Who is happy? Building antecedent configurations identifying happy people across four European countries
(A2020-64166)

AUTHORS

Felix Ebert, Chair of Marketing and Innovation, University of Mannheim; Madeline Barth, University of Mannheim; Aleksandar Blečić, University of Mannheim; Arch Woodside, Yonsei University

KEYWORDS

asymmetric; conditions; happy

ABSTRACT

Who is happy? What brings happiness? Findings from prior research regarding happiness and its antecedents remain inconsistent as studies examine variable directional relationships rather than examining complex conditions which indicate happiness as an outcome. This study investigates the configurations of demographic and cultural value antecedent conditions to report the recipes (i.e., combinations of causal conditions) that identify the highly happy people in four European countries. The study applies fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis of survey data from Sweden, Germany, Armenia, and Turkey. The findings show that a few among many possible configurations of demographic and cultural antecedents are sufficient for pointing out highly happy people. Using asymmetric case modeling, this study contributes to a nuanced description of who is happy and the complex antecedent conditions for achieving contentment.