View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by The University of North Carolina at Greensboro HOMICK, ALEXANDRA VICTORIA, M.S. An Exploration of Gift Giving: Re-gifting as a Gift-giving Behavior. (2007) Directed by Dr. Barbara Dyer. 178 pp. This study investigated re-gifting, the act of taking a previously received gift and using it as a gift for another, by asking, “What is the role of re-gifting in the consumer gift-giving process?” The study sought: (1) to explore consumers’ feelings and thinking about re-gifting; (2) to use qualitative methodology, that is, in-depth interviews with men and women; and (3) to analyze the interview text for emergent themes to improve our understanding of re-gifting. Analysis of the text from 22 interviews yielded 44 initial emergent themes. Iterative analysis resulted in 16 evolved themes representing five theme categories: gift assessment (three themes), gift response (three themes), re-gifting triggers (three themes), disposal strategies (five themes), and meeting social norms (two themes). Re-gifting was found to be a common practice socially, but one in which secrecy was carefully maintained to protect the feelings of the gift recipient involved in the re-gifting. AN EXPLORATION OF GIFT GIVING: RE-GIFTING AS A GIFT-GIVING BEHAVIOR by Alexandra Victoria Homick A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science Greensboro 2007 Approved by Committee Chair, Dr. Barbara Dyer APPROVAL PAGE This thesis has been approved by the following committee of the Faculty of The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Committee Chair Dr. Barbara Dyer Committee Members Dr. Carl Dyer Dr. Robert Henson Date of Acceptance by Committee Date of Final Oral Examination ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………………...v LIST OF FIGURES ……………………………………………………………………...vi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................1 Introduction to the Study .................................................................1 Background of the Study .................................................................2 Research Question ...........................................................................6 Research Objectives.........................................................................6 Assumptions.....................................................................................7 Definition of Terms..........................................................................7 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE .............................................................9 Introduction to the Gift-giving Literature…………………………9 A Review of the Gift-giving Literature .........................................10 Gaps in the Literature.....................................................................22 Restatement of the Research Question ..........................................23 III. METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................24 Research Methodology Approaches ..............................................24 Qualitative and Quantitative Methodology....................................25 Using a Qualitative Approach........................................................30 Qualitative Analysis.......................................................................33 IV. RESULTS ..................................................................................................36 Sample Characteristics...................................................................36 Descriptive Statistics of Re-gifting Participation ..........................36 Re-gifting Analysis Thematic Results ...........................................43 iii Page V. CONCLUSION..........................................................................................54 A Review of the Study Purpose.....................................................54 Discussion of Key Findings of the Study ......................................55 Study Limitations...........................................................................57 Future Research Recommendations...............................................57 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................60 APPENDIX A. GIFT-GIVING RESEARCH BY DECADE............................................71 APPENDIX B. SCHEDULE OF QUESTIONS..............................................................101 APPENDIX C. INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS ..............................................................104 APPENDIX D. CONSENT FORM .................................................................................177 iv LIST OF TABLES Table Page 4.1 Sample Demographics .................................................................................................37 4.2 Re-gifting Participation of Informants.........................................................................39 4.3 Analysis Thematic Results...........................................................................................45 A.1 Gift-giving Studies from1920 through 1929...............................................................72 A.2 Gift-giving Studies from 1930 through 1939..............................................................73 A.3 Gift-giving Studies from 1940 through 1949..............................................................74 A.4 Gift-giving Studies from 1950 through 1959..............................................................75 A.5 Gift-giving Studies from 1960 through 1969..............................................................76 A.6 Gift-giving Studies from 1970 through 1979..............................................................77 A.7 Gift-giving Studies from 1980 through 1989..............................................................79 A.8 Gift-giving Studies from 1990 through 1999..............................................................83 A.9 Gift-giving Studies from 2000 to the present..............................................................92 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 2.1 Level of Gift-giving Research from the 1920s to the Present .................................10 2.2 Belk’s 1976 Gift-giving Diagraph ...........................................................................15 2.3 Belk’s 1979 Interactive Gift-giving Paradigm.........................................................17 2.4 John Sherry’s 1983 Model of the Process of Gift-giving Behavior ........................19 vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Chapter I includes the following sections: (1) Introduction to the Study; (2) Background of the Study; (3) Research Question; (4) Research Objectives; (5) Assumptions; and (6) Definition of Terms. Introduction to the Study For most people, gift giving is an integral part of their social experience. Webster's Third New International Dictionary (Gove, 1993) defines a gift as "something that is voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation" (p. 953). The ancient practice of gift giving has significantly influenced cultures around the world, and it remains a crucial part of the process of creating and maintaining social relationships today (Sherry, 1983). Furthermore, gift giving has huge economic impact. Garner and Wagner (1991) have estimated that at least $78 billion are spent annually for gifts outside the household. Research was originally very sparse in gift giving, but in recent years research in gift giving has yielded some common understandings of the gift-giving process. One of the phenomena associated with the process of gift giving is re-gifting, which is defined in this study as the act of taking a previously received gift and using it as a gift for another. Little is currently known about the re-gifting process and it deserves research attention. 1 Background of the Study Economic Impact A significant amount of expendable income, by consumers, is being allotted toward gift giving. Consumers have been found to spend over 10 percent of their household income on gifts alone (Shama and Thompson 1989). Garner and Wagner (1991) found that consumers are spending over $110 billion each year in the United States on gift giving. Additionally, research has shown that if income increases, extra-household gift giving increases, while, when income decreases, people reduce extra-household gift expenditures (Garner and Wagner, 1991). Social Impact Initially, gift giving received little recognition from the marketing profession; however, due to the prevalence and strong interpersonal meaning of gift giving, interest in research on gift giving has grown over the years (Belk 1976). Across this body of research, studies have consistently found certain things to be characteristic of the gift-giving process. At the broadest level, gift giving is an ancient practice and has significantly influenced cultures around the world. In fact, gift giving could be called a universal social process (Belk, 1976). Research findings clearly tie it to the process of creating and maintaining social relationships (Sherry, 1983). Given that each relationship is unique, gift giving varies with the circumstance and the relationship—making it highly contextual (Sherry, 1983). Another pervasive issue throughout gift-giving research is the impact of gender. Research has shown that