@PHDTHESIS{ 2021:816575292,
 	title = {Understanding the determinants of disposition to accept help at the bottom of the socioeconomic status ladder},
 	year = {2021},
 	url = "http://tede2.pucrs.br/tede2/handle/tede/9572",
 	abstract = "Prosocial consumer behavior research devotes great attention to donors/helpers but seems to overlook recipients of help. Moreover, socioeconomic status (SES) literature focuses on the effects of lower SES on prosocial behavior, but not on how this status influences disposition to accept help, yet lower SES consumers, who experience financial and social constraints, are commonly recipients of help. This dissertation aims to address these two gaps with two essays that suggest and investigate why and when lower SES consumers’ disposition to accept help varies. The first essay shows results from a systematic literature review to support the idea that recipients of help are often ignored in consumer behavior literature, especially in studies devoted to prosocial consumer behavior. Then, drawing from social psychology literature, theoretical propositions relative to why and when lower SES consumers may accept less or more help are suggested. The second essay investigates the effect of helpers on disposition to accept help among lower (vs. higher) SES consumers. Results from three experimental studies (N = 887) reveal that who the helper is (i.e., a close or a distant helper) affects disposition to accept help among lower SES consumers but not among their higher SES counterparts – lower SES consumers accept less help from a distant (vs. close) helper, this effect is suggested by one of the propositions presented in the first essay. This dissertation advances prosocial consumer behavior literature by exploring disposition to accept help among potential recipients of help. By understanding what encourages donors/helpers to help and recipients to accept help, prosocial relationships become more effective. Moreover, the dissertation contributes to that literature as it suggests and investigates why and when disposition to accept help among lower SES consumers varies. Limited attention has been devoted to this topic, even though there are real-world evidence indicating that lower SES consumers may turn down available help.",
 	publisher = {Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul},
 	scholl = {Programa de Pós-Graduação em Administração e Negócios},
 	note = {Escola de Negócios}
}