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

Jiajia Chen, Jingke Gao, Ziyuan Liu, Yang Luo, Mengge Chen and Lingxue Bu
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Jiajia Chen: Department of Business Administration, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430000, China
Jingke Gao: School of Economics and Management, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430000, China
Ziyuan Liu: Department of Business Administration, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430000, China
Yang Luo: Department of Business Administration, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430000, China
Mengge Chen: Department of Business Administration, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430000, China
Lingxue Bu: School of Economics and Management, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430000, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-16

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

Keywords: subjective social class; conspicuous consumption; status anxiety; social comparison orientation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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