Happiness Leisure Experiences in Consumption

Abstract

The Personal sense of uniqueness (PSU) is positively associated with subjective well-being and has been recently shown its correlation with happiness, influencing consumer's experience behavior. However, the effects of hedonic and eudaimonic experience on conspicuous and inconspicuous (consumer's need for status and inner fulfillment) are unknown. The purpose of this research is to address a gap existing in the literature by testing the effects of PSU on hedonic and eudaimonic leisure experiences and how happiness leisure experiences effects conspicuous and inconspicuous consumption. The relationships hypothesized in the model are tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and bootstrapping procedure. Data was gathered using a self-administrated survey, answered by 200 consumers based on consumers' leisure experiences. The findings of this study suggest that (i) PSU positively and significantly influence hedonic and eudaimonic happiness; (ii) the effect of PSU on eudaimonic happiness is higher than in hedonic happiness; (iii) eudaimonic happiness positively and significantly influence conspicuous and inconspicuous consumption; and (iv) hedonic happiness negatively and significantly influence conspicuous and inconspicuous consumption. This study helps fill a gap in the literature by introducing and testing the effect of hedonic and eudaimonic leisure experiences and the relationship between these constructs and PSU and (in) conspicuous consumption.

1. Introduction

The concept of happiness and, specifically, what makes people happy, has received growing attention in consumer research over the past years (Bruhn & Schnebelen, 2017; Kesebir & Diener, 2008; Mogilner et al., 2011). Happiness has been defined as a self-evaluation of one’s life based on positive/negative emotional experiences (Diener et al., 1999). Scholars have proposed two distinct forms of happiness, hedonic and eudaimonic (Ryan & Deci, 2001; Ryff & Singer, 2006). Although these approaches are conceptually distinct, they share some elements. Koydemir et al. (2013) contributed to the understanding of the underlying factors of the happiness experience. Their study showed that one’s personal sense of uniqueness (PSU) influenced individual differences in happiness.

The present study is based on the theory of uniqueness (Snyder, 1992; Snyder & Fromkin, 1977). This theory proposes that when consumers perceive they share some degree of similarity with others, they develop feelings of indifference towards consumption (i.e., one’s self-perception of uniqueness is weakened). Consequently, the consumer’s happiness with a brand, product, or experience is reduced, and its consumption does not affect his ideal self-and/or social image (Snyder & Fromkin, 1977).

Furthermore, previous relevant research has shown that the consumer’s experiences of leisure, friendship, and happiness influence each other (An & Zhang, 2019; Chen & Li, 2020). The authors’ underlying rationale for conducting this research is to investigate how happiness leisure experiences (e.g., travel, going to a concert, going to a SPA, going to a restaurant with Michelin’s Star Chef, taking a nature walk) have been addressed in recent literature, how happiness leisure experience (hedonic and eudaimonic) is affected by PSU, and how these happiness leisure experiences lead to consumption. The focus of this study, happiness leisure experiences, can be enjoyed in the presence of others, that is, conspicuous consumption (the consumer’s need for status), or alone, inconspicuous consumption (inner fulfilment).

In developing the proposed conceptual model, the authors drew on recent, relevant studies, including into PSU (Demir et al., 2013; Koydemir et al., 2020; Şimşek & Yalınçetin, 2010), hedonic and eudaimonic happiness experiences (Ahn et al., 2019; Jung, 2017), and conspicuous (Roy Chaudhuri & Majumdar, 2006) and inconspicuous consumption (Eckhardt et al., 2015).

Kumar et al. (2021) proposed that marketing-related research into the concept of happiness is interesting and useful, for several reasons, for example, to identify: how happiness affects consumers’ behaviors, including consumption (seeking information, evaluations, and decision-making); the typical behaviors of a happy consumer (loyalty, WOM, re-purchase); how the happiness concept might be integrated into marketing strategies. Thus, the present study aims to bridge a gap identified in the literature on how happiness affects consumer behaviors, including (in) conspicuous consumption. Furthermore, this research seeks to address this gap by testing the effects of hedonic and eudaimonic happiness leisure experiences and the relationships between these constructs and personal sense of uniqueness and (in) conspicuous consumption.

The remainder of the present study is organized as follows: first, the theoretical foundations of the research are discussed; second, the hypotheses are developed in terms of the conceptual model; third, the methodology used is explained, and the analyses performed. Finally, we present the results’ discussion and their implications and propose future research lines.

2. Literature Review and Hypotheses Development

2.1. Happiness Leisure Experiences and Personal Sense of Uniqueness

Leisure experiences help to improve life satisfaction and expand one’s social circle (Chen & Li, 2020). The amount of leisure experiences that the individual has in his daily life can affect his total satisfaction with his quality of life, increasing their happiness; leisure is one of the sources of human happiness (Andrews & Withey, 1976; Chen & Li, 2020; Liu & Da, 2020). When individuals engage in leisure experiences, their minds tend to relax; they feel free and more open, which changes the body, mind, and emotional states as the three interact (Chen & Li, 2020). It has also been shown that consumers’ willingness to buy increases after these experiences (Chou, 2016). Based on the aforementioned, we can consider that happy leisure experiences impact individuals’ consumption behavior.

Happiness has been defined as a sense of balance between positive and negative effects (Bowman et al., 2010). This viewpoint proposes that happiness is an emotional state with different intensity levels and combines a sense of agreeableness with various degrees of arousal (euphoria, excitement, joy, elation, contentment, satisfaction, and pleasure) (Shin, 2010). As a result, two forms of happiness could exist. One is the pleasant, high-arousal state when happiness assumes it is the most intense form and is experienced as excitement or joy – hedonic happiness. In another form, happiness is a low-arousal state related to feelings of peacefulness and serenity (Mogilner et al., 2011). From the effective viewpoint, happiness can be cognitive in nature: thus, happiness is associated with satisfaction with life, and consumers can evaluate life in a positive and/or negative way – eudaimonic happiness (Veenhoven, 2012).

The eudaimonic perspective of happiness developed from ancient Greek philosophy theorized that living a virtuous, good, and fulfilling life, a life that fully exploits the individual’s potential, is an essential pathway to happiness (Ewert et al., 2020; Kashdan, Biswas-Diener, & King, 2008). In this vein, Stephens (2007) posited that happiness is founded on a life characterized by freedom, harmony, and serenity. Kesebir and Diener (2008), from a hedonic perspective, defined pleasure as being life’s ultimate goal and the means of living a good life. According to Kashdan et al. (2008), happiness is associated with gaining the greatest possible amount of pleasure, avoiding discomfort, and being the totality of all pleasurable experiences. The hedonic perspective of happiness is currently dominant (Bruhn & Schnebelen, 2017).

Feeling differentiated from others has long been recognized to significantly affect consumer behavior (Abosag et al., 2020). The consumer’s need for uniqueness has been defined as “a positive striving for differentness relative to other people” (Snyder & Fromkin, 1977, p. 519).

The theory of uniqueness proposes that the individual’s need to be seen as different is stimulated by, and competes with, other inherent motivations (Snyder & Fromkin, 1977). This is more frequent in situations that might threaten the individual’s self-perception of uniqueness (Tepper-Tian et al., 2001). Şimşek and Yalınçetin (2010, p. 576) defined PSU as “partly based on the individual’s comparison of self with others, it also reflects one’s private evaluation of one’s sense of uniqueness rather than one’s need to be different from others.” Thus, these authors discuss a feeling of being somehow different and, at the same time, worthy. One’s PSU is based on the individual’s personal evaluation of his unique existence, not solely focused on his need to feel different. This feeling of uniqueness is related to high self-esteem. Thus, it can be argued that this PSU relates to one’s personal perceptions of oneself and is different from others (Demir et al., 2013; Koydemir et al., 2020).

Demir et al. (2013) argued that the higher one’s feelings of PSU, the greater one’s sensation of self-worth. However, PSU is unconditional self-esteem in that the individual feels unique, regardless of any other personal characteristics (Koydemir et al., 2020). Lyubomirsky et al. (2006) argued that PSU contributes to the individual’s happiness, as self-love is one of the strongest indicators of happiness. Other studies have also offered support for the positive effect of PSU on wellbeing indicators such as hope, happiness, resilience, and basic psychological needs (Koydemir et al., 2013; Şimşek & Demir, 2014). Taking these points, we posit the following hypotheses:

H1: Personal sense of uniqueness positively affects hedonic happiness experiences.

H2: Personal sense of uniqueness positively affects eudaimonic happiness experiences.

According to Koydemir et al. (2020), PSU should not be regarded merely as a feeling of being different from the rest but as an aspect of positive human growth and self-realization. While hedonic happiness (HH) is seen as the relatively short-term assessment of life as satisfactory, of the sensations of pleasure and balance between positive and negative affection, eudaimonic happiness (EH) represents long-term psychological well-being as a result of individual development and self-realization through overcoming existential challenges within life (Han, 2020; Maltby et al., 2005). Therefore, this concept of EH refers to the perception of quality of life derived from the development of personal potential and its consequent application to the fulfillment of personal goals (Waterman et al., 2010).

Waterman et al. (2008, p. 42) define eudaimonia as a “subjective state, refers to the feelings present when one is moving toward self-realization in terms of the developing one´s unique individual potentials furthering one´s purposes in living.” Therefore, it is expected that PSU will have a greater effect on EH since performing activities that allow the individual to feel unique could increase their feeling of self-realization in terms of developing unique individual potentials. Thus, we proposed:

H3: Personal sense of uniqueness has a greater effect on eudaimonic happiness experiences than on hedonic happiness experiences.

2.2. Hedonic and Eudaimonic Happiness and Conspicuous and Inconspicuous Consumption

It has been suggested in the academic literature that wellbeing has three components, life satisfaction, positive and negative affect (Diener, 1984): the term itself is often used interchangeably with enjoyment, happiness, and satisfaction. Well-being has been categorized as HH and EH (Ryan & Deci, 2001). Bowman et al. (2010) proposed that feelings of happiness and pleasure characterize hedonic well-being; it is often operationalized in the literature as subjective well-being. Ryan and Deci (2001) described eudaimonic wellbeing as being associated with consumers’ beliefs that they are undertaking worthwhile, meaningful, challenging, and personally fulfilling activities. Ahn et al. (2019) described hedonic and eudaimonic well-being as important outcomes of consumers’ experiences.

Taking a perspective contrary to most academic literature (Li & Atkinson, 2020), which proposes that consumption influences the consumer’s happiness, the present study proposes that where the consumer puts more/less value on hedonic/eudaimonic happiness, he will tend more/less towards the (in)conspicuous consumption of goods, services and experiences.

Veblen (1899) first coined the term conspicuous consumption (CC), describing it as an evolution of the vicarious consumption of goods by the nouveau riche, leisured class. This author suggested that “conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure” (p. 53); that is, the desire to gain status and social prestige through the acquisition and consumption of goods is one of the main precursors of CC (Goldsmith et al., 1996; Huang & Wang, 2018). The principle of status consumption proposes that the consumer’s purchases are symbolic of his position in society within his reference group (Belk, 1999; Dawson & Cavell, 1987) and that status symbols vary based on age, gender, and social class (O’Cass & McEwen, 2004). Thus, conspicuous and status consumption are frequently treated in the literature as similar phenomena, to the extent that the terms are often used interchangeably (O’Cass & McEwen, 2004), particularly in reference to the social status acquired through possession (Belk, 1999). As Roy Chaudhuri and Majumdar (2006) highlighted, CC should not be restricted to its original meaning but can encompass broader dimensions such as “being seen or identified by others, ” “public consumption” (Bearden & Etzel, 1982; Grimm et al., 1999), “self-concept” (Sirgy, 1982) and “uniqueness” (Tepper-Tian et al., 2001).

Truong et al. (2008) also addressed the relationship between status and conspicuousness, who developed a scale to evaluate luxury brands’ status and conspicuousness within the context of new luxury brands. Truong et al. (2008) also suggested that despite the difference between status and CC evidenced by O’Cass and McEwen (2004), recent literature within the context of luxury branding has proposed that status and conspicuousness are a single, one-dimensional construct (Vigneron & Johnson, 2004).

It has been recognized that individuals try to achieve, or maintain, a positive social identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and, based on social identity theory, it has been proposed that a connection exists between the individual’s self-image and product/experience consumption (Huang & Wang, 2018). However, the analysis of CC is complex as it cannot be related to one single purpose. For example, when an individual buys a visibly luxurious product, he, based on self-image, seeks to demonstrate achievement and success and obtain pleasure (Purinton, 2009). However, sometimes CC is oriented towards society (Amaldoss & Jain, 2005) and the desire for uniqueness.

The present study’s authors argue that, traditionally, the way to demonstrate one’s social status/class to both peers and society at large was through CC. However, the growth of inconspicuous consumption (IC) reflects a change in consumer attitudes towards hedonism and a tendency to move away from social class and status-seeking (Eckhardt et al., 2015; Shao et al., 2019). Thus, today, those with higher social positions do not need to demonstrate this ostentatiously to others in the main-stream instead, they choose more discrete forms of consumption that distinguishes them among their peers, where pleasure is not derived from what is possessed and/or consumed, but in sharing it with a small group of equals with sufficient cultural capital to decode subtle signals (Berger & Ward, 2010; Eckhardt et al., 2015; Han, 2020). This cultural capital refers to non-financial social skills and/or cultural knowledge that people have in particular domains (Wu et al., 2017).

It has been suggested that this shift from CC to IC occurs gradually over three phases (Bellezza et al., 2017; Wu et al., 2017). Eckhardt et al. (2015) explained how and why this change occurs. In the first phase, CC, as coined by Veblen (1899), still prevails; that is, the consumption of luxury, sophisticated and inaccessible goods is associated with the idea of differentiating oneself from the masses. The second phase begins with the reformulation of luxury, which has resulted in the “new luxury” and c, characterized by high quality but affordability, that is, within the price range of the middle classes. This, together with the increase in imitation products, has diluted the initial meaning of luxury and the loss of its exclusivity. Finally, in the third phase, the highest social classes have innovated how they relate to their peers and differentiate themselves. Therefore, inconspicuous brands have begun to emerge, signposted subtly and difficult for the masses to identify. The same reasoning could be applied to leisure experiences.

Happiness and subjective well-being might be obtained through social capital and leisure (Benjamin et al., 2015; Tsurumi et al., 2021). Several authors (DeLeire & Kalil, 2010; Noll & Weick, 2015; Tsurumi et al., 2021) suggest that a direct relationship can be found between relational consumption and eudaimonic and hedonic happiness. Moreover, the effect of relational consumption is higher than leisure activities (Tsurumi et al., 2021).

IC has been defined as the use of subtle signals that are only observable to people with the required knowledge to decode their meanings (Berger & Ward, 2010) and has emerged in response to the advent of masstige products (Eckhardt et al., 2015; Paul, 2018). Inconspicuous consumers, to distinguish themselves from the mainstream, avoid highly prominent, conspicuous products favoring more discrete products (Lee et al., 2019). Thus, inconspicuous consumers normally reject obvious status symbols and tend to feel guilty about their CC because they prefer not to create envy and irritation in times of economic austerity (Wu et al., 2017). Consequently, they try to distance themselves from the prototypical “nouveau riche” (Carbajal, Hall, & Li, 2015) with their pretentious aspirations, who try to prove their status through ostentatious consumption. Therefore, we propose the following hypotheses:

H4: Hedonic happiness has a positive effect on conspicuous consumption.

H5: Hedonic happiness has a positive effect on inconspicuous consumption.

H6: Eudaimonic happiness has a positive effect on conspicuous consumption.

H7: Eudaimonic happiness has a positive effect on inconspicuous consumption.

Self-concept can be explained through ideal-social self and social-self and plays different roles in CC and IC. The ideal-social self has generally been associated with CC and social-self with IC (Sachdev et al., 2016). Makkar and Yap (2018), in a series of in-depth interviews, identified three levels of IC-linked emotional experiences used by individuals as self-defence strategies. These strategies range from the outer self to the inner self through the transitory self.

In addition, in reference to luxury consumption, some authors have argued that consumers who acquire luxury products and/or experiences are influenced by their perceptions and motivations (Atwal & Williams, 2009); while others have drawn on self-determination theory (SDT) to explain how extrinsic and intrinsic motivations increase CC and IC (Shao et al., 2019). Shao et al. (2019) concluded that extrinsic motivation has a positive and direct influence on both CC and IC. In contrast, intrinsic motivation positively and indirectly affects IC and is moderated by one’s need for uniqueness and self-monitoring. That is, intrinsically motivated consumers with high needs for uniqueness try to differentiate themselves from the mainstream through IC. They prefer to consume subtle luxury products/ brands/experiences to communicate their value, personality, and identity (low self-monitors) rather than project a specific image in social settings (high self-monitors). Therefore, we propose the following hypotheses:

H8: Hedonic happiness has a greater effect on conspi­ cuous consumption than on inconspicuous consumption.

H9: Eudaimonic happiness has a greater effect on inconspicuous consumption than conspicuous consumption.

3. Research Method

3.1. Data Collection

Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire. We used a convenience sample where the link to complete the questionnaire was distributed to the authors’ network of contacts (students, friends, and colleagues), asking them to pass it on to their contacts. In addition, we adopted a snowballing sampling procedure to reach consumers who had undergone significant leisure experiences, identify how these had influenced their PSU, and analyze the relationships between HH, EH, and CC and IC.

The data were collected between May and June 2019 (n = 200). In the questionnaire, there was an exclusion question for the respondents: “Do you usually enjoy leisure experiences? The respondents who answered negatively to this item were excluded. Therefore, from the final sample (n = 279), we were left with 200 valid answers. A pre-test was performed during February 2019 with a sample of university students and academic professionals to test the questions and the content validity of the scales. Sixty-seven questionnaires were collected. This procedure allowed us to refine the respondents’ understanding of the questions and to collect suggestions for improvement. To test the study hypotheses, we used the structural equation modeling, and PLS-SEM analytic technique (Ringle et al., 2015; Sarstedt et al., 2022). This methodology is suitable for this study since it presents a small sample and the confirmatory nature of the conceptual model. The PLS-SEM was executed in two phases: the first assess reliability and validity of the measurement model and, the second evaluates the structural path model through the bootstrapping procedure with 200 responses and 5000 bootstrap samples (Hair et al., 2019). The reliability and the validity of the constructs present in the model were assessed using composite reliability (CR) and average variance extracted (AVE) and Fornell and Larcker’s (1981) criteria for discriminant validity.

In the data collection phase, common-method bias in the self-reported data was reduced by ensuring the confidentiality of the respondents’ identities and by randomizing the questionnaire items (Podsakoff et al., 2003).

3.2. Measures

The relevant constructs in the theoretical model were operationalized using measures adopted from the existing literature, as advocated by Podsakoff et al. (2003) as a procedure to reduce common-method bias. The items were measured using 5-point Likert-type scales ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.” The survey measured the respondents’ PSU using four items from Şimşek and Yalınçetin (2010) scale, HH and EH using six items from Ryan and Deci (2000), and Wirth et al. (2012) adapted scales. CC was evaluated using four items from Souiden et al. (2011) scale, and IC using six items from Berger and Ward (2010) and Dogan and Yaprak (2017) adapted scales, focusing on leisure experiences. These scales were chosen because they were well-known and commonly used instruments to assess the object under study (Behzadnia & Ryan, 2018; Demir et al., 2013; Koydemir et al., 2014; O’cass & Frost, 2002).

3.3. Assessment of Common-Method Variance

Common-method variance (CMV) can affect the estimates of structural models because of the data-gathering method used (Podsakoff et al., 2003). Harman’s (1976) single-factor test was used to assess the effect of CMV on the research results. The result indicated that 39.98% (< 50% cut-off point) of the total variance was explained by a single constrained factor, suggesting that the instrument is free from significant CMV effects. In addition, a PLS model with a common method factor with indicators including all the principal variables was run, and the principal construct substantially explained each indicator’s variance. This analysis showed that the average variance of the indicators was 0.698, and that the average method-based variance was 0.004. Consequently, CMV is not a problem in this research.

4. Results

Of the sample, 57.5% were female, and the average age was 29 years (ranging between 15 and 58). Seventy-six percent of the respondents had a total monthly household income of less than 2, 000€, and 15.5% between 2, 001€ and 3, 000€. Some 47.5% had college/university degrees, and 46% had completed secondary/high school, a preponderance of educated consumers (see Table 1).

Table 1: Sample Characteristic (n = 200)

To test for multicollinearity was conducted a series of regression models on the various constructs were to calculate the VIFs (variance inflation factors); the values ranged from 1.09 to 1.57, below the critical level of 10, which suggests there are no multicollinearity problems with the model (Kleinbaum et al., 1988).

SmartPLS 3 software (Ringle et al., 2015) was used to assess the measurement model’s reliability and validity and test the hypotheses. Table 2 presents the results of the confirmatory factor analysis. Composite measures of identified factors are unidimensional, and the Cronbach’s alphas exceeded the cut-value of 0.70 (Bagozzi & Yi, 2012). Following the procedures suggested by Fornell and Larcker (1981), we also tested the convergent and discriminant validity of the dimensions. The average variance extracted (AVE) and the composite reliability (CR) values, above the recommended minimums of 0.50 and 0.70, respectively, showed that the constructs all had convergent validity (Table 2).

Table 2: Measurement Scales, Reliability, and Dimensionality Statistics

Convergent discriminant validity was further investigated by analyzing if the square roots of the average variances extracted were more significant than the inter-construct correlations between any two constructs (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). All factor loadings for indicators measuring the same constructs were statistically significant (p < 0.01), supporting convergent validity (see Table 3).

Table 3: Discriminant Validity Assessment

Note: Square roots of the AVEs are shown on the diagonal.

The structural model (Figure 1) was estimated through a bootstrap resampling tool to determine path significances. The results indicated that all paths were statistically significant, with the structural model explaining 35.3% of the variance of HH, 53.8% of the variance of EH, 4.7% of the variance of CC, and 7.8% of the variance of IC. The findings provided support for H1and H2, showing that PSU had a significant positive effect on HH (path coefficient = 0.594, p < 0.001) and on EH (path coefficient = 0.733, p < 0.001), reinforcing the findings of previous studies (Demir et al., 2013; Koydemir et al., 2020; Lyubomirsky et al., 2006; Şimşek & Demir, 2014). Support was also found for H3 since the effect of PSU is higher on EH. This result is in vein with the studies carried out by Koydemir et al. (2020), Maltby et al. (2005), and Waterman et al. (2010). H6 and H7 were also supported showing significant and positive relationships between EH and CC (path coefficient = 0.188, p < 0.05) and between EH and IC (path coefficient = 0.304, p < 0.01). These results are in line with the studies developed by DeLeire and Kalil (2010), Noll and Weick (2015), and Tsurumi et al. (2021). However, no positive effects of HH on CC (path coefficient = -0.314, p < 0.001) and IC (path coefficient = -0.410, p < 0.001) were found; therefore, H4 and H5 were not supported. One possible explication for this result consists of the nature of the experiences selected by individuals of the study. Form the six options suggested the most selected ones were travel and nature walks instead of going to a concert or eating in a Michelin restaurant. However, hypothesis H8 was partially supported, because the negative effect of HH on CC was less than its negative effect on IC. EH had a higher effect on IC than it did on CC, as expected, supporting H9.

Figure 1: Structural Model

5. Discussion

In its evaluation of leisure experiences, the present study showed that a positive, significant relationship exists between PSU and HH. The study also confirmed a direct, positive relationship between PSU and EH. This is consistent with Koydemir et al. (2013), who also showed a correlation between PSU and EH. This aligns with the principal idea underlying the uniqueness concept. Carter and Gilovich (2012) demonstrated that experiences are more closely related to the individual’s self-concept than are material purchases. From the eudaimonic perspective, achieving goals has been associated with happiness (Ryan & Deci, 2001). Therefore, when someone buys an experience because it makes him feel that they are expressing their identity, values, and self-concept, and the experience contributes to developing one’s unique, individual potential, this sense of uniqueness translates into EH.

Surprisingly, the results of our study revealed the existence of a significant negative relationship between HH and consumption. Although it has been proved that consumption contributes to higher happiness (Wang et al., 2019), our results showed that HH does not promote CC or IC. In addition, when consumers enjoy experiences that make them feel unique and provide them with pleasure and happiness (HH), the consumption is neither CC nor IC. This may be because individuals sometimes feel guilty about their ostentatious consumption and arousing envy among their acquaintances, which might lead them to consume more discretely (Makkar & Yap, 2018). However, we found that the relationship between HH and IC was also negative. This may be because with consumption experiences, as opposed to products, people focus more on enjoying the experience itself, rather than on using it to display their status to society at large (conspicuous) or their peers (inconspicuous). The important thing, in this case, is to feel unique, be happy, enjoy, and have fun. Therefore, it is easier to communicate one’s social position through the process of buying material goods than it is through purchasing ephemeral experiences.

Last, according to previous studies, the results showed a positive relationship between EH and both CC and IC (Roy Chaudhuri & Majumdar, 2006; Wu et al., 2017). Shove and Warde (2002), in an analysis of the sociology of consumption, lifestyles, and the environment, suggested that the act of consumption is associated with social prestige and a sense of self and personality. In addition, the acquisition of goods and services promotes psychological well-being, personal self-development, and self-growth as part of a continuous process of identity formation. On the other hand, this pursuit of novelty has also been associated with learning new things and/or enjoying new experiences (Shove & Warde, 2002), and this can lead to a sense of EH.

6. Conclusion and Limitations

This study aims to achieve a deeper understanding of the influence of PSU and its impact on CC and IC, mediated by HH and EH. As the sample was convenient, the results should be interpreted cautiously when generalizing them. However, they are still valuable in the sense that they provide guidelines for theoretical and management contributions.

In terms of theoretical contributions, this study fills a gap identified in the hedonic and eudaimonic experience literature by addressing the relationship between these constructs and PSU and (in) conspicuous consumption. This study assumes that different kinds of happiness experiences induce different kinds of consumption, contradicting most academic literature (Li & Atkinson, 2020). Results support this idea showing that the eudaimonic leisure experiences directly influence conspicuous and inconspicuous consumption. Although the results cannot be generalized, the study contributes to theoretical advances in explaining the relationship between happiness and consumption. Moreover, most previous research has evaluated consumers’ experiences with luxury goods. This study’s main contribution is evaluating experiences (e.g., traveling, going to a concert/spa/a Michelin-starred restaurant, walking through nature, or playing an extreme sport), which are evaluated differently depending on the self-concept (ideal and social) of each individual. Furthermore, IC is a phenomenon that has attracted little interest from researchers, but this study has demonstrated that it is an important research area with the potential to increase the understanding of consumption experience behaviors.

As to managerial implications, managers should pay special attention to market segmentation in their communication. One possibility would be to cluster groups according to their perceptions of pleasure experiences, that is, how these contribute to their PSU and how they influence their (in) conspicuous consumption. Managers should also seek to understand how different experiences, and their frequency, might contribute to the individual’s pursuit of happiness and, consequently, co-create personalized experiences. In addition, if managers want to link luxury experiences to a particular form of (in) conspicuous consumption, they should focus their communications on how this experience might contribute to the consumers EH. They might highlight aspects related to the achievement of self-realization and sense of uniqueness; if consumers perceive these experiences as differentiating, and that they might increase their sense of uniqueness and self-realization, they will be more willing to buy luxury experiences both conspicuous and inconspicuous. On the other hand, if the communications focus on fun and pleasure (HH), the experiences should be designed without CC and IC associations.

The present study has some limitations that provide avenues for future research. As to the data gathering, we used convenience sampling, which limits the generalisability of the results. Future research might extend the empirical study to other experiences and find different results. A greater focus on qualitative research might extend the empirical study and better understand the individual’s personal motives to select some experiences over others. Another possible area of future research would be to investigate other antecedents of (in) conspicuous consumption, such as psychological traits, and consider the moderating effect of materialism on the relationships between (in) conspicuous consumption and happiness. Further studies might also examine different consumer segments, for example, the middle-aged and youths, and the influence of income and access to credit, and analyze how these moderate conspicuous and inconspicuous consumption within the experience context.

*Acknowledgements:

This work is supported by national funding’s of FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., in the project UIDB/04005/2020.