Tourism experiences vs. material purchases: Effects of eudaimonic consumption motive on consumers’ reactions to invidious comparisons

Abstract

Due to easy travel information access, tourists nowadays are susceptible to invidious post-purchase comparisons (e.g. realizing a better deal after purchase), which may compromise their satisfaction and further hurt the business. To understand this less-tapped issue, particularly in a context closer to reality where people spend limited discretionary income on both tourism experiences and material possessions, this study investigates to what extent people are disturbed by invidious comparisons in tourism experiential versus material consumptions. Drawing on the experience recommendation theory and eudaimonia-hedonia literature, we propose the presence of eudaimonic consumption motive as a critical determinant of resistance to invidious comparisons. Moreover, the implicit eudaimonic motive is the key contributor to the greater resistance of tourism experiential purchases to invidious comparisons than material purchases. Findings from two experimental studies supported these propositions. This study bridges and expands both experience recommendation and eudaimonia literature, while also informs approaches for alleviating invidious comparisons.