Abstract:

Gift giving is an important ritual in all societies. Although the gift-giving behavior is not a traditional marketing exchange, the gift-giving phenomenon can be defined as the presentation of all kinds of goods, services and experiences that the parties give to the other party on a voluntary basis and sincerely as an indicator of love or to help achieve other goals. The gift-giving behavior, which is so important in social life, has important implications for the marketing profession. The gift-giving behavior that attracts the attention of scientists from many different disciplines continues to be an attractive area of interest for marketing researchers as it is one of the main activities of consumer behavior in today’s society. The aim of this study is to determine the factors affecting emotional satisfaction in gift giving behavior. For this purpose, a conceptual framework has been established regarding gift giving behavior through a field study conducted in the form of in-depth interviews following the literature review. An in-depth interview has been conducted on 50 participants residing in the Edirne province selected via a purposeful/judgemental sampling method for determining the factors affecting emotional satisfaction in the gift-giving behavior. The data obtained as a result of the interviews were subjected to content analysis using the MAXQDA-18 qualitative analysis program. According to findings, factors affecting emotional satisfaction in gift giving behavior are gift factor, gift-giving factor, emotional factor and social factors. Also a new model regarding emotional satisfaction in gift-giving was introduced through a code-subcode hierarchical model approach. Sub-themes related to the gift factor are relationship type, purchasing channel, gift type, gift context and frequency of gifts, while sub-themes of the gift factor are the motives of the gift giver, the reactions of the recipient, the suitability of the gift, the continuation of the gift giving behavior, thinking of the recipient's preference, the continuation of the relationship, the value of the gift, the size of the surprise, the acquisition, the characteristics of the gift giver, the gift giver's expectations and preparation. While the sub-themes of the emotional factor were named as the emotions and perceived emotions of the gift giver, the sub-themes of the social factor were named as social approval and advice.

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