Running Head: HIDDEN NEEDS IN STARBUCKS RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT

Vance Packards Eight Hidden Needs Appearing in Starbucks

Corporate Social Responsibility Statement
Jessica Dodson
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

HIDDEN NEEDS IN STARBUCKS RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT

Abstract
Starbucks social responsibility statement, specifically the Global Responsibility Report
published each year, outlines and critically judges its progress towards self-set goals in three
categories: community, environment, and ethical sourcing. This report will be studied through
the lens of Packards Eight Hidden Needs and will critique how successful the company was in
employing the motivational theory. Five out of eight needs were clearly addressed in the report,
and this paper will also defend the decision to ignore Packards needs for love objects, creative
outlets, and ego gratifications. Additionally, directions for further research are discussed in the
conclusion, it is proposed that the elaboration likelihood model would be another theory the
responsibility report could be analyzed with.
Methodology
Listed on Starbucks website are three areas that it has decided to self-regulate and
integrate into its business model; community, ethical sourcing, and the environment, this is
known as a corporate social responsibility statement. The company acts in these areas in several
ways, such as participating in community service, offering ethically purchased goods, and
minimizing their environmental footprint. Starbucks corporate social responsibility statement
will be analyzed through the lens of Packards Eight Hidden Needs. Starbucks uses Packards
hidden needs to excite consumers and connect them to its mission, and in the process, consumers
continue to purchase goods at Starbucks and develop a connection and loyalty to the brand.
Corporate social responsibility was first widely discussed during the last four decades of
the 1900s and refers to the obligations of the firm to society or, more specifically, the firms
stakeholdersthose affected by corporate policies and practices (Smith, 2003). In a previously

HIDDEN NEEDS IN STARBUCKS RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT

made statement on its website Starbucks stated Consumers are demanding more than product
from their favorite brands. Employees are choosing to work for companies with strong values.
Shareholders are more inclined to invest in businesses with outstanding corporate reputations.
Quite simply, being socially responsible is not only the right thing to do; it can distinguish a
company from its industry peers (Smith, 2003). Starbucks responsibility statement focuses on
three areas: community, environment, and ethical sourcing. They provide an extensive amount of
information on their website, including a global responsibility report that has been published
each year since 2001, with details about their various global missions along with goals and data
used to critically evaluate their progress towards them.
Packards hidden needs are a motivation theory comparable to Maslows hierarchy of
needs, first introduced in the 1957 book The Hidden Persuaders. Packards theory proposes that
consumers inherently want to fulfill eight needs, and that if a company can fulfill those,
consumers will be motivated to purchase that good or service. The eight needs are Emotional
Security, Reassurance of Worth, Ego Gratification, Creative Outlets, Love Objects, Sense of
Power, Roots, and Immortality (Larson, 2013). The Emotional Security need states that the
audience lives in a chaotic and insecure world and that they wish for control, so if the persuader
can offer a little piece of security, than their persuasion may be successful. Reassurance of Worth
states that the audience feels unappreciated and that the persuader may be successful if they can
make the audience feel important. Ego Gratification is the audiences need to feel special, so the
persuader should look for ways to convey that their product/service will make the audience feel
unique. Creative Outlets describes the audiences desire to create things themselves and show off
their own skill, this explains the myriad of cooking shows, craft magazines, and well stocked
recipe websites. Love Objects states that the audience feels the need to put their affection on

HIDDEN NEEDS IN STARBUCKS RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT

things, specialized pet stores and businesses devoted to at home car maintenance capitalize on
this need. Sense of Power states that consumers want to feel in control, this is one reason why
products described as longer lasting are so popular and sought after. Packard also describes a
need for Roots that states the audience wishes to feel stable and recognize things, this at least
partially explains the importance of branding and a stable image for a company. Lastly, Packard
described the need for Immortality, which says that consumers want to feel like theyre going to
be around forever, this partially explains the popularity of lifetime memberships to organizations.
These needs, Packard hypothesized, compelled consumers to purchase goods or services.
Discussion
In the community section of Starbucks social responsibility statement, Packards need
for reassurance of worth was employed. The company openly states that customers are vital to
the change they wish to affect, we believe in the power of the coffeehouse to bring people
together. Our stores allow Starbucks partners (employees) and customers to connect and tap into
shared passions to be catalysts for change (Starbucks, 2013). In 2013, Starbucks mobilized
customers, partners, civic leaders, businesses and nonprofit organizations to contribute more than
630,000 hours of service, and completed 1,723 projects in just 30 days to help more than 2.3
million beneficiaries (Starbucks, 2013). Starbucks also supports the Ethos Water Fund which
supplies consumers a solution to their need for reassurance of worth, by purchasing an Ethos
water bottle at Starbucks, customers are donating five cents to that charity, which benefits
430,000 people by supporting water, sanitation and hygiene education programs (Starbucks,
2013). By allowing a place for consumers to come together in service, Starbucks reassures
customers of their worth and importance in the community.

HIDDEN NEEDS IN STARBUCKS RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT

Packards needs for emotional security, reassurance of worth, and immortality are
presented and resolved in the environment section of the social responsibility statement. The
need for immortality is addressed by the broader environment section, which motivates
consumers to participate in various small scale environmental measures such as recycling paper
cups inside the store and bringing in reusable tumblers for their drinks (Starbucks has also
offered a discount to customers with reusable cups as incentive) (Starbucks, 2013). The company
also motivates consumers to participate in their larger mission by shopping in their stores and
indirectly supporting their other environmental causes. Consumers are encouraged to participate
in its environmental measures, and offered a stake in the future of the environment. Starbucks
offers consumers and ongoing influence over the environment which plays on their need for
immortality. Starbucks also offers emotional security to consumers in the midst of uncertainty
due to climate change. This security is offered in the form of community and power, consumers
know that there is a large group of people (Starbucks and its loyal customers) fighting to protect
the environment from climate change and are empowered to work with them to combat climate
change and protect the environment. Starbucks resolves the need for reassurance of worth by
encouraging those empowered consumers to engage in their environmental measures and
mission. Every time a customer shops at an LEED certified store (built to the U.S. Green
Building Councils Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification standards),
purchases and brings in a reusable tumbler, recycles their cups, and gives their patronage to
Starbucks with the knowledge that the company is using a portion of their profits to constantly
try and lower their environmental footprint, they are reassured of their importance (Starbucks,
2013).

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The ethical sourcing section of the responsibility statement, more than the other two,
strives to resolve Packards need for reassurance of worth. Our uncompromising commitment to
exceptional quality is one reason our customers are loyal to Starbucks. They also trust us to have
ethical business practices, to be good environmental stewards, and to be respectful of the people
who grow and supply Starbucks products. Its our responsibility to earn and maintain their trust
(Starbucks, 2013). Starbucks selects programs and goals that strive to establish a direct
relationship between consumers and individuals theyve never met, through that relationship the
goal is customers will continue to shop at Starbucks, knowing that money they spend there is
indirectly bettering the lives of farmers and their families. Integrated into Starbucks business
model is a goal of loaning twenty million dollars to farmers in their supply chain and farmer
support centers to research new farming methods, encouraging a close relationship with
agronomists and local growers (Starbucks, 2013). By making these goals public, Starbucks
strives to make customers feel that they are making a difference by purchasing ethically sourced
goods. The ethical sourcing section of the responsibility statement also uses Packards need for
roots. We foster lasting relationships with the people who supply our products and create our
manufactured goods to produce high-quality products and build a stable, resilient supply chain
(Starbucks, 2013) Starbucks focus on a resilient supply chain is good news for consumers, who
with that information, will feel confident becoming long-term, loyal customers.
Starbucks has published a Global Responsibility Report detailing their progress towards
the goals previously set each year since 2001 (Starbucks, 2013). Publishing the report is one way
Starbucks cultivates its image as a caring company, an integral aspect of its brand. Loyal
customers depend on the continuance of this image, consumers will continue to feel good about
shopping at Starbucks, and because the company is so large, they may not feel the need to search

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out local small business coffeehouses. The stability of Starbucks as a business and as a brand
fulfills Packards need for roots. Additionally, as readers of the Responsibility Report are
frequently reminded, Starbucks asks consumers to submit opinions, suggestions, and new goals
to help them shape their efforts and to answer the question What is the role and responsibility of
a for-profit, public company? (Starbucks, 2013). Starbucks uses this to draw consumers into
their mission in a very direct way, this simultaneously resolves two needs, a consumers need for
a sense of power and their need for reassurance of worth. Consumers feel they have power over
Starbucks business model by suggesting what areas to focus on, projects to pursue, and charities
to support. This virtual suggestion box functions to fulfill the need for reassurance of worth
because contributors will ideally feel that they are making a difference in their local, national,
and international community.
Packards needs for creative outlets, love objects, and ego gratification are not clearly
addressed in the responsibility statement. The need for creative outlets and love objects were not
tackled in the report simply because they are not included in Starbucks business model. A
coffeehouse chain aims to make consumers life easier by fulfilling their caffeine needs and
wishes. Even in the responsibility report, customers are given easy ways to help and their
creativity is not needed, only their willingness to participate. Love objects are also difficult to
integrate into the responsibility statement. The company cannot offer a solution to empty-nest
syndrome, everything customers are encouraged to help support are too far removed from their
everyday life, the environment as a whole, growers in the tropics, members in their community.
It is near impossible for Starbucks to establish such a strong connection that would replace a
child love object (Larson, 2013). Lastly, the responsibility report also ignores Packards need
for ego gratification. Persuaders often target a group whose members feel they have been put

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down for some time and strokes their ego to make them feel really special (Larson, 2013).
This goes beyond reassurance of worth and is overlooked in the responsibility report because its
audience has not, for the most part, felt put upon for years. If however, the responsibility report
was written to an audience of current customers, prospective customers, and most importantly,
current and prospective employees, Starbucks would be able to include and resolve Packards
need for ego gratification by writing about how well their employees (partners) are currently
treated and goals to improve their working conditions. The absence of these needs is therefore
understandable and they do not need to be addressed, the document is persuasive enough as it is.
Conclusions and Further Study
This paper has identified five of Packards needs in the three sections of Starbucks social
responsibility statement. The variety of needs utilized in the statement amplifies its
persuasiveness because certain individuals may be more motivated by one need more than
another and vice versa. The company has successfully applied Packards needs and
consequently, motivated consumers to participate in their missions and in turn become loyal
customers. N. Craig Smith in his paper Corporate Social Responsibility: Whether or How?
states firms may be rewarded by increased patronage if they have a reputation for being socially
responsible there is also evidence to suggest that some consumers will pay a premium for
CSR (Smith, 2003). Starbucks commitment to social responsibility may very well explain the
rapid growth of a high end coffeehouse, even in economic slumps. This may show a promising
trend for companies in the twenty-first century. Corporate social responsibility statements offer a
symbiotic relationship between consumers and corporations. A socially conscious company may
be rewarded by loyal patronage, which customers would be willing to give in gratitude for a
company that aids them in their social goals.

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Starbucks very effectively employed Packards Hidden Needs to motivate consumers and
encourage them to become loyal customers. This is vitally important for the company, an
energized and loyal customer base is dependable and necessary for long term growth. Different
conclusions may have been drawn if the responsibility report were analyzed using another
theory, such as the elaboration likelihood model. With the amount of information and data
Starbucks supplies in its report, they may be encouraging readers to use central route
processing, which generally results in longer lasting, stronger persuasion. Were further research
attempted, it should analyze more documents than just the responsibility report. If Starbucks
briefly summarizes its corporate social responsibility statement elsewhere (i.e. in stores, on other
websites, or in press releases) peripheral route processing may be employed as it would lean
more on the immediate credibility of the source (Starbucks) rather than the evidence supplied in
the report.

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10

References
Larson, C. (2013). Process Premises: The Tools of Motivation. In Persuasion: Perception and
responsibility (13th Ed.). (131-137). Boston, MA: Wadsworth.
Smith, N. C. (2003). Corporate Social Responsibility: WHETHER OR HOW?. California
Management Review, 45(4), 52-76.
Starbucks Global Responsibility Report. (2013, January 1). Retrieved November 10, 2014, from
http://globalassets.starbucks.com/assets/98e5a8e6c7b1435ab67f2368b1c7447a.pdf