How purchase type affects luxury consumption sharing Intention on social media- the moderating role of psychological entitlement

Abstract

In recent years, consumers’ use of social media has becoming an emerging area of interest within the field of luxury marketing research. Despite this interest, there has been a lack of extensive academic research investigating consumers’ showcasing intention on social media, especially addressing the antecedents and factors that influence luxury consumers’ consumption-related sharing. In order to address these limitations, this thesis examines the conditions under which luxury consumption might be shared online more by consumers. This thesis adopts an experimental approach to examining consumption-related sharing intention. Based on previous literature, this study proposes three factors that will influence consumers’ social media sharing intention, namely: brand type (non-luxury vs. luxury), purchase type (material vs. experiential) and psychological entitlement (low vs. high). Two between-subject experimental studies were conducted to assess the joint effect of brand type, purchase type and psychological entitlement on consumers’ Facebook (Study 1) and overall social media sharing intention (Study 2). The research demonstrates that brand type, purchase type and psychological entitlement jointly predict a consumers’ Facebook and other social media sharing intention. The findings reveal that luxury will be shared more than non-luxury when it is material purchase and only among highly entitled people. These findings are supportive in indicating that luxury consumption has stronger communicative standing, and also demonstrate the impact of purchase type on consumption-related sharing. The findings indicate that, unlike sharing among general consumers, luxury consumers might be more willing to share material (vs. experiential purchase) when they have high levels of psychological entitlement. Further, the research highlights the role of psychological entitlement in determining luxury consumers’ choice of purchase (i.e., material vs. experiential) to share on social media. Overall, the findings offer both managerial and theoretical implications, and enrich the understanding of luxury consumption-related sharing.