Psychological Ownership Theory: An Exploratory Application in the Restaurant Industry

Abstract

This exploratory study conceptualizes psychological ownership (PO)—a state in which individuals feel as though the target of ownership is theirs—and investigates how customers form PO toward a company. Considering the PO is a new concept to hospitality research, the study develops and empirically validates a conceptual model of PO and a PO measurement scale in the context of the restaurant industry. The model incorporates fundamental human relationship variables, such as sense of belonging, identification, and perceived control, as the antecedents of PO. The model also relates PO to several practically important consequences, such as relationship intentions, word-of-mouth communications, competitive resistance, and willingness to pay. The results generally support the proposed mediating role of PO between the antecedents and consequences, consistent with the initial conceptualizations. This study discusses the potential that PO may play in enhancing loyalty and relationship marketing research in the hospitality and tourism industry.

Generating brand awareness in Online Social Networks

“…The aforementioned GOF indices for the structural model indicate an adequate structural model fit (Asatryan & Oh, 2008). Alternatively, these fit statistics portray a good fit of the model with the data.…”

Effects of Psychological Ownership on Students’ Commitment and Satisfaction

“…The target may be both a physical and non-physical entity. For example, customers have been shown to experience PO toward their favorite restaurants (Asatryan & Oh, 2008), and children have been observed expressing possessiveness toward nursery rhymes (Issacs, 1933). PO is defined, thus, as separate and distinct from legal ownership.…”

“…The PO theory has been applied in a variety of settings, such as restaurants (Asatryan & Oh, 2008), clinical information systems (Pare, Sicotte, & Jacques, 2006), and student group projects (Wood, 2003). Pierce et al (2003) argued that PO fosters a sense of responsibility among employees in workplaces.…”

Hospitality marketing research: Recent trends and future directions

“…These studies addressed various topics including the factors characterizing successful loyalty programs across industries (McCall and Voorhies, 2010); loyalty within the casino industry (Hendler and LaTour, 2008); loyalty programs within the hotel industry (Hu et al, 2010); and a comparison of loyalty programs in the airline and hotel industries (DeKay et al, 2009). More general studies on CRM were conducted in the hotel industry (Lo et al, 2010) and in the restaurant industry (Asatryan and Oh, 2008), the latter with an interesting application of psychological ownership theory.…”