Subjective Wellbeing and its Influence on Consumer Sentiment Towards Marketing: A New Zealand Example

Consumption is a central component of many peoples’ lives. Providing satisfaction and happiness with the products and services
we buy and with the institutions that supply them is a fundamental part of marketing (Wilkie and Moore in J Macromark 26(2):224–232,
2006). Many studies investigate the influence of various microaspects of products/services—or of specific situational customer
characteristics—on satisfaction evaluations. This study examines how a macro-variable, Subjective Wellbeing (SWB), relates
to consumer satisfaction and illustrates the importance of SWB in studies examining determinants of the concept. Using the
idea of spill-over effects, a well established concept in psychology and marketing that has received little attention in the
area of consumer satisfaction research, it investigates whether attitudes towards marketing activities, measured by the Index
of Consumer Sentiment Towards Marketing, are influenced by SWB. The research finds that Subjective Wellbeing, as determined
by the International Wellbeing Index, contributes significantly to the explanation of consumer sentiment and makes a case
for its inclusion in more consumer satisfaction studies.