The Good Life: Exploring Value Creation and Destruction in Consumer Well-Being (An Extended Abstract)

Abstract

The enduring question of what makes a good life and a desirable society has captured the minds of the greatest thinkers throughout time (Diener and Suh 1997). As members of developed societies enter into an era of postmaterialism, societal concerns now extend beyond economic prosperity, towards issues of quality of life (Diener et al. 2002). Quality of life refers to the general health and well-being of individuals and societies (Gregory et al. 2009), with well-being describing an individual’s subjective perception of their current life situation (Dodge et al. 2012). Well-being is fundamentally influenced by an individual’s physical health, psychological state, personal beliefs and social relationships (WHO 1995). Thus, behavioural changes are made in various domains of everyday life in the pursuit of well-being. These changes can include the adoption of positive, new behaviours (such as regular exercise), or the cessation of negative, existing behaviours (such as smoking). These actions and activities not only provide benefits to the individuals performing the acts, but to the societies in which they live (Andreasen 1994).