Effect of Materialism on Sharing Behavior in Pakistan: The Mediatory Role of Sharing Motivation and Utility

Abstract

Materialism and sharing seems to be self-contradictory. In today’s world, people cherish material possession but at the same time, we are witnessing non-ownership modes of consumption increasingly being adopted by consumers. Hence, this article investigates the role of materialism and its impact on the sharing behavior among the population of Pakistan. We proposed a theoretical framework thereby modifying Davidson et al., (2018) model of willingness to participate in sharing-based programs, to explain the link between the two. We highlight the motivation and utility factors that explain the material and sharing relationship. Materialism leads to sharing through motives such as Self, Relational, Hedonic, and Efficacy. These motives further affect perceived utility factors. They include Perceived flexibility, convenience, and availability. Material sharing nexus is also complemented by age and income factors. Empirical validation of the proposed theory was assessed by means of a survey based on a close-ended Likert scale type questionnaire. Data was collected from 214 respondents residing in Pakistan. It was later analyzed using structured equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis. Results suggested a direct impact of materialism on Willingness to Participate was insignificant, however, it has a significant positive effect on all four sharing motivations. Materialism doesn’t seem to affect perceived utility factors like Flexibility of resources, and convenience, but have a positive significant effect on ease of availability. The effects on motivations like hedonic and Relational doesn’t have any significant effect on utility except Hedonic on Flexibility. Moreover, increased Efficacy and self-esteem were mostly found to have a significant positive effect on utility factors except self-esteem on Flexibility. Among the motivational and utility factors, availability and convenience (utility), and self, efficacy, and relational (motivational) have a significant effect on sharing behavior. Moreover, income seems to have a week moderator effect on materialism sharing nexus. Hence, self-esteem directly mediate sharing and materialism relationship as well as indirectly through perceived availability. Similarly, availability and relational motivation mediate sharing and materialism relationship. And lastly, efficacy indirectly mediate through availability. In short, this research shows that under certain circumstances, materialism will lead to greater participation in the sharing economy.