Brand jealousy and willingness to pay premium: The mediating role of materialism

In recent years, there has been an emerging literature with regard to brand jealousy and its impact on consumer–brand interactions. This research attempts to explain how brand jealousy influences the motivation of consumers to pay premium prices to specific brands as a means of self-expression theory and social exclusion theory which emphasize the role of social anxiety in explaining the individuals’ behaviors on their purchasing decision-making process. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to examine the mediating role of the materialism on the relationship between brand jealousy and willingness to pay premium. A questionnaire-based quantitative approach is applied to analyze the conceptual model that outlines the relationships between brand jealousy, materialism, and willingness to pay premium through structural equation modeling. The findings of this research reveal that brand jealousy and materialism both have a positive influence on willingness to pay premium. Also, this study provides empirical evidence for the full mediation impact of materialism on the relationship between brand jealousy and willingness to pay premium. The results also ensure applicable insights for marketing practitioners to motivate customers pay premium prices to specific brands by evoking jealousy-inducing strategies and materialistic values in their marketing communication programs.