who do people give away free products and services? why do people give gifts?

Question

I am working on a research project on the meaning of gifts and grants in the new economy.

Answer 1

You might want to look up the concept of "exchange theory" at a university research data base like EBSCO or PsycInfo. The idea is that I give you something, and if you value the relationship, you need to give me something back of equal or greater value, otherwise you risk jeopardizing our relationship.
You might also look for terms related to the norm of "reciprocity" which is considered one of the few values that all people are considered to share. That is, we all consider people who fail to return favors deadbeats.
So, businesses give away products or services in the hopeful activity of trying to gain your attention and favor for an exchange relationship. They are also trying to assimilate you towards using their product, which may actually be a benefit to you.
Gift giving between individuals may be slightly different, however, while we are networking for our careers, we may emply gift giving, which is more prevelant outside of the US. Typical business in China or Japan requires gift exchange of a specific standard of gifts which will represent the nature of the relationship to the recipient.
Also, look up "rational legal" verses "relational", I think a researcher named Dunfee did some comparisons between Western and Eastern cultures, where Chinese exchanges which are considered normal are a problem for US business people who are bound by the Foriegn Corruption Practices Act to avoid what might otherwise be considered essential gift giving in the process of creating relationships. I think he went on to speculate that western business will adopt such exchanges instead of straight merit based evaluation of relational connections.

Good luck.

Answer 2

There is a dual purpose for businesses to give away products and services. It's a tax write-off and it helps them to gain more business in the long run. People give gifts for several reasons. Believe it or not, the main reason (in my opinion) is selfishness! It makes the giver of the gift feel good about themselves. There are also some religious ties to gift-giving. The three wise men gave gifts to the Christ child.

Answer 3

They give you free gifts to try thinking you would like them so you will come back and buy there product.

Answer 4

It's always part of a marketing strategy.