Which Factors are Related to Voluntary Simplicity Lifestyle? Green Values,

Materialistic Values or Anything Else?

Presentation by:Hakan KIRACI

Dumlupinar University, Turkey

““Social Business Conference" Social Business Conference"

Eskisehir, Turkey Eskisehir, Turkey

June 11-13, 2015. June 11-13, 2015.

The concept of voluntary simplicity (VS)

respresents voluntarily limiting using all kinds of resources and adoption of a nonmaterialistic lifestyle

Sides of Sides of

Voluntary Simplicity Voluntary Simplicity BehaviorsBehaviors

Limiting the use natural resources

Freely choosing the eco-friendly consumption

Paying spiritual well-being importance

Carrying capacity of nature

Very important movement in terms of the future of our World

Overconsumption

Dominant Consumer Culture

hyperconsumption

Environmental degradation

Injustice income distribution

We need We need solutionssolutionsVoluntary Voluntary

SimplicitySimplicity

Voluntary Voluntary SimplicitySimplicity

Values

Demographic factors

Buying behaviors

Environmental involvement

Paying spiritual well-being importance

Environmental attitudes

Life-style

Religious beliefs

ExamplesExamples

• Prefering organic and local products • Repairing instead of buying a new one• Walking or riding a bike instead of getting on

the bus or driving a car• Hiring or sharing the products instead of

buying them• Prefer using his mobile phone for 3-5 years

rather than renew it annually or biennially

METHOD

The main aim of the study is

• to analyse the relationship between specific factors and the frequency of voluntary simplicity behaviors

Hypotheses of the study

VSVS

Green Values

Frugality

Materialistic Values

Impulse Buying

Obsessive Buying

H1

H2

H3

H4

H5

• Population: Class Teachers working in Tekirdağ, Turkey

• Sample: 463 Class Teachers• Data collection method: Questionnaire• Used a 5 point scale• Analyse Pearson Correlation

Scales of the study are

• Voluntary simplicity behaviors (Leonard-Barton, 1981; Huneke, 2005; Iwata, 2006)

• Materialistic values (Rishins, 1987)

• Frugality tendency (Lastovicka et al.,1999)

• Compulsive buying behaviors (Ridgway et al., 2008)

• Green values (Haws et al., 2014)

FINDINGSFINDINGS

Sample Characteristics

• 58.5% of respondents were female, 41.5% were male,

• 70.7% were in 26-45 age-group• 75.6% had monthly income between

2001-5000 Turkish Liras• The most crowded group was the group

of 2001-3000 TL with 146 respondents (31.5%)

No Practices Mean Response1 I Make gifts instead of buying 2,312 I ride a bicycle for exercise or recreation 2,363 I recycle newspapers used at home 3,724 I recycle glass, jars or bottles used at home 3,845 I have gotten instruction in skills to increase self-reliance, for example, in carpentry, car tune-up and

repair, or plumbing2,97

6 I buy furniture at a second-hand store 1,707 I make furniture or clothing for the family 2,118 I contribute to ecologically-oriented organizations (such as Greenpeace, TEMA, etc.) 2,68

9 I grow the vegetables the family consumes during the summer season 2,5810 I do not impulse buying 3,5911 When I shop, I decide to do so after serious consideration of whether an article is necessary to me or

not3,92

12 I am more concerned with mental growth and fulfillment than with material affluence 3,93

13 Except for travelling, I enjoy my leisure time without spending too much Money 3,49

14 Material affluence is very important to me (-) 3,4715 I prefer products with simple functions to those with complex functions 3,7316 I am the type of person who continues using something old as long as it can be still be used 3,75

17 I try to use articles which I bought as long as possible 4,1418 If I am surrounded by what I have bought, I feel fortunate 3,3119 I want to buy something new shortly after it comes out, even if I have a similar thing already (-) 3,88

20 I want to live simply rather than extravagantly 3,9321 Since a simple life is miserable, I do not want to live such a life (-) 3,8122 I limit to exposure to ads 3,1723 I buy from socially responsible producers 3,7924 I buy from local merchants 3,5925 I limit or eliminate to watch TV 3,1626 I maintain a spiritual life 3,6427 I buy organic foods 3,58All Practices

3,343,34

Mean Response Regarding The Scales of The Study

Scales Mean ResponseGreen Values 3,96Frugality Tendecy 3,73Impulse Buying 2,17Obsessive Buying 2,00Personal Materialism 3,22Voluntary Simplicity 3,34

Self-determinationSelf-determination 3,823,82

Self-sufficiencySelf-sufficiency 2,112,11

RecyclingRecycling 3,783,78

Ecological awarenessEcological awareness 3,653,65

Limit to TV/AdsLimit to TV/Ads 3,163,16Cronbach Alpha Values >.70

Analysing Pearson Correlation

Voluntary simplicity behaviors

VSVS

Green Values 0,557 **Frugality 0,466 **Personal materialism -0,143 **Impulse buying -0,385 **Obsessive buying -0,277 **

* * p<0,05

Five Subtypes of VSVS1VS1 VS2VS2 VS3VS3 VS4VS4 VS5VS5

Green Values 0,474 0,147 0,419 0,4900,490 0,168

Frugality 0,4870,487 ---- 0,323 0,300 0,144

Personal materialism -0,197 ---- ---- ---- ----

Impulse buying -0,514-0,514 ---- -0,234 -0,210 ----

Obsessive buying -0,474-0,474 -0,131 -0,194 ---- ----

p<0,05

Black cells: p>0,05

VS1: Self-determinationVS2: Self-sufficiencyVS3: RecyclingVS4: Ecological awarenessVS5: Limit to TV / Ads

CONCLUSIONCONCLUSION

• A great number of study shows the importance of VS behavior for future of the World

• The results of this research exposed that it required to be strive to increase the frequency of some of VS behaviors such as “buying second-hand products” and making gift or clothing.

• Green values and tendecy of frugality were positively related to VS behavior

• Personal materialistic values, impulse buying behavior and obsessive buying behavior were negatively related to VS

• Green values are related to all subtypes of VS behaviors

• Personal materialistic values are negatively related to only «self-determination»

• Green values are the most important factor in variables of model of the study

CONCLUSION (2)CONCLUSION (2)

ReccommendationsReccommendations

• This study can be detailed and covered with huge and different segments of society and proved its findings.

• At the same time, VS behavior can be analyzed within the different perspectives such as economic, ecologic, social and psychologic dimensions.

• We did not explored all kind of value, belief and other factors that may affect VS. In our study, VS was studied by measuring frequency of behaviors.

• More research is needed to confirm the findings and results of present study.

Thank you