사회적 거리가 선물 제공자와 받는 사람의 선물 선호에미치는 영향: 미국 소비자를 중심으로* = The Influence of Social Distance on the Gift Preferences of US Consumers’ Gift-Givers and Recipients*

국문 초록 (Abstract)

선물은 명절, 생일, 크리스마스, 입학과 졸업과 같이 특별한 날을 기념하기에 적절한 도구로써, 선물을 주고받는 행동은 선물 제공자와 받는 사람 간의 사회적 유대관계를 돈독하게 해준다는 점에서 의미 있다. 이때, 과거 직접 만나 선물을 주고받는 것에서부터 최근 온라인으로 선물을 주고받는 등 선물의 유형 및 방법 등 선물 교환 행동들이 변화하고 있다. 이와 관련해, 본 연구는 선물 교환 상황에서 사회적 거리에 따라 선물 제공자와 선물 받는 사람의 제품 유형에 대한 선호가 달라짐을 규명하는 데 초점을 둔다. 이를 위해 본 연구는 2 (사회적 거리: 먼 vs. 가까운) × 2 (제품 유형: 물리적 vs. 디지털) × 2 (선물 교환관계: 제공자 vs. 받는 사람) 집단 간 설계 디자인을 활용하였다. 실험 결과, 친한 친구에게 선물을 제공하는 경우(vs. 먼 친구), 선물 제공자는 물리적 제품에 대한 선호를 높게 평가했다. 그리고 상대적으로 친하지 않은 관계에 있는 사람에게 선물을 주는 경우, 선물 제공자는 디지털 제품에 대한 선호를 높게 평가했다. 마지막으로, 선물을 받는 사람들은 사회적 거리에 따른 물리적 제품과 디지털 제품에 대한 선호도에 차이가 없었다. 본 연구결과는 사회적 거리, 제품 유형, 그리고 선물 교환 관계의 삼원 상호작용 분석을 통해 선물 선호에 미치는 영향을 폭넓게 검토함으로써 학문적인 중요성을 가짐과 동시에 선물하기 시장에서의 선물 대상자에게 보다 효과적으로 선물을 할 수 있는 방안들을 제공한다.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Gifts serve as appropriate tools for commemorating special occasions such as holidays, birthdays, Christmas, graduation, and entrance ceremonies. The act of exchanging gifts holds significance in strengthening social relationships between the gift-giver and the recipient. Over time, the formats and methods of gift exchanges have evolved, transitioning from traditional in-person exchanges to contemporary online gift-giving exchanges. Therefore, we aim to identify how preferences for product formats vary between gift-givers and recipients based on social distance in gift exchange situations. To achieve this, the current study employs a 2 (social distance: distant vs. close) × 2 (product format: physical vs. digital) × 2 (gift exchange: giver vs. recipient) between-subjects design. The experimental results reveal that when giving a gift to a close friend (vs. a distant friend), gift-givers express a higher preference for physical products. Conversely, when dealing with relationships that are relatively less close (distant), gift-givers show a higher preference for digital products. On the other hand, gift recipients show no significant difference in preferences for physical and digital products based on social distance. The findings of this study, obtained through a three-way interaction analysis of social distance, product format, and gift exchange relationship, not only provide academic importance but also offer practical insights for more effective strategies in the gift-giving market.

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