Path to sustainable luxury brand consumption: face consciousness, materialism, pride and risk of embarrassment

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to examine the roles of face consciousness, materialism and emotions play in sustainable luxury brand consumption (SLBC) among Millennials in a Collective society. Design/methodology/approach Three experimental design studies using scenario-based methodologies along with the survey method were conducted in China to test the proposed research model. Findings Study 1 shows that face consciousness negatively and significantly affects SLBC, and this effect is mediated by materialism. Study 2 reveals that when Millennials experienced great authentic pride, there is a positive association between face consciousness and SLBC. Furthermore, Study 3 reveals that when Millennials are exposed to a high risk of embarrassment, materialists’ willingness to engage in SLBC increases. Research limitations/implications The current research has significant theoretical implications for studying SLBC, especially among young consumers. This study contributes to a better understanding of the relationships among face consciousness, materialism, pride, risk of embarrassment and SLBC in a Collective culture context, where luxury consumption is valued. Originality/value Sustainable luxury consumption is a new and under-examined research area. This research extends the SLBC literature in the context of a collective society and provides empirical evidence for sustainable consumption and luxury consumption in general. The research also contributes to the literature by examining the moderating role of self-conscious emotion in the relationship between face consciousness and SLBC.

If tomorrow never comes: the impact of anxiety, materialism and attitude on consumption behavior in a pandemic

“…Consumption as a coping strategy (e.g. buying or consuming luxury goods) against mortality further depends on materialism (Kasser and Sheldon, 2000;Islam et al, 2021aIslam et al, , 2021b. For example, materialists (vs non-materialists) are more likely to impulsively buy luxury goods to cope with death-related anxiety (Audrin et al, 2018).…”

“…Individuals use multiple coping strategies to deal with anxiety (Pyszczynski et al , 2021). In the past, events like 9/11 (September 11, 2001) have challenged consumers’ beliefs about life’s uncertainty, leading to a significant increase in consumption, materialism and donations (Arndt et al , 2004; Islam et al , 2021a; Xu and Leung, 2019). Some consumers tend to splurge on goods and costly possessions as a buffer mechanism against anxiety and mortality salience (Arndt et al , 2004; Cui et al , 2020).…”

Effects of Embarrassment on Self-Serving Bias and Behavioral Response in the Context of Service Failure

“…Customer embarrassment may even induce negative word-of-mouth intentions. This dark side of embarrassing situations can cause misunderstandings and lost opportunities for firms [21,23,41]. This study thus attempts to explore the attribution of locus in relation to customer embarrassment in service encounters.…”

“…Specifically, embarrassment is also a consumption emotion that is highly relevant to face-to-face service encounters [10] and is a strong motivating force affecting decisions [19]. Previous studies have focused on examining embarrassment in relation to the purchase of sensitive products [11,20,21] or coupon usage [22,23]. However, there has been a gap in research, as there has been no prior investigation into the role that is played by embarrassment in service failures and its impact on variables such as service failures and locus attribution.…”

Sustainable Behaviors and Personality Moderating the Status Goal and Purchase Intention Relationship of Luxury Brands

“…Researchers have been paying attention to the interplay of two opposing arguments: consumers seeking to experience feelings of uniqueness and disassociation from the majority (Eastman et al, 2021) and consumers seeking luxury brands with ethical appeal to gain a good reputation (Leban et al, 2020), resulting in acceptance or recognition by others (Islam et al, 2022). Perceived brand environmental ethics may result in cues of perceived value for luxury consumers (Vanhamme et al, 2023).…”