Role of Consumer Vanity in Driving the Conspicuous Consumption Behavior: The Moderating Effect of Gender

Abstract

This research aimed to understand the development of conspicuous consumption behavior among consumers of fashion clothing brands. The study examined the influence of psychological variables—physical vanity, achievement vanity, private consciousness, public consciousness, and brand consciousness—on the formation of conspicuous consumption. Gender is conceptualized as a moderator that moderates all the structural relationships between physical vanity, achievement vanity, private consciousness, public consciousness, and brand consciousness. A total of 426 respondents (193 males and 233 females) participated, with data collected through both self-administered questionnaires and web-based surveys. PLS-SEM was used for analysis due to its superior predictive capability with complex theoretical models. Results confirmed positive relationships between the constructs, although private self-consciousness did not significantly contribute to conspicuous consumption. Additionally, gender was found to moderate the proposed relationships. The study develops and validates a theoretical model that helps to explain the psychological motivations driving conspicuous consumption in developing countries, along with the relative influence of each variable. The target audience was limited to students from tertiary-level institutions in Punjab, Pakistan, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.