Master’s Thesis
PREDESTINATION OR CONSIDERATION? A LIFE
HISTORY THEORY PERSPECTIVE ON THE INFLUENCE OF PRINCIPLE OF RECIPROCITY ON COMPLIANCE
M. A. H. van der Schors s1869019
MSc Marketing Management, University of Groningen
Table of Contents
• Literature Review
- Research question - Reciprocity
- Life History Strategy - Conceptual Model
• Methodology
• Results
• Discussion
- Theoretical Implications - Managerial Implications
- Limitations and Areas for Future Research - Conclusion
Literature Review
Research question:
How does consumers’ childhood history (Life History Strategy) determine how consumers are influenced by the marketing tactic: the principle of reciprocity?
Literature Review
Reciprocity
- “Do to others as you would have them do to you”
- Return for benefits received - Feeling of indebtedness
- Efficient to use heuristic cues
H1: The principle of reciprocity has a positive and significant effect on compliance
Life History Strategy
- Life History Theory: allocation of resources, energy and time (current/future) - Life History Strategy: unpredictability, harshness, resource scarcity
- Reward: good feeling, bargain etc. à faster LHS
- Faster LHS à poorer à more impulsive à less self-control
H2: A faster LHS amplifies the positive effect of reciprocity on compliance in comparison to a slower LHS
Luke 6:31, New International Version; Gouldner, 1960; Regan, 1971; Cialdini, 2009; Boster, Fediuk and Kotowski, 2001; Fennis and Stroebe, 2016; Griskevicius et al., 2011a; 2011b; 2013; Ellis, Figueredo, Brumbach and Schlomer, 2009; Fennis et al., 2009; Perugnini, Gallucci, Presaghi and Ercolani, 2003
Literature Review
Conceptual Model:
Methodology
- Field experiment
- 2 (LHS: fast vs. slow) x 2 (Heuristic activation: reciprocity vs.
no reciprocity) between-subjects factorial design
- 100 Dutch participants: 40 females, 60 males (mean age 29.74 years, SD = 12.24)
- Independent variables: Reciprocity, Life history strategy - Dependent variable: Compliance
When the Department of Marketing needs respondents for research in the | future, in how many studies are you willing to participate?
- Control variables: Age, gender, socioeconomic status, dispositional attitudes measure, self-control scale
Results
Hypothesis 1: not significant à not supported Hypothesis 2: not significant à not supported
Discussion
- Slow LHS à more future-oriented and more educated??
Theoretical implications
- Opposite direction of the hypothesis - Conditions when reciprocity works
Managerial implications
- Consumers may want to be aware of their vulnerability - Marketers may want to be careful with their spending
Trivers, 1971
Discussion
Limitations and areas for future research
- Experimenter effect à more experimenters
- Small range of SES à larger simple, more diversity
- Doing someone/something else a favour à different target request
Conclusion
- Reciprocity should not be taken for granted
- How LHS determines how consumers are influenced by marketing tactics??????????
Thank you for listening!
