When Thoughts of 'Having Less' Promote the Desire to Become One's Best: Reminders of Resource Scarcity Increase the Desire for Self-Improvement

Posted: 19 May 2016 Last revised: 30 Nov 2016

See all articles by Kelly Goldsmith

Kelly Goldsmith

Vanderbilt University - Marketing

Ali Tezer

Concordia University, Quebec

Caroline Roux

Concordia University, Quebec - John Molson School of Business

Date Written: May 17, 2016

Abstract

Consumers often encounter reminders of resource scarcity; however, to date, relatively little is known about how such reminders affect the weight that consumers’ place on different product benefits when they make tradeoffs between outcomes. In this article, we test the prediction that reminders of resources scarcity will increase the desire for self-improvement, and provide evidence that this shift in the desire for self-improvement has consequences for consumer behavior. In particular, we observe that reminders of resource scarcity increase consumers’ interest in and willingness to pay for products that are associated with self-improvement related benefits. Thus our results demonstrate that resource scarcity can have positive implications for the improvement of individual consumer welfare through the activation of self-improvement motives. In addition, we offer a novel perspective on the conditions under which considerations of “having less” may alternately increase versus decrease consumer spending.

Keywords: scarcity, self-improvement, willingness to pay, consumer welfare

Suggested Citation

Goldsmith, Kelly and Tezer, Ali and Roux, Caroline, When Thoughts of 'Having Less' Promote the Desire to Become One's Best: Reminders of Resource Scarcity Increase the Desire for Self-Improvement (May 17, 2016). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2781209 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2781209

Kelly Goldsmith (Contact Author)

Vanderbilt University - Marketing ( email )

Nashville, TN 37203
United States

Ali Tezer

Concordia University, Quebec ( email )

1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W.
Montreal, Quebec H3G 1MB
Canada

Caroline Roux

Concordia University, Quebec - John Molson School of Business ( email )

1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W.
Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://bit.ly/drroux

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