Consumer Behavior

Will "no-ownership" work for apparel? The endowment effect and perceived risk of collaborative consumption

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Abstract

Collaborative consumption (CC) has significantly changed the way people consume resources from everyday goods to non-product assets. In the apparel marketplace, four CC modes are currently facilitated: short-term renting, subscription-based renting, swapping, and consigning. However, despite the rapid growth of CC, adoption has been slow particularly in the apparel industry. Based on the endowment effect, this study proposes two antecedents of perceived risk of CC including a sense of ownership and possession-self association, and hypothesizes that these constructs positively affect perceived risk of CC, which in turn impedes adoption of CC. Two additional moderators (consumers' involvement with apparel products, consumers' emotional attachment to apparel) in the relationship between possession-self bond and perceived risk were also suggested. Using the consumer data collected though a US market research firm, the research model was tested across four different CC modes for apparel. The results of hypotheses testing and implications are discussed.

How to Cite:

Park, H. & Joyner Armstrong, C. M., (2017) “Will "no-ownership" work for apparel? The endowment effect and perceived risk of collaborative consumption”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 74(1).