Is this mine? Psychological ownership and the social media follower

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine psychological ownership (PO) experienced by followers of social media influencers toward both influencer and the product. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using face-to-face semi-structured interviews that were conducted with 30 respondents and analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings The study demonstrated that the PO experienced by the follower changes under different conditions resulting from perceived value, social currency and follower activity. Social currency plays a vital role in determining the target of PO, often affecting the narrative by the follower. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first paper to examine the transference of PO between product and influencer as experienced by the follower. It provides an understanding on PO that is experienced in different levels of intensity and changes depending on the motive of the follower; hence, transference of PO occurs and it is not a static.

Gen Z buying patterns: comparing the influence of professional advising and social media engagement

“…When shopping, buyers face complex issues and their behaviors are confounded by many situational factors (Bunn, 1993). For young consumers, these include product endorsements (Tsen and Cheng, 2021), influencers (Wies et al , 2023) and psychological ownership (Tan, 2022). The consumer decision-making process is dynamic and depends on the importance individuals attach to the process (Onofrei et al , 2022).…”

“…According to Riaz et al (2021), social commerce stands apart from traditional e-commerce by enabling consumers to share experiences, interact and offer valuable brand recommendations. For Generation Z, social media has become an integral part of life, allowing young users to create and exchange content as well as glean and exchange information from brand-related sources (Duffett, 2017; Tan, 2022). Numerous influential papers have delved into the impact of these platforms on consumer habits and their potential to shape communication and marketing (Fan, 2021; Hazzam, 2022; Jhawar et al , 2023; Tsen and Cheng, 2021).…”

Does integrated store service quality stimulate omnichannel shoppers' augmenting, co-developing, influencing and mobilizing behaviors? Moderating role of perceived relationship investment

“…It is not just the attachment to the physical spaces that results in customer engagement behaviors; for instance, Li and Han (2021) empirically demonstrated that emotional attachment with the online interest communities through the routes of gratifying self and enabling self also encourages various engagement behaviors among the brand community users. Customers tend to exhibit influencing behaviors when they sense psychological ownership of the brand is associated with content creation on social media pages about the brand (Tan, 2022). Extant literature shows people tend to share knowledge/ ideas for new product development in virtual brand communities when they feel a sense of belonging towards a firm (Jiang et al, 2021).…”