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The purpose of this study is to clarify the findings and criticisms in the extant literature concerning the theory of consumption values (TCV) by conducting a meta-analysis to (1) examine the extent to which consumption values influence consumer behavior and (2) to explore contextual and methodological factors that may account for between-study variance in the focal relationship.

The study employs a random-effects model and psychometric meta-analysis approach to examine 82 studies with 297 effect sizes in 34 countries between 1991 and 2022, inclusive.

Results reveal that consumption values have a positive significant and moderate effect on consumer behavior. Moreover, emotional value is the most influential predictor of consumer behavior, while social value is the weakest. Furthermore, the study's findings show that some contextual and methodological factors moderate the relationship between consumption values and consumer behavior.

The findings highlight that managers can work on consumption values to prompt positive consumer responses like attitude, intention, satisfaction and overall value perception. However, managers must consider that the relevance of the consumption values depends significantly on the outcome variable and the context, which calls for a tailored-made marketing strategy to appeal to consumers' diverse needs and wants.

Besides providing empirical evidence of the broad validity of the TCV, this study is the first meta-analytic review of the TCV, which integrates several insights to provide valuable research directions for future researchers and insightful implications for practitioners.

This article aims to explore the influence of values concerning food consumption and the effect of physical activity habit moderation on these.

The consumption value theory was used as a base, and a survey with 292 participants was analysed by means of factor analysis and structural equation modelling.

The findings are presented at three levels. The first is the clustering of food consumption habits in different dimensions: healthy, unhealthy and hybrid. The second is the relationship between values and food consumption. In detail: (1) emotional value is the only significant measurement for the consumption of the three food dimensions; (2) social value is a significant measurement for healthy food consumption; (3) conditional value is significant for the consumption of hybrid and unhealthy foods; (4) epistemic value has significance in the consumption of hybrid foods; (5) functional value is denied for all dimensions. The third concerns the relationship between value perceptions and food consumption moderated by physical activity in: (1) social value of healthy foods; (2) functional value of hybrid foods; and (3) emotional and epistemic values of unhealthy foods.

This paper adds to the literature on consumption values and raises new insights into value and habits regarding food consumption, such as physical activity involved in the consumption context.

This study aims to examine international tourists’ local African food consumption experiences by using an attribute–benefit–value–intention (ABVI) framework.

A total of 336 respondents were collected in Ghana, Africa. A series of quantitative research methods were used in the data analysis to explicate the relationships.

By assessing critical structural relationships, 8 out of 14 hypothetical relationships were found to be empirically supported. They include the paths between food novelty, restaurant quality and food quality as antecedents of epistemic value, the path between restaurant quality and food quality and the path between restaurant quality and consumption value.

This study establishes the psychological mechanism behind tourists’ local food consumption experiences and further extends the utility of the consumption value theory and ABVI framework into the local food experience context. It confirms that tourists’ local food consumption experiences involve a sequential psychological process involving local food attribute evaluation, benefits sought, consumption values and future intention. This study offers a thorough explanation of variables that are crucial to promoting indigenous ethnic food consumption experience.

This study aims to examine the attribute-benefit-value-intention (ABVI) model of local food consumption as perceived by foreign tourists. The model was designed to test the structural relationships between local food attributes, perceived benefits, consumption value and behavioral intentions.

The structural relationships of foreign tourists’ perceptions of local food consumption were conceptualized, and hypotheses were proposed. The main survey was conducted using a large sample of 1,323 tourists in Hong Kong.

“Food quality”, “food novelty” and “restaurant quality” significantly affected “emotional” and “epistemic benefit”. “Emotional benefit” had a significant effect on “consumption value” and “behavioral intention”, while “epistemic benefit” only influenced “consumption value”.

Local food marketers and DMOs need to promote the product features that are relevant to tourists’ benefits. Restaurant marketers need to develop distinctive strategies for tourists from different national backgrounds.

This study proposed and empirically tested a new model of tourists’ local food consumption, including two benefits, consumption value and behavioral intention.

This study aims to examine the impact of five consumption values (i.e. ecological, functional, symbolic, experiential and epistemic) on consumers’ intentions to adopt green products. Using Thaler’s utility theory, the authors investigate the indirect effect of values on purchase intention through acquisition utility and transaction utility. Two moderators (materialism orientation and value consciousness) further influence the strength of the effect of consumption values on transaction utility.

The authors used a survey design (N = 437 Chinese customers recruited through a Chinese online panel provider) and structural equation modeling (SEM) to test six hypothesized relationships in the proposed model. Moderated SEM was used for moderation analysis.

Most hypothesized relationships in the model were confirmed, with the exception of the functional value–transaction utility link and the moderating effect of materialism on the experiential value–transaction utility relationship.

Larger-scale research may help to determine whether there are more significant differences in consumer evaluations of different types of green products.

As the concept of green marketing in China evolves, firms should continue to stress the importance and value of green products regarding individuals’ care for the environment, status and self-image. Further, firms should conduct systematic utility analyses and address acquisition and price equity in a strategic process.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to adapt utility theory to green consumption and proposes a clearly defined and well-substantiated set of utility types by merging economic and green consumption literature.

The increased income and modernity have greatly impacted Chinese consumers’ attitudes and purchasing behavior, making them more sophisticated than ever before. The purpose of this paper is to examine the interrelationship among social stratification, materialism, post-materialism, and consumption values contributing uniquely to understanding Chinese consumers in the context of drastic economic and social changes.

Survey method was used to test the proposed model and answer the research questions. The data were collected in Shanghai, the largest city on the eastern coast of China. A multi-stage random sampling strategy was employed to acquire a representative sample of the population in the city. A total of 2,910 completed questionnaires were used for data analysis.

The results show that objective social status has a negative effect on post-materialism, whereas subjective social status has a positive effect. Social status does not seem to have a significant effect on materialism. Post-materialism also has a strong positive effect on the consumption orientations of emotional value and social value.

China was chosen as the research context in this study. As a booming emerging market, China provides an intriguing platform to examine social stratification and materialism. At the macro level, China is developing a new social structure due to the drastic social and economic changes. At the individual consumer level, as China moves further into a market-oriented economy, traditional Chinese values have changed rapidly. Western consumption values and phenomena such as overspending and conspicuous consumption have begun to take hold in China, especially among young people. It is critical for business managers to understand the shift of consumption values among Chinese in order to successfully capture this market.

A cursory review of past literature reveals that researchers have examined materialism primarily along two avenues: one puts materialism within a macro framework involving political interest or civic engagement (e.g. Davis et al., 1999; Inglehart, 1990); the other one takes a micro perspective exploring the impact of materialism on consumer attitudes and behavior (e.g. Park and Rabolt, 2009; Xiao and Kim, 2009). However, little research has been conducted linking the two approaches. The present study intends to examine the interrelationship among social stratification, materialism, post-materialism, and consumption values. Hopefully, it will shed some light on the connection between macro environment and micro consumer behavior. Furthermore, the current research provides evidences for the emerging transformation to a post-materialistic marketplace.

This study investigates the influence of consumption values on green Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) purchase behaviour in the context of green household cleaning products in the Western Province of Sri Lanka.

We used the survey strategy and 326 effective responses as the sample of this study.

Our findings reveal that specific consumption values, specifically functional, conditional and epistemic values, significantly impact green FMCG purchase behavior towards green household cleaning products. However, social and emotional values did not substantially influence this behavior.

The results of our study suggest practical implications for green FMCG marketers aiming to boost consumer adoption of green household cleaning products in Sri Lanka. To achieve this, marketers should focus on enhancing consumer value perceptions and strategically emphasize the consumption values consumers prioritize. Green FMCG marketers have a competitive advantage in the Sri Lankan market by doing so.

This research addresses a notable gap in the literature concerning green FMCG purchase behavior related to green household cleaning products within international and local contexts. Furthermore, this study distinguishes itself by adopting the Theory of Consumption Values as its foundational theory, offering fresh insights compared to previous research employing alternate theories, such as the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Theory of Reasoned Action, to examine similar phenomena.

It is known that a conflict exists between consumers’ materialistic and green values. Previous research has focused on values conflict consequences. Antecedents of consumers’ materialistic and green values conflict remain understudied. This study aims to explore the antecedents of consumers’ materialistic and green values conflict.

An exploratory type research design was applied. Overall 22 interviews were conducted with consumers that had materialistic and green values conflict. The transcripts of the interviews were analyzed using content analysis with Maxqda software.

The findings demonstrate consumers' negative attitudes towards consumption, understood as consumerism. Results indicate that value conflict is related to unpleasant emotions such as guilt, anxiety, helplessness and remorse. Guilt is the most prominent emotion associated with the conflict of values. The study identifies dissonant information, environmental knowledge, social norms, impulsive buying and mindfulness as antecedents of materialistic and green values conflict.

The novelty of the study is the antecedents of the materialistic and green values conflict. This study makes a valuable contribution to the academic discourse on sustainable consumption, consumer materialism and green values by providing a deeper understanding of the values conflict experienced by consumers who hold materialistic and green values. The main significance of this study is that it provides valuable insights from qualitative research into the antecedents of the conflict between consumers' materialistic and green values.

Buying directly from farmers online has become increasingly popular in recent years. This study aims to investigate the effect of the interaction between various consumption values that drive consumers to buy directly from farmers online. The proposed conceptual framework suggests that consumers who buy online directly from farmers are driven by an interaction of weighted individualistic consumption value (i.e. an integration of values such as saving money, getting quality and fresh produce) and collectivistic values (pro-environmental behaviour and ethnocentric perception).

Data were collected using a representative sample of 576 consumers via an online access panel and analysed using AMOS SEM.

A weighted individualistic consumption value affects consumer attitudes and, consequently, consumers' intention to buy agri-food products directly from farmers. Nonetheless, individualistic consumption value is more effective in enhancing attitudes among consumers with high pro-environmental behaviour. Moreover, ethnocentric perception lowers the effect of individualistic consumption value on attitudes and enhances the positive effect of attitudes on buying intention.

This study contributes to the literature on consumer online behaviour when buying food products directly from farmers. Its originality lies in the effect of interacting individualistic and collectivistic consumption values to explain consumer motivation for this behaviour.

This study aims to explore antecedents of supporting local food branded by a sustainable state-operated agricultural marketing program (SOAMP). Cultural values and pro-environmental attitudes were examined as well as their effect on purchase and word-of-mouth intent.

The values, attitudes and behavior model served as the framework for testing the measurement and structural models and mediation effects. A total of 259 individuals participated in the online survey.

Structural model was a good fit to the data. The values of collectivism and long-term orientation were the strongest predictors of intent to purchase and spread word of mouth about SOAMP branded products. Green consumption attitudes mediate the relationship from collectivism value to intent to support products branded by a sustainability marketing program.

This study is original in that it challenges the notion that local food consumption is primarily driven by pro-green attitudes. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is also the first of its kind to approach local food and pro-green consumption from a cultural perspective by using Hofstede’s cultural values scale to explore how individuals’ values affect their support of products branded by a sustainability marketing program.