Identifying the Dimensions of Mindful Mindset as one of the Facets of Mindful Consumption

The concept of “mindful consumption” is among the concepts that have been discussed within the marketing literature in recent years. It concerns the concept of sustainability and proportionate consumption. Due to the importance of sustainability in today's world on the one hand and the necessity of reforming consumption patterns in the country on the other hand, as well as the fact that no exploratory study has been conducted to identify the dimensions of mindful consumption in our country so far, it is very important to study the dimensions of mindful consumption in order to make policies to create a proper consumption pattern in the country. Therefore, the main purpose of the present study is to explore the dimensions of conscious mental structure as one of the aspects of mindful consumption in this ecosystem. In fact, the main question of the present study is that what are the dimensions of a conscious mental structure that can lead to mindful behavior of consumers?

The present research is qualitative in nature and is conducted based on the principles of the interpretive paradigm. The present study, which seeks to contribute to the theoretical background on the concept of conscious mental structure based on qualitative data, is conducted based on Grounded theory strategy. The target population of this study includes Iranian consumers; and the sample is selected based on the purposeful sampling process. The in-depth interviews were considered as the data collection instrument and ultimately 22 interviews were conducted.

The results of the data analysis led to the identification of 22 concepts that were finally classified into 6 general categories. These 6 categories actually include the dimensions identified for conscious mental structure as one of the two aspects of mindful consumption: mental involvement with the consequences of consumption; mindfulness (awareness); self-importance; Caring for environmental issues; Caring for the interests of society; and Caring for consumer rights.

According to the results, a consumer with a conscious mind structure cares about the consequences of consumption in general, including self-importance, caring for the environment, society and consumer rights, and ultimately his/her mind would be well functioning and vigilance enough while making decisions. Perhaps the characteristics of a conscious mind structure as one of the forms of mindful consumption are characterized better through an example. Conscious mind structure is a necessary prerequisite for mindful behavior in consumption, and the characteristics of this conscious mind structure have been identified in the present study.