Executive summary of “The social network implications of prestigious goods among young adults: evaluating the self vs others”

Citation

(2015), "Executive summary of “The social network implications of prestigious goods among young adults: evaluating the self vs others”", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 32 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-05-2015-033

Executive summary of “The social network implications of prestigious goods among young adults: evaluating the self vs others”

Article Type: Executive summary and implications for managers and executives From: Journal of Consumer Marketing, Volume 32, Issue 3

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 benefit of the material present.

The practice whereby people define themselves through their possessions and purchases is widely acknowledged throughout the research community. Using certain goods as means to express status, prestige or membership of a particular social group or community is common. In particular, people believe that spending on purchases which are publically consumed better positions them to achieve such goals. Items that help to enhance appearance are especially important in this respect.

Studies have confirmed the importance that such individuals attach to prestigious goods. Consuming such items enables people to indicate a certain lifestyle which they feel will increase their appeal as “social partners”. This desire to create a favorable impression on others can provide a boost to self-confidence, different authors have shown. Many people believe that prestigious products enable them to form stronger social connections and help create and sustain personal friendships. Earlier work pointed out that higher-class people use prestigious goods as a means to differentiate themselves from other classes. On the other hand, lower-class people are often willing to bear the costs involved in purchasing such items to convey a higher status to others.

This tendency prevails in Western societies and is becoming more evident in developing nations too. Creating a favorable impression on others is a common goal of many younger adults. The purchase of expensive cars, cell-phones or branded clothing is seen as helping to raise their popularity among peers. Higher self-esteem and other psychological benefits associated with these purchases increases the confidence of young adults in their social environment.

However, potential negative social consequences of buying prestigious goods have been noted in the literature. Different commentators point out that consuming such items to indicate uniqueness and impress others can backfire. Individuals pursuing this strategy might instead be regarded as snobby or even narcissistic. Too great a focus on appearance, image or other external rewards can impede rather than enhance social relationships. Allowing prestigious goods to become a proxy for proper social interaction can result in people losing the motivation to pursue intrinsic goals like family values.

At the core of one theoretical approach is the notion that social perceptions are the foundation of social reality. It is argued that people thus create their own realities through social beliefs that are strengthened as a result of “self-fulfilling prophecies”. The potential for a gap to exist between perception and reality is noted by scholars though. Such a discrepancy occurs in this context when people mistakenly assume that others share their positive perceptions about the benefits that consuming prestigious products affords them.

Lee and Luster examine how the consumption of prestigious goods impacts on social networks in several studies involving undergraduate students. In the first instance, a pilot study was conducted in which subjects were randomly assigned to either “self” or “other” conditions. They then had to choose from a list of prestigious and generic brand-name items that would, respectively, increase the desirability of themselves and someone else as a friend. Results showed that those in the self-condition were likelier to choose prestigious brands relative to those in the condition where they selected brands they felt would make another person a more desirable friend. On this basis, it was felt that the social affinity generated by prestigious goods was stronger for the self than for the other.

The second study incorporated one of four conditions based on the presence or absence of a prestigious product and rating the self or others. Half the subjects were shown an ad for a premium-priced fictitious fine wine that was available from limited sources. The same ad was shown to the remainder who were told that the wine was generic, cheap and sold in local liquor stores. Participants had to then imagine that they were attending a party and either taking the wine to the event (self condition) or someone else was bringing the wine to the party (other condition). Their subsequent responses to various statements were used to measure social affinity.

Data here revealed that in the self-condition, people rated themselves considerably higher in the prestige condition compared to the non-prestige condition. The opposite effect occurred in the others condition in that their rating of someone else was much lower in the prestige condition. While this experiment confirms that prestigious consumption increases positive self-perceptions, people seem unaware that others may hold contrasting views of them. The authors believe that concern about social image may explain why people assume prestigious goods increase social affinity. By the same token, it is suggested that the negative reaction of others to the consumption of such items could potentially be attributed to assumptions of “boastfulness” or showing-off.

These issues form the basis of the third study in which the predicted effects of social image and boastfulness were confirmed. Participants in this study were randomly exposed to one of two ads for either a prestigious limo service or a taxi service, both of which included different amenities. The same self-others conditions from the previous study were also used again here. In the prestige condition, subjects either had to imagine arriving in the limo themselves and enjoying full services or witness another person arriving at the ball in this manner. Responses to certain statements were used to measure social image and boastfulness. Yet again, personal ratings in the prestige condition were much higher than in the non-prestige condition. In addition, the same reverse pattern was evident when people were rating someone else. It was shown that social image benefitted when consuming the prestigious item but was linked with boastfulness when it was used by someone else.

In the final study, data were collected at two time points from undergraduate students based on one floor of a college dormitory. Subjects were asked to indicate the strength of their relationships with all other students on their floor. Responses were then organized into out-degree and in-degree. The former revealed the extent to which an individual identified each of the others as a friend, whereas the latter refers to the extent to which the individual is seen as a friend by these others. An additional task was for all respondents to indicate the amount of emphasis which they felt each other student put on possessing prestigious brand-name goods. Analysis showed that “prestige preferring individuals” tended to overestimate the number of friends that they had made, as others indicated a less favorable view of them. This discrepancy between perception and reality increased with time.

Marketers are encouraged to highlight how owning prestigious products can enhance the consumer’s social image. The authors also believe that focusing on the social benefits to the self can help alleviate negative perceptions of boastfulness. That can be achieved by getting individuals to focus on how a prestigious item relates to themselves rather than to others. Consumers should, however, be made aware of the dangers of being overly positive about owning prestigious items.

Additional research could strive to identify factors that most influence the gap between perception and reality. Materialism, egocentrism and other individual characteristics might be significant in this regard. Comparison between publically and privately consumed goods is also recommended, along with similar research using different demographic samples.

To read the full article enter 10.1108/JCM-09-2014-1161 into your search engine.

(A précis of the article “The social network implications of prestigious goods among young adults: evaluating the self vs others”. Supplied by Marketing Consultants for Emerald.)