A note of using additional theories to enrich the MBA literature review task: on Gutman's means-end chain theory

A note of using additional theories to enrich the MBA literature review task: on Gutman's means-end chain theory

 

I am a part-time MBA student learning to do dissertation projects. I have a query about literature review. I would like to employ Gutman's means-end chain theory to examine my research theme of "how a company's ESG policy influence the Gen z consumer buying behavior of shopping goods in Hong Kong". could you suggest 1 academic theory that is complementary to Gutman's means-end chain theory and 1 academic theory that is much less complementary to the Gutman's theory. With these two additional theories, I feel more capable to conduct a richer and more critical literature review for my dissertation project work. Please also provide citations and references of the references in Harvard reference format.

For your topic, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is the most complementary theory to Gutman’s means-end chain (MEC) theory, while the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory is a much less complementary choice if your main aim is to extend MEC at the consumer decision-process level. MEC explains how consumers connect product/brand attributes to consequences and personal values, and TPB fits well because it explains how those value-based evaluations translate into intention through attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control. VBN is less complementary because it is designed mainly to explain pro-environmental moral obligation and environmental action, so it shifts the lens from consumer value-structure and purchase cognition toward moral norms and environmental beliefs.

Why TPB fits well

TPB is a strong partner for MEC in your dissertation because ESG policy can be treated as an antecedent that shapes beliefs and evaluations, which then feed into purchase intention and buying behavior. In your case, MEC can uncover the “why” behind Gen Z’s ESG-linked preferences, while TPB can test the “so what” by modeling how those preferences become intention and behavior. This makes TPB especially useful for shopping goods in Hong Kong, where consumer buying is likely influenced not only by values but also by social pressure and perceived control such as price sensitivity, availability, and brand access.

Why VBN is less complementary

VBN is still relevant to ESG consumption, but it is less aligned with MEC because its core logic begins with values, environmental beliefs, and personal norms rather than product-attribute ladders and means-end value chains. In other words, VBN helps you explain why someone feels a moral duty to buy sustainable products, but it is less suited to tracing how a company’s ESG policy is cognitively translated into product-related attributes, consequences, and values in a shopping context. For a dissertation centered on consumer buying behavior of shopping goods, VBN can sit alongside MEC, but it is not as naturally integrative as TPB.

How to use them in your literature review

A useful structure for your review would be:

1.    MEC as the core theory for attribute-consequence-value interpretation.

2.    TPB as the complementary behavioral theory linking ESG perceptions to intention and purchase.

3.    VBN as the contrastive theory showing a more moralized, pro-environmental pathway.

That structure gives you both depth and critique: MEC explains value formation, TPB explains intention formation, and VBN shows an alternative ESG-consumption logic that is less directly tied to shopping-goods buying decisions.

Suggested dissertation framing

A strong conceptual framing could be:

·        ESG policy perception as a stimulus.

·        MEC as the value-translation mechanism.

·        TPB as the intention-to-behavior mechanism.

Then you can argue that Gen Z consumers in Hong Kong may respond to ESG policy not only because it aligns with values, but also because it shapes attitudes, social approval, and perceived ease of purchasing. This gives your literature review a richer and more critical structure than using MEC alone.

Harvard references

Ajzen, I. (1991) ‘The theory of planned behavior’, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), pp. 179–211. Available at: https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jobhdp/v50y1991i2p179-211.html

Gutman, J. (1982) ‘A means-end chain model based on consumer categorization processes’, Journal of Marketing, 46(2), pp. 60–72. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022242982000024

Nature (n.d.) ‘Pro-environmental behavior and value-belief-norm theory’. Available at: https://www.nature.com/nature-index/topics/l4/pro-environmental-behavior-and-value-belief-norm-theory

A related Hong Kong consumer sustainability survey also suggests ESG and sustainability concerns are already influencing buying choices, which supports the local relevance of your topic.

[It is important that the student carries out conventional literature review (including reading and reflecting on the ideas learned to come up with their own review ideas and in their own words. AI is useful to accelerate students' learning and provide illustrative [more comprehensible] examples to them].

** the note is supported by perplexity.ai

** Also study the note on the steps to conduct literature review and theory/method-decomposing.

        A collection of blog notes on using chatgpt for research purpose.