The present study is aimed at attaining a better understanding of the consumer value of materialism. Two of the significant works on empirical manifestation of the abstract concept of materialism are those by Belk (1984) and Richins and Dawson (1992). However, notwithstanding their relevance to materialism in Western cultures, there was a need to examine and identify a scale satisfying validity and reliability criteria in urban Indian ambience. This study is envisaged to fulfill two objectives—first, assessment of construct validity of the Richins and Dawson (1992) scale of materialism, and second, examination of the relationship with consumer behavior parameters of consumption innovativeness and attitude towards television advertising. The study revealed that the Richins and Dawson (1992) scale of materialism exhibits construct validity—high reliability, convergent validity and discriminant validity. Further, Indian consumers having greater materialistic tendencies exhibit higher consumption innovativeness and display a positive attitude towards television advertising. The utilitarian value of the study is in the areas of diffusion of innovation and marketing communication.

The textbook definition of materialism states that it is a personality-like trait which distinguishes between individuals who regard possessions as essential to their identities and their lives and those for whom possessions are secondary (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2005). Over the last five decades, academicians have been paying more attention to materialism. However, the intellectual coup de grâce with respect to materialism may be owed to Belk (1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990 and 1991) who did pioneering and extensive work related to this construct. Other consumer researchers who have contributed to the body of knowledge on materialism include Ward and Wackman (1971); Mukerji (1983); Pollay (1986); Richins (1987, 1994a and 1994b); Richins and Dawson (1992); Kasser (2002); Wang and Wallendorf (2006), etc.

The present study is primarily based on the perspective of materialism as described and operationalized by Belk (1984) and Richins and Dawson (1992). The development of these scales has given a very potent tool to the researchers since it enabled them to quantify an intangible, abstract and subjective construct like materialism. However, is materialism a universal construct that can be measured through the same scale everywhere? Can a scale of materialism, germinated by evaluating responses from a Western society, be equally valid and reliable when used on a sample of Indian consumers who are culturally on a diametrically opposite end from their Western counterparts? These are some of the queries that the present study intends to find an answer, given the fact that Indians are fundamentally different from their Western counterparts (Dumont, 1970) and geographic subcultures influence consumption and non-consumption behavior (Hawkins et al., 1980).

Marketing Management Journal, Quantitative Assessment, Indian Culture, Marketing Communication, Western Cultures, Consumption Innovativeness, Western Societies, Commercial Messages, Television Advertisements, Cultural Environment, Urban Indian Consumers, Conventional Marketing, Commercial Advertisements, Instrumental Materialism.