Status-Driven Consumption and Subjective Well-Being

This paper investigates the impact of different forms of consumption on subjective well-being. The study focuses on five key constructs: status as a fundamental motive, status consumption, bandwagon and snob luxury consumption, and materialism. Large-scale online survey findings suggest that individuals motivated by a strong drive for status attainment are more likely to engage in the consumption of goods that confer status, while they can also hold materialistic values. Model findings highlight that status consumption is a bandwagon and snob luxury consumption antecedent. Furthermore, the data highlight that subjective well-being is positively affected by status and bandwagon consumption. Surprisingly, the results showed that snob consumption and materialism negatively affect subjective well-being. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical study that deals with the impact of these different forms of status-driven consumption on a consumer’s subjective well-being, offering new insights into this complex relationship.