J BUSN RES

1991:22:111-118
111

Means-End Chains:
Connecting Products With Self

Beth A. Walker
Arizona State University

Jerry C. Olson
The Pennsylvania State University

We conducted a study to explore how two decision situations affected subjects’

product knowledge, end-goals, and means-end relationships that were activated
for greeting cards. Forty female subjects read a decision scenario to buy either a
thinking-of-you card or a wedding card. A paper and pencil laddering task was
used to elicit subjects’ means-end knowledge structures in the given choice situ-
ation. In our conceptualization, the means represent product knowledge or attri-
butes, and the ends represent aspects of consumers’ self-knowledge that vary in
different situations. Content analysis revealed that the thinking-of-you situation
activated receiver-related goals (i.e., “to make her happy”), whereas the wedding
situation activated end-goals related to self-expression (i.e., “to express my per-
sonality”). Analysis of the means-end linkages revealed that differences in the
activated goals affected the meaning of the attributes to which the end-goals were
connected. We conclude by discussing the implications of incorporating self into
theory and research on means-end chains.

Introduction
One of the central functions of marketing is to create, at least momentarily, a
psychological relationship between consumers and a product or service. That is,
marketing must persuade the consumer to associate the product or service with
satisfying some benefit, goal, or value that is important to the consumer. By influ-
encing the degree to which consumers perceive a product or service to be self-
relevant, marketers can affect consumers’ level of motivation to learn about, shop
for, and ultimately buy the sponsored brand.
From this perspective, marketers need models to analyze and interpret how
consumers perceive products in relation to themselves. Means-end chain models
(see Figure l), which depict the relationship between product attributes and the

Address correspondence to: Beth A. Walker, Arizona State University, Department of Marketing, Tcmpe, AZ
85287-4106.

Journal of Business Research 22, 111-118 (1991) 014%2963/91/$3.50

0 1991 Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc.
6.55 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10010
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PRODUCT SELF-
KNOWLEDGE KNOWLEDGE

II

Figure 1. Means-end chains connect product knowledge to self-knowledge.

higher-order benefits and values that they may satisfy seem to be particularly
appropriate for these purposes (cf., Gutman, 1982; Olson and Reynolds, 1983).
Typically, means-end chains have been used to describe consumers’ product and
brand perceptions (cf., Walker et al. 1987). However, means-end models can be
more broadly viewed as representing the relationship between self and products,
where the means represent aspects of product knowledge, and the ends represent
aspects of consumer self-knowledge.
Our objective in this article is to describe how self can be incorporated into
theory and research on means-end chains. We begin by presenting a cognitive
structure view of self which emphasizes that the ends in the means-end relationships
are aspects of consumers’ activated self-schema. Then we identify the decision
situation as a key factor that determines which aspects of self-knowledge are ac-
tivated on particular occasions. We present data that ihustrate how different sit-
uations affect activated ends and their means-end relationships with the attributes
of greeting cards. We conclude by discussing several implications of incorporating
self into means-end research.

Self as the Ends in Means-End Relationships

Most contemporary self-researchers view self as a “self-schema”-a very large,

multifaceted knowledge structure that is represented in memory (Epstein, 1973;
Greenwald, 1980; Greenwald and Pratkanis, 1984; Markus, 1977, 1983; Markus
and Nurius, 1986). From a means-end perspective, a self-schema can be described
as a network of interrelated meanings about oneself.

The Content and Structure of Self

Several characteristics of the self-schema are particularly relevant to understanding
means-end relationships. First, research suggests that the self-schema contains
many different types of self-related meanings. Meanings range from the very con-
crete, such as our hair and eye color, to the most abstract and influential meanings
such as our goals, motives, and values (Markus and Nurius, 1986; Rogers, 1981).
Second, these meanings are organized hierarchically in memory in terms of their
level of abstraction or generality (Rogers, 1981; Wadsworth and Ford, 1983; Wicker
et al. 1984). Our most abstract beliefs, such as our instrumental and terminal values,
are elements of the “core” self. Happiness, excitement, and warm relationships
with others (cf., Kahle, 1983; Rokeach, 1973) are examples of basic values that
may be represented in the “core” self-structure. As elements of the “core” self,
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these self-meanings give a person a sense of unity and identity and influence be-
havior across a wide variety of situations.
Although our “core” self is relatively stable, different aspects of our self-schema
may be activated in different situations. These multiple identities may correspond
with different social roles that we may have developed over time. For example,
your “work” self, may be very different than your “parent” self, which may differ
dramatically from your “friend” self. Each of these selves contain some “core”
self-knowledge, as well as some less abstract knowledge that is unique to that
particular social role. The less abstract knowledge may include instrumental values
such as personality traits that distinguish one social role from another, as well as
psychosocial consequences. Functional consequences, which are much less abstract
and not strongly self-related or self-defining, may also be represented in social
roles. Unlike the self-knowledge represented in the “core” self, the less abstract
knowledge that is unique to a social role is likely to affect a consumer’s cognitions
and behaviors only in these specific situations.

Self in Working Memory

Clearly, the self-schema contains an enormous amount of information about our-
selves. Because of its size, only a small portion of a consumer’s self-related knowl-
edge can be activated from long-term memory or made available in working memory
at any given time. In this theory of self, we assume that only the activated self-
meanings in working memory, at a given point in time, can influence consumers’
cognitions and behaviors. Thus, we must identify the factors that influence which
self-related ends are activated. One very important determinant of self in working
memory is the decision situation.

Situations Activate Self-Related Ends

Situations play a critically important role in any cognitive structure theory of self
(Kihlstrom and Cantor, 1984) by determining which self-knowledge is activated
from memory. That is, features or characteristics of situations largely determine
what self-meanings are accessed or activated from long-term to working memory.
The abstractness and importance of the activated self-meanings affects how im-
portant, or self-relevant that situation is to the consumer and also affects what
product knowledge is activated.
Unfortunately, we do not have good theories of situations that tell us what types
of situations should activate particular aspects of self-knowledge and related prod-
uct knowledge. As theories of situations are developed, we will be better able to
identify the aspects of situations that influence the activation of self-knowledge and
related product knowledge.

Implications of Self and Situations for Means-End Chains

Aspects of situations affect which self-meanings (goals and values) are activated
in working memory in those situations. If these “ends” in the means-end chain
vary with the situation, the product-related meanings to which they are connected
will also be affected. Thus, the product-related knowledge (i.e., concrete attributes,
114 J BUSN RES
B. A. Walker and J. C. Olson
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abstract attributes, or functional consequences) that the consumer considers as

choice criteria may change in different decision situations. The key is to examine
the entire means-end chain that is activated in various decision situations. This is
illustrated by the data presented below.

Effects of Situations on Activated Means-End Relationships

We conducted a study to explore how two decision situations concerning greeting
cards affected subjects’ activated end-goals (ends), product attributes (means), and
means-end relationships for sending greeting cards.

Procedures
Forty female subjects were given one of two decision situations: (1) sending a
thinking-of-you card, or (2) sending a wedding card. These situations differed in
terms of the amount of social obligation one feels in sending each type of card.
People often send wedding cards in compliance with social norms, whereas personal
interest and concerns tend to influence sending thinking-of-you cards. Although
the “social normativeness” of situations has not been investigated, we hypothesized
that it should affect what aspects of self-knowledge and product knowledge are
activated in each decision situation.
Subjects completed a questionnaire that required them to identify the attributes
they look for in selecting greeting cards to send in the given situation. Then a paper
and pencil laddering task was undertaken to elicit subjects’ means-end knowledge
structures linking card attributes to related goals or ends. Subjects were asked to
describe, in writing, why each of their four most important card attributes were
important. This procedure yielded up to four means-end chains for each subject.
We analyzed the content of subjects’ end-goals, product attributes, and means-
end connections for each of their means-end chains by calculating the proportion
of subjects in each group who mentioned each attribute, end-goal, and means-end
relationship at least once.

Results
The proportions of subjects eliciting each one of the most frequently mentioned
end-goals and attributes are reported in Table 1.

Effects of the Decision Situation on Activated Ends. This analysis reveals a strong
effect of the decision situation on the end-goals activated in the card laddering
task. Most of the ends elicited in the “sending a wedding card” situation concern
self-expression goals. For example, 35% of the subjects in the wedding situation
mentioned “to express my personality,” 30% mentioned “expressing a sincere
personality,” and 40% reported self-esteem goals (“so I will be happy”) as card-
related ends. In contrast, only 20%, O%, and 15% of the subjects in the thinking-
of-you situation mentioned the same goals. In terms of the means-end theory,
these data suggest that the wedding card situation tended to activate subjects’ rather
self-related instrumental and terminal values.
In contrast, the end-goals mentioned in the thinking-of-you situation reflected
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Table 1. The Percentage of Subjects in Each Group Who Reported Each of the Most
Frequently Mentioned End-Goals at Least One Time
Situation

Measures of Thinking-of-you Wedding Card

Activated Knowledge Card (n = 20) (n = 20)

End-Goals
“Express my personality” 20% 35%
“Express sincere self” 0% 30%
“To make me happy” (self-esteem) 15% 40%
“To make her happy” 50% 15%
Attributes
the pictures 60% 70%
the words 60% 65%

a focus on the receiver. For example, the goal “to make her happy” was reported
by 50% of the subjects in the thinking-of-you situation, whereas only 15% of the
subjects in the wedding situation mentioned this end goal. Although no other single
goal was mentioned consistently by subjects in the thinking-of-you situation, most
of the ends were clearly focused on the greeting card receiver (show caring and
support, let her know I’m thinking of her, let her know that she is special). From
a means-end theory perspective, subjects send thinking-of-you cards to satisfy less
self-relevant psychosocial consequences, as opposed to instrumental or terminal
values.

Effects of the Decision Situation on Activated Means and Means-End Relation-

ships. Although the activated ends differed across the two decision situations, the
activated product attributes were rather consistent across groups. The two most
frequently mentioned card-related attributes were the picture and the words. Spe-
cifically, 63% of the subjects (25/40) indicated “the words” were important, while
65% of the subjects (26/40) mentioned “the picture” as important.
These two attributes were elicited about equally in the two decision situations.
However, examination of the means-end linkages between the card attributes and
the ends revealed that subjects perceived the picture to be important for different
reasons. Specifically, 30% (6/20) of the subjects in the wedding situation related
the picture to an end related to self-expression (“to express my personality”),
whereas none of the subjects in the thinking-of-you situation related the picture
to self-expression.
In contrast, 45% of the subjects (9/20) in the thinking-of-you situation related
the picture to a receiver-oriented goal. Seven of the nine subjects linked the picture
specifically to the end goal “to make her happy/smile.” Only one subject in the
wedding situation linked the picture to an other-related end. There were no dif-
ferences between situations regarding the means-end relationship with the card
attribute, “the words.”

Discussion

The results of this study clearly demonstrate that different decision situations can
activate very different aspects of consumers’ self-schema. The results suggest that
116 J BUSN RES
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B. A. Walker and J. C. Olson

the wedding card situation is perceived as more involving because it activates a

greater amount of important, self-defining, and abstract self-meanings than does
the thinking-of-you situation. Subjects frequently mentioned that they wanted to
find a wedding card that expressed their personality, or that made them happy
(i.e., self-esteem). These are aspects of the “core” self that are of central impor-
tance to the individual.
In contrast, the thinking-of-you situation tended to activate psychosocial con-
sequences, such as “to make her happy.” Although psychosocial consequences may
represent important aspects of self, the theory of hierarchical means-end chains
suggests that they are not as strongly self-related as instrumental or terminal values.
These findings suggest that the wedding card situation is experienced as more
self-relevant than the “thinking of you” card situation. The perceived self-relevance
of a situation should be related to a consumer’s level of motivation (Celsi and
Olson, 1988). According to many self-researchers, self is the construct that underlies
human motivation (Allport, 1943; James, 1890; Kihlstrom and Cantor, 1984; Mar-
kus and Nurius, 1986). Specifically, people experience greater levels of motivation
or involvement when self-knowledge is activated. Since more of a consumer’s
“core” self was activated in the wedding versus the thinking-of-you situation, con-
sumers shopping for a wedding card experience a greater level of involvement and
motivation than consumers shopping for a thinking-of-you card. Thus, consumers
shopping for a wedding card may visit more stores, compare more greeting cards,
and spend more time shopping. Although these variables were not measured in
this study, future research could be directed at examining relationships with overt
behavior.
The decision situation did not affect the particular attributes (choice criteria)
that subjects’ consider to be important when buying a card. However, the decision
situation did affect the means-end relationships that were activated. This indicates
that the meaning of the attributes differed across decision situations. Specifically,
subjects in the wedding situation valued the picture because it allowed them to
express themselves. In contrast, subjects in the thinking-of-you situation indicated
that the picture was important because it made “the receiver happy.” This illustrates
that it is not the attribute per se, but what that attribute means to the consumer,
that influences consumer decision making.
In sum, these results demonstrate the powerful effects of decision situations on
the aspects of self that are activated in those situations, and on the related means-
end relationships with product attributes.

Implications for Future Research

Perhaps the most important implication of incorporating self into means-end theory
and research is its potential for improving our understanding of consumer moti-
vation. To the extent that the ends in activated means-end chains represent more
central aspects of self, consumers should experience greater levels of consumer
motivation and involvement in those decision situations. That is, means-end chains
do not only describe consumers’ brand perceptions, but also reveal the basis for
consumers’ motivation.
The self approach also has implications for research on consumer values by
indicating when values should be strongly related to behavior. Although consumers’
Connecting Products With Self J BUSN RES
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117

values represent important, central aspects of self, they should only be related to
behavior when those aspects of self are activated in a given situation. Since different
situations are likely to activate different values, the particular values that influence
behavior may be completely different in different situations.
Incorporating self into means-end theory and research can give us a deeper
theoretical understanding of involvement. The approach advocated here is consis-
tent with a recent conceptualization of involvement in terms of the activated re-
lationship between a product and important self-related ends, such as goals and
values (Celsi and Olson, 1988). By examining the actual knowledge content of the
activated means-end relationship, we can begin to understand the basis for a
consumer’s feelings of involvement.
Finally, the present self-perspective illustrates how situations can be incorporated
into means-end research. By investigating how situations influence the content of
activated means-end chains, we can begin to understand how situations affect
cognitions and behaviors. Perhaps these research findings can then be used to
develop and improve our theories of situations. Eventually, we may be able to
make predictions about how different situations influence activated means-end
relationships.

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