The motivations of conspicuous consumption in the digital age

Purpose Conspicuous consumption (CC) is a phenomenon with tremendous significance to marketing theory, practice, and potentially, consumer welfare. Yet few studies have focused on the underlying reasons why individuals engage in CC. We characterize CC as being driven by a complex interplay of economic, psychological and social factors. Design/methodology/approach In Study 1 (n = 399), nine justifications were inspired from a review of the literature and operationalized with multi-item statements: snobbery, bandwagon, happiness, confidence, identity-building, distinctiveness, economic-scarcity, social-capital and quality. These nascent constructs were embedded within a nomological net of measures for pertinent individual-level characteristics (materialism, self-esteem and need-for-uniqueness), internally-held sociocultural values (vertical/horizontal dimensions of individualism-collectivism), social desirability bias, as well as two existing unidimensional scales for measuring behavioral aspects of CC. In Study 2, using a more representative sample (n = 393) we sought to replicate the CC dimensions and we investigated how these dimensions associate with social media (SM) use, SM motivations and SM addiction, alongside the constructs from Study 1. Findings In both studies 1 and 2, results empirically validated eight of the nine posited CC dimensions and corroborated many hypotheses regarding these motivations’ relationships with other constructs. We pinpointed which CC motivations are most strongly linked to CC behaviors, how these motivations are shaped by individual difference and sociocultural factors and whether and which CC motivations are exacerbated by SM use. Originality/value The CC scale allows for a finer-grained understanding of the complex nature of CC. The findings offer implications for segmentation, brand positioning and communication strategies, in terms of clarifying the various mechanisms behind CC and how these motivations are associated with different individual- and cultural- level characteristics. From a consumer welfare standpoint, the insights generated are useful for informing interventions to counteract potentially maladaptive consumer behaviors.