8. Conclusion
So what can be concluded through these studies? Meanings of money are complex, culturally ingrained and reflect the economic realities and aspirations of consumers and societies. Money is important for living, and as a social indicator of prestige, stature and respect. However, surfeit money comes with problems, and excessive greed can be dangerous. Saving and sharing money are also important. Results show differences across India and South Korea on the extent of saving, who the money was shared with, and the underlying drivers for saving and sharing money. Religion (dharma in India) and social norms emerge as the foundations of attitudes and meanings associated with money. From a methods perspective, long interviews provide rich, contextual data, and an understanding of the impact of culture, economic development and family structure in these two nations. One major contribution of this study is introducing folk tale elicitation and analysis as a research technique. Analyzing stories relating to money supports that the narratives discussed by both Indian and Korean respondents follow the typical storytelling format proposed by Woodside (2010). Stories provide metaphoric, thematic narrative content that can reveal deep seated and unconscious attitudes toward money. Story selection serves to symbolize a family's values and preferences and project core values (Jung, 1948/1990; Lévi-Strauss, 1963). This technique offers an alternative when respondents cannot explain the behavior using traditional research methods and provides a promising method for future research.
