(Not) giving the same old song and dance: Givers’ misguided concerns about thoughtfulness and boringness keep them from repeating gifts

Julian Givi

Journal of Business Research, 2020, vol. 117, issue C, 87-98

Abstract: Much of the time when a gift giver is selecting a gift, the recipient is someone whom the giver has given a gift to previously. The present work explores how givers’ decision-making and recipients’ desires are influenced by prior gifts given from giver to recipient; in particular, this research examines whether givers and recipients agree when it comes to the decision of whether to repeat a gift that the giver previously gave to the recipient (a “repeat” gift), or opt for a different gift that the giver is yet to give to the recipient (a “novel” gift). Nine studies demonstrate that givers do not give repeat gifts nearly as often as recipients prefer because givers perceive the act of giving a repeat gift to be less thoughtful and more boring than do recipients. Critically, givers avoid repeat gifts even when they are thought to be better matches with recipients’ preferences.

Keywords: Gift giving; Self-other decision-making; Thoughtfulness; Boringness; Variety seeking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:117:y:2020:i:c:p:87-98

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.05.023

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