Did You Earn Your Louis Vuitton? The Impact of Unearned Conspicuous Signals

摘要

Consumers who are motivated to present themselves in a socially desirable manner often choose to display images of higher status, wealth, and prestige through conspicuous consumption. However, will conspicuous consumption have its desired social benefits even when conspicuous products are purchased with unearned money (i.e., money acquired without consumers' own effort)?