Renting as a coping strategy: the effect of unethical product attributes on the choice between renting and buying

In-Hye Kang () and Taehoon Park ()
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In-Hye Kang: California State Polytechnic University
Taehoon Park: Lutgert College of Business, Florida Gulf Coast University

Marketing Letters, 2024, vol. 35, issue 3, No 1, 335-351

Abstract: Abstract Consumers are often faced with a choice to rent or buy. Beyond the economic attributes such as price, limited research has examined how specific product attributes influence consumers’ choices. We show that unethical product attributes influence consumers’ choice between renting and buying. Across six studies, we demonstrate that consumers are more likely to choose renting over buying when an unethical product attribute is present (vs. absent) because consumers anticipate feeling less guilt about renting (vs. buying) a product with unethical attributes. Consistent with the anticipated guilt mechanism, this effect is greater for consumers with higher guilt-proneness and with stronger self-brand connection. Taken together, we show that consumers use renting as a coping strategy to reduce negative emotions associated with using unethical products.

Keywords: Renting; Unethical product attribute; Consumer morality; Anticipated guilt; Coping strategy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s11002-023-09708-0

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