The status of gifts in the receiver's life: Reasons for the transformation of commercial products into special, common or hated objects

Abstract

Within the framework of consumer behaviour, products received as gifts are a complex accumulation of values and meanings that continue to change over time, from their origin as primarily commercial products until their disposition. Through a survey of 1088 adults in Ecuador, a Latin American country with a high level of collectivism, this study aimed to determine the predictors of the gift's status in the receiver's life. Results showed that the comparison of the giver's and receiver's resources and ages, the receiver's liking for the product received, being a gift from a first-time giver, the receiver's satisfaction with the experience and the impact of the gift on the giver-receiver relationship were significant predictors of whether a commercial product received as a gift would become a special, common or hated object for the receiver. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.