This is my house! Exploring the differential effects of rapport on consumer space psychological ownership

Purpose Maintaining the rapport between consumers and frontline employees (FLEs) is one of the most important marketing strategies in marketing practice. This study aims to understand the mechanism of rapport on consumers’ space psychological ownership and purchase likelihood, as well as the moderating roles of contact frequency and consumption choices. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected data from 632 participants and analyzed it through three online experiments and two pre-experiments to test four hypotheses. Findings The results show that space psychological ownership is positively related to rapport, thereby increasing consumers’ purchase likelihood. In addition, the authors verify that two common rapport-building behaviors by FLEs have differential effects on space psychological ownership: non-purchase-related similarities (versus purchase-related similarities) exert a more significant impact due to differences in perceived relationship norms. Furthermore, this effect is more pronounced during first-time (versus frequent) contact with FLEs. Finally, the authors found that when consumers were making hedonic (versus utilitarian) choice, they were more responsive to FLEs’ strategy of non-purchase-related similarities rather than purchase-related similarities in the consumption space. Originality/value This study provides insights into a new perspective to understand rapport and psychological ownership and builds on the relationship norms literature to explain why different rapport-building behaviors will have differential impacts. This study concludes by exploring the moderating role of contact frequency and consumption choices, which informs the expansion of the boundaries of theoretical mechanisms and the development of more targeted market strategies.