Conspicuous Consumption: A Preliminary Report of Scale Development and Validation

Abstract

Since conspicuous consumption was proposed by Thorstein Veblen in 1899, it has been extensively discussed in the field of economics. As the Veblen effect indicates, the demand for consumer goods is increased when its price is higher than that of others (Leibenstein 1950). In Veblen`s time, what motivated conspicuous consumption was the desire to gain prestige from others via accumulation of wealth or luxury goods. However, conspicuous consumption behavior today has become more sophisticated and subtle (Trigg 2001). The meaning of conspicuous consumption has changed with the evolution of societies and consumption value. Thus, the main components of conspicuous consumption vary today. As consumers employ product symbolism for their social interaction (Belk 1985, Holbrook and Grayson 1986, Kleine, Kleine and Kernan 1993, Laverie, Kleine and Kleine 2002, Richins 1994, Solomon 1983), conspicuous consumption does not only mean the ostentation of wealth, but also the ostentation of something symbolic to specific reference groups in order to gain their recognition or prestige. In the field of consumer behavior, conspicuous consumption is a relatively less explored construct. The only existing scale (Marcoux, Filiatrault, and Cheron 1997) was ad hoc designed for certain research context and limits its generalizability. Besides, as the content of conspicuous consumption changes over time, the need for an appropriate definition and measurement of this special consumer behavior in today`s society has emerged. Hence, the objective of the present study was two-fold. First, through a literature review, the content of conspicuous consumption was clarified. Second, based upon the new definition and major dimensions, we developed a scale for measuring behavioral tendencies of conspicuous consumption following the rigorous procedures suggested by Hinkin (1998). Drawing from the literature review in economics, sociology, and marketing (Page 1992, Mason 1981, Mason 1982, Mason 1998, Shipman 2004, Solomon 1983, Trigg 2001), we defined conspicuous consumption as "the extent of one`s behavioral tendency of displaying one`s social status, wealth, taste or self-image to one`s important reference groups through consumption of publicly visible products." Using a deductive approach, we integrated past theory and research to derive four key dimensions underlying conspicuous consumption, which are conspicuity for aspirant group, conspicuity for uniqueness, conspicuity for conformity, and conspicuity for status. Followed standard psychometrical procedures for scale development (Hinkin 1998), there are five phases in the scale development and validation. Item generation. Initially, all potential items were written referring relative literatures to reflect the conceptual definitions of the four dimensions. After we ensured that all items were articulated in consistent terms, written in concise statements, and dropped redundant items, 75 positively worded items were remained in the item pool. Content validity and questionnaire administration. This phase was assessed by nine Ph.D. students, who served as expert judges. The result of this analysis showed an overall SAI of .84, which indicated a high level of correct matching. After items with a high degree of inconsistency were deleted, a total of 41 items with content validation were retained. For convergent validity, the previous conspicuous consumption scale (Marcoux et al., 1997) and the interpersonal influence scale (Bearden, Netemeyer, and Teel 1989) were measured. Besides, the self-esteem scale (Rosenber, Schooler, and Schoenbach 1989) was used to examine discriminate validity. Further, we also measured consumer`s actual conspicuous brand consumption behavior to verify criterion related validity. Meanwhile, an additional independent survey conducted to identify the conspicuity of the brands. In the administration stage, all data were collected from 317 undergraduate students.…