Impact of Direct Interaction with Virtual Objects through Touchscreens on Enhancing Psychological Ownership and Endowment Effect

Abstract

As e-shopping continues to grow, with a significant nudge from the pandemic, more research is needed to find out how we can deal with reluctance caused by people’s inability to touch online bought products. Previous studies found that psychological ownership is an important predictor of individuals’ attitudes, while the endowment effect, in particular, impacts the finalization of economic transactions. In this article, we explore the impact of direct interaction with virtual objects through touchscreens on enhancing psychological ownership and endowment effect. Moreover, we explore if the product type influences the degree of psychological ownership manifested by consumers and if the individual differences in terms of need for touch moderate the relationship between the interface and psychological ownership, respectively endowment effect. We also analyzed if virtually touching the products through a tactile interface impacts psychological ownership and endowment effect compared to the situation when the products are analyzed on a mouse interface. Results highlight that studying products on a touchscreen will not lead to an increased psychological ownership and enhanced endowment effect compared to studying them on a no-touch interface. However, participants who studied the material products on touchscreen reported a higher psychological ownership. Touchscreens lead to an enhanced perceived touch, which will trigger a higher level of psychological ownership. Comparing the impact of touch on two touchscreen devices, results showed that tablets will determine an increased psychological ownership compared to smartphones.