Making one's religious self feel better about luxury use: The role of religiosity in choice of disposal option for luxury goods

Abstract

While extant research examines the consumption of luxury products, consumers' methods for disposing of such products have yet to be examined, particularly as to how values drive disposal decisions. Through three studies, this research examines the influence of religious values, as measured by religiosity, on sustainable disposal options for luxury goods. Specifically, Study 1 shows that extrinsically (intrinsically) religious consumers are more likely to throw away (donate) luxury products after use. Study 2 examines the moderating influence of emotions to show that intrinsically (extrinsically) religious consumers are more (less) likely to use sustainable methods of product disposal for luxury and non-luxury products alike after being primed to feel shame/guilt in comparison to a control condition. Study 3 uses mock social media ads for sustainable disposal programs by existing luxury brands to show that intrinsic religiosity (but not extrinsic religiosity) positively influences purchase intentions and brand attitudes toward brands offering disposal programs for their luxury goods. Additionally, Study 3 demonstrates that identity mediates this relationship. Findings build on belief-congruence theory.

Beliefs to Behaviors: How Religiosity Alters Perceptions of CSR Initiatives and Retail Selection

“…The revised H-V model posits that intrinsically religious consumers have clearly defined deontological norms and that such norms play a relatively strong role in ethical judgments (Hunt and Vitell 2006). Accordingly, a positive relationship between intrinsic religiosity and attitude toward CSR would be consistent with the "greening of religion" hypothesis, in that religious leaders are increasingly calling on their followers to embrace the principles of environmental stewardship and sustainability (El Jurdi, Batat and Jafari 2017;Felix et al 2018, p. 304;Klein and Laczniak 2021;Minton and Geiger-Oneto 2020). Moreover, religious doctrines commonly emphasize community and caring for others (Felix et al 2018).…”

“…With respect to consumer ethics, this distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity means that intrinsic religiosity impacts ethical judgements and beliefs, whereas extrinsic religiosity does not (Vitell and Hunt 2015). Prior studies that distinguish between intrinsic, extrinsic, and quest religiosity find that intrinsic religiosity is positively related to pro-social attitudes, eco-centric attitudes, intentions to purchase green products, and ethical consumption (Chowdhury 2018;Martin and Bateman 2014;Minton and Geiger-Oneto 2020;Minton, Kahle and Kim 2015;Vitell, Paolillo and Singh 2005). By contrast, extrinsic religiosity is often associated with anti-social and non-sustainable attitudes, as well as unethical decisions (Arli 2017;Arli and Pekerti 2017;Arli, Septianto, and Chowdhury 2021), and quest religiosity has been found to have both positive and negative relationships with unethical consumer actions (Chowdhury 2018).…”

Consumer behaviour and environmental sustainability

“…Their findings show that whilst evoking different types of nostalgia leads to different choices in product disposal (keep, reuse, donate and recycle), both personal and collective nostalgia reduce intention to throw products away. Minton and Geiger‐Oneto (2020) perform another three experiments to look at the role of religiosity in the choice of disposal options for luxury goods. They find that consumers with high in intrinsic religiosity (internal connection to a god or divine) are generally more likely to choose sustainable methods of disposal compared to those high in extrinsic religiosity (social‐based form of religion).…”

Does religiosity matter for vice product consumption among Chinese individuals?

“…In fact, previous studies have investigated how religiosity can influence consumer behaviours and their consumption choices (e.g., Casabayó et al., 2020; Coşgel & Minkler, 2004; Elhoushy & Jang, 2020; Wang & Wong, 2020); consistent findings have emerged over time (Lam, 2006; Nonnemaker et al., 2006; Shaharudin et al., 2010). For example, religion influences a sense of belonging and consumer product evaluations (Minton & Geiger‐Oneto, 2020; Minton & Liu, 2020; Wang & Wong, 2020). Higher religiosity is associated with higher brand loyalty and more conservative purchase decisions (Delener, 1990; Essoo & Dibb, 2004; Tang & Li, 2015).…”