Title Page
Contents
ABSTRACT 8
I. Introduction 11
1.1. Background 11
1.2. Purpose of Study 14
1.3. Significance 15
1.4. Structure of Thesis 16
II. Literature Review and Theoretical Development 17
2.1. Power and Powerlessness: Desire for Power-Symbol Products 17
2.2. Economic Power and Powerlessness: Expenditure to Positional Goods 21
2.3. Economic Powerlessness and Social Powerlessness 23
2.4. Materialism and Symbolic-Product Consumption 26
III. Methodology 28
Study 1. Powerlessness and Symbolic Consumption 28
3.1.1. Objective 28
3.1.2. Method 29
3.1.3. Main Results 32
3.1.4. Discussion 33
Study 2. An Exploratory Study, When Consumers Feel Powerlessness 34
3.2.1. Objective 34
3.2.2. Method 34
3.2.3. Main Results 34
3.2.4. Discussion 40
Study 3. Economic Powerlessness and Amount of Expenditure on Positional Goods 41
3.3.1. Objective 41
3.3.2. Method 41
3.3.3. Main Results 44
3.3.4. Discussion 46
Study 4. A Comparative Study of Economic Powerlessness and Social Powerlessness 47
3.4.1. Objective 47
3.4.2. Method 48
3.4.3. Main Results 55
3.4.4. Discussion 60
IV. General Discussion 62
V. Conclusion 64
5.1. Academic Contribution 64
5.2. Managerial Contribution 65
5.3. Limitation and Further Research 65
References 67
초록 73
〈Table 1〉 Mean of WTP: Power-symbol products, and non-power symbol products 33
〈Table 2〉 7 Sources of powerlessness 36
〈Table 3〉 Summary of the powerlessness exploratory 39
〈Table 4〉 Mean of amount of expenditures: Positional goods and non-positional goods 44
〈Table 5〉 Interaction of the power and positional goods (DV: Expenditures) 45
〈Table 6〉 Scale of materialism 53
〈Table 7〉 Mean of the advertisement manipulation 55
〈Table 8〉 Summary of mean: social power and economic power 56
〈Table 9a〉 Interaction of the Materialism and Power-symbol Products 57
〈Table 9b〉 Interaction of the Materialism and power-symbol products 58
Figure 1. Economic power and social power 24
Figure 2. Interaction of power and positional goods 45
Figure 3. Advertisement of power symbolic brand 51
Figure 4. Advertisement of meaning symbolic brand 51
Figure 5a. Interaction of Materialism 59
Figure 5b. Interaction of Materialism 59