TY - JOUR
T1 - Mixed signals? Decoding luxury consumption in the workplace
AU - Lee, Saerom
AU - Bolton, Lisa E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2020/9
Y1 - 2020/9
N2 - The present research focuses on luxury (vs. non-luxury) consumption in a workplace setting, a social environment integral to consumers’ everyday life, and theorizes that interpersonal inferences based upon luxury (vs. non-luxury) consumption cues will depend upon relative status in the workplace (e.g., managers vs. employees). Across five studies, we show that (i) luxury (vs. non-luxury) consumption by higher-status consumers has negative effects on observers’ reactions due to inferences of lack of warmth; whereas (ii) luxury (vs. non-luxury) consumption by lower-status consumers has positive effects on observers’ reactions due to inferences of competence. We further explore how this reversal and the underlying inferential mechanism are altered by observer characteristics (implicit self-theories, employee/investor emphasis on warmth/competence) and signal characteristics (luxury brand prominence, impression motive cues). Together, our findings demonstrate how the mixed signals of luxury consumption are interpreted in the workplace, with implications for consumers, marketers, and the workplace itself.
AB - The present research focuses on luxury (vs. non-luxury) consumption in a workplace setting, a social environment integral to consumers’ everyday life, and theorizes that interpersonal inferences based upon luxury (vs. non-luxury) consumption cues will depend upon relative status in the workplace (e.g., managers vs. employees). Across five studies, we show that (i) luxury (vs. non-luxury) consumption by higher-status consumers has negative effects on observers’ reactions due to inferences of lack of warmth; whereas (ii) luxury (vs. non-luxury) consumption by lower-status consumers has positive effects on observers’ reactions due to inferences of competence. We further explore how this reversal and the underlying inferential mechanism are altered by observer characteristics (implicit self-theories, employee/investor emphasis on warmth/competence) and signal characteristics (luxury brand prominence, impression motive cues). Together, our findings demonstrate how the mixed signals of luxury consumption are interpreted in the workplace, with implications for consumers, marketers, and the workplace itself.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.06.011
DO - 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.06.011
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85102049556
SN - 0148-2963
VL - 117
SP - 331
EP - 345
JO - Journal of Business Research
JF - Journal of Business Research
ER -