Antecedents and Consequences of Materialistic Values: A Systematic Literature Review

By applying systematic literature review technique, this paper focuses on the existing research on materialistic values. Although materialistic values have widely been discussed in the literature, this stream of literature lacks in the context of work setting. To the best of our knowledge, reviews focusing on materialistic values haven’t been conducted in the organizational context. Initial search returned a total of 1,191 articles, out of which 209 articles were thoroughly analyzed based on their relevance to the topic. After studying the antecedents, correlates and consequences of materialistic values within literature, the paper identifies three important theoretical and empirical gaps in the literature. Firstly, the literature on materialistic values is vaguely scattered and needs consolidation. Secondly, most of research on materialistic values is a-theoretical in nature. Thirdly, literature on materialistic values lacks within the organizational setting. To fill these gaps, this paper consolidates the literature into theoretical frameworks and proposes theoretical foundations for the future researchers. In addition, the paper points towards some fertile areas largely missing in existing literature. In the end, some managerial implications and limitations of the study are discussed.