Management Review

›› 2016, Vol. 28 ›› Issue (6): 119-130.

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The Independent's Stinginess to Others and the Interdependent's Stinginess to Self: Impacts of Self-Construal and Spending on Self versus Others on the Saving and Spending

Zeng Shiqiang1,2, Chen Jian3, Lv Wei1, Pan Li1   

  1. 1. Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200052;
    2. School of Economics and Management, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai 200233;
    3. School of Finance and Business, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234
  • Received:2014-03-07 Online:2016-06-28 Published:2016-07-07

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Abstract:

The effect of self-construal on the choice of saving and spending has been explored but it is seldom studied why Chinese shows generosity while spending on others. Combining with the Chinese traditional philosophies, "stinginess to self and generosity to others", this paper proposes that the saving and spending will be affected by self-construal and spending on self versus others, and it can be explained by the psychological utility. Two experiments are conducted to test the hypotheses. The results show that the independent spends more than the interdependent when spending on self, in contrast, the interdependent spends more than the independent when spending on the others. When spending on self, self-importance mediates the effect of self-construal on the saving and spending, and it demonstrates that the independent is inclined to spend more than interdependent. Whereas, when spending on others, dependence on others mediates the effect of self-construal on the saving and spending, and it demonstrates that the interdependent is inclined to spend more than independent.

Key words: self-construal, saving and spending, spending on self versus others, psychological utility