Influence of Social Exclusion on Conspicuous Consumption: Moderating Effect of Attribution and Self-Esteem

Abstract

Purpose - This research aims to investigate the influence of social exclusion on conspicuous consumption. Specifically this research suggested that the influence of social exclusion on conspicuous consumption would be different depending on consumers’ psychological characteristics such as internal attribution tendency and self-esteem. Design/methodology/approach - The experiment was conducted to verify hypotheses. 110 sample data were collected from the experiment and SPSS PROCESS Macro was used for data analysis. Findings - The result revealed that the interaction effect of social exclusion and internal attribution was significant. Specifically, social exclusion had on positive impact on conspicuous consumption for consumers with high level of internal attribution tendency. In addition, conspicuous consumption was pronounced for consumers having both high level of internal attribution and low level of self-esteem. Research implications or Originality - The result is expected to expand the research scope on social exclusion and conspicuous consumption, and provide practical implications for marketers.