TY - JOUR
T1 - Consumer escapism
T2 - scale development, validation, and physiological associations
AU - Orazi, Davide C.
AU - Yi Mah, Kit
AU - Derksen, Tim
AU - Murray, Kyle B.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors wish to thank Theodore Noseworthy and Anne Hamby for their helpful comments on an early draft of this manuscript. This research was funded through an Early Career Research Grant from the Faculty of Business and Economics at Monash University. All equipment, materials, and software licenses were acquired and provided by the Monash Business School Behavioral Laboratory.
Funding Information:
The authors wish to thank Theodore Noseworthy and Anne Hamby for their helpful comments on an early draft of this manuscript. This research was funded through an Early Career Research Grant from the Faculty of Business and Economics at Monash University. All equipment, materials, and software licenses were acquired and provided by the Monash Business School Behavioral Laboratory.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s)
PY - 2023/5
Y1 - 2023/5
N2 - The notion that individuals use consumption to escape unpleasant states is of great interest to both marketing researchers and managers, yet no measurement scale for consumer escapism exists. Moreover, escapism is theoretically linked to aversive physiological reactions that could be measured through smart devices, yet no empirical evidence backs up this claim. By integrating different theoretical perspectives on consumer escapism, we develop and validate a three-factor, nine-item Consumer Escapism Scale that consists of reality detachment, cognitive distraction, and anticipated relief. Six studies including two field studies provide scale purification tests, discriminant and nomological validity, experimental and predictive validity, and evidence for a significant association between the proposed measurement scale and aversive physiological reactions. Our findings equip managers with both self-report and physiological metrics to measure consumers’ desire to escape, and inform actionable strategies on when to market such escapes.
AB - The notion that individuals use consumption to escape unpleasant states is of great interest to both marketing researchers and managers, yet no measurement scale for consumer escapism exists. Moreover, escapism is theoretically linked to aversive physiological reactions that could be measured through smart devices, yet no empirical evidence backs up this claim. By integrating different theoretical perspectives on consumer escapism, we develop and validate a three-factor, nine-item Consumer Escapism Scale that consists of reality detachment, cognitive distraction, and anticipated relief. Six studies including two field studies provide scale purification tests, discriminant and nomological validity, experimental and predictive validity, and evidence for a significant association between the proposed measurement scale and aversive physiological reactions. Our findings equip managers with both self-report and physiological metrics to measure consumers’ desire to escape, and inform actionable strategies on when to market such escapes.
KW - Biometrics
KW - Compensatory consumption
KW - Consumer behavior
KW - Escapism
KW - Experiential sampling
KW - Marketing measurement
KW - Scale development
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85149287027&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113805
DO - 10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113805
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85149287027
SN - 0148-2963
VL - 160
JO - Journal of Business Research
JF - Journal of Business Research
M1 - 113805
ER -