Identification of Factors Affective on Consumerism Among Public Organizations’ Employees

Consumerism is an improper culture in organizations, especially public ones, which is expanding day by day. The present paper aimed at identifying the factors affective on consumerism among public organizations’ employees. This was an applied study while it was a survey in terms of data collection procedure. Research population consisted of all experts familiar with research subject, including managers and employees in public sector. Eighteen experts were selected by judgment up until theoretical saturation. The data collection instrument was semi-structured interview, and thematic analysis was used to analyze data. After the analysis, 22 effective factors were identified. Personal factors effective on consumerism included personal credit and distinction, welfare seeking, non-ownership feeling, lack of religiosity, personal lifestyle, weakness of conscience, utilitarianism, lack of responsibility, and feeling of entitlement. Organizational factors included perceived injustice, lack of organizational culture, organizational redundant protocols, public managers’ consuming behavior, and legal factors such as the lack of monitoring rules and regulations, legal deficiencies, and public budget. Finally, sociocultural factors affective on consumerism in public organizations included familial lifestyle, focus groups, social class, social ceremonies and rituals, lack of religiosity in the society, and transformation of values. Consumption in itself is a natural behavior, but consumerism is deemed a problem. The importance of saving is even greater in public and governmental organizations that are financed through the public treasury. Various factors can contribute to the emergence and spread of consumerism culture in organizations, knowing which can help obtain appropriate solutions to improve the consumption pattern.