase, CTRnot purchase) and trendsetting. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s α, M/ANOVA and SNK post hoc test. Findings Participants lowest in trendsetting scored lower in power/prestige than earlier adopters. Trendsetters scored higher in quality and anxiety than later adopters. Trendsetters scored higher in CTRnot purchase but not in CTRpurchase. Participants higher (vs lower) in CTRpurchase scored higher in power/prestige, distrust and anxiety but not in quality. Participants higher (vs lower) in CTRnot purchase scored higher in power/prestige, quality and anxiety but not in distrust. Research limitations/implications Generalization of results is limited because the college student sample was not representative of the general population of consumers. Practical implications Many retailer sales tactics are designed to pressure consumers to buy and buy now – thus raising consumers’ level of anxiety. Retailers might benefit from strategies to reduce consumers’ negative emotions (e.g. anxiety, distrust) and to encourage attention to positive social or personal benefits of products. Originality/value Results extend cognitive dissonance theory and the post-purchase evaluation model by finding differences among fashion trendsetter groups in post-purchase evaluation and money attitudes. No prior research has explored CTR and money attitudes among fashion trendsetter groups.

Materialism, social stratification, and ethics: evidence from SME owners in China

PurposeThe study of business ethics has seldom shed light on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) despite their theoretical and practical significance. Drawing from strain perspective, the purpose of this paper is to address this insufficiency and investigate SME owners’ ethical attitudes toward money-related deviances.Design/methodology/approachBased on a large sample of 741 Chinese SMEs, an OLS regression analysis was employed to test associated hypotheses. The robustness of results was additionally checked.FindingsThe results suggest that for stratification variables, education level is positively related to ethical attitudes, whereas household income level is surprisingly negatively associated with ethical attitudes; for materialism facets, success and happiness exert a negative impact on ethical attitudes as hypothesized, but centrality has no associated impact.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has examined both structural and motivational sources of personal strains on the ethical attitude of SME owners, while the characteristics of these strains could be explored in the future studies.Originality/valueThis study advances and complements the dominant behavior approach that emphasizes cognitive and other psychological processes in explaining individual ethical attitudes. It is also seemingly the first study to examine the influence of three materialism facets on entrepreneurial ethical attitudes.

Money

This book discusses the history of money. It considers what most shaped the development of money (as in the case of the Bank of England), the forces contending for control of money (as in the case of the struggle between Andrew Jackson and Nicholas Biddle), and what contributed most to our present understanding of money (as in the work of John Maynard Keynes and the recent history). This chapter considers changes in attitudes toward money, showing that they proceed in long cyclical swings. When money is bad, people want it to be better. When it is good, they think of other things. People who are experiencing inflation yearn for stable money and those who are accepting the discipline and the costs of stability come to accept the risks of inflation. This cycle teaches us that nothing, not even inflation, is permanent.

Money meanings among French and American adolescents

Purpose This paper examines adolescent’ money attitudes in the USA and France. It introduces and validates an 18-item scale for assessing adolescent money attitudes, explores the symbolic values that American and French teens attach to money, identifies the major segments of teens based on their attitudes toward money and assesses the importance that these groups place on price, novelty and brand name. Design/methodology/approach Twenty-eight in-depth interviews were initially conducted to explore adolescent’ money attitudes, assist in the development of measures and provide a context for interpreting subsequent results. Exploratory factor analysis (among 90 French and 70 American adolescents), followed by confirmatory factor analysis (among 332 French and 273 American adolescents) indicated that six dimensions captured money meanings. These dimensions were used in a subsequent cluster analysis to group teens into segments. Findings Six dimensions (worry, achievement, status, security, budget and evil) captured teenage money attitudes among French and American adolescents. A cluster analysis based on these dimensions yielded three groups: no worries, success and security. These three groups varied in their attitudes toward money and the importance that they placed on price, brand and novelty in purchasing. Practical implications This study provides measures for assessing adolescent money meanings and presents a preliminary segmentation of USA and French adolescents based on their attitudes toward money. Originality/value The results explore the impact of money attitudes on adolescent consumption preferences, demonstrate the utility of measuring adolescent’ money attitudes and segmenting adolescents based on these attitudes and emphasize the importance of both cultural and individual differences.