Conspicuous consumption among middle ageconsumers: psychological and brand

antecedentsPaurav Shukla

Brighton Business School, University of Brighton, Brighton, UK

AbstractPurpose – This paper sets out to address the issue of conspicuous consumption among middle age consumers (40-60), focusing on the psychological andbrand antecedents, using the context of automobile buying behaviour. Existing literature does not clearly conceptualise psychological and brand antecedentand their effect on conspicuous consumption due to usage of inconsistent measurement techniques and being largely targeted at the youth segment.Design/methodology/approach – Two scales of measurement (psychological antecedent scale, brand antecedent scale) were employed to measurethe impact. The study involved a quantitative research methodology employing a structured questionnaire and quota sampling with a total sample of302 within the region of the South-East of the UK.Findings – The findings suggest that psychological and brand antecedents are of crucial importance among middle-aged consumers in influencingtheir conspicuous consumption.Practical implications – Using the examples of present communication strategies adopted by conspicuous product marketers, the paper argues howthey are missing an opportunity and provides them with a novel way to market their brands, focusing on how consumers associate themselves withthese brands.Originality/value – The paper is the first of its kind to explicitly investigate the impact of brand and psychological antecedents among middle-agedconsumers – one of the most significant segments for conspicuous marketers, yet so far understudied.

Keywords Consumption, Buying behaviour, Automotive industry

Paper type Research paper

An executive summary for managers and executive

readers can be found at the end of this article.

Introduction

Since the publication of Veblen’s Theory of the Leisure Classjust over one hundred years ago the theory of conspicuous

consumption represents a powerful critique of the neoclassical

theory of consumption (Trigg, 2001). Veblen (1994)

developed an evolutionary framework of conspicuous

consumption in which preferences are determined socially in

relation to the positions of individuals in the social hierarchy

in contrast to the neoclassical approach which focuses on

individual’s static maximization of utility according to

exogenous preferences. Conspicuous goods differ from

many frequently purchased goods as they satisfy not just

material needs but also social needs such as prestige (Belk,

1988; Grubb and Grathwohl, 1967) and the trend of

consuming conspicuous goods is making a strong comeback

across the world (Wong and Ahuvia, 1998). However, it may

be said that only recently researchers have started paying

further attention towards the phenomenon of consumption

conspicuous (Mason, 1984).

Researchers have explored how consumers use conspicuous

brands in their life and how they display their personality and

status through brand image (Chao and Schor, 1998; Langer,

1997). However, the focus of behavioural research, which has

examined the role of products as a means of self expression,

has been to describe the social and psychological

underpinnings of consumer behaviour, not firm behaviour

(Amaldoss and Jain, 2005). The phenomenon of conspicuous

consumption has significant strategic implications for firm

behaviour and raises some notable research questions with

regard to consumers’ psychological and brand antecedents

with the conspicuous brands. However, the earlier studies do

not conceptualise psychological and brand antecedents due to

inconsistent measurement techniques when investigating and

discussing the relationship and effect between brands and

conspicuous consumption, and therefore their results are not

comparable.Furthermore, it has been noted that consumers usually

choose different products and services over a lifetime and the

preference in clothes, furniture, and activity is also age-related

(Leventhal, 1997; Solomon et al., 2002). Previous studies in

the area of conspicuous consumption have been found to be

targeted to categories like fashion accessories, mobile phones

and other personal accessories for the youth segment (O’Cass

and Frost, 2002; Chao and Schor, 1998) but the middle-aged

consumers and their behaviour related to conspicuous

products and brands is seldom researched. According to

Spero and Stone (2004) middle-aged consumers possess

higher incomes, stable career and associated higher access to

credit and debit which makes them a lucrative untapped

segment in the area of conspicuous consumption. As observed

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

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Journal of Product & Brand Management

17/1 (2008) 25–36

q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]

[DOI 10.1108/10610420810856495]

25

by Underhill and Cadwell (1983) these consumers feel on an

average eight to nine years younger then their actual age andso there is a difference between their chronological age and

cognitive age as well as their spending habits. Nonetheless,

despite the market dominance and spending habits related toconspicuous brands of the customers in the middle age

segment (Barak and Gould, 1985), scant attention has beenpaid to the segment and its behaviour (Goulding and

Shankar, 2004).Hupfer and Gardner (1971) found that products vary in

their perceived importance to consumers, with cars perceivedas one of the most important possessions. According to

Mason (1981), people communicate with others and displaytheir status, personality and self-image not only by what they

wear but also by what they possess including their cars.Sudhir (2001) found that middle-aged consumers tend to be

the largest segment of conspicuous automobile purchasers.The brief discussion above suggests that there lies a clear

gap in our understanding of firstly, conspicuous consumption

with regard to psychological and brand antecedents andsecondly, middle age consumers and their conspicuous

consumption habits. Automobiles as a category is used forthis research as it represents strong association with

conspicuous consumption habits of middle-aged consumers.The rest of the paper is organized as follows. In the next

section prior research carried out in the area of conspicuousconsumption, influential factors on conspicuous

consumption, psychological and brand antecedents andmiddle-aged consumers’ buying behaviour is discussed. The

proposed model is presented after that followed by themethodology in the third section which is followed by the

results and their implications. Finally, the results aresummarized and the future directions are outlined.

Theoretical background and hypotheses

Middle-aged consumers: the segment of importance

Throughout history, across the globe, growth and

development have been influenced by a variety of social,

political and technological shifts. But underlying all thesechanges, one basic factor has remained relatively constant: the

relative youth of overall culture. However as observed bymany researchers (Szmigin and Carrigan, 2000; Goulding,

1999; Dychtwald, 1997; Farrell et al., 2005), for the firsttime, this axis has begun to twist and tip as we shift from a

youth-oriented to a middle-aged and mature society. Muchattention within the academic and practitioner communities

in recent years has been paid to issues concerning the practiceof marketing and advertising to young people (Lindstrom and

Seybold, 2003; Grant, 2004) but the middle-aged consumersand their behaviour related to conspicuous products and

brands is seldom researched. Middle-aged consumers are

usually described as people within a 40-60 year old agebracket (Cavanaugh, 1990). They have higher incomes, tend

to have their own career and are found to be spending moreon housing, cars and other big ticket conspicuous products,

whereas young consumers may spend mainly on clothing,internet, and mobile phones (Spero and Stone, 2004).

Blackwell et al. (2001) argue that middle-aged consumersusually purchase products or services with the aim of

satisfying their wants such as quality, being aestheticallypleasing, personal satisfaction, and being natural. This shows

that the middle-aged consumers actually are a potent market

for consumption of conspicuous items however this segment

has not been studied with conspicuous consumption in mind.

One of the reasons that this segment is understudied could be

marketers’ perception that this age group do not present the

challenges of either young or senior markets. However,

Goulding and Shankar (2004) comment that the middle-aged

consumers have the potential to be of interest to marketers,

particularly given their relatively high levels of disposable

income, interest in leisure and hedonistic consumption, and

the link between consumption, youthful self-concepts and

identity. In the present society where the idealization of

youthfulness, which pressurises consumers to remain ever

young (Thompson and Hirschman, 1995), the consumption

behaviours of this age group warrants greater attention.According to Mason (1981) people can communicate with

others and display their status, personality and self-image by

the automobile they purchase which is also reflected in the

study by Amaldoss and Jain (2005). Assael (1987) as well as

Kotler (2003) state that purchasing a car is a complex buying

behaviour since the product is usually expensive, bought

infrequently, risky, and highly self-expressive. Furthermore,

Chao and Gupta (1998) found that for a product such as a

car, consumers are usually affected by a product’s symbolic

meaning and then make an affective judgment on the choice

of product (Elliott and Wattanasuwan, 1998). It can be

observed that with regard to big ticket conspicuous items such

as automobiles (Sudhir, 2001) middle-age consumers are one

of the most important segments. Solomon et al. (2002,

p. 213), concluded that people usually choose different

products and services over a lifetime and their purchasing

behaviour is also age-related, even in the context of

conspicuous consumption. This means that the studies

conducted in the area of conspicuous consumption targeting

the youth segment (aged 18-35) relating to the categories (e.g.

clothing, internet, and mobile phones largely) would not

provide a reliable indication of the behaviour of conspicuous

consumption in the middle-aged consumers.

Conspicuous consumption and need for a separate

construct

Conspicuous consumption can be defined as “the act of

buying a lot of things, especially expensive things that are not

necessary, in a way that people notice” (Longman American

Dictionary, 2000, p. 296). Additionally, a clearer meaning

provided by Trigg (2001) suggests that conspicuous

consumption is behaviour whereby an individual can display

wealth through extensive leisure activities and luxury

expenditure on consumption and services. Duesenberry

(1949) argued that an individual’s conspicuous consumption

depends not only on the actual level of spending but also

spending compared with that of others. He emphasised on the

importance and effects of an individual’s reference groups to

their consumption patterns which has been supported by

various researchers (Easterlin, 1995; Congleton, 1989;

Rauscher, 1993). The viewpoint is further substantiated by

Wong (1997) who observes that with conspicuous

consumption, product satisfaction is derived from audience

reaction rather their utility in use. Moreover, Richins (1994)

found that due to the consensual nature of public meanings

related to conspicuous products, they influence the type of

possessions people choose to communicate – aspects of

themselves – to others.

Conspicuous consumption among middle age consumers

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Eastman et al. (1999) stated that status consumption is

based on conspicuous consumption (among other

contributions). To some extent the literature appears to lack

clarity and possesses significant overlap in the definitions of

status consumption and conspicuous consumption. O’Cass

and Frost (2002) noted that researchers have often used

status consumption and conspicuous consumption

interchangeably however in a later study they found that

both construct are different (O’Cass and McEwen, 2004).

From the above discussion it can be observed that there exists

an ambiguity and general consensus among researchers with

regard to conspicuous consumption construct.As observed by Mason (1984) there is no doubt that the

classical general theories of consumer decision processes do

not happily accommodate conspicuous consumption – a fact

which cannot be considered surprising in view of the

exceptional atypical nature of such behaviour. Whilst there

is considerable recognition of the importance of the

consumers’ social psychological environment, status-directed

consumption has been neglected primarily because of the

necessity to accept two fundamental assumptions when

developing a general theory. Firstly, that while both

“rational” (economic) and “irrational” (psychological)

elements of consumer decision making often influence

particular purchase decisions, the rational element has been

considered dominant by researchers and marketers alike.

Secondly, that product utility in use has been seen as the

consumers’ prime consideration in product evaluation and

purchase. These are necessary assumptions for a general

theory of brand selection and purchase. The problem,

however, is that the resultant theoretical models tend to

misunderstand or even ignore the “irrational” consumer

behaviour. And as conspicuous consumption is

predominantly “psychological” in its motivation and

expression there is a need for a separate construct focusing

on the “psychological” elements.

Psychological antecedents

Prior research has identified the existence of two competing

social needs among consumers: a need for uniqueness and a

countervailing need for conformity (Brewer, 1991; Fromkin

and Snyder, 1980). Nagel and Holden (2002, p. 92) argue

that when consumers purchase products to satisfy their need

for uniqueness, the value of the product increases as its

perceived uniqueness increases. In other words, consumers

could value a product less when more consumers own it.

Several researchers suggest that the need for uniqueness is an

individual-level trait (Brewer, 1991; Tian et al., 2001) which

provides one of the bases for conspicuous consumption. Trigg

(2001) supported this idea as it was found in his study that

one of the significant factors influencing conspicuous

consumption is a form of individual emulation of the social

group situated in a higher position in the hierarchy. O’Cass

and Frost (2002) further supported this argument with their

observation that conspicuous consumption is undertaken or

pursued in order to enhance one’s position in society, which

can be achieved through signalling wealth, public

demonstration and communicating affluence to others.

Conspicuous consumption provides that symbolic

representation of prestigious position within the social

network providing the psychological advantage to the

individual in the process of consumption.

Leibenstein (1950) highlighted that the bandwagon and

snob effects can also be essential factors influencing

conspicuous consumption. The bandwagon effect describes

a situation where consumers purchase products because

others are buying the same goods. In contrast, the snob effect

means that the market demand for a particular product

decreases because others are purchasing the product. The

occurrence of a bandwagon or a snob effect depends on how

social norms allocate status (Corneo and Jeanne, 1997a, b).

Duesenberry (1949) pointed out that income and

conspicuous consumption are correlated. Furthermore,

relevant literature provided by Congleton (1989) and

Rauscher (1993) suggest that income factors exert an

amplification effect and a discouragement effect affecting

conspicuous buying behaviour. Dubois and Duquesne (1993)

state that since conspicuous consumption is related to social

mode, the difference of social values among people may also

be a crucial issue when exploring the factors influencing

conspicuous consumption. In other words, if possessing

expensive and ostentatious products or services is viewed as

socially appropriate, an individual as a good member of the

society may have to subscribe to fit in with this behaviour.Several researchers provide various influential psychological

factors of status consumption and conspicuous consumption

such as, gain respect, popularity, noticed by others, show who

I am in the presence of others, (Bagwell and Bernheim, 1996;

Marcoux et al., 1997). In addition, a study done by Solomon

et al. (2002) suggests that consumers may purchase products

or brands in order to obtain their intangible values. The study

further classified these indescribable values as self-fulfilment,

sense of belonging, security, self-respect, warm relationships

with others, being well respected, and sense of

accomplishment arguing that conspicuous consumption is a

consequence of consumers’ desire to signal wealth. The

factors representing the intangible values were identified as

symbol of success, symbol of prestige, indicates wealth,

indicates achievement, interested in status and enhances my

image (Wong and Ahuvia, 1998; Heath and Scott, 1998;

O’Cass and Frost, 2002). This leads us to the following

hypothesis.

H1. Middle-aged consumers’ conspicuous consumption

will be significantly affected by the psychological

antecedents such as: gaining respect; gaining

popularity; being noticed by others; showing who I

am; symbol of success; symbol of prestige; indicates

wealth; indicates achievement; interested in status; and

enhance my image.

Brand antecedents and their importance in

conspicuous consumption

A study done by O’Cass and Frost (2002) examined brand

associations in the context of conspicuous consumption

tendencies. According to them as well as Park et al. (1986),

brand symbolism is what the brand means to consumers and

the broad spectrum of feelings they experience in purchasing

and using it. Chernatony and McDonald (1998, p. 131)

suggest that when an individual interacts with other members

of society, they learn the responses and attitudes of others

towards the symbolic meaning of brands, and thus their

consuming behaviour of brand is influenced by other people.

In addition, studies by Elliott (1997) as well as Elliott and

Wattanasuwan (1998) also found that when the whole system

Conspicuous consumption among middle age consumers

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of consumption is an unconscious expression of self, theconsumption of the symbolic meaning of brands is a socialprocess that helps an individual to construct and maintain anidentity. Based on the above discussion the followinghypothesis is proposed:H2a. Middle-aged consumers’ conspicuous consumption

will be significantly affected by brand symbolism.

Rosenberg (1979, p. 7) defines self concept as “the totality ofan individual’s thoughts and feelings having reference to himas an object”. According to Belk (1988) conspicuousconsumption is behaviour of acquisition and possession thatpeople tend to view as an extension of themselves and howthey want others to perceive them. Onkvisit and Shaw (1987)found that people generally associate their individual imagewith purchasing behaviour patterns, and their choices ofproducts and brands are frequently influenced by theirindividual image. More specifically, since conspicuousconsumption is behaviour whereby an individual can displaywealth through expenditure and acquisition in order toexpress self, factor such as self-concept, showing aninteractive effect between consumers’ self-image andproduct image, becomes an essential factor influencing it(Sirgy et al., 1997; Heath and Scott, 1998). This leads us tothe following hypothesis:H2b. Middle-aged consumers’ conspicuous consumption

will be significantly affected by their self-concept andbrand-image congruency.

Brand familiarity is generally viewed as a reflection of theextent of a consumer’s direct and indirect experience with abrand (Alba and Hutchinson, 1987; Kent and Allen, 1994).Flynn and Goldsmith (1999) suggest that brand familiarity isthe subjective knowledge of a consumer. In other words, itcan be described as what customers think and know about aproduct or service as well as brand. Kent and Allen (1994)found that the more consumers are familiar with a brand, thehigher the quantity of response and memory towards thebrand they have. Malhotra (2003) suggests that peopleusually perform evaluations by monitoring their subjectiveaffective response such as feelings, moods and emotions to thetarget product or service. Gardner (1985) describes brandfeelings as a phenomenological property of an individual’sperception aroused by brands. Feelings can also be significantfactors contributing to consumers’ attitudes towards brands,and influence their perceptions about brands (Agarwal andMalhotra, 2005; Chaudhuri, 1997). Looking through theabove discussion the following hypotheses are proposed:H2c. Middle-aged consumers’ conspicuous consumption

will be significantly affected by their brand familiarity.H2d. Middle-aged consumers’ conspicuous consumption

will be significantly affected by their brand-arousedfeelings.

The theoretical model has been presented in Figure 1.

Research methodology

Lambert-Pandraud et al. (2005) observe that middle-agedand old consumers have a tendency to repeat purchase and tolimit their purchase process to a few brands in case ofautomobiles. According to Mackintosh (2004) and Grant andMackintosh (2004), the Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Lexuscompanies have large volume of sales in the luxury car marketand they are generally perceived as a typical representation of

luxury cars and conspicuous consumption in the minds of

consumers. Considering the repeat purchase and loyalty

factor involved the respondents were filtered on the basis oftheir age group as well as the automobile they owned and their

future preference for buying an automobile. The studyinvolved a quantitative research methodology employing a

structured questionnaire and quota sampling with a total

sample of 302 within the region of the South-East of the UK.Quota sampling, the most refined form of non-probability

sampling (Bryman, 2001), was used as a survey basis in orderto produce a sample that reflects a population in terms of the

relative proportion of people in different classifications such

as age, gender, income and social class. Twenty-five responseswere removed from the dataset due to the respondents not

qualifying through the filters set for the study. The final

workable sample obtained was 277. Samples were drawn toobtain coverage on age (40 to 44 years, 45 to 49, 50 to 54, 55

to 60), gender, education (high school, graduation,post-graduation, others) and income (£25,999 or lower,

£26,000-39,999, £40,000-74,999, £75,000-125,000,

£125,000-199,999, £200,000 or above). An average of 47per cent of the respondents who were approached

participated.The questionnaires were personally delivered at the car

dealerships of BMW, Mercedes Benz and Lexus in the EastSussex county of UK. The respondents were firstly asked

about the age group they belonged to as well as the

automobile they owned. The main questionnaire wasdivided in three major parts. The first part examined

consumers’ attitudes on the issue of the interactive effectbetween brand antecedent and conspicuous consumption.

The second part probed into consumers’ psychological

association towards conspicuous consumption by usingvarious psychological items mentioned above in hypotheses

as independent variables. The items were developed from the

existing literature. These scales were evaluated for contentand face validity by a panel of expert judges in marketing, as

recommended by Converse and Presser (1986) andZaichkowsky (1985). Respondents were asked to rank a list

of items corresponding to the likert scale ranging from

strongly disagree to strongly agree. The third part containedquestions that highlighted the respondents’ demographic

information such as gender, educational background, andfamily income per annum. The questionnaire was pilot tested

by twelve middle-aged respondents in order to expose

questions which were unclear, ambiguous or impolite. Thepilot test assisted on content, question order and item

repetitiveness, leading to development of the final version ofthe instrument (Converse and Presser, 1986; Lim and

O’Cass, 2001).

Results

The results of the study are structured as following. At first,

the respondent profile is provided which is followed by results

obtained using the confirmatory factor analysis throughLISREL. Since this study aims to investigate the 40-60 year

old consumer segment, census data of the UK as a referencewas used to obtain a representative sample and the population

of England was divided into strata in terms of age and gender

and the number of people who should be in each group wereidentified. The population was divided into eight segments:

male and female aged 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, and 55-59. The

Conspicuous consumption among middle age consumers

Paurav Shukla

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Volume 17 · Number 1 · 2008 · 25–36

28

required number in each sample stratum was calculated as

shown in Table I as per the final sample size of 277.From Table I it can be observed that there is no significant

deviation among the census from which the desired strata

were derived and the overall quota sample considering the

factor or age and gender. The demographic profile of the

respondents indicated that gender of the respondents was

almost evenly distributed with, 48 per cent female and 52 per

cent male. The age profile also seemed balanced with people

aged 40-44 representing 28.87 per cent, 45-49 representing

27.44 per cent, 50-54 representing 28.88 per cent and 55-59

representing 14.81 per cent in comparison with the desired

quota of 26.46 per cent, 24.18 per cent, 26.89 per cent and

22.46 per cent respectively. The quota sampling method and

filtering of respondents assisted in bringing the actual sample

profile nearer to the desired sample. The education profile

Figure 1 Model overview

Table I The respondent profile age in comparison with population

Age group

Male desired

sample *

Male actual

sample

P1/P

(%) desired

P1/P

(%) actual

Female desired

sample *

Female actual

sample

P1/P

(%) desired

P1/P

(%) actual

40-44 40 44 13.17 15.88 40 36 13.29 12.99

45-49 36 36 11.97 13.00 37 40 12.21 14.44

50-54 40 39 13.29 14.08 41 41 13.60 14.80

55-59 34 25 11.14 09.03 34 16 11.32 05.78

150 144 * * 49.58 52.99 152 133 * * 50.42 48.01

Notes: *Data available from UK Census web site available at: www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/pyramids/pages/UK.asp; * *the male actual and female actualsample does not add up to 302 because 25 responses were found to be inadequate for the survey

Conspicuous consumption among middle age consumers

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revealed a mix bag of results with 46.5 per cent of respondents

educated up to high school, 28.1 per cent respondents with

graduate degrees, 10.5 per cent respondents with

postgraduate degrees and 14.9 per cent respondents with

professional degrees. More than 33 per cent of the

respondents reported an annual income of £40,000 or more

out of which 8.8 per cent of the respondents had annual

income of more than £75,000. Furthermore, 54.6 per cent of

the respondents reported their annual income between

£26,000 and £40,000.Maximum likelihood estimation structural equations

models (SEM) were applied to the covariance matrices. The

properties of the variables in the proposed model were tested

with a LISREL procedure (Joreskog and Sorbom, 1993), and

the maximum likelihood (ML) method of estimation was also

adopted. For the purpose of testing these hypotheses, three

steps were undertaken:1 Assessment of the whole model (i.e. goodness-of-fit

measures).2 Evaluation of the measurement part of the model, focusing

on the relationships between the latent variables and their

indicators for the purpose of determining validity of the

measures used to represent the constructs of interest.3 Evaluation of the structural part of the model for the

purpose of determining whether the conceptual

relationships specified were indeed supported by the data.

Briefly reported here are the modelling results of the overall,

measurement, and structural models.Several tests were performed to determine how well the

model fits the data. First, a confirmatory measurement model

that specifies the posited relations of the observed variables to

the underlying constructs with the construct allowed to

intercorrelate freely was tested as recommended by Sethi and

King (1994). In an overall measurement model, the adequacy

of the individual items and the composites were assessed by

measures of reliability and validity. The composite reliability,

as calculated with LISREL estimates, is analogous to

coefficient alpha and is calculated by the formula provided

by Fornell and Larcker (1981).Using the aforementioned goodness-of-fit tests,

corresponding results summarized in Table II show that the

entire structure of the proposed conceptual framework is

appropriate to characterize the interrelationships of these

latent variables. According to the assessment criteria

suggested by Anderson and Gerbing (1988), the estimates

of both GFI (GFI ¼ 0:95) and AGFI (AGFI ¼ 0:91) are

greater than the corresponding critical value 0.90; likewise,both RMR (RMR ¼ 0:041) and SRMR (SRMR ¼ 0:026) are

less than the corresponding critical value 0.050. The chi-square test (128.27) and root mean squared error of

approximation (RMSEA) at 0.040 indicate that the overallmodel provides evidence of a reasonable fit. The Tucker-

Lewis index at 0.99 also indicates that the model fit is

acceptable. Correspondingly, all the assessment measuresindicate that the proposed conceptual framework exhibits a

very good fit to collected data (see Tables III and IV).To test H1 to H2a-d two assessments of fit were conducted:

firstly, assessment of the measurement part of the model andsecondly, assessment of the structural part of the model. The

average variance extracted of 0.938 for psychologicalantecedent and 0.807 for brand antecedent are considerably

high against the reliability level of 0.5 suggested by Fornell

and Larcker (1981). As a test of discriminant validity, themethod suggested by Fornell and Larcker (1981) was

employed. The method suggests that the average varianceextracted for each construct should be higher than the

squared correlation between that construct and any otherconstruct. This test held, because the largest squared

correlation between any two constructs was 0.72, whereas

the AVE ranged from 0.81 to 0.94.To assess the measurement model, relationships between

the latent variables and their indicators were reviewed. For themeasurement model, all indicator loadings were significant

with a minimum factor loading of 0.405 for the variable“interested in status” to 0.971 for the variable “symbol of

prestige”, as evidenced by t-values in excess of 3.88. Thus, theindicators used to represent the latent variables of

psychological antecedents and brand antecedents were

considered valid. Looking through the above resultshypotheses H1 to H2a-d are accepted. Figure 2 provides the

details of standardized estimates of the relationships amongthe constructs and their respective t-values.

The assessment of the structural part of the model focusedon the linkages between the exogenous variable “conspicuous

consumption” and endogenous variables “psychologicalantecedents” and “brand antecedents,” was found to be

positively significant (factor loading 0.865 and t-value 32.35).

Discussion and implications

Overall this study makes two major contributions to the

literature related to conspicuous consumption: firstly, it

validates the strong contribution of psychological antecedentand brand antecedent as determinants of conspicuous

consumption, and secondly, it integrates multiple standardsof comparison into a single framework and ignites discussion

on the middle-aged consumers’ conspicuous consumption,which has not been studied previously in details.

Contribution of psychological and brand antecedents

towards conspicuous consumption

This study initially examined the extent of positiverelationships between psychological and brand antecedents

with conspicuous consumption among the middle-aged

consumers. Significant relationships were discovered. Thestudy was conducted to determine the relationships between

conspicuous consumption, psychological antecedents and

Table II Results of goodness-of-fit tests

Assessment measure Estimate Indication

Goodness-of-fit index (GFI) 0.95 Good fit

Adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI) 0.91 Good fit

Root-mean-square residual (RMR) 0.041 Good fit

Standard root-mean-square residual

(SMRM)

0.026 Good fit

Chi-square 128.87

Degrees of freedom 90

Root mean square error of approximation

(RMSEA)

0.040 Good fit

Normed fit index (NFI) 0.99 Good fit

Non-normed fit index (NNFI) 0.99 Good fit

Critical N (CN) 255.55 Good fit

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brand antecedents. In order to test the causal relationshipsbetween these variables, a LISREL model incorporatingmeasurement and structural equation modelling wasdeveloped and tested. It was confirmed that conspicuousconsumption is significantly and positively influenced bypsychological antecedents (gain respect, popularity, noticedby others, show who I am, symbol of success, symbol ofprestige, indicates wealth, indicates achievements, interestedin status, enhances my image (all H1)) and brand antecedents(brand symbolism (H2a), self-concept and brand-imagecongruency (H2b), brand familiarity (H2c), brand arousedfeelings (H2d)).

The data approve the hypotheses mentioned above.Moreover, it is observed that the psychological antecedentsand brand antecedents are a reliable contributor ininfluencing middle-aged consumers’ conspicuousconsumption. “Symbol of prestige”, “symbol of success”,“enhance my image”, and “who am I” are observed to beamong the strongest contributors. Looking through the abovevariables it can be argued that a product or brand is usuallyconsumed by the middle-aged consumers as an instrument inimproving self-concept and describes a particular image thatrepresents how they wish to be perceived by others. It can alsobe observed that a consumer’s actual self-concept (how theconsumer view him/herself) is a strong predictor forconspicuous consumption brands in comparison to othersself-concept (how a consumer thinks others see him/her).From this finding we can predict that the consumer wouldhave higher tendency to buy conspicuous brands which aretargeted towards their actual self-concept rather than ideal orothers self-concept.

The study also indicates that the consumers’ buyingbehaviour of conspicuous brands is affected strongly bypersonal factors (who am I, enhance my image) instead ofsocietal factors such as “gain respect” or “interested instatus”. This phenomenon also provides an insight into howconsumers want themselves to be seen while usingconspicuous brands. It can be inferred that consumers do

not want an explicit antecedent of status while consumingconspicuous brands. The study also reveals that consumersassociate conspicuous brands not only with wealth but alsowith achievement. These findings provide empirical supportto the discussion by Solomon et al. (2002) and Trigg (2001)who theorised the relation between wealth, achievement andconspicuous consumption.

The strong influence of psychological antecedents is alsoreflected in brand antecedent scale. It can be observed thatself-concept and brand-image congruency as well as brandaroused feelings contribute highly towards brand antecedentfor conspicuous consumption brands. However, the findingsrelated to brand familiarity appear to indicate that peopledo not have to be familiar with a brand in order to identifythe brand as a status brand and to desire or be willing toconspicuously consume it. Consumers may recognise thebrand name and image association but may not necessarilybe familiar with or even consider other aspects of a brand,to make such global evaluations. Therefore, despite the lackof subjective knowledge held by a consumer towards abrand, if they find meaningful symbolic characteristics, iftheir self-concept is congruent with that of the brand’simage and if they have positive strong feelings towards thebrand, then status attributed and conspicuousness ofconsumption of the brand will not be affected. Thiscoincides with the psychological antecedents where selfconcept related variables are seen to be highly influential. Itis suggested that automobile manufacturers should considerthis in their branding strategy. Their communicationtargeted towards these consumers should strongly reflectthe consumer’s psychological and brand antecedents. Thiswill also assist in generating positive brand feelings andleading to strengthen the organizations’ share of market,mind and heart.

It was observed that the present communication strategyadopted by various automobile manufacturers of conspicuousbrands focus on safety and security (BMW X5, MercedesBenz M class, Lexus LS), car’s features and pleasure of

Table III Measurement for psychological association and conspicuous consumption

Constructs and indicators Standardized loadings Indicator reliability Error variance

Gain respect 0.634 0.402 0.598

Popularity 0.673 0.453 0.547

Noticed by others 0.777 0.604 0.396

Who am I? 0.811 0.658 0.342

Symbol of success 0.965 0.931 0.069

Symbol of prestige 0.971 0.943 0.057

Indicate wealth 0.772 0.596 0.404

Indicate achievement 0.799 0.638 0.362

Interested in status 0.405 0.164 0.836

Enhance my image 0.848 0.719 0.281

Table IV Measurement for brand association and conspicuous consumption

Constructs and indicators Standardized loadings Indicator reliability Error variance

Brand symbolism 0.746 0.557 0.443

Self-concept & brand-image congruency 0.821 0.674 0.326

Brand familiarity 0.444 0.197 0.803

Brand-aroused feelings 0.816 0.666 0.334

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driving (Mercedes Benz E class and CLS, BMW 3 and 5

series, Lexus GS, IS and LS), as well as technical superiority

and performance (BMW Z3, Mercedes M class, S class and E

class, Lexus RX400h). However, none of them clearly focused

on the psychological antecedents that the consumers associate

with these conspicuous brands. Furthermore, the punchline

of these brands: “The ultimate driving experience” for BMW;

“Unlike no other” for Mercedes Benz; and “The Pursuit of

Perfection” for Lexus, all reflect the technicalities of the

products and did not focus on the psychological antecedents.

This shows that there is an interesting opportunity available

for marketers of conspicuous brands to differentiate

themselves in the marketplace.The study findings also provide further evidence on the

“Bandwagon” and “Snob” effects where it can be observed

that the uniqueness of a brand also affects the conspicuous

consumption. This also can be observed through brand

familiarity as the least influencing variable among the brand

antecedent scale variables. It is also observed that symbolic

meaning of a brand and especially its attachment to prestige

and success would provide the brand further leverage in the

conspicuous consumption market.

Integration of multiple standards of comparison into a

single framework

The second major contribution of the study is that it

integrates multiple standards of comparisons namely

psychological antecedent and brand antecedent into a single

framework for an understudied context of middle-aged

consumers’ conspicuous consumption behaviour.

Recognition of impact of psychological and brand

antecedent is important because it explains what factors a

middle age consumer considers when purchasing conspicuous

items. For example, from the above findings of the study it

can be suggested that if a company promotes its product or

brand as a symbol of success or prestige and positions itself on

the dimensions of achievement orientation it carries higher

chances of convincing the middle-aged consumer in

comparison to selling it on the proposition of status seeking

behaviour. As observed above, none of the conspicuous

brands really implement the same. However, Audi with its

focus on “never follow” punchline provides some association

through the overall communication strategy again focuses on

the technicalities of the car. Developing a meaningful

symbolic emotional relationship of the product or brand

Figure 2

Conspicuous consumption among middle age consumers

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with the consumer would hold the key to their consumption

of conspicuous items.Based on these findings researchers and practitioners can

predict psychological antecedents, purchase intentions, brand

preference and consumer attitudes for the conspicuous

brands via the measure of self-concept and brand-image

congruency. The findings provide marketers an opportunity

in differentiating their conspicuous brand in various market

segments by ascertaining the consumer’s self-concept and

developing brands that are consistent with the same.The contribution of the study is important in the context of

conspicuous consumption for several reasons. In today’s ever

changing marketplace, these research findings provide reliable

assistance to deal with the phenomenon of conspicuous

consumption in the marketplace. For instance, knowing that

middle-aged consumers are driven by conspicuous

consumption, practitioners would benefit from instilling the

core brand associations known to promote conspicuousness.

Ideally, the first step automobile manufacturers (and even

those organizations which are serving this segment) may want

to take is to differentiate products offered for sale and/or

selling environments along the identified dimensions of

psychological and brand antecedents instead of the sheer

focus on technically superior products or services. Rather

than attempting to be all things to all consumer types, the

marketers may elect to meet the special needs of a select

clientele. The selected clients may be differentiated based on

their own motivations by studying them further on the

provided scale and identifying what factors would work most

for them. As for automobile manufacturers the above stated

variables could be employed to engage in the process of

differentiation.The automobile manufacturers can create a branding

strategy which is based on brand’s symbolic meaning around

prestige and success. Communication efforts should

accentuate value-expressive appeals and concepts such as

achievement, prestige and the like, rather than simply

focusing on the brand’s utilitarian functions (O’Cass and

Frost, 2002). The strategy must also be providing a clear

message which the consumers can strongly relate to with the

brand image congruency. It also should be focused on

personal rather than societal factors which would generate

stronger brand associated feelings and would result in

strengthening of brand’s as well organization’s position in

the consumer minds as well as in the marketplace.The findings are valuable from various viewpoints. On the

managerial front, it provides marketers of conspicuous brands

with an interesting opportunity of marketing their brand in

the middle-aged consumer segment which has high potential

but is seldom studied. Moreover, it also provides marketers

with an insight into the specific category of automobiles in

which psychological association variables contribute strongly

to the cause of conspicuous consumption along with brand

associations however has been underutilized in the present

day communication strategy by the marketers. On the

academic and research front, the findings provide a new

development in the area of researching into the phenomenon

of conspicuous consumption as well as open discussion with

regard to the middle-aged consumer segment and their

consumption patterns.

Limitations and future directions

As the study was based on a single sector and single consumersegment, the findings should be approached with caution.From the study it can also be concluded that effects of

psychological and brand antecedents on consumers’conspicuous consumption will be different when examiningdifferent product and demographic target segments. Given

the focus on middle-aged consumers, generalisations beyondthis age group should be undertaken with some reservation.

Based on these limitations future research should extend thisarea of inquiry into other consumer segments, different typesof product categories and brands within them, and also focus

on different cultures. Focusing on consumer differences inrelation to conspicuous consumption of specific brands couldalso benefit by incorporating personality variables to help

understand such behaviour in details.The study of middle-aged consumers and their tendencies

towards conspicuous consumption is relatively new andunder-researched and therefore opportunities for futureresearch are ample. One example of future research may

include studying various other environments in terms ofmarkets and industries that have already differentiated

products offered for sale and/or selling environments alongthe identified dimensions of psychological and brandantecedents. The study can also be extended further to

determine the variation in sales and other measurements ofsuccessful business practices by employing the above stated

strategies.This study was limited to the South-East of the UK and

could be replicated in other parts of the world to observe the

similarities and differences among the consumers’conspicuous consumption habits. Organizations who deal

with conspicuous consumption products/services wouldsurely benefit from such studies.

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About the author

Paurav Shukla is a senior lecturer at the Brighton BusinessSchool, University of Brighton, UK. He possesses a wide

range of industry and academic experience from middle tosenior level across various industries. He has been involvedwith various EU funded research projects involving several

nations from the EU and Asia. He has been deliveringcorporate training and consulting assignments for various

organizations in India, UK as well as other EU and Africancountries. He is a guest editor for the special issue on“Emerging paradigms in Indian marketplace” for Asia Pacific

Journal of Marketing and Logistics. He has written widely inthe area of customer expectations management, and SMEmanagement in international as well as national level journals.

Paurav Shukla can be contacted at: p.shukla@brighton.ac.uk

Executive summary and implications formanagers and executives

This summary has been provided to allow managers and executivesa rapid appreciation of the content of the article. Those with aparticular interest in the topic covered may then read the article intoto to take advantage of the more comprehensive description of theresearch undertaken and its results to get the full benefit of thematerial present.

Mid-life high life – crisis, what crisis? Targeting older

conspicuous consumers

IntroductionWhen it comes to the youth market brand managers havecome to understand every need and vulnerability. Research

Conspicuous consumption among middle age consumers

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abounds in examining their purchasing behaviour for itemssuch as fashion accessories, mobile phones and otherextensions of youthful statements of “this is who I am”.When it comes to conspicuous consumption, purchasingthings, especially expensive things in a way that people notice,young consumers are in a league of their own – or are they?

For every youthful consumer there is a middle aged onewith more money to spend who would rather like to benoticed too. Those in the 40-60 age brackets are more likelyto have a higher income and a better job – a career in fact.They are out there spending their hard earned cash on bigticket items such as cars and houses, big, big ticket items.Bigger ticket items than a few clothes or a better mobilephone. Yet to read the marketing literature you would hardlythink so, until now.

In a rare study by Dr Paurav Shukla of Brighton BusinessSchool in the UK examines consumer attitudes in relation tothat good, old fashioned status symbol the automobile. Whiletheir utility matters, automobiles also provide a greatopportunity to display status, personality and self-image.People may feel they need cars, although that has becomecontentious in this more environmentally aware age. But theyalso provide a great opportunity to say “this is who I am”. Itseems that making this statement crosses the generations.How we choose to make it is where there is room fordifference.

Marketing’s missed opportunityComing to terms with conspicuous consumption among themiddle aged is to begin to address marketing’s missedopportunity – although it’s tempting to assume that there aresavvy car sales staff who know the emotions rather wellalready. However, the Shukla study reveals that there is morethat they can do, opportunities that are being missed. Thesurvey takes in customers of the BMW, Mercedes Benz andLexus dealerships in East Sussex in the UK, the University ofBrighton’s backyard. Focusing on how consumers associatethemselves with these brands holds the key to marketing themsuccessfully.

It is an interesting and conflicting area to look at. It leads usin to human emotions that pull in opposite directions – theneed for uniqueness and the need for conformity. The Irishmanagement academic Ivor Kenny dubbed it “freedom andorder”. There is a whole book in the subject. Ivor Kennywrote it. With conspicuous consumption the drive foruniqueness is the key. On this dimension, the greater theuniqueness of the product the higher the value ascribed to it –the more of them there are around the less they are deemed tobe worth.

A study conducted in the 1950s when language was simplernoticed the snobbishness effect and the need to jump on thebandwagon. Essentially if other people are getting them I

want one too; the need to be different and the need to be thesame once more. We are a contrary species!

It does get slightly more straightforward however as withconspicuous brands, such as BMW, Mercedes Benz andLexus, buying behaviour is affected more by the personalfactors – it says who I am, it will enhance my image – thanthe societal factors – e.g. gaining respect. Understanding thisis at the heart of addressing the missed opportunity.

Big names not quite hitting the spotAutomobiles are designed and built by engineers so perhapswe should not be too surprised when product and engineeringfeatures dominate the marketing messages, even forprestigious cars. Lexus’ “The pursuit of perfection” reflectstechnical aspects of the vehicle, BMW’s “The ultimate drivingexperience” highlights performance. It is emotion that will byand large determine the success of the sale. The big brandsare spending a fortune on glossy promotion without hittingthe spot in terms of the message.

Recognition of the impact of psychological and brandantecedent is important. It explains the factors that middleaged customers consider when making buying decisions forconspicuous products. The Brighton research integratesmultiple standards into a single framework for comparison.

The psychological associations to measure are:. gaining respect;. gaining popularity;. noticed by others;. showing who I am;. symbol of success;. symbol of prestige;. indicates wealth;. indicates achievement;. interested in status; and. enhances my image.

The corresponding brand associations are:. brand symbolism;. self-concept and brand image congruency;. brand familiarity; and. brand aroused feelings.

These are the factors to measure and the associations tostress. The opportunity is there for the taking.

In western society a prestigious car bought by someone inmiddle age is often considered a “mid-life crisis”. Well it’smid-life, but something more significant – an ongoing andsustainable pattern of purchasing behaviour, and anopportunity to get the message right, and do better.

(A precis of the article “Conspicuous consumption among middleage consumers: psychological and brand antecedents”. Supplied byMarketing Consultants for Emerald.)

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