The use of personal values in living standards measures.

Abstract

The Living Standards Measure (LSM), a South African marketing segmentation method, is a multivariate wealth measure based on standard of living. This article reports on whether a rationale can be found for the inclusion of psychological variables, particularly personal values, in this type of multivariate segmentation. Schwartz's (1992; 2006) values model was used to operationalise personal values. Data were collected by means of a survey from a nationally representative sample (N = 2 566) of purchase decision-makers. The Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ) (Schwartz, Melech, Lehmann, Burgess, Harris & Owens 2001) was used to measure personal values. Centred value scores were used to statistically control for variation among respondents in rating themselves on the PVQ. The 10 LSM groups were collapsed into four LSM super groups to provide a more rigorous analysis of measured personal value differences between LSM groups. The statistical analyses included descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings in general supported Schwartz's theory of basic human values. Respective values could be allocated among different wealth-based consumer segments, which explained variances between these groups. It would be advisable to further investigate how these differences can be applied in marketing. Although the LSM segmentation approach has been adapted somewhat, the principal finding of this research remains applicable.