The Beauty of Boundaries: When and Why We Seek Structure in Consumption

How do consumers cope when life‘s events seem to stretch beyond their personal control? This research posits that consumers will seek greater structure in consumption—or the sense that everything is in its designated place—and that the boundaries present in one‘s environment offer an important means by which they may find such structure. Five experiments demonstrate that when personal control is threatened, consumers prefer logos, products and environments that are explicitly or implicitly bounded over those that are unbounded. This research also identifies important resources that individuals may rely on when personal control is threatened to reduce the desire for boundaries (i.e., religious beliefs, financial resources, and social support.)