Abstract
The opening vignette describes a dilemma faced increasingly by many members of the baby boom generation as they face the next stage of their lives. The home, its appliances, and furnishings represent the most significant proportion of a family’s wealth as well as the social status of the occupants. It is very likely that the baby boomer generation started their home ownership experience by moving into a new, suburban home that had to be furnished with every appliance. Now that a previously owned home has to be sold, as in the case of Sheri and John, potential buyers are likely to expect a fully applianced kitchen; other major durables such as a TV, however, usually moved with the owners. The issue facing the sellers was whether attention should be paid on remodeling the kitchen or some other part of the house in order to increase its appeal to potential buyers.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bittman M, Rice JM, Wajcman J (2004) Appliances and their impact: the ownership of domestic technology and time spent on household work. Br J Sociol 55(3):401–423
Bourdieu P (1984) Distinction: a social critique of the judgment of taste. Routledge, London
Bowden S, Offer A (1996) The technological revolution that never was: gender, class, and the diffusion of household appliances in interwar England. In: de Grazia V, Furlough E (eds) The sex of things: gender and consumption in historical perspective. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp 244–274
Calder L (2001) Financing the American dream: a cultural history of consumer credit. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Chao EL, Utgoff KP (2006) 100 years of U.S. consumer spending: data for the nation, New York city, and Boston, report 991, Washington, DC, U.S. Department of labor, bureau of labor statistics. Available at: www.bls.gov/opub/uscs/report991.pdf
Clarke Y, Soutar GN (1982) Consumer acquisition patterns for durable goods: Australian evidence. J Consum Res 8(4):456–460 University of Chicago Press
Coen-Pirani D, León A, Lugauer S (2010) The effect of household appliances on female labor force participation: evidence from micro data. Labour Econ 17:503–513
Dholakia RR, Banerjee S (2011) Patterns of durable acquisition: empirical evidence from India. Working paper, College of Business Administration, The University of Rhode Island. Available at http://www.cba.uri.edu/research/workingpapers/
Dickson PR, Lusch RF, Wilkie WL (1983) Consumer acquisition priorities for home appliances: a replication and re-evaluation. J Consum Res 9(4):432–435 University of Chicago Press
Editors of New Strategist Publications (2000) The American marketplace: demographics and spending patterns, 3rd edn. New Strategies Publications, Ithaca
Editors of New Strategist Publications (2003) The American marketplace: demographics and spending patterns, 6th edn. New Strategies Publications, Ithaca
Editors of New Strategist Publications (2006) The American marketplace: demographics and spending patterns, 9th edn. New Strategies Publications, Ithaca
Fan CS (2000) Economic development and the changing patterns of consumption in Urban China. In: Beng-Huat C (ed) Consumption in Asia: lifestyles and identities. Routledge, London, pp 82–97
Freedman D (1970) The role of the consumption of modern durables in economic development. Econ Dev Cult Change 19:25–48
Gillette MB (2000) Between Mecca and Beijing: modernization and consumption among Urban Chinese muslims. Stanford University Press, Stanford
Gilman CP (1975) The living: an autobiography. Harper and Row, New York
Heinze AR (1990) Adapting to abundance: Jewish immigrants, mass consumption and the search for American identity. Columbia University Press, New York
Houghton M (2010) 6 current technologies the jetsons predicted. (June 14). Available at: http://www.techvert.com/6-current-technologies-the-jetsons-predicted/
Ivaschenko O, Ersado L (2008) The dynamics of ownership of durable goods in Bulgaria: from economic crisis to EU membership. Policy research working paper #4567, Human Development Sector, Europe and Central Asia Region, World Bank
Kasulis JJ, Lusch RF, Stafford EF Jr (1979) Consumer acquisition patterns for durable goods. J Consum Res 6(1):47–57 University of Chicago Press
Lebergott S (1984) The Americans: an economic record. W.W. Norton & Co., New York
Lebergott S (1993) Pursuing happiness: American consumer in the twentieth century. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Liebenstein H (1950) Bandwagon, snob and veblen effects in the theory of consumer’s demand. Q J Econ 64(2):183–207
Livingstone SM, Lunt PK (1991) Generational and life cycle differences in experiences of ownership. In: Rudmin FW (ed) To have possessions. A handbook on ownership and property, (Special Issue) Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, vol 6(6), pp 229–242
Mason RS (1981) Conspicuous consumption: a study of exceptional behavior. Gower, Hampshire
Mason RS (1998) The economics of conspicuous consumption: theory and thought since 1700. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham
Mc Fall J (1969) Priority patterns and consumer behavior. J Mark 33:50–55
Nickels S (2002) More is better: mass consumption, gender and class identity in post-war America. Am Q 54(4):581–622
Paroush J (1965) The order of acquisition of consumer durables. Econometrica 33:225–325
Putnam RD (2001) Bowling alone: the collapse and revival of American community. Simon and Schuster, New York
Soutar GN, Cornish-Ward SP (1997) Ownership patterns for durable goods and financial assets: a rasch analysis. Appl Econ 29(7):903–911 Taylor and Francis Journals
Soutar GN, Bell R, Wallis Y (1990) Consumer acquisition patterns for durable goods: a rasch analysis. Eur J Mark 24(8):31–39
Veblen T (1953) The theory of leisure class. Macmillan, New York
Zorelli J (2006) Sewing machine companies seek new markets. Available at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story.php?storyId=5414300&sc
Data Sources Consulted
EIA (2011) 2009 residential energy consumption survey. U.S. energy information administration. Available at: http://205.254.135.24/consumption/residential/data/2009/#undefined
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dholakia, R.R. (2012). Technology in the Household: Looking Back, Looking Forward. In: Technology and Consumption. International Series on Consumer Science. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2158-0_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2158-0_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-2157-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-2158-0
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)