EconPapers    
Economics at your fingertips  
 

The ‘perfect gift’ and the ‘best gift ever’: An integrative framework for truly special gifts

Ines Branco-Illodo and Teresa Heath

Journal of Business Research, 2020, vol. 120, issue C, 418-424

Abstract: Scholars and practitioners often consider the ‘perfect gift’ to understand the qualities of the most cherished gifts or to encourage givers to choose such gifts. Whilst useful, this represents a utopian view of gift-giving. This study explores the concept of ‘best gift ever’ through 35 in-depth interviews in order to understand the properties of significant gifts as defined by givers and receivers. Findings reveal that the ‘best gifts ever’ are often associated with unforgettable and life-changing experiences. These properties are compared with those of the ‘perfect gift’ to produce an integrative framework for truly special gifts. Specifically, this paper: 1) identifies the properties of ‘best gifts ever’ as distinct from ‘perfect gifts’; 2) uncovers insights into the ‘perfect gift’ beyond the existing conceptualization; and, 3) integrates the ‘best gift ever’ and the ‘perfect gift’ into a unified framework capturing what makes a gift successful.

Keywords: Gift-giving; Gift-receiving; Perfect gift; Best gift; Successful gifts (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296319306769
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:120:y:2020:i:c:p:418-424

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.11.012

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Business Research is currently edited by A. G. Woodside

More articles in Journal of Business Research from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().

 
Page updated 2025-03-19
Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:120:y:2020:i:c:p:418-424