Conspicuous consumption among middle age consumers: psychological and brand antecedents

Paurav Shukla
Brighton Business School, University of Brighton, Brighton, UK
Abstract Purpose This paper sets out to address the issue of conspicuous consumption among middle age consumers (40-60), focusing on the psychological and brand antecedents, using the context of automobile buying behaviour. Existing literature does not clearly conceptualise psychological and brand antecedent and 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 measure the impact. The study involved 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. Findings The ndings suggest that psychological and brand antecedents are of crucial importance among middle-aged consumers in inuencing their conspicuous consumption. Practical implications Using the examples of present communication strategies adopted by conspicuous product marketers, the paper argues how they are missing an opportunity and provides them with a novel way to market their brands, focusing on how consumers associate themselves with these brands. Originality/value The paper is the rst of its kind to explicitly investigate the impact of brand and psychological antecedents among middle-aged consumers one of the most signicant 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 Veblens Theory of the Leisure Class just 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 individuals 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).
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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 rm behaviour (Amaldoss and Jain, 2005). The phenomenon of conspicuous consumption has signicant strategic implications for rm 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 (OCass 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 25

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by Underhill and Cadwell (1983) these consumers feel on an average eight to nine years younger then their actual age and so 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 to conspicuous brands of the customers in the middle age segment (Barak and Gould, 1985), scant attention has been paid 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 perceived as one of the most important possessions. According to Mason (1981), people communicate with others and display their 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 rstly, conspicuous consumption with regard to psychological and brand antecedents and secondly, middle age consumers and their conspicuous consumption habits. Automobiles as a category is used for this 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 conspicuous consumption, inuential factors on conspicuous consumption, psychological and brand antecedents and middle-aged consumers buying behaviour is discussed. The proposed model is presented after that followed by the methodology in the third section which is followed by the results and their implications. Finally, the results are summarized 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 inuenced by a variety of social, political and technological shifts. But underlying all these changes, one basic factor has remained relatively constant: the relative youth of overall culture. However as observed by many researchers (Szmigin and Carrigan, 2000; Goulding, 1999; Dychtwald, 1997; Farrell et al., 2005), for the rst time, this axis has begun to twist and tip as we shift from a youth-oriented to a middle-aged and mature society. Much attention within the academic and practitioner communities in recent years has been paid to issues concerning the practice of marketing and advertising to young people (Lindstrom and Seybold, 2003; Grant, 2004) but the middle-aged consumers and 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 age bracket (Cavanaugh, 1990). They have higher incomes, tend to have their own career and are found to be spending more on 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 consumers usually purchase products or services with the aim of satisfying their wants such as quality, being aesthetically pleasing, personal satisfaction, and being natural. This shows that the middle-aged consumers actually are a potent market 26

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 reected 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 products 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 dened 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 individuals 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 individuals 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 inuence the type of possessions people choose to communicate aspects of themselves to others.

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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 signicant overlap in the denitions of status consumption and conspicuous consumption. OCass 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 (OCass 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 inuence 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 identied 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 signicant factors inuencing conspicuous consumption is a form of individual emulation of the social group situated in a higher position in the hierarchy. OCass and Frost (2002) further supported this argument with their observation that conspicuous consumption is undertaken or pursued in order to enhance ones position in society, which can be achieved through signalling wealth, public demonstration and communicating afuence 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. 27

Leibenstein (1950) highlighted that the bandwagon and snob effects can also be essential factors inuencing 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 amplication 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 inuencing 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 t in with this behaviour. Several researchers provide various inuential 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 classied these indescribable values as self-fullment, 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 identied 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; OCass and Frost, 2002). This leads us to the following hypothesis. H1. Middle-aged consumers conspicuous consumption will be signicantly 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 OCass 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 inuenced by other people. In addition, studies by Elliott (1997) as well as Elliott and Wattanasuwan (1998) also found that when the whole system

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of consumption is an unconscious expression of self, the consumption of the symbolic meaning of brands is a social process that helps an individual to construct and maintain an identity. Based on the above discussion the following hypothesis is proposed: H2a. Middle-aged consumers conspicuous consumption will be signicantly affected by brand symbolism. Rosenberg (1979, p. 7) denes self concept as the totality of an individuals thoughts and feelings having reference to him as an object. According to Belk (1988) conspicuous consumption is behaviour of acquisition and possession that people tend to view as an extension of themselves and how they want others to perceive them. Onkvisit and Shaw (1987) found that people generally associate their individual image with purchasing behaviour patterns, and their choices of products and brands are frequently inuenced by their individual image. More specically, since conspicuous consumption is behaviour whereby an individual can display wealth through expenditure and acquisition in order to express self, factor such as self-concept, showing an interactive effect between consumers self-image and product image, becomes an essential factor inuencing it (Sirgy et al., 1997; Heath and Scott, 1998). This leads us to the following hypothesis: H2b. Middle-aged consumers conspicuous consumption will be signicantly affected by their self-concept and brand-image congruency. Brand familiarity is generally viewed as a reection of the extent of a consumers direct and indirect experience with a brand (Alba and Hutchinson, 1987; Kent and Allen, 1994). Flynn and Goldsmith (1999) suggest that brand familiarity is the subjective knowledge of a consumer. In other words, it can be described as what customers think and know about a product or service as well as brand. Kent and Allen (1994) found that the more consumers are familiar with a brand, the higher the quantity of response and memory towards the brand they have. Malhotra (2003) suggests that people usually perform evaluations by monitoring their subjective affective response such as feelings, moods and emotions to the target product or service. Gardner (1985) describes brand feelings as a phenomenological property of an individuals perception aroused by brands. Feelings can also be signicant factors contributing to consumers attitudes towards brands, and inuence their perceptions about brands (Agarwal and Malhotra, 2005; Chaudhuri, 1997). Looking through the above discussion the following hypotheses are proposed: H2c. Middle-aged consumers conspicuous consumption will be signicantly affected by their brand familiarity. H2d. Middle-aged consumers conspicuous consumption will be signicantly affected by their brand-aroused feelings. The theoretical model has been presented in Figure 1.

luxury cars and conspicuous consumption in the minds of consumers. Considering the repeat purchase and loyalty factor involved the respondents were ltered on the basis of their age group as well as the automobile they owned and their future preference for buying an automobile. The study involved 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 rened form of non-probability sampling (Bryman, 2001), was used as a survey basis in order to produce a sample that reects a population in terms of the relative proportion of people in different classications such as age, gender, income and social class. Twenty-ve responses were removed from the dataset due to the respondents not qualifying through the lters set for the study. The nal workable sample obtained was 277. Samples were drawn to obtain 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 47 per 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 East Sussex county of UK. The respondents were rstly asked about the age group they belonged to as well as the automobile they owned. The main questionnaire was divided in three major parts. The rst part examined consumers attitudes on the issue of the interactive effect between brand antecedent and conspicuous consumption. The second part probed into consumers psychological association towards conspicuous consumption by using various psychological items mentioned above in hypotheses as independent variables. The items were developed from the existing literature. These scales were evaluated for content and face validity by a panel of expert judges in marketing, as recommended by Converse and Presser (1986) and Zaichkowsky (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 contained questions that highlighted the respondents demographic information such as gender, educational background, and family income per annum. The questionnaire was pilot tested by twelve middle-aged respondents in order to expose questions which were unclear, ambiguous or impolite. The pilot test assisted on content, question order and item repetitiveness, leading to development of the nal version of the instrument (Converse and Presser, 1986; Lim and OCass, 2001).

Results
The results of the study are structured as following. At rst, the respondent prole is provided which is followed by results obtained using the conrmatory factor analysis through LISREL. Since this study aims to investigate the 40-60 year old consumer segment, census data of the UK as a reference was 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 were identied. The population was divided into eight segments: male and female aged 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, and 55-59. The 28

Research methodology
Lambert-Pandraud et al. (2005) observe that middle-aged and old consumers have a tendency to repeat purchase and to limit their purchase process to a few brands in case of automobiles. According to Mackintosh (2004) and Grant and Mackintosh (2004), the Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Lexus companies have large volume of sales in the luxury car market and they are generally perceived as a typical representation of

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Figure 1 Model overview

required number in each sample stratum was calculated as shown in Table I as per the nal sample size of 277. From Table I it can be observed that there is no signicant 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 prole of the respondents indicated that gender of the respondents was almost evenly distributed with, 48 per cent female and 52 per Table I The respondent prole age in comparison with population
Age group 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 Male desired sample * 40 36 40 34 150 Male actual sample 44 36 39 25 144 * * P1/P (%) desired 13.17 11.97 13.29 11.14 49.58 P1/P (%) actual 15.88 13.00 14.08 09.03 52.99

cent male. The age prole 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 ltering of respondents assisted in bringing the actual sample prole nearer to the desired sample. The education prole

Female desired sample * 40 37 41 34 152

Female actual sample 36 40 41 16 133 * *

P1/P (%) desired 13.29 12.21 13.60 11.32 50.42

P1/P (%) actual 12.99 14.44 14.80 05.78 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 actual sample does not add up to 302 because 25 responses were found to be inadequate for the survey

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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-t 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 specied were indeed supported by the data. Briey reported here are the modelling results of the overall, measurement, and structural models. Several tests were performed to determine how well the model ts the data. First, a conrmatory measurement model that species 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 coefcient alpha and is calculated by the formula provided by Fornell and Larcker (1981). Using the aforementioned goodness-of-t 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 Table II Results of goodness-of-t tests
Assessment measure Goodness-of-t index (GFI) Adjusted goodness-of-t index (AGFI) Root-mean-square residual (RMR) Standard root-mean-square residual (SMRM) Chi-square Degrees of freedom Root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) Normed t index (NFI) Non-normed t index (NNFI) Critical N (CN) Estimate Indication 0.95 0.91 0.041 0.026 128.87 90 0.040 0.99 0.99 255.55 Good Good Good Good t t t t

suggested by Anderson and Gerbing (1988), the estimates of both GFI (GFI 0:95) and AGFI (AGFI 0:91) are greater than the corresponding critical value 0.90; likewise, both RMR (RMR 0:041) and SRMR (SRMR 0:026) are less than the corresponding critical value 0.050. The chisquare test (128.27) and root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA) at 0.040 indicate that the overall model provides evidence of a reasonable t. The TuckerLewis index at 0.99 also indicates that the model t is acceptable. Correspondingly, all the assessment measures indicate that the proposed conceptual framework exhibits a very good t to collected data (see Tables III and IV). To test H1 to H2a-d two assessments of t were conducted: rstly, assessment of the measurement part of the model and secondly, assessment of the structural part of the model. The average variance extracted of 0.938 for psychological antecedent 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, the method suggested by Fornell and Larcker (1981) was employed. The method suggests that the average variance extracted for each construct should be higher than the squared correlation between that construct and any other construct. 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 the measurement model, all indicator loadings were signicant 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, the indicators used to represent the latent variables of psychological antecedents and brand antecedents were considered valid. Looking through the above results hypotheses H1 to H2a-d are accepted. Figure 2 provides the details of standardized estimates of the relationships among the constructs and their respective t-values. The assessment of the structural part of the model focused on the linkages between the exogenous variable conspicuous consumption and endogenous variables psychological antecedents and brand antecedents, was found to be positively signicant (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: rstly, it validates the strong contribution of psychological antecedent and brand antecedent as determinants of conspicuous consumption, and secondly, it integrates multiple standards of 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 positive relationships between psychological and brand antecedents with conspicuous consumption among the middle-aged consumers. Signicant relationships were discovered. The study was conducted to determine the relationships between conspicuous consumption, psychological antecedents and 30

Good t Good t Good t Good t

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Table III Measurement for psychological association and conspicuous consumption

Constructs and indicators Gain respect Popularity Noticed by others Who am I? Symbol of success Symbol of prestige Indicate wealth Indicate achievement Interested in status Enhance my image Standardized loadings 0.634 0.673 0.777 0.811 0.965 0.971 0.772 0.799 0.405 0.848 Indicator reliability 0.402 0.453 0.604 0.658 0.931 0.943 0.596 0.638 0.164 0.719 Error variance 0.598 0.547 0.396 0.342 0.069 0.057 0.404 0.362 0.836 0.281

Table IV Measurement for brand association and conspicuous consumption

Constructs and indicators Brand symbolism Self-concept & brand-image congruency Brand familiarity Brand-aroused feelings Standardized loadings 0.746 0.821 0.444 0.816 Indicator reliability 0.557 0.674 0.197 0.666 Error variance 0.443 0.326 0.803 0.334

brand antecedents. In order to test the causal relationships between these variables, a LISREL model incorporating measurement and structural equation modelling was developed and tested. It was conrmed that conspicuous consumption is signicantly and positively inuenced by psychological antecedents (gain respect, popularity, noticed by others, show who I am, symbol of success, symbol of prestige, indicates wealth, indicates achievements, interested in status, enhances my image (all H1)) and brand antecedents (brand symbolism (H2a), self-concept and brand-image congruency (H2b), brand familiarity (H2c), brand aroused feelings (H2d)). The data approve the hypotheses mentioned above. Moreover, it is observed that the psychological antecedents and brand antecedents are a reliable contributor in inuencing middle-aged consumers conspicuous consumption. Symbol of prestige, symbol of success, enhance my image, and who am I are observed to be among the strongest contributors. Looking through the above variables it can be argued that a product or brand is usually consumed by the middle-aged consumers as an instrument in improving self-concept and describes a particular image that represents how they wish to be perceived by others. It can also be observed that a consumers actual self-concept (how the consumer view him/herself) is a strong predictor for conspicuous consumption brands in comparison to others self-concept (how a consumer thinks others see him/her). From this nding we can predict that the consumer would have higher tendency to buy conspicuous brands which are targeted towards their actual self-concept rather than ideal or others self-concept. The study also indicates that the consumers buying behaviour of conspicuous brands is affected strongly by personal factors (who am I, enhance my image) instead of societal factors such as gain respect or interested in status. This phenomenon also provides an insight into how consumers want themselves to be seen while using conspicuous brands. It can be inferred that consumers do 31

not want an explicit antecedent of status while consuming conspicuous brands. The study also reveals that consumers associate conspicuous brands not only with wealth but also with achievement. These ndings provide empirical support to the discussion by Solomon et al. (2002) and Trigg (2001) who theorised the relation between wealth, achievement and conspicuous consumption. The strong inuence of psychological antecedents is also reected in brand antecedent scale. It can be observed that self-concept and brand-image congruency as well as brand aroused feelings contribute highly towards brand antecedent for conspicuous consumption brands. However, the ndings related to brand familiarity appear to indicate that people do not have to be familiar with a brand in order to identify the brand as a status brand and to desire or be willing to conspicuously consume it. Consumers may recognise the brand name and image association but may not necessarily be familiar with or even consider other aspects of a brand, to make such global evaluations. Therefore, despite the lack of subjective knowledge held by a consumer towards a brand, if they nd meaningful symbolic characteristics, if their self-concept is congruent with that of the brands image and if they have positive strong feelings towards the brand, then status attributed and conspicuousness of consumption of the brand will not be affected. This coincides with the psychological antecedents where self concept related variables are seen to be highly inuential. It is suggested that automobile manufacturers should consider this in their branding strategy. Their communication targeted towards these consumers should strongly reect the consumers psychological and brand antecedents. This will also assist in generating positive brand feelings and leading to strengthen the organizations share of market, mind and heart. It was observed that the present communication strategy adopted by various automobile manufacturers of conspicuous brands focus on safety and security (BMW X5, Mercedes Benz M class, Lexus LS), cars features and pleasure of

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Figure 2

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 reect 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 ndings 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 inuencing 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. 32

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 ndings 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

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with the consumer would hold the key to their consumption of conspicuous items. Based on these ndings 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 ndings provide marketers an opportunity in differentiating their conspicuous brand in various market segments by ascertaining the consumers 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 todays ever changing marketplace, these research ndings 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 benet from instilling the core brand associations known to promote conspicuousness. Ideally, the rst 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 identied 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 brands 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 brands utilitarian functions (OCass 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 brands as well organizations position in the consumer minds as well as in the marketplace. The ndings 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 specic 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 ndings 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. 33

Limitations and future directions

As the study was based on a single sector and single consumer segment, the ndings 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 examining different product and demographic target segments. Given the focus on middle-aged consumers, generalisations beyond this age group should be undertaken with some reservation. Based on these limitations future research should extend this area of inquiry into other consumer segments, different types of product categories and brands within them, and also focus on different cultures. Focusing on consumer differences in relation to conspicuous consumption of specic brands could also benet 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 and under-researched and therefore opportunities for future research are ample. One example of future research may include studying various other environments in terms of markets and industries that have already differentiated products offered for sale and/or selling environments along the identied dimensions of psychological and brand antecedents. The study can also be extended further to determine the variation in sales and other measurements of successful 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 would surely benet from such studies.

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About the author

Paurav Shukla is a senior lecturer at the Brighton Business School, University of Brighton, UK. He possesses a wide range of industry and academic experience from middle to senior level across various industries. He has been involved with various EU funded research projects involving several nations from the EU and Asia. He has been delivering corporate training and consulting assignments for various organizations in India, UK as well as other EU and African countries. He is a guest editor for the special issue on Emerging paradigms in Indian marketplace for Asia Pacic Journal of Marketing and Logistics. He has written widely in the area of customer expectations management, and SME management in international as well as national level journals. Paurav Shukla can be contacted at: p.shukla@brighton.ac.uk

Executive summary and implications for managers and executives

This summary has been provided to allow managers and executives a rapid appreciation of the content of the article. Those with a particular interest in the topic covered may then read the article in toto to take advantage of the more comprehensive description of the research undertaken and its results to get the full benet of the material present.

Mid-life high life crisis, what crisis? Targeting older conspicuous consumers Introduction When it comes to the youth market brand managers have come to understand every need and vulnerability. Research

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abounds in examining their purchasing behaviour for items such as fashion accessories, mobile phones and other extensions of youthful statements of this is who I am. When it comes to conspicuous consumption, purchasing things, 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 one with more money to spend who would rather like to be noticed too. Those in the 40-60 age brackets are more likely to have a higher income and a better job a career in fact. They are out there spending their hard earned cash on big ticket items such as cars and houses, big, big ticket items. Bigger ticket items than a few clothes or a better mobile phone. Yet to read the marketing literature you would hardly think so, until now. In a rare study by Dr Paurav Shukla of Brighton Business School in the UK examines consumer attitudes in relation to that good, old fashioned status symbol the automobile. While their utility matters, automobiles also provide a great opportunity to display status, personality and self-image. People may feel they need cars, although that has become contentious in this more environmentally aware age. But they also provide a great opportunity to say this is who I am. It seems that making this statement crosses the generations. How we choose to make it is where there is room for difference. Marketings missed opportunity Coming to terms with conspicuous consumption among the middle aged is to begin to address marketings missed opportunity although its tempting to assume that there are savvy car sales staff who know the emotions rather well already. However, the Shukla study reveals that there is more that they can do, opportunities that are being missed. The survey takes in customers of the BMW, Mercedes Benz and Lexus dealerships in East Sussex in the UK, the University of Brightons backyard. Focusing on how consumers associate themselves with these brands holds the key to marketing them successfully. It is an interesting and conicting area to look at. It leads us in to human emotions that pull in opposite directions the need for uniqueness and the need for conformity. The Irish management academic Ivor Kenny dubbed it freedom and order. There is a whole book in the subject. Ivor Kenny wrote it. With conspicuous consumption the drive for uniqueness is the key. On this dimension, the greater the uniqueness of the product the higher the value ascribed to it the more of them there are around the less they are deemed to be worth. A study conducted in the 1950s when language was simpler noticed the snobbishness effect and the need to jump on the bandwagon. Essentially if other people are getting them I

want one too; the need to be different and the need to be the same once more. We are a contrary species! It does get slightly more straightforward however as with conspicuous brands, such as BMW, Mercedes Benz and Lexus, buying behaviour is affected more by the personal factors it says who I am, it will enhance my image than the societal factors e.g. gaining respect. Understanding this is at the heart of addressing the missed opportunity. Big names not quite hitting the spot Automobiles are designed and built by engineers so perhaps we should not be too surprised when product and engineering features dominate the marketing messages, even for prestigious cars. Lexus The pursuit of perfection reects technical aspects of the vehicle, BMWs The ultimate driving experience highlights performance. It is emotion that will by and large determine the success of the sale. The big brands are spending a fortune on glossy promotion without hitting the spot in terms of the message. Recognition of the impact of psychological and brand antecedent is important. It explains the factors that middle aged customers consider when making buying decisions for conspicuous products. The Brighton research integrates multiple 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 to stress. The opportunity is there for the taking. In western society a prestigious car bought by someone in middle age is often considered a mid-life crisis. Well its mid-life, but something more signicant an ongoing and sustainable pattern of purchasing behaviour, and an opportunity to get the message right, and do better. (A precis of the article Conspicuous consumption among middle age consumers: psychological and brand antecedents. Supplied by Marketing Consultants for Emerald.)

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