More or less? The effects of financial constraints on variety-seeking behavior

Abstract

PurposeIn daily life, consumers usually experience economic limitations on their consumption, which in turn results in experiencing financial constraints. The purpose of this article is to examine how feeling financially constrained influences variety seeking in consumption.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted three experiments to test the proposed hypotheses by applying multiple methods of manipulation of financial constraints and different measures of variety seeking.FindingsThe authors found that feeling financially constrained increases consumers’ insecurity, which in turn decreases their variety-seeking behavior. Additionally, the authors noted that individuals’ positive illusion could moderate the aforementioned effect. The negative effect of financial constraints on variety seeking only existed among consumers with a low positive illusion.Practical implicationsThe findings in this article could help marketers attain a better understanding of consumers’ choices under financial constraints and could help retailers optimize their product lines and distribution.Originality/valueThis research marks the first attempt to examine the relationship between financial constraint and variety seeking. The findings make for a valuable addition to both the financial constraint and variety-seeking literature reviews. The research study also extends the literature on how insecurity and positive illusion influence individuals’ decisions in the consumption context.