Luxury in Emerging Markets: An Investigation of the Role of Subjective Social Class and Conspicuous Consumption

Sustainability

Jiajia Chen¹  Ziyuan Liu¹  Yang Luo¹  Mengge Chen¹  Jingke Gao²  Lingxue Bu² 

[1] Department of Business Administration, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430000, China;School of Economics and Management, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430000, China;

关键词: subjective social class;    conspicuous consumption;    status anxiety;    social comparison orientation;   

DOI  :  10.3390/su14042096

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

This study is based on the relationship between the anxiety of social groups (especially the young) in today’s social environment and the increasingly younger and more sociable consumer groups in China’s luxury market. In combination with the new consumption characteristics of sustainable luxury goods, we rethink the factors that contribute to conspicuous consumption behavior in which social groups exhibit differences. In order to test our research hypothesis, two questionnaires were conducted through online channels. In the first survey, data from 135 valid subjects showed a significant negative correlation between subjective social class and conspicuous consumption behavior. In the second survey, data obtained from 255 valid subjects again verified the main effect hypothesis of this study, which is that subjective social class has a significant negative influence on conspicuous consumption. Additionally, it is verified that status anxiety plays a mediating role in the influence mechanism of subjective social class on conspicuous consumption, and the social comparison orientation of individual consumers moderates the influence of subjective social class on status anxiety. This study reveals the applicability of subjective social class to Chinese scenarios and finds that individuals of different social classes have different conspicuous consumption behaviors, which expands the research on the antecedents of conspicuous consumption and enriches the research on consumer psychology and social behavior. In practice, the results of this study will play a positive guiding role in rationally regulating psychology, dispelling social anxiety, reshaping the moral concept of conspicuous consumption, and promoting the sustainable development of luxury consumption at the individual or social level.

【 授权许可】

Unknown