Awe, consumer conformity and social connectedness

2021 
The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of the feeling awe on individuals' endorsement of conformist attitudes in consumption choices and the mediating role of social connectedness in generating this effect.,We test our hypotheses across three studies. Study 1 used an online survey. Study 2 and 3 conducted two laboratory experiments to induce awe and measured consumer conformity in two consumption choice tasks.,This research shows that both dispositional awe and induced awe can increase individuals' preferences for majority-endorsed vs. minority-endorsed choice alternatives in subsequently unrelated consumption situations, and this effect is mediated by perceptions of social connectedness with other decision-makers.,Marketers can promote the sales of mass-market products through inducing awe.,Public regulators could utilize people's incidental awe as an effective policy intervention to nudge individual cooperation in some cases.,The research is the first to demonstrate a novel consequence of awe on consumer decision-making. It also highlights the significance of desire for social connectedness that explains why the feeling of awe develops conformity to the opinions of unknown people.
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