Understanding Levels of Voluntary Simplicity in Turkey

Abstract

Nowadays, many individuals are concerned about the consequences of overconsumption. Therefore, individuals have become more interested in non-materialism, environmental consciousness and spiritual well-being. A "Voluntary Simplicity" lifestyle, defined as being outwardly simple and inwardly rich, is becoming an alternative way of living for some consumers. This study aims to understand the interest in this concept within the context of Turkey as an emerging market. For this study a sample of Turkish consumers has been divided into groups with similar characteristics related to their voluntary simplicity attitude and behavior; with these the demographic profiles of these clusters are determined. The results are believed to provide insights for firms active in marketing in Turkey.

Inclusion of Life Cycle Thinking in a Sustainability-Oriented Consumer’s Typology: A Proposed Methodology and an Assessment Tool

“…The inclusion of life cycle thinking is an essential element of the designed methodology, as well as the environmental relevance of the answers (fully modelled by using the filtration and scoring systems) as the main criterion for consumer classification. Patterned on the general categorization made by different authors in previous research [37,38,48,[67][68][69][70], the following consumer types were distinguished in our methodology: voluntary simplifiers (VS), beginner voluntary simplifiers (BVS), accidental simplifiers (AS) and non-voluntary simplifiers (NVS). The four mentioned types of consumers represent a "pure" characteristic and clear differences, reflecting different potential, interest and demand for green products and services.…”

“…For example, VS and AS can decide to buy an energy-and water-efficient washing machine, but while AS did it only because of a price promotion and expected lower energy and water bills, VS made this decision being fully aware of the environmental benefits (in the case of VS, the lower price is not a crucial argument for buying as the quality and environmental performance of the product play a central role in VS decision-making). The consumer typology presented in Table S1 has been developed basing on the combination of already existing typologies described in the literature [37,38,48,67,68] with some elements coming from the methodology and practice of environmental life cycle assessment, e.g., cultural perspectives [66], usually used in the life cycle impact assessment phase [65,71]. Some of the pre-existing typologies were established by using cluster analysis, as in the case of studies performed in Turkey [37,38].…”

“…The consumer typology presented in Table S1 has been developed basing on the combination of already existing typologies described in the literature [37,38,48,67,68] with some elements coming from the methodology and practice of environmental life cycle assessment, e.g., cultural perspectives [66], usually used in the life cycle impact assessment phase [65,71]. Some of the pre-existing typologies were established by using cluster analysis, as in the case of studies performed in Turkey [37,38].…”

“…Shaw and Newholm [36] did similar research in the United Kingdom. Two examples of research in Turkey have been found as done by and Erdogmuş and Karapınar [37] and Sertoglu et al [38]. Furthermore, an example of a survey in Poland [29] can be mentioned.…”

X ve Y Kuşaklarında Gönüllü Sadelik Algısının Tüketici Karar Tarzlarına Etkisi - The Effect of Voluntary Simplicity Perceptıon on Consumer Decision Styles in X And Y Generations

“…Özellikle gelişmiş ülkelerde, maddi durumu iyi olan gruplarda ilgi gören bu akım pazarlamacılar için hem bir tehdit, hem de uygun bir strateji ile bir fırsat olarak değerlendirilebilir (Erdoǧmuş ve Karapinar, 2015).…”