Abstract
PurposeThis paper aims to examine how social comparison (SC) and belief in karma (KA) encourage materialism (MAT) and promote consumers’ life satisfaction (LS).Design/methodology/approachTwo studies were conducted with Indian middle class consumers to test the basic premises of the current research. The first one used a survey (N = 247), while the second one used an experimental design (N = 206).FindingsThe survey results showed that SC and belief in KA promoted MAT amongst Indian consumers and further enhanced their LS. Findings from the experiment revealed a novel two-way interaction, in that the KA–MAT relationship was moderated by the underlying motivation for MAT.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research may validate and extend our findings using different samples to increase external validity.Practical implicationsBy explaining the interactive effects of MAT, its underlying motivation and belief in KA, managers will gain a better understanding of why consumers in an emerging market like India purchase conspicuous products.Originality/valueThis is the first paper to study how the KA–MAT relationship influences LS amongst consumers in the world’s fastest-rising economy. Furthermore, no prior research has reported a boundary condition for the KA–MAT relationship studied here. The findings contribute to an extremely limited body of literature on KA and consumption.
Highlights
Materialism has received considerable academic attention due to its influence on consumers’ psychological well-being and consumption behaviour (Belk, 1983; Burroughs and Rindfleisch, 2002; Wang, 2016; Xiao and Kim, 2009)
The limited body of work collectively shows that the underlying motivation for human behaviour can be influenced by karmic belief (Kulow and Kramer, 2016; Converse et al, 2012; Kopalle et al, 2010). Building on this body of literature, we propose that the influence of karma in promoting material values can be further moderated by the underlying motivation for materialism
We further provide causal evidence for how the karma–materialism path is moderated by the underlying motivation for material pursuit
Summary
Materialism has received considerable academic attention due to its influence on consumers’ psychological well-being and consumption behaviour (Belk, 1983; Burroughs and Rindfleisch, 2002; Wang, 2016; Xiao and Kim, 2009). In general, shows that the pursuit of materialism can diminish wellbeing amongst consumers (Burroughs and Rindfleisch, 2002; Dittmar et al, 2014; Ryan and Dziurawiec, 2001). Despite the broad finding that materialism can negatively influence well-being (Dittmar et al, 2014), previous works show that, in certain situations, it can enhance life satisfaction. Despite the rise of materialism in emerging countries in general (Cleveland et al, 2009; Sharma, 2011), and the splurge of consumer spending amongst more than 1.2 billion Indians (Dheer et al, 2015), evidence regarding the influence of materialism on the life satisfaction of Indian consumers is scant (Gap 1)
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