Pattharanitcha Prakitsuwan, George P. Moschis and Randall Shannon
This study aims to show how the increasingly popular life course paradigm (LCP) can be employed as an alternative to the successful aging perspective (SAP) as an overarching…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to show how the increasingly popular life course paradigm (LCP) can be employed as an alternative to the successful aging perspective (SAP) as an overarching conceptual research framework to study elderly consumers' financial well-being.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of 804 Thai consumers over the age of 45 selected via the snowball method.
Findings
Significant results were found for hypotheses derived from the LCP for older consumers' financial well-being, suggesting critical roles of early life experiences, developmental factors, adaptation mechanisms and contextual factors.
Originality/value
This paper shows how efforts to study consumers over the course of their lives can be improved by utilizing the principles and theoretical perspectives of the LCP and offers research directions for studying not only older consumer well-being but also numerous consumer behavior issues at any stage of life in an innovative way.
Details
Keywords
Pattharanitcha Prakitsuwan and George P. Moschis
This study aims to illustrate the viability of the life course paradigm (LCP), which is increasingly used by social and behavioral scientists to study a wide variety of phenomena…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to illustrate the viability of the life course paradigm (LCP), which is increasingly used by social and behavioral scientists to study a wide variety of phenomena, as a framework for studying the transformational role of service consumption in improving consumer well-being in later life.
Design/methodology/approach
The LCP is used to develop a life course model for studying the effects of service consumption on older people’s well-being. Previous research related to the consumption of specific types of services (financial and healthcare) is integrated within the multi-theoretical LCP to suggest relevant model variables and derive a set of propositions for illustrating the effects of service consumption on older adults’ well-being.
Findings
The research presented in this study shows how efforts to study the effects of service consumption on older people’s well-being can be improved by using the LCP, helps understand the onset and changes in service consumption patterns and illustrates an innovative way to study the role of services in promoting older consumer welfare.
Originality/value
By applying the principles and theoretical perspectives of the LCP, this study contributes to recent transformative service research efforts to better understand the impact of service consumption on people’s lives and the transformational role of services and service providers in improving consumer and societal welfare.