Reciprocal Gift Giving and Relational Consumption Within the British Sikh Community

摘要

The giving and receiving of gifts has received significant attention within consumer research(Larsen and Watson,2001;Mi-nowa and Gould,1999;Sherry,1983;Goodwin,Smith and Spig-gle,(1990).Highly significant to this study of U.K.born British Sikhs,Belk(1979)suggested that one of the key functions of gift giving was to socialize children in the customs of gift giving.Given this background and the call for further"exploratory and descriptive research across a broader sample"(Mick and Dem-oss,1990,p.678),the purpose of this study is to examine just how the gift giving process within the context of British Sikh weddings is use to interpret,understand and evaluate relationships.As well as look at how the gift giving process is used as a representation of the self(Cherrier and Murray,2007;Paolacci,De Hooge and Straeter,2014).In fact,Paolacci et al.,(2014)demonstrated that givers are able to"increase a recipient's appreciation by choosing gifts that match their own identity"(p.631).However,within the context of this study it is important to note that the gift giving customs of the British culture will vary significantly to that of the Sikh culture.Therefore,this study focuses on gifting and spending,within the context of British Sikh weddings in the U.K.looking specifically at how a monetary value is placed on relationships through gift giving.