Voluntary Simplifiers: A Lifestyle of Consumption Reduction and Environmental Concerns, Ejercicios de Marketing

¡Descarga Voluntary Simplifiers: A Lifestyle of Consumption Reduction and Environmental Concerns y más Ejercicios en PDF de Marketing solo en Docsity! Voluntary Simplifiers Questions like, don’t we have too much stuff? Could we live as we’re doing but with less stuff? Would we feel destitute with less stuff? are constantly appearing in the news papers. YES, would be the answers to those questions by Voluntary simplifiers. They are characterized by a lifestyle that involves the reduction of material consumption, and the removal of the clutter from one’s life. As voluntary simplicity leads to a lessen in consumption, disposition activities arise. When starting their lifestyle, they go in a concentrated period of de- cluttering; in this period, they should be able to predispose goods. Once they’re completely drench in this kind of lifestyle, voluntary simplifiers display modifications in consumption because of their reduced focus on material wealth. Bekin et al. (2007) considered that recycling plays a very significant role, as well as repairing and/or reusing stuff, so does purchasing or selling them second- hand. So, their disposition behaviour may include possessions considered as worldly as the contrary to meaningful. Etzioni (1998) stands that consumers may adopt this lifestyle on a degree’s scale of involvement, stablishing three levels on it: downshifters, strong simplifiers and holistic simplifiers. Downshifters are moderate simplifiers that give some consumer goods up whereas keeping the most of their consumer lifestyle. Strong simplifiers are those forgoing high-paying jobs so as to live with less income, and lessen the time spent at work. Holistic simplifiers are like strong simplifiers, but they adapt their whole lifestyle to suit the voluntary simplicity moral principle; which may include moving to a less-affluent area aiming to have a simpler life. But why do they want to adopt this lifestyle? Huneke, 2005 said that the reasons why they do it are the concern for the natural environment, the annoyance with high-stress lifestyle and anti-consumption attitudes. When it comes to their retail consumption voluntary simplifiers said that shopping led to a negative mood state. To avoid this, they try not to go shopping many times and prefer to buy food grown locally or from farmers than María Vivó Martínez 2nd ADE – Marketing. supermarkets because of the freshness and organic status of the food they purchase. Now, which are the consequences for companies and society at large that this type of lifestyle produces? It’s obvious that companies don’t really benefit from this consumer’s mind changes because it supposes a decrease in purchases and thus a lessen in benefit. So, in order to deal with it, companies should carry out several strategies to balance the lack of consumer’s willingness to buy. Many companies have adopted an environmental agenda, trying to reduce damage produced in their activities adapting their products and procedures, as a response to the power of the environment, and also in order to keep and improve the worth of their brands. Some of them have taken some actions- for instance to forbid chemicals with damaging effects. Governments are edge about pushing ‘choice-editing’ to a level that hurt the competitiveness of national companies. This also affects companies from another side as some of those are willing to get rid of their jobs. In this aspect, this emerging type of lifestyle is not very appropriated for the world economy, because what moves its flow is the correct functioning of the circular economy which includes production, distribution and consumption of goods or services. So, for the society at large, this could become a negative aspect. Being the best company in your sector is becoming more and more difficult because of the constant changes in our world. Our society is growing up at the same time as it is looking backwards in terms of having a simpler life. María Vivó Martínez 2nd ADE – Marketing.