Attitudes of Voluntary Simplifier University Students in Hungary

Nikolett Balsa-Budai, Marietta Kiss, Bence Kovács and Zoltán Szakály
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Nikolett Balsa-Budai: Institute of Marketing and Commerce, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Marietta Kiss: Institute of Marketing and Commerce, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Bence Kovács: Institute of Marketing and Commerce, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Zoltán Szakály: Institute of Marketing and Commerce, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: The Lifestyle of Voluntary Simplicity (LOVOS) segment is composed of consumers who attempt to achieve sustainable consumption. The segment has been examined by only a few research studies so far, and none of them were conducted among Hungarian consumers. Therefore, the aim of our exploratory research is to examine the occurrence of the LOVOS consumer group among university students from Debrecen, Hungary. To achieve our aim, we first identified the five main value groups of the LOVOS lifestyle with an expert focus group interview. Based on the interview, a questionnaire survey was conducted among university students from Debrecen (N = 500). Based on the results, four value-based segments were identified, of which the Voluntary simplifiers’ cluster (39.6% of respondents) reflected the characteristics of the LOVOS lifestyle to the greatest extent. Based on the literature, it seemed necessary to segment this group further in terms of their commitment to individual values. As a result, three further clusters were created, of which, the Holistic simplifiers’ group (9.8% of respondents) showed the greatest commitment to the values of the LOVOS lifestyle. We concluded that the characteristics of voluntary simplifiers have already appeared among university students from Debrecen, but further research is needed to reveal the value orientation of the whole of Hungarian society.

Keywords: lifestyle; sustainability; simplicity; LOVOS segmentation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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