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Over the past two decades, a large body of research has examined the effect of the awareness of the inevitability of death on consumption behaviours. However, the literature has shed little light on the effect of mortality salience (MS) on elderly individuals. The present research specifically aims to challenge the effect of MS on status consumption among elderly individuals.

Two experiments were conducted among individuals over 50. The experiments manipulated MS to test its effect on status consumption.

The results demonstrate that MS positively influences the preference for status products among elderly individuals (experiment 1) and that this effect is less pronounced as elderly individuals age (experiment 2). Subjective age bias, defined as the potential gap between chronological age and subjective age, negatively moderates this effect (experiment 2).

Luxury marketers need to pay attention to generational cohorts rather than other demographic variables in the segmentation of their market. Moreover, subjective age may be a better segmentation variable for marketers than objective variables such as chronological age.

This research provides insights that support a better understanding of status consumption among elderly individuals and the role of subjective ageing in this process.

The purpose of this paper is to take a close look at factors that influence the choice and quality of healthcare received by ailing and elderly people in rural north India. The author is primarily interested in seeing what role is played by the presence of sons in the family, particularly co-residence with sons. In the absence of some broad-based social security arrangement in countries like India, older adults traditionally turn to living arrangement where the older adults are supported by their children or extended family. In a patriarchal society as India, such responsibility lies with the sons if one has son/s. Such dependence on sons explains preferential treatment towards younger sons as a justification for the care parents receive from sons in their advanced years. This culture of son preference behavior provides the context for this paper.

The empirical model is based on testing three inter-related research questions. First, the author asks whether having grown sons or living with son/s leads to up-front better quality of healthcare for parents. If the empirical analysis does not show support for this research question, the author broadens the research question to ask whether those with grown son/s or those that live with their son/s have a higher probability of seeing a trained medical professional as compared to some traditional healer. If the empirical analysis does not support the second question, the author further broadens the research question and asks whether those elderly who are sick are more likely to receive any healthcare (medical or traditional) if they have grown son/s or live with their son/s.

The results show that co-residence with a son does not have a statistically significant impact on the quality of healthcare received by the elderly individual. Additionally, not having a son also does not have a statistically significant impact on quality of healthcare received.

For the purpose of the empirical analysis, the author utilizes World Bank's Living Standard Measurement Survey (LSMS) data collected from rural villages in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in India in 1997-1998. The dataset may be somewhat dated, but it provides relevant information which transcends time. Additionally, with economic growth and modernization, more and more young people in India have migrated away from rural areas in the recent decade. Thus, surveys carried out in the last decade by the National Family Health Surveys in India show very little evidence of elderly parent in rural areas living with their adult children. This practice seemed to be much more prevalent at the time of the LSMS survey of 1997-1998.

Contrary to popular expectation, the results show that co-residing with a son has no statistically significant impact on healthcare received by parents. Additionally, not having sons does not matter either.

The author finds relatively fewer studies done on factors that determine the choice of healthcare for the elderly, particularly relating to those that are ailing (for reasons other than simply aging) and with reference to their living arrangement. The present paper addresses this void in the literature and is expected to make a meaningful contribution in bridging this gap in the literature.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of adult children migration on the health status of elderly parents. Increased labor migration in developing countries that lack adequate social security systems and institutionalized care for the elderly is a phenomenon that is important to understand. When their adult children go away to work, it is not clear what effect there will be on “left-behind” elderly parents.

This study employs nearly nationally representative data from five provinces, 25 counties, 101 villages and 2,000 households, collected from two waves of data in 2007 and 2011. This sample comprises a subset of households which include both elderly individuals (above 60 years old) and their grown (working-aged) children in order to estimate the impact of adult child migration on the health of elderly parents in rural China.

This study finds that adult child migration has a significant positive impact on the health of elderly family members.

These findings are consistent with the explanation that migration raises family resources, which in turn may contribute to better health outcomes for elderly household members.

This is the first paper to attempt to identify the relationship between household migration and the health of elderly parents within the Chinese context.

Purpose: This chapter focuses on the relations between aging and the perception about the families’ quality of life in a medium-sized Portuguese city. Departing from the descriptions of individuals living with at least one child under 14 years of age, particular emphasis is put on how young adults perceive and incorporate into their speeches the presence and role of non-cohabiting elderly, namely their parents and in-laws, as an expression of the quality of life they experience.

Design/methodology/approach: Data rely on episodic interviews conducted with both men and women with young children (3–14 years old), within a broader sociological research devoted to the study of family rituals. The data collected was analyzed using qualitative techniques of content analysis with the help of NVivo software (QSR). The data is presented recurring to contextualized narratives.

Findings: Data analysis allows to conclude that geography matters in the perception that young adults have when reflecting upon the role of the elderly surrounding them, either their parents or in-laws. The presence and coexistence of generations are perceived as “priceless,” a “fortune,” and a “privilege,” possible in a medium-sized city, where everything is close enough to thicken the informal intergenerational solidarities between grandparents, parents, and grandchildren. Behind the scenes, data, furthermore, discloses unpredictable tensions arising mainly regarding children’s education, rules, and behavior.

Originality/value: This chapter contributes to shed light into the daily life of elderly people who are still independent and active, and the seemingly invisible presence and unimportant role they play in their children and grandchildren’s lives.

Given the aging population and resulting increase in the demand for residential care and attention (C & A) homes in Hong Kong, the government has allotted funds to provide better care services for the elderly. However, such appropriation seems to have focused on creating additional places, rather than improving the quality of services. The elderly may face risks if they are not provided with proper facilities to assist with activities of daily living (ADL), while those suffering from various diseases may be at even greater risk. In order to mitigate such risk and hence enhance the quality of facility management (FM), this paper aims to identify the major components of FM in C & A homes and investigate the relationships between these components and the risks and diseases facing elderly residents.

In total, 81 questionnaires were completed by elderly residents of C & A homes, evaluating their perceived comfort level with FM components, their disease status and the frequency of occurrence of various specified risks. Relationships between these variables were then established by Pearson correlation and partial correlation analyses.

In total, 13 FM components were identified, of which only four (space planning, noise, signage and catering) had significant relationships with the identified risks. Some of these relationships were moderated by specific diseases.

The relatively small sample size, with 81 respondents from seven homes, may limit the generalisability of the results. However, the study establishes a platform for conducting further large-scale surveys of elderly residents in different types of C & A homes. On the other hand, further investigation of the specific FM requirements of elderly residents suffering from various diseases is also encouraged.

This paper confirms that close relationships exist between various FM components, risks and diseases relevant to elderly residents in C & A homes. The results indicate that the FM components of space planning, noise, signage and catering should be addressed in order to reduce the risks such residents face.

Evidence has shown that the population is growing “increasingly gray” and growing too are the concerns for the elderly population with regards to their food choices. Being well informed and seeking variety in food choices increase the likelihood that people will be better nourished and hence improve the quality of life for this group, and at the same time be beneficial for society overall. The purpose of this paper is to determine the influence of social network usage on food choice.

This paper uses a series of logistic and ordinal logistic regression models using Health and Wellness Survey data and Internet Usage Survey data from the National Statistical Office of Thailand. The data sets contain information on health status, food consumption, proportion of population using the internet, and detailed demographics.

Empirical results show the association between variety in food consumption and lower probability of being chronically ill. More importantly, social network usage is found to significantly encourage variety seeking behavior (VSB) in food consumption.

Though the benefit of using Thai data sets lies in the fact that there is a large variation in network usage across the country, this study should extend beyond Thailand to establish greater external validity.

Marketing new food products must not neglect the promotion through social networks due to its potential to encourage VSB in food consumption. Moreover, while sometimes this particular age group may be somewhat marginalized and not targeted to enough, this research study has shown that it is indeed an important segment.

In order to relieve the growing financial burdens in health care for citizens, policy makers should encourage this ageing population to eat a balanced diet. Social media is shown to be an effective medium for promoting variety in food consumption. Notably relevance, engagement and emotion are principal elements for social network platforms targeting aging consumers.

This paper utilizes two large representative data sets with detailed information which does not only allow for controlled analyses but also provides implications for the growing aging consumer segment.

This study aims to measure the impact of loneliness, physical activity (PA) and self-esteem on the health of retired people and also checks the moderating role of living arrangements and gender of the elderly people on this relationship.

Four standardized scales were used in the study to measure four different constructs: Self-Worth Questionnaire, UCLA Loneliness Scale Version 3, General Health Questionnaire-28 and Physical Activity Scale for Elders. Structural equation modelling was applied to the four constructs.

The study concluded that loneliness has a negative and significant impact on the health of retired people, while self-esteem and PA have a positive and significant impact on their health.

The study is among the few to include multiple instruments to measure abstract parameters in the field of health care. The paper brings out implications not just for academicians but also for policymakers, considering the complex situation prevailing in the emerging economy.

Smart senior care industry in China currently faces a series of practical difficulties such as an imbalance in the demand and supply structure, service products unable to cater to the actual needs of the elderly and a low degree of marketization. This study therefore proposes using grey relational analysis and the Fuzzy-quality function development (QFD) quality improvement method to help solve these problems.

The proposed method converts the fuzzy requirements of the elderly into the technical characteristics of technologically augmented senior care service products. It then, uses the QFD relationship matrix, combined with grey relational analysis, to analyze the relationship between the needs of elderly and the converted technical characteristics, and subsequently identifies key technical characteristics.

Results show that an improvement in the smart senior care service platform according to the differences of the elderly's preferences can significantly improve users' satisfaction with the service in addition to enhancing market competitiveness of the technologically assisted senior care service products.

A novel method to improve the need of smart senior care is proposed by considering age difference. The proposed grey relational analysis and Fuzzy-QFD quality improvement method can help improve the service quality of the smart senior care service platform.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight opportunities for the banking sector arising from the population’s aging and the expected reduction in pension incomes. Home equity conversion (HEC) instruments are a potentially useful way of restoring households’ finances and satisfying their needs, with implications for the demand for financial services.

By using an ordered probit regression model, the paper analyzes data obtained from a survey of 2,000 Italian households.

The main finding of this paper is that individuals with greater familiarity with consumer credit, a cognitive and decision-making approach favorable to use of credit, and an internal locus of control show greater interest in various forms of equity conversion.

This paper extends the analysis of the determinants of individuals’ interest in HEC products. It focuses more closely than the existing literature on households’ credit behaviors, attitudes toward credit and locus of control. The paper helps identify the potential targets of marketing campaigns and commercial proposals, and highlights the levers that the banks can focus on in communicating with customers and future prospects. Moreover, this paper suggests that there is a need to develop greater awareness on the part of people who could be interested in these products. Therefore, appropriate financial education projects should be implemented to develop a better “credit” culture, with due appreciation of the usefulness of credit as a means of supporting household budgets.

Purpose: This research investigates the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on Portuguese and Brazilian consumers’ vulnerability in contrasting age groups. It seeks to establish the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and the pandemic’s impact on customer’s vulnerability to help companies design strategies to cope with this new market context and be prepared to address these vulnerabilities in a future international health crisis.

Design/Methodology/Approach: This study employs a quantitative research method to assess the different impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer vulnerability. Based on Portuguese and Brazilian residents’ surveys, an age/country-segmented cross-cultural multi-group analysis was performed to understand the differences in vulnerability.

Findings: Outcomes proved how the pandemic aggravates distinctively the vulnerability dimensions of consumers living in Portugal and Brazil. Besides, results highlight significant differences in consumers’ vulnerability during the pandemic given their age group. A positive correlation between age and fear of COVID-19 was also verified.

Value: Results were obtained based on consumers’ perceptions and scores rather than postulated behaviors. The findings highlight the need for health prevention measures to avoid neglecting existing vulnerable groups, whilst verifying how COVID-19 has managed to proliferate consumers’ vulnerability. Suggestions are drawn for both firms and governments based on obtained results and existing literature. Exemplar business strategies to avoid these vulnerabilities are put forward and discussed. The potential business advantages of firms shaping their activity according to their customers’ current vulnerabilities, during international pandemics, are also pointed.