Tag Archives: sharing

Does sharing make us happy? The impact of shared products on consumer happiness

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In a world increasingly defined by the sharing economy, where communal access to products takes precedence over ownership, a new article by Taiyang Zhao (Jilin University) et al. (2023) sheds light on the unexpected consequences of this trend. Titled “Shared but Unhappy,” the research explores the detrimental effects of using shared products on psychological ownership and consumer happiness.

The findings, derived from three experimental studies, reveal a stark contrast between using owned products and shared products. Consumers experience greater psychological ownership deprivation and lower happiness when using shared products. This is particularly relevant for certain consumer groups, such as materialistic consumers and those facing perceived financial constraints. In conclusion, the study underlines the importance of considering psychological ownership and consumer happiness in the ongoing discourse around shared products.

You can read more about the research of Zhao et al. (2023) here.

Have you ever felt like your Airbnb hosts’ property is yours? Psychological Ownership and P2P services

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In their current research, Giovanni Pino (University of Chieti-Pescara), Marta Nieto-García (Portsmouth Business School) and Carol X. Zhang (Nottingham Business School) take a closer look at psychological ownership in the context of peer-to-peer (P2P) services. P2P services, like AirBnB or carpooling, do not involve ownership transfer; consumers can make use of resources without the responsibility associated with ownership. However, consumers still may experience psychological ownership toward their service providers’ resources, such as their house or car. The research of Pino and colleagues demonstrates that (1) customer–service provider identification engenders a sense of psychological ownership toward a P2P service setting, (2) psychological ownership, in turn, fosters customer attitudinal and behavioral loyalty, and, (3) cooperative interactions between customers and service providers moderate the effect that customer–service provider identification exerts on customer loyalty via psychological ownership. Thus, the consumers’ feeling of psychological ownership is relevant to P2P services as it might result in a favourable disposition toward a certain service and motivates consumers to use the same service again in the future. A lack of connection might not only result in limited interest in reusing the resources but, in some cases, might even promote misbehaviour.

You can read more about this research here.

Are Your Fries Less Fattening than Mine?

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Buying a bigger package of chocolate bars to share with your friends? Or sharing fries at a restaurant with your partner? How does that impact your health?

The popularity of share-size snacks and shared plate options in restaurants has grown and so did concerns over how food sharing may be impacting health. Nükhet Taylor (Ryerson University) and Theodore J. Noseworthy (York University) address this question in their current research. Their empirical studies suggest that food sharing reduces perceived ownership, which, in turn, leads people to mentally decouple calories from their consequence. Sharing food is not biasing caloric estimates but sharing is biasing how consumers construe the consequence of their caloric intake. Lower perceived ownership makes caloric intake seem inconsequential as food appears less fattening when it is shared.

You can read more about this research here.

Reminder: CFP on Consumer Ownership & Sharing – April 1, 2015

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We would like to remind you that the submission deadline, which is April 1, 2015, for the special issue on Consumer Ownership & Sharing in the new Journal of the Association of Consumer Research is approaching fast.

The second issue of the very first volume of this brand new journal of the consumer research field is edited by non others than Russell W. Belk and Linda L. Price. Empirical and conceptual papers are sought addressing aspects and issues in the areas of ownership and sharing by consumers. All relevant theoretical perspectives and empirical methods are welcomed.

More information can be found in our Call for Papers section or by downloading the corresponding PDF right here.

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Call for Papers: Consumer Ownership & Sharing

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In the spirit of last week’s interview feature, we would like to remind you about a current call for papers on “Consumer Ownership & Sharing” for the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, which is co-edited by Russell Belk and Linda Price. Submission deadline is April 1, 2015.

They are basically looking for empirical as well as conceptual papers that address aspects and issues in the areas of ownership and sharing by consumers. All relevant theoretical perspectives and empirical methods are welcomed. Examples of topical areas that might be addressed include:

  • Ownership: Psychology of ownership, sociology of ownership, history and prehistory of ownership, new perspectives on endowment effects, intellectual property, children’s possession and ownership, cultural influences on modes of ownership, collective and societal ownership, environmental issues in ownership, burdens of ownership,limits of ownership, privacy and ownership
  • Sharing: Collaborative consumption, role of the internet in sharing, sharing intangible or digital goods, fictitious commodities, sharing during childhood, renting, leasing, hiring, and buying, communal living, environmental issues in sharing/repurposing, sharing public goods, Information sharing and social media, file sharing

For further information, please visit our Call for Papers section or download the PDF version right here.

Have a great weekend and happy Halloween!

May We Introduce: Russell W. Belk

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“Perhaps the greatest surprise is how extremely proprietary we can be about certain possessions and at the same time how extremely generous we can be with many of our possessions.”

You may have seen that we have this section called Featured, where we collect interviews with leading scholars and those who have advanced the field of ownership. The section is by far not exhaustive and there are many more interviews to come.

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That said we are more than excited to prominently present the first interview with Russell Belk. Russell is a real thought leader in the field of ownership, meaning of possessions, sharing, materialism, gift-giving and research on the extended self and has authored and co-authored more than 550 top journal articles and books. He currently holds the position as Professor and Kraft Foods Canada Chair in Marketing at the Schulich School of Business at York University. Further, he is past president of the International Association of Marketing and Development, and is a fellow, past president, and Film Festival co-founder in the Association for Consumer Research.

In his interview he talks about how he got involved and – more importantly – so passionate about the topic, what his favorite possession is and how he sees the field of ownership in the future. In order to read the full article, click here.