The luxury of igniting change by giving: Transforming yourself while transforming others' lives

Abstract

This study investigates the phenomenon of luxury from a consumer perspective, by means of multisited phenomenological inquiry. The findings expand the pervasive view of luxury as accumulation of highly valued goods by offering a transformative perspective of luxury as transforming the life of distant others by giving them valuable philanthropic gifts and thereby ultimately transforming the self of the giver. The paper shows how giving away economic capital (money and time), social capital (networks and influence), and cultural capital (skills and knowledge) to non-related others can provide the giver with a sense of luxury in terms of pleasure, purpose and connection with humankind. Thus, the findings not only extend the traditional conceptualization of luxury from having to giving, but also challenge current conceptualizations of sharing out as non-reciprocal pro-social behavior by illustrating how 'the luxury of giving' relies on both pro-social and pro-ego consumption rationales, which implicitly include circular reciprocation. The luxury of igniting change by giving: transforming yourself while transforming others' lives"What does one person give to another? He gives of himself, of the most precious he has, he gives of his life. This does not necessarily mean that he sacrifices his life for the otherbut that he gives him of that which is alive in him; he gives him of his joy, of his interest, of his understanding, of his knowledge, of his humor, of his sadnessof all expressions and manifestations of that which is alive in him. In thus giving of his life, he enriches the other person, he enhances the other's sense of aliveness by enhancing his own sense of aliveness.He does not give in order to receive; giving is in itself exquisite joy. But in giving he cannot help bringing something to life in the other person, and this which is brought to life reflects back to him." -Erich Fromm

A Cultural Conscience for Conservation

“…Contemporary consumers have proven to be receptive to responsible brands, which have now overtaken “conventional” brands in terms of growth rate, according to IRI and Boston Consulting Group′s 2015 European study. And just as luxury brands have the power of transforming an ordinary self into a sophisticated and glamorous one, a recent research study illustrates how “the luxury of performing significant acts of altruism holds the power to transform an ordinary self into a desired self” [ 18 ].…”

Generosity’s antecedents and outcomes - A proposed relationship between Generosity and Intention in Indonesia’s BPJS Kesehatan

“…The critical review from thirty journals on "generosity" reveals that being generous is motivated by pure altruistic reasons (empathy to help others) (Hur, 2013;Kandul, 2016;Sharp & Randhawa, 2014), intrinsic incentives (the feeling of pleasure, "Warm Glow", and being more connected to humankind) (Declerck et al, 2013;Greenberg, 2014;Hur, 2013;Kandul, 2016;Liu &Hao, 2017;Llamas &Uth, 2016;Lynn, 2015;Natter & Kaufmann, 2015;Sharp & Randhawa, 2014), and extrinsic incentives (hoping for reciprocity, increase reputation, and avoiding social sanction) (Greenberg, 2014;Hur, 2013;Natter & Kaufmann, 2015).…”

“…The hoping to get intrinsic reward is reported by various authors (DeClerck, Boone and Emonds, 2013;Hur, 2013;Greenberg, 2014;Sharp and Randhawa, 2014;Lynn, 2015;Natter and Kaufmann, 2015;Kandul, 2016;Llamas and Uth, 2016;Liu and Hao, 2017). They argue that people doing good to others, such as prosocial acts, tipping, giving money to strangers, and voluntary payment, do so because they can gain the feeling of pleasure, "Warm Glow", and feeling more connected to humankind.…”

“…They argue that people doing good to others, such as prosocial acts, tipping, giving money to strangers, and voluntary payment, do so because they can gain the feeling of pleasure, "Warm Glow", and feeling more connected to humankind. Llamas & Uth (2016) argue that main reasons people are generous are to gain luxury, feel the pleasure and purpose, and feel connected with humankind (intrinsic). Declerck et al (2013) state that people enjoy giving because of the reward of human cooperation, not because of natural compensation.…”

An Investigation of Self-Image Congruence Differences between Materialistic and Non-Materialistic Consumers

“…As previously noted, self-image congruence is a co-predictor of consumer attitudes and intentions. In addition, self-image congruence dimensions are correlated with social and private products in terms of the materialistic tendencies of the consumers (Cass, 2001;Fitzmaurice and Comegys, 2006;Wiedmann et al, 2007;Laisawat et al, 2012;Llamas and Thomsen, 2015). Considering this situation, an evaluation is necessary concerning whether differences in the levels of actual self-image congruence towards social and private products affect the materialistic tendencies of the consumers.…”