Title

Status Consumption and Role-Relaxed Consumption: A Tale of Two Retail Consumers

Abstract

Our study contrasts status-seeking consumers with role-relaxed consumers across personal, social influence, and market influence factors. The results of a survey of 598 consumers supported all but four of 15 hypotheses. The findings suggest that status-seeking consumers: (1) tend to conform to group norms, yet (2) maintain a need for uniqueness, (3) are susceptible to normative, but not necessarily informational interpersonal influence, (4) can be opinion leaders, but not necessarily opinion seekers, and (5) have tendencies that contrast sharply with role-relaxed consumer tendencies. In contrast, role-relaxed consumers: (1) do not generally conform to group norms, (2) are typically not susceptible to informational nor normative interpersonal influence, (3) do not pay attention to social comparison information, (4) are neither opinion leaders nor opinion seekers, and (5) have tendencies that contrast sharply with status consumer tendencies.

Department(s)

Marketing

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2006.03.003

Keywords

status consumption, role-relaxed consumer, retail consumers

Publication Date

1-1-2007

Journal Title

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 14

Citation-only

Share

COinS