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An experimental study of the bandwagon effect in conspicuous consumption

Article  in  Current Issues in Personality Psychology · January 2015

DOI: 10.5114/cipp.2017.67896

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current issues in personality psychology · volume 6(1), 8
doi: https://doi.org/10.5114/cipp.2017.67896

original article

An experimental study of the bandwagon effect

in conspicuous consumption

Małgorzata Niesiobędzka

Institute of Psychology, University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland

background measure a  propensity to conspicuous consumption were

The phenomenon of conspicuous consumption is not new. applied: the amount of money spent on the luxury prod-
Veblen (1899, 1994) described conspicuous consumption as uct, the size of the luxury brand logo, and the doubling of
expensive, luxury consumption, which provides evidence the luxury brand logo.
of wealth and status. In post-modern society the primary
objects of consumption have become images and experi- results
ence used by the middle class and the masses to demon- The results show that the activation of the idea of the aspi-
strate uniqueness or similarity with significant others. This rational group enhances willingness to pay more for a lux-
paper focuses on the bandwagon effect in conspicuous ury product, to double the luxury brand logo and the pref-
consumption. In the study the bandwagon effect is treated erence for a visible luxury brand logo at a tendency level.
as increased demand for luxury goods due to their popu-
larity, especially among famous people. conclusions
The results experimentally supported the bandwagon ef-
participants and procedure fect within luxury conspicuous consumption previously
Three studies were carried out. The samples consisted of established in correlative studies.
60 teenagers, 76 female students and 73 students and post-
graduate students. The concept of the aspirational group key words
was induced through the advertisement of a luxury prod- conspicuous consumption; the bandwagon effect; aspira-
uct with reference to famous people and by direct refer- tional group; experiment
ence to the aspirational group. Three different methods to

corresponding author – Prof. Małgorzata Niesiobędzka, Institute of Psychology, University of Gdansk,

4 Bażyńskiego Str., 80-952 Gdansk, Poland, e-mail: [email protected]
authors’ contributions – A: Study design · B: Data collection · C: Statistical analysis · D: Data interpretation ·
E: Manuscript preparation · F: Literature search · G: Funds collection
to cite this article – Niesiobędzka M. (2018). An experimental study of the bandwagon effect in conspicuous
consumption. Current Issues in Personality Psychology, 6(1), 26–33.
received 14.01.2017 · reviewed 03.03.2017 · accepted 24.04.2017 · published 22.05.2017
 Małgorzata Niesiobędzka

BACKGROUND nature. Hedonism and perfectionism are personal

motives. The former is connected with searching for
The global market of luxury goods has grown very pleasures in the consumption of goods and the latter
quickly. The traditional luxury sector’s value in with the desire to possess the highest quality goods.
1985 was estimated to be around 20 billion dollars, Besides affective and utilitarian benefits, personal
but in 2010 its value had already reached 250 billion motives also include symbolic benefits – goods are
and is expected to reach 376 billion dollars by 2017 used to express the inner self (Coulter, Price, & Feick,
(Kastanakis & Balabanis, 2012, 2014). This value may 2003; Hemetsberger, von Wallpach, &  Bauer, 2012;
be even higher if estimates include various categories Putoni, 2001; Tsai, 2005; Vigneron & Johnson, 1999,
of premium products. New luxury markets include for 2004; Wong &  Ahuvia, 1998). Ostentation, snob-
example China, which is the number one market for bery, and the bandwagon effect are social motives.
Hennessy cognac and the world’s second-largest mar- Ostentation is a type of motivation described by Ve-
ket for fashionable clothing and leather goods (Zhan blen connected to the demonstration of social status.
& He, 2012). In the modern post-materialistic society The need to be unique underlines the snob effect and
luxury consumption is not limited to the privileged it is associated with the search for unusual, original,
few, but has become more affordable to the middle and unique products. The desire to be fashionable,
class and masses (Chaudhuri & Majumdar, 2006, 2010; and the need to be included within an aspirational
Granot, Toya, Russell, &  Brashear-Alejandro, 2013). group, expressed in the search for fashionable prod-
ucts used by significant others, are responsible for
The democratization of luxury also allows teenagers
the bandwagon effect (Vigneron &  Johnson, 1999).
to use luxury goods as a means of social distinction
These products should have primarily a high iconic
(Gil, Kwon, Good, & Johnson, 2012). What is more, ac-
or verbal visibility index (Heffetz, 2004), and be a sig-
cess to the luxury world is possible not only by buy-
nal of scarcity due to limited supply, not due to high
ing goods but also by renting them (Yeoman, 2010).
demand (Gierl & Huettl, 2010).
The motives underlying buying or renting luxury
The majority of research devoted to the social
goods are mainly social. Veblen (1899, 1994), in his
orientation of conspicuous consumption focuses on
theory of the leisure class, presented socially devel-
status seeking (Amatulli, Guido, & Nataraajan, 2015;
oped strategies for strengthening or improving so-
Friehe &  Mechtel, 2014; Kaus, 2013; Kim &  Jang,
cial status, such as conspicuous leisure and conspic-
2014; Mazzocco, Rucker, Galinsky, & Andreson, 2012;
uous consumption. Both strategies are based on the
O’Cass &  McEwen, 2006; Ordabayeva &  Chandon,
idea of waste: conspicuous leisure relates to wasting
2011; Rucker & Galinsky, 2009; Saad & Vongas, 2009;
time and conspicuous consumption to wasting mon- Truong, Simmons, McColl, &  Kitchen, 2008). Only
ey by purchasing very expensive, luxury products. a  small number of studies have been designed to
The usefulness of these goods is less important than analyze conspicuous consumption from the point of
their distinctive function and the ability to locate view of other social motives, such as snobbery and
their owners on the prestige ladder. Veblen explained the bandwagon effect (Kastanakis & Balabanis, 2012,
the motives of conspicuous consumption entirely 2014). This article focuses on the bandwagon effect
from the perspective of status. Individuals engage in within conspicuous luxury consumption. Bandwag-
conspicuous consumption due to the perceived social on consumption occurs when consumers buy cer-
equilibrium between price and status. Expensive, lux- tain categories of luxuries due to their popularity,
ury consumption operates as a means of status sig- especially among famous people, movie stars, and
naling, providing evidence of wealth and therefore celebrities (Amaldoss & Jain, 2005; Chaudhuri & Ma-
status. Leibenstein (1950) extended the analysis of jumdar, 2006, 2010; Kastanakis &  Balabanis, 2012,
conspicuous consumption and to the prestige effect 2014; Leibenstein, 1950; Vigneron &  Johnson, 1999,
(Veblen effect) added a description of the snob effect 2004). Such products guarantee social approval be-
and the bandwagon effect. Leibenstein (1950, p. 189) cause they signify success, fame, and membership
defines the bandwagon effect as “the extent to which within relevant status groups. Kastanakis and Bala-
the demand for a commodity is increased due to the banis (2012, 2014) have shown that the self-concept
fact that others are also consuming the same com- orientation regulates the snob effect and the band-
modity” and the snob effect as “the extent to which wagon effect. People with a strong, independent self,
the demand for a consumer good is decreased owing who are prone to dissociating themselves from oth-
to the fact that others are also consuming the same er consumers, prefer non-relational, individualistic
commodity”. All three effects – ostentation, snob- snobbish patterns of consumption. Furthermore, the
bery, and the bandwagon effect – may be included relationships between the independent self and the
among motivational factors based on interpersonal snob effect are mediated by the need for uniqueness.
orientation. Vigneron and Johnson (1999) distinguish The stronger the anti-conformism and desire to mark
five types of motivation underlying the acquisition one’s distinctiveness, the greater is the snob effect.
of luxury products, which are of a personal or social On the other hand, people with a  strong dependent

volume 6(1), 8 27

 Study of conspicuous consumption

self, and those who emphasize their similarity to some Luxury products are perceived as more psycho-
other consumers, choose products that enjoy approv- logically distant than ordinary goods and they are
al and recognition among members of these groups. associated with an abstract mental representation.
The relationship between the dependent self and the Hansen and Wänke (2011) demonstrated that luxury
bandwagon effect depends on the strength of one’s products act as more distant objects and require more
susceptibility to normative influences. Customers abstract language. Consumers use more abstract lan-
with a dependent self and with a strong propensity to guage when they think of luxury. Products described
indulge the expectations of aspirational groups try to in an abstract manner are perceived as more luxuri-
purchase products that are popular within the refer- ous than products described concretely. Furthermore,
ence group (Kastanakis & Balabanis, 2012, 2014). Simi- an abstract language is often used in advertisements
lar results from Tsai, Yang and Liu (2013) demonstrate for luxury products (Hansen & Wänke, 2011). Con-
significant relationships between a  consumer’s need strual Level Theory (Trope & Liberman, 2000, 2003,
for uniqueness, their susceptibility to normative influ- 2010) proposes that psychological distance from an
ence and the snob effect, and the bandwagon effect. object enhances the propensity to construe a  more
The purpose of this study was to analyze band- abstract representation of it. Temporal, spatial, and
wagon consumption through several experimental social distance leads to more abstract, generalized
approaches, because the previous studies were only representation of the objects as it is observed in the
of correlative nature. The study was intended to de- case of luxury products. The psychological distance
termine whether the activation of the aspirational of luxury connects with the exclusiveness and un-
reference group concept has an impact on a propen- familiarity with luxury goods. Well-known, wealthy
sity to conspicuous luxury consumption. It was ex- people are socially distant, but on the other hand
pected that the activation of an aspirational reference they are perceived as proximal to luxury, and thus
group would enhance the propensity to conspicuous may be treated as vehicles to world of luxury. Thus
consumption. The aspirational reference group has associations, the recommendation of a luxury prod-
a  strong influence on luxury consumption due to uct by modern significant others (movie stars, celeb-
conformity process, especially identification influ- rities) should enhance consumer willingness to pur-
ence. Attitudes towards products, consumer choices chase and display the luxury brand.
made by non-membership desired groups are used In order to better understand the bandwagon ef-
by individual as a guide for their own attitudes and fect within conspicuous luxury consumption, three
behavior. Contrary to normative influence, identi- experimental studies were conducted. In the study
fication influence is not based on rewards or sanc- the bandwagon effect is treated as increased demand
tions (Amaldoss & Jain, 2005; Bearden & Etzel, 1982; for luxury goods due to their popularity, especially
Bearden, Netemeyer, & Teel, 1989; Deutsch & Gerard, among famous people. The concept of the aspiration-
1955; Grimm, Agrawal, & Richardson, 1999; McGuire, al group was induced through the advertisement of
1968; Park &  Lessig, 1977; Zinkhan &  Lascu 1999). a  luxury product with reference to consumer icons
The symbolic meaning of products used by signifi- – “stars” (Experiment 1, Experiment 2) – and by di-
cant others helps individuals to construct, maintain, rect references to famous people (Experiment 3).
and express the desired identity. Therefore individu- The amount of money spent on the luxury product
als choose products congruent with the social image (Experiment 1), the size of the luxury brand logo
of aspirational groups. Nowadays celebrities, such as (Experiment 2, Experiment 3), and the doubling of
movie and music stars, have become cultural icons. the luxury brand logo (Experiment 2) were used as
They serve as visible signs of wealth and fame – the the indicators of the propensity to conspicuous con-
values admired most by consumer society. The at- sumption (see: Griskevicius et al., 2007; Lee & Shrum,
tempt to resemble the aspirational reference group 2012; Tyler et al., 2012; Wang & Griskevicius, 2014).
underlies the bandwagon effect in conspicuous lux-
ury consumption. Another form of social influence,
other than identification with media figures, is one STUDY 1
that activates constructs. People who want to be like
celebrities are prone to adopt their attitudes and be- The purpose of Study 1 was to establish whether an
havior, but not only those. The media figures activate activation idea of the aspirational group through the
mental constructs, including goals and norms (Lin- advertisement has an impact on the willingness to
denberg, Joly, & Stapel, 2011). Media figures induce pay more for the luxury product. It was expected that
predominantly materialistic goals – wealth, fame the amount of money spent on the luxury product
and popularity. Luxury brands are socially recog- would be higher in the group with activation of the
nized signs of wealth, and thus references to media idea of the aspirational group through the advertise-
figures via the activation of materialistic goals might ment (experimental group) than in the group without
enhance the willingness to purchase and display the activation of the idea of the aspirational group (con-
luxury brand (conspicuous consumption). trol group).

28 current issues in personality psychology

 Małgorzata Niesiobędzka

PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE STUDY 2

Participants The purpose of Study 2 was to establish whether ac-
tivation of the idea of the aspirational group through
Sixty teenagers (33 schoolgirls, 27 schoolboys, Mage = the advertisement has an impact on the propensity to
= 18.23 years, SD = 0.47) were randomly assigned to display a luxury brand logo. It was expected that the
experimental (n = 30) or control conditions (n = 30). average size of a luxury brand logo would be larger
in the group with activation of the idea of the as-
Procedure pirational group through the advertisement (experi-
mental group) than in the group without activation
Ad frame. Participants were told the study was in­ of the idea of the aspirational group (control group).
tend­ed to examine consumers’ evaluation of an ad- Furthermore, it was expected that the luxury brand
vertisement. Participants received an advertisement logo would be doubled more often in the experimen-
for an iPhone. In the experimental condition partic- tal group than in the control group.
ipants saw a picture of the iPhone and read the slo-
gan “All your favorite stars already have it, and you?”
while those in the control condition only saw the pic- PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE
ture of the iPhone (visible, publicly consumed brand
of product indicated as luxury in pre-test studies con- Participants
ducted in the comparative group).
Manipulation check. After watching the adver­ Seventy-six female students (Mage = 23.40 years,
tisement, participants were asked to complete a mis­ SD = 1.40) were randomly assigned to experimental
sing letter in a  word. Two words were presented; (n = 40) or control conditions (n = 36).
each word could be completed in a  different way,
with one option referring to the world of famous Procedure
people and the other option referring to a more neu-
tral reference – without any association with famous Participants were asked to solve three tasks. The first
people. The words to complete were the following: task was similar to the Stroop test. Participants saw
1/ _ o d a (fashion/water, in Polish moda/woda); the name of a color on the screen and were asked to
2/ s ł _ w a (fame/words; in Polish sława/słowa). write it in the frame below (there was a discrepancy
Amount spent on luxury product. The participants between the color name and the font of the color). In
reported the maximum amount of money they would the second task, participants had to link together the
spend to acquire the iPhone. different lines. In the third task, participants had to
count all the squares within a picture. From the be-
ginning of the first task until the end of the third task,
RESULTS the right side of the screen contained a dynamic ad-
vertisement for “stax” headphones. The product and
The t-test revealed a significant effect for manipula- brand were not chosen at random. The target custom-
tion (t(58) = –2.41, p < .020). Participants in the exper- ers were women and men. The product had not yet
imental condition more often created words referring
to the world of famous people (fashion and fame)
(M = 1.03, SD = 0.76) than participants in the control 1600
condition (M = 0.63, SD = 0.49). 1400
The t test revealed a significant effect for the ad-
Willingness to pay

1200
vertisement with the slogan referring to the favorite
stars (t(58) = –2.08, p < .040, d = .54). As predicted, 1000
participants watching the iPhone advertisement 800
with the slogan were willing to pay significantly 600
more (M = 1477.59 zl, SD = 962.47 zl) than partici- 400
pants watching the advertisement only with the pic-
200
ture of the iPhone (M = 988.17 zl, SD = 844.75 zl) (see
Figure 1). 0
Consistent with the hypothesis, when the adver­ No slogan with Slogan with
tisement included references to the aspirational favourite stars favourite stars
group, participants were willing to pay more for the Figure 1. The amount of money spent on luxury
luxury product than participants who watched the product in the group with references to aspiratio-
advertisement without explicit cues to significant nal group and in the group without references to
others. aspirational group.

volume 6(1), 8 29

 Study of conspicuous consumption

been advertised, and thus participants did not have STUDY 3

any associations with the logo. In the experimental
group and the control group, the formal features of The purpose of Study 3 was to establish whether the
the advertisement were the same; the differences con- direct activation idea of the aspirational group has an
cerned the content of the ad. The experimental group impact on propensity to display a luxury brand logo.
saw a  picture of the headphones, the brand name It was expected that participants with the an aspira-
“stax”, and the slogan “Feel like a movie star”. The con- tional group activation (experimental group) would
trol group only saw the picture of the headphones and be more willing to choose a T-shirt with a larger Ralph
the “stax” brand name. Lauren logo than participants without the activation
Manipulation check. After completing the third concept of an aspirational group (control group).
task, respondents were asked to fill in gaps in the
words. Two words were presented, with each pre-
senting the possibility of being completed in a  dif- PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE
ferent way – one option referring to famous people
and one option being neutral. The words to complete Participants
were the following: 1/ sz a m p _ n (champagne/sham-
poo; in Polish szampan/szampon), 2/ s ł _ w a (fame/ Seventy-three students and postgraduate students (34
words; in Polish sława/słowa). It is important to note female, 39 male, Mage = 27.01 years, SD = 3.28) were
that after completing the third task, the advertise- randomly assigned to experimental (n = 36) or control
ment did not appear. conditions (n = 37).
Logo size. Participants were supposed to create
a T-shirt they would like to wear. Respondents could Procedure
change the view of the front and back of their T-shirt.
They could change the shirt’s color and could also in- Participants were told the study would be similar to
clude the Yves Saint Laurent logo, the size of which a game. They were asked to recognize a person/ani-
was also alterable. The default color of the T-shirt was mal based on clues given to them. In the experimen-
gray with the colors to choose from blue, yellow to tal group, the people to be recognized were well-
green. The default size of the logo was 140 × 140 px, known and wealthy, including Beyoncé, Bill Gates,
with a 40 × 40 px minimum and maximum of 450 × and Angelina Jolie. In the control group, the animals
450 px. to be recognized were also easily identifiable: a lion,
Doubling of the logo. The Yves Saint Laurent logo a  dog, and a  bee. Participants first read clues and
could be placed both on the front and on the back of tried to guess who (experimental)/what (control) it
the T-shirt. was. If the answer was incorrect, participants were
given the next clue. There were four clues; the clues
at the beginning were more difficult than the clues
RESULTS at the end. If the answer was correct, a  picture of
the person (or animal) was displayed on the comput-
The t-test revealed a significant effect for manipula- er screen, and the next session began for a different
tion (t(65) = –5.77, p < .001). Participants in the exper- person (or animal). The pictures also appeared after
imental condition more often created words referring the four clues were given. For example, the clues
to famous people (champagne and fame) (M = 1.58, about Angelina Jolie included: “membership of the
SD = 0.62) than participants in the control condition Council on Foreign Relations”, and “has three of her
(M = 0.58, SD = 0.77). own children and three adopted children”; the clues
The t test revealed an effect for activation of the about the lion were: “it is a wild carnivore”, and “the
concept of the aspirational group through the adver- males have a mane”.
tisement (t(74) = –1.93, p < .060, d = –.44), but only at Manipulation check. After recognizing the per-
the tendency level. Respondents who in performing son/animal, participants were asked to complete the
their tasks were accompanied by the advertisement missing letter in a word. Three words were present-
with the slogan “Feel like a  movie star” put a  larg- ed, each of which could be completed in a different
er Yves Saint Laurent logo (M = 232.11, SD = 139.53) way and referring to the financial success of famous
than participants in the control group (M = 176.03, people or with a neutral connotation, lacking associ-
SD = 112.97). Furthermore, a significant effect for ac- ations with money. The words to complete were the
tivation of the idea of the aspirational group through following: 1/ k _ s a (loot/scythe, in Polish kasa/kosa);
the advertisement was observed in the doubling of 2/ f _ r s a (brass/farce, in Polish forsa/farsa); 3/ _ ł o t o
the logo (χ2 = 6.36, p = .010). In the experimental (gold/mug, in Polish złoto/błoto).
group (n = 17) participants put the Yves Saint Laurent Logo size. Four pictures of T-shirts with the Ralph
logo on the front and the back of their T-shirts twice Lauren logo were presented, aimed at female or male
as often as the control group (n = 8). customers depending on the participant’s sex. The logo

30 current issues in personality psychology

 Małgorzata Niesiobędzka

differed in size: 20, 28, 40, 54 mm. The participants re- The influence of media figures on conspicuous con-
ported which T-shirt they would choose. sumption also connects with the activation of goals
and norms (Lindenberg, Joly, &  Stapel, 2011). The
media figures enhance willingness to purchase and
RESULTS display the luxury brands via the activation of mate-
rialistic goals. Luxury brands are socially recognized
The t‑test revealed a significant effect for manipula- and visible signs of wealth and fame – materialistic
tion (t(70) = –2.76, p < .010). Participants in the exper- goals. Furthermore, luxury products are perceived as
imental condition more often created words referring more psychologically distant than ordinary goods.
to money (loot, brass, and gold) (M = 2.42, SD = 0.60) The psychological distance of luxury connects with
than participants in the control condition (M = 1.92, the exclusiveness and unfamiliarity with luxury
SD = 0.91). goods. Well-known, wealthy people are socially dis-
The t‑test revealed a significant effect for aspira- tant, but on the other hand they are perceived as prox-
tional group activation (t(70) = –2.02, p < .050; d = .47). imal to luxury, and thus may be treated as vehicles
As predicted, participants with the aspirational group to world of luxury. In the study the activation of the
activation were willing to choose a  T-shirt with idea of modern significant others enhances consumer
a bigger Ralph Lauren logo (M = 36.50, SD = 15.01) willingness to purchase and display the luxury brand.
than participants in the control group (M = 30.38, To sum up, the results experimentally supported the
SD = 10.51) (see Figure 2). Consistent with the hy- bandwagon effect within luxury conspicuous con-
pothesis, the activation of the aspirational group en- sumption previously established in correlative stud-
hanced preferences for a clearly visible logo. ies (Kastanakis & Balabanis, 2012, 2014; Kim & Jang,
2014; Tsai, Yang, & Liu, 2013).
The present study has some limitations. In Ex-
DISCUSSION periment 2, the study group included only women.
The previous results demonstrated a greater male ten-
The purpose of this study was to analyze bandwagon dency for conspicuous consumption than females. Men
consumption from several experimental approach- showing off their spending may be treated as an evo-
es, due to the correlative nature of previous studies. lutionary strategy for signal status, as a  social signal
Through three experiments, I am able to provide evi- directed at potential mates (Griskevicius et al., 2007;
dence that the activation of the aspirational reference Lens, Driesman, Pandelaere, & Janssens, 2012; Nelissen
group concept significantly affects the propensity to & Meijers, 2011). Thus, the replication of Experiment 2
conspicuous consumption. Participants watching ad- in a group consisting of men should demonstrate the
vertisements that included references to significant bandwagon effect to more of an extent.
others were willing to pay more for a luxury product Furthermore, an important issue concerns the
and doubled the luxury brand logo on created T-shirts logos of the luxury brands presented to partic-
more often than participants watching advertise- ipants. The logos were chosen in pre-test studies
ments without explicit references to significant oth- conducted in the comparative groups – Yves Saint
ers. It was also observed that the ad with the slogan Laurent in the female student group and Ralph Lau-
“Feel like a  movie star” encouraged respondents to ren in the post-graduate student group. Nerveless,
place a larger luxury brand logo than the ad without
the slogan, but only at a tendency level. Furthermore,
40
the activation of the idea of the aspirational group
Size of Ralph Laurent logo

38
by direct reference to famous people, e.g. Beyoncé 36
or Angelina Jolie, enhanced preferences for a clear- 34
ly visible luxury logo. Participants with aspirational 32
group activation chose a  larger Ralph Lauren logo 30
size than participants without an activation notion of 28
an aspirational group. The results of the experiments 26
presented herein demonstrate that the activation of 24
the aspirational reference group concept might en- 22
hance the propensity to conspicuous consumption 20
probably due to the conformity process, especially No activation Activation
to identification influence. The symbolic meaning of Aspirational group concept
products used by significant others helps individuals
to construct, maintain, and express desired identity. Figure 2. The size of luxury brand logo in the group
Therefore individuals choose products congruent with activation concept of aspirational group and in
with the social image of aspirational groups – now- the group without activation concept of aspirational
adays celebrities, such as movie and music stars. group.

volume 6(1), 8 31

 Study of conspicuous consumption

these brand logos might be perceived differently by types of scarcity signals with products’ suitability
participants; thus, in further studies the possibility for conspicuous consumption. International Jour-
of choosing a logo from some set of brands should nal of Research in Marketing, 27, 225–235.
be offered. Gil, L. A., Kwon, K. N., Good, L. K., & Johnson, L. W.
As was mentioned, only a small number of studies (2012). Impact of self on attitudes toward luxury
do not apply an entirely status-seeking perspective brands among teens. Journal of Business Research,
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effect and snob effect in the analysis allows us to dro, T. G. (2013). Populence: Exploring Luxury for
better understand the complex nature of conspicu- the Masses. Journal of Marketing Theory and Prac-
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of the bandwagon effect on consumer behavior can Grimm, P. E., Agrawal, J., & Richardson, P. S. (1999).
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ational influences. Therefore, future research should Determinants of Reference Group Influences. Ad-
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consumption. ni, R. B., Miller, G. F., Kenrick, D. T. (2007). Bla-
tant Benevolence and Conspicuous Consumption:
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