Meanings Transferred Through the Consumption of Jewelry in Romania

Author

Meagan Call, Utah State University

Date of Award

5-2004

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Departmental Honors

Department

Management

Abstract

In the past decade, there has been a vast expansion and globalization of markets. This "globalization demands that consumer researchers have experience and knowledge about individual countries and international conditions" (Arnould et al, 2002). The globalization of consumer research "demands that...researchers have experience and knowledge about individual countries and international conditions...meaningful synthesis and comparison demands not just proficiency in statistical methods and languages but insights into cultural differences" (Arnould et al, 2002). What is important for marketers to understand is the relationship between culture and product meanings. One important area of meanings involves personal meanings such as those high involvement products consumers might use to define who they are, such as jewelry. In Belk' s famous essay "Possessions and the Extended Self", he concludes that we regard possessions as part of ourselves, that we are what we own, what we have (Belk, 1988). Our possessions are a manifestation of our characters. This paper seeks to expand cultural understanding of personal possessions through analysis of the meanings that are transferred through the consumption of jewelry in Romania.

Recommended Citation

Call, Meagan, "Meanings Transferred Through the Consumption of Jewelry in Romania" (2004). Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects. 779.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/honors/779