Conspicuous Consumption Research Articles

Predicting the value‐based determinants of sustainable luxury consumption: A multi‐analytical approach and pathway to sustainable development in the luxury industry

AbstractConcern for the environment is prevalent among luxury consumers, and sustainable development has become a pervasive theme in the luxury industry. However, there has been limited empirical research on the burgeoning area of sustainable luxury to profile the characteristics of sustainable luxury consumers. In this research, we explore how value perceptions impact consumers' purchase intentions for sustainable luxury products by building an integrated predictive framework based on the theory of consumption values. We deploy a hybrid partial least squares structural equation modeling–artificial neural network approach with additional importance‐performance map analyses to study a sample of 894 luxury consumers in the United States. The empirical findings show that sustainable luxury is profoundly value‐driven. After accounting for linear and nonlinear patterns, functional, emotional, epistemic, conditional, and green consumption values exhibit significant positive impacts on purchase intention, with the exception of social value. Further, we elucidate a theoretically grounded mediator (conspicuous ethical self‐identity) and a moderator (green advertising receptivity) that buffer the link between consumption values and purchase intention. We also uncover cross‐generational disparities, in which millennials—compared to Gen X—display greater conspicuous ethical self‐identity as well as higher levels of green advertising receptivity and purchase intention. From a theoretical perspective, this research contributes to sustainability marketing literature and advances our understanding of the psychographic, behavioral, and demographic factors that influence sustainable luxury consumption. On a managerial basis, this research offers insights for luxury brand practitioners on how to leverage multidimensional value perceptions in their sustainable product positioning and communication strategies.

Benign (Malicious) Envy and Conspicuous Travel Consumption Intention: Mediating Effects of Self-Enhancement and Self-Control

Although tourism researchers have begun to explore the behavioral effects of envy, there has been limited empirical research on the effects of benign and malicious envies on conspicuous consumption intention in tourism. Based on the integration of cognitive appraisal theory, compensation theory, and self-control resource theory, using two scenario-based questionnaires, this paper applies structural relational and mediation analyses to explore the effects of benign and malicious envies on conspicuous travel consumption intention. The results indicate that benign envy can directly positively influence conspicuous consumption intention, and also can indirectly rely on self-enhancement motivation positively, thereby influencing conspicuous consumption intention. However, malicious envy cannot directly influence conspicuous consumption intention. This envy needs to rely on self-enhancement motivation to have an indirect negative influence and rely on weakened self-control to have an indirect but positive influence. The important theoretical and practical implications of these findings are then discussed.

Research on the Influence of ConsumerPsychological Motivation on Luxury Consumption Behavior

The rapid development of the world economy and the improvement of the income level of residents this has promoted the rapid increase in the luxury consumption market to a certain extent. This study aims to determine the influence of consumer psychological motivation on luxury consumption behavior. The population of this study was people coming from different classes. The data analysis techniques used were survey and literature research/analysis. This study showed that finance, culture, and social development significantly affect peoples purchasing psychology. In addition, the psychology of contrast, the psychology of seeking common ground, and the psychology of showing off produced by these objective factors promote the consumption of luxury goods. In the final analysis, luxury brands can promote their brands through social media, highlight brand logos and add new design elements to attract consumers and increase sales. This study can provide ideas for the luxury industry to solve the problem of maintaining a stable source of customers and even attract new consumer groups in the case of an economic downturn.

The influence of celebrities on the conspicuous consumption of Saudi youth

This study aims to assess the influence of celebrities on the conspicuous consumption of Saudi youth. A descriptive study using a social survey method with 309 randomly selected Saudi students was conducted. A questionnaire was used to gather data. The model included 36 questions. The study utilized the Likert scale, SPSS statistical software, mono-variation analysis, the least difference (LSD) test. The assessment of the sample demographic variables shows that the research population is diversified. The results showed that the most prominent areas of conspicuous consumption for youths were buying clothes, perfumes, cosmetics, and jewelry (the average was 2.70 out of 3). It was also concluded that the major way that celebrities use to present products to the audience is the indirect marketing method (the average was 2.87 out of 3). The main reasons behind youth following celebrities were the celebrity’s attractiveness and a large number of followers (the average was 2.89 out of 3). The manifestations of celebrities’ influence on youths were apparent in their conspicuous consumption as the youths were interested in being the first to buy the products announced by celebrities, which gave them a sense of distinction compared to their friends (the average was 2.89 out of 3). Unplanned purchases were the main difficulty that youth faced in regard to budget management (the average was 2.75 out of 3). The study recommends intensifying awareness of rationalizing consumption and eliminating the negative values of conspicuous consumption among Saudi youths. AcknowledgmentInternational Review Board (IRB) Statement: IRB Registration Number with KACST, KSA:H-01-R-059 Informed Consent Statement: Informed Consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.This research project was funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, through the Program of Research project Funding After Publication, grant No (PRFA-P-42-6).

Evaluating a pathway for environmental sustainability: The role of competitive industrial performance and renewable energy consumption in European countries

AbstractWith the efforts of the United Nations, environmental sustainability is becoming the subject of countries. Policymakers and researchers closely follow the environmental dimensions of Sustainable Development Goals. This study offers a new perspective for the European Union economies by directly targeting SDG 9 and considers environmental sustainability policies in selecting variables. To be more precise, this study probes the effects of economic growth, trade openness, renewable energy, human capital, and competitive industrial performance on the load capacity factor for EU countries over the period of 1995–2018. This study uses the CUP‐FM and CUP‐BC approaches due to cross‐sectional dependence and heterogeneity. In addition, the study does not ignore possible structural breaks. As a result of the empirical analysis, while economic growth, trade openness, and competitiveness worsen environmental quality, renewable energy and human capital contribute to environmental sustainability. Based on the panel data results, EU economies still rely on fossil fuels to maintain competitiveness in the industry. The EU, which has 2030 and 2050 targets, can eliminate the disadvantages of competitiveness by expanding the environmental quality‐enhancing feature of renewable energy and human capital. Moreover, this study provides SDG‐oriented policy recommendations for EU countries.

How conspicuousness becomes productive on social media

Increasing attention has been paid to social media influencers and their self-branding strategies; yet, a perspective that specifically focuses on such practices in terms of social status has still to be fully developed. This paper analyses how Instagram micro-influencers use self-branding practices as ways to construct and display social status and, secondly, contributes to shed light on the contemporary changes in status gaining and signalling. Moving from Veblen’s theory of conspicuous consumption, I contend that conspicuousness represents the main cultural logic underpinning micro-influencers’ practises, and it's characterised by a productive display of consumption. Departing from Veblen’s theorisation, the display is not an expression of wastefulness, but a productive element in the construction of social status. Employing a methodological approach comprising digital methods and qualitative interviews, the research shows how the logic of conspicuousness unfolds and becomes productive through consumption practices characterised by accumulation, access, and circularity. Furthermore, the results highlight how micro-influencers follow the logic of conspicuousness to construct social status by seeking exclusivity or negotiating belongingness.

Luxury consumption and the dark triad of personality

Consumption of luxury generates both psychological benefits and costs to consumers. The current work scrutinizes social costs of luxury goods consumption, namely how luxury brand consumers are perceived by observers. Across four experiments (N1A = 343, N1B = 374, N2 = 368, N3 = 113) employing diverse stimuli (brands and models), we tested the effect of luxury consumption on the perception of a consumer as possessing dark personality traits, mechanism explaining this effect and its boundary conditions. The results demonstrated that displaying luxury goods increases perception of consumer’s narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy, but this effect is not universal (Study 1A and Study 1B). These social costs were driven by increases in the perception of consumers’ impression management especially in observers with high levels of sincerity (Study 2). Furthermore, observers’ consumer brand engagement moderated the effect of luxury consumption on their perception of dark triad of personality: individuals with higher (vs. lower) level of consumer brand engagement perceived luxury brand consumers as lower (vs. higher) in Machiavellianism and psychopathy (Study 3).

Construction of MIL-125 derived 2D TiO2@C nanocake/Au/3D peony-like BiOI Z-scheme heterojunction for sensitive and facile photoelectrochemical sensing assay of Cr (VI) based on competitive consumption of surface sacrificial agent

Herein, an advanced 2D TiO2@C nanocake/Au/3D peony-like BiOI Z-scheme heterojunction was first designed as matrix for photoelectrochemical (PEC) assay by using heavy metal ion hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)) as a model. First, via calcination of titanium-based MOF (MIL-125), the p-type 2D TiO2@C nanocake with carboxyl was obtained. Second, Au NPs was generated in situ on the 2D TiO2@C nanocake surface. Third, amino functionalized 3D peony-like BiOI was combined with 2D TiO2@C/Au nanocake by electrostatic interaction to form the 2D TiO2@C/Au/3D BiOI Z-scheme heterostructure. Due to large surface area, multidimensional charge transfer paths and matched energy levels, this heterostructure produced a large photocurrent. Besides, Au NPs acted as electron shuttle mediator to engineer a Z-scheme charge transfer pathway. Simultaneously, ascorbic acid (AA) acted as surface sacrificial agent to eliminate photogenerated holes, enhancing the photocurrent. Cr (VI) could compete with the matrix for AA consumption by reduction reaction, leading to the decline in photocurrent. Based on the excellent 2D TiO2@C/Au/3D BiOI Z-scheme heterostructure and target-induced competitive consumption of surface sacrificial agent strategy, Cr (VI) was sensitively and accurately assayed (linear range, 10 nM to 200 μM; detection limit, 6 nM). The developed PEC sensing platform may have great prospect in environment monitoring.

Green mining of mining water using surface e-precipitation

Surface e-precipitation (SEP) is a largely unknown in separation electrochemical technique that uniquely combines the kinetic advantage of chemical precipitation with the advantages of conventional surface-based separation techniques such as electrodeposition/electrowinning (e-deposition), electrosorption, and adsorption. This work explores the potential of SEP in recovering valuable elements and removing toxic elements from mining water of a polysulfide ore origin. Without employing any reagent, in a simple batch-type laboratory setup with a carbon electrode, SEP alone or in combination with e-deposition can concentrate groups of dilute (20–30 mg/L) and ultradilute (<2 mg/L) valuable metals such as Zn, Al, Cu, Co, Ni, and rare earth elements (REE) vs gangue metals such as Mn, Fe, and an excess of Ca and Mg by an order of magnitude at highly competitive rate and energy consumption values which can reach 0.25 m3/(kg carbon ⋅ min) and 0.02 kWh/m3, respectively. The recovery and relative content of the concentrated metals can be controlled by the method design and operational variables such as applied potential, retention time (water treatment rate), and the number of stages. The uptake of Zn and Cu by SEP and e-deposition, respectively, is compared in mining waters and synthetic sulfate solutions. This comparison reveals that the ionic matrix of mining water promotes SEP but inhibits e-deposition. The comparison with the chemical precipitation at similar pH and reaction time shows that SEP has higher selectivity but lower recovery. These results demonstrate that SEP is a promising novel approach to valorizing and decontaminating acid mine drainage (AMD), process water, and metal-loaded wastewater.

Authentic vs. Hubristic Proud Consumers: Two Forms of Status Orientation Underlying New Luxury Consumption

Incorporating motivation for two forms of social status—prestige and dominance, this research examines the influence of authentic and hubristic pride on consumers’ preferences and purchases of new luxury products. Consumers with high authentic pride are found to seek prestige status, while those with high hubristic pride are inclined to achieve dominance status. Moreover, consumers with high authentic pride hold more positive attitudes and stronger purchase intention toward expertise-positioned luxury products. Consumers’ motivation for prestige status mediates the relationship between authentic pride and their preferences and purchase intention toward such products. However, we did not find reliable patterns for the impact of hubristic pride on consumers’ preferences and purchase intention toward aristocracy-positioned products. Overall, findings in this research enrich the theoretical framework of new luxury consumption by incorporating two-faceted pride with motivation for two forms of social status. These findings should make implications by enlightening marketing practitioners of incorporating consumers’ pride traits/states and status orientation to tailor positioning strategies for luxuries.

The interconnectedness of marriage politics and luxury consumption: a marital biographical perspective

ABSTRACTThe article examines how two symbolic arenas of Gabor Roma politics – the accumulation of wealth (with a special focus on competitive luxury consumption centred around beakers and roofed tankards made of antique silver) and marriage politics – are intertwined and interact with each other. The first part introduces Roma politics, describes the most important features of luxury consumption and marriage politics, and delineates the main types of interconnectedness and interplay between these two symbolic arenas. The second part, using a marital biographical perspective, sheds light on how one of these types of interconnectedness works through a detailed analysis of the establishment and dissolution of an engagement of historical importance among the Gabor Roma. This case study demonstrates why and how economic and political ambitions or constraints may shape individual and family-level strategies and decision-making concerning partner choice and marriage politics. The article serves as an insightful example of why a marital biographical perspective – based on concepts such as processuality, dynamism, relatedness, and context-sensitivity – is well suited to provide a nuanced insight into how the political economy of family life works in various ethnographic settings.

The Visual Luxury Consumer: Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Maison Schiaparelli

The luxury consumer is one of the most celebrated concepts in what is known as luxury brand management. However, this study of the associations between the visual, luxury, and the consumer offers new possibilities for thinking about the contemporary visual culture of luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Hermès, and Maison Schiaparelli. The article guides readers through issues at the heart of work on the luxury consumer, including the visual luxury consumer as practitioner, as an expert who uses their visual knowledge as part of their luxury consumption. What becomes apparent is that work on the luxury consumer is impossible to ignore for anybody who is serious about contemporary visual culture, and this investigation provides an ideal critical introduction to a wide variety of texts and topics related to luxury and consumption.

The challenge of integrating “intelligent” technologies in luxury shopping contexts: The role of brand personality appeal and consumers’ status consumption orientation

Current opportunities enabled by combining the Internet of Things and the Artificial Intelligence may allow marketers and managers to completely redesign shopping environments by integrating new interactive technologies in shopping environments. However, luxury brands have been typically skeptical to the implementation of technology, because of its conceptual contrast with the ideas of craftsmanship and human touch. To advance knowledge on the potential role of advanced technologies in the context of luxury, this study investigates the effect luxury shopping environment level of intelligence (low vs. high), in the shopping context of a luxury brand, on consumers' perceived personality appeal and, therefore, on their intention to buy. Additionally, this study sheds light on the moderating role of consumers' status consumption orientation, that is a relevant consumer-related characteristic in field of luxury consumption. Results of two experiments, conducted with international participants recruited online, where the level of technological intelligence is manipulated through Voice Assistants (Study 1) and Smart Mirrors (Study 2), show that the high (vs. low) luxury shopping environment's intelligence level positively affects consumers' willingness to buy through the effect of their perceived brand personality appeal. Moreover, this effect is moderated by consumers' status consumption orientation. Theoretical implications are discussed, together with managerial implications useful for effectively manage advanced technologies in luxury shopping environments.

The Evolution of Luxury Consumption and Conceptualization: A Synthetic Review

This study aims to comprehend the main themes of luxury publications from 1998 to March 2021 through a holistic review of luxury industry-related papers. To face a change in the post-pandemic, the development and limitations of academic research topics and methods in the luxury industry are also observed and discussed. A total of 307 academic papers with the word “luxury” in their title or keywords were collected. This research aims to draw a general picture of the luxury research stream and publications in terms of main themes, major research locations, the level of publication influence, and major affiliations. The study also summarizes research methods used in luxury publications and the network of main themes’ attributes. Bibliometric analysis and content analysis were used for the data analysis utilizing KH Coder 3.0. The results show a change in the research direction toward the luxury industry before and during COVID-19 through three main themes: marketing and management, consumer/customer psychology graphic, and product category. Although the research on the luxury industry is extensive, the systematic review of luxury publications is limited in the literature. This research addresses this gap through research themes on the luxury market. The results provide main themes and their components of research on the luxury industry, present the current trend in research methods, discuss limitations on method and topic, and suggest research agendas for the future direction of the luxury industry in the post-pandemic.

The Effect of Social Network Use on Chinese College Students' Conspicuous Consumption: A Moderated Mediation Model.

This study explored the effects of social networking site use intensity, upward social comparison, and optimism on college students' conspicuous consumption and their mechanisms of action using a sample of Chinese college students. A total of 717 Chinese college students (M = 20.08, SD = 1.44; 73.9% female) completed the Social Network Use Intensity Scale, the Upward Social Comparison Scale, the Life Orientation Test, and the Conspicuous Consumption Scale. The results indicate that (1) the intensity of use of social networking sites significantly positively predicts the conspicuous consumption behavior of college students; (2) upward social comparison plays a mediating role between the intensity of social networking site usage and conspicuous consumption; and (3) optimism moderates the second half of the mediating path between the intensity of social networking site use, upward social comparison, and conspicuous consumption. Specifically, the relationship between upward social comparison and conspicuous consumption among college students with low optimism levels is stronger than that among college students with high levels of optimism. Intensity has a stronger positive effect on conspicuous consumption through upward social comparison. It is concluded that the intensity of college students' use of social networking sites can affect their conspicuous consumption behavior through upward social comparison, and this relationship is moderated by optimism. The results of the study help to reveal the influence of SNS (social networking site) use behavior on conspicuous consumption and its mechanism of action and have implications for reducing the negative impact of conspicuous consumption on college students.

Uncovering heterogeneous prestige effect in luxury consumption: Insights from the Chinese luxury market

This paper investigates the impact of price-related factors on consumer choices within the Chinese luxury watch market. It explores how the positive prestige effect and negative substitution effect contribute to consumer preferences for luxury watches. Notably, heterogeneity in the prestige effect is observed at both the consumer and brand levels. Consumer-level analysis reveals a U-shaped relationship between family income and prestige sensitivity, emphasizing heightened sensitivity among lower and higher-end middle-income consumers. Top-tier luxury watch brands demonstrate a more pronounced prestige effect compared to lower-tier counterparts at the brand level. What-if simulations underscore the advantages of brand promotion and enhanced prestige, especially for top-tier brands. Income escalation benefits top-tier luxury watch brands, while its impact on lower-tier brands is intricate. These findings offer strategic insights for marketers to refine their approaches and harness the power of the prestige effect.

A Brief Analysis of the Combination of Luxury Goods Consumption and Cultural Tourism in China

With the development of globalization and social economy, the rapid growth of spiritual and cultural material demand, through access to online data, survey comparison method, looking for cultural tourism consumption and luxury consumption to meet the common spirit of consumer kernel, achieve innovative luxury brand visual image and cultural construction, use good "in the marketing" rationalize the purpose of cultural resources allocation. The combination of luxury consumption and cultural tourism can not only stimulate consumer consumption and promote the development of cultural tourism, but also the vigorous development of cultural tourism reflects on the development of luxury brands.

An analysis of British Michelin-starred restaurants: guests' online reviews

PurposeThis study aims to explore the perspectives of patrons and the underlying factors influencing luxury consumption in British Michelin-starred restaurants. While numerous studies have investigated consumers' purchase behavior of luxury items, there is limited research focusing on the utilization of premium restaurant services. Additionally, the hospitality literature has rarely addressed the emergence of discreet luxury consumption. Therefore, this research aims to examine the experiences of British Michelin-starred restaurants by incorporating online reviews from some of the most renowned establishments in the country. The initial objective of this study was to identify the predominant themes within British Michelin-starred restaurant experiences. Furthermore, the authors sought to analyze whether these main themes varied across different market segments based on guest types.Design/methodology/approachUsing text mining tools, the authors analyzed a sample of 4,393 online reviews. Qualitative data analysis was conducted using the Leximancer program, which identified the dominant themes. Additionally, the authors performed an analysis to identify the major narratives associated with different types of guests.FindingsThe results of this analysis demonstrate that guests express a high level of satisfaction with their experiences at British Michelin-starred restaurants. The dominant themes within the narratives include food, wine, restaurant, time, reservation and innovation. It is important to note that these narratives vary depending on the type of guest.Originality/valuePrevious studies have highlighted the importance of market segmentation in Michelin-starred restaurants. This research addresses this need by specifically categorizing British Michelin-starred restaurants based on traveler type and the main concerns of their customers. The extensive data the authors collected and the authors' approach to utilizing guests' testimonials instead of traditional surveys contribute significantly to the field of academia and restaurant management.

A Comparative Study of Conspicuous Consumption and Consumer Decision-making Styles among Turkish Consumers

The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of conspicuous consumption and the decision-making styles on Turkish consumers. The study also examines the comparison and of the conspicuous consumption and decision-making styles in the society and what the driven forces that impacts the consumers decision making and conspicuous attempts when intending to purchase. This study also illustrates the understandings of the relativity, comparison and differences between the conspicuous consumption and decision-making styles by understanding the directions and different aspects of consumer behaviours, this helps to generate important directions for future research in the future.

A new look at China’s environmental quality: how does environmental sustainability respond to the asymmetrical behavior of the competitive industrial sector?

ABSTRACT This research aims to expand the existing literature by bringing a new perspective to China’s environmental quality. Existing literature concerning China’s environmental sustainability disregards competitive industrial performance, which allows the analysis of Sustainable Development Goal-9. The study investigates the impact of competitive industrial performance, economic growth, and renewable energy consumption on the environmental quality (represented by load capacity factor) within the load capacity curve framework. Considering the positive and negative shocks in industrial competitiveness, the study runs the novel asymmetric ARDL with Fourier terms method to examine the non-linear connection between competitiveness and the environment. Empirical analysis shows that industrial competitiveness asymmetrically affects environmental quality and that the load capacity curve hypothesis is invalid in China. It is also evident that renewable energy contributes to environmental quality. Based on these findings, the study presents sustainable development policies for China within the framework of SDG targets. In this context, country’s rapid growth and higher-order industrial competitiveness strategies need to be redesigned in order to increase the share of high-tech activities in total manufacturing and the portion of renewable energy in total energy use. Accordingly, the Chinese policymakers’ primary objectives should be regulations that guide fundamental principles for enhancing environmental quality while preserving the country’s rapid growth and competitive advantage in the industrial process.