IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ijrema/v42y2025i3p626-643.html

Awe helps NFTs. The added value of object-inspired awe for blockchain-based digital art

Author

Listed:
  • Gerhart, Jana-Verena
  • Senyuz, Aysu
  • Kamleitner, Bernadette

Abstract

Blockchain technology plays a crucial role in digital art markets, where products are often purchased for their strong emotional benefits. This research explores whether object-inspired awe impacts artwork valuation in digital markets. Through eight studies, including real auction data from Christie’s and seven pre-registered experiments, the authors find that object-inspired awe increases consumer valuation of digital art. Notably, the positive relationship between object-inspired awe and valuation is strengthened when a blockchain ownership certificate is present (versus absent), and attenuated when the ownership status is semi-fungible (versus non-fungible). These findings are in line with a process wherein awe influences valuation by enhancing consumers’ sense of meaning with regard to an artwork. In sum, this research underscores the benefits of focusing on emotion in the context of blockchain-enabled digital goods, and reveals novel insights on the effect of object-inspired awe.

Suggested Citation

  • Gerhart, Jana-Verena & Senyuz, Aysu & Kamleitner, Bernadette, 2025. "Awe helps NFTs. The added value of object-inspired awe for blockchain-based digital art," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 626-643.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ijrema:v:42:y:2025:i:3:p:626-643
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijresmar.2025.05.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167811625000485
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2025.05.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yogesh K. Dwivedi & L. Hughes & Y. Wang & A.A. Alalwan & S.J. Ahn & J. Balakrishnan & S. Barta & R. Belk & D. Buhalis & Vincent Dutot & R. Felix & R. Filieri & C. Flavián & A. Gustafsson & C. Hinsch &, 2023. "Metaverse Marketing: How the Metaverse Will Shape the Future of Consumer Research and Practice," Post-Print hal-04292610, HAL.
    2. Sabrina V. Helm & Victoria Ligon & Tony Stovall & Silvia Riper, 2018. "Consumer interpretations of digital ownership in the book market," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 28(2), pages 177-189, May.
    3. Hakkarainen, Tuuli & Colicev, Anatoli, 2023. "Blockchain-enabled advances (BEAs): Implications for consumers and brands," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    4. Yilmaz, Tuba & Sagfossen, Sofie & Velasco, Carlos, 2023. "What makes NFTs valuable to consumers? Perceived value drivers associated with NFTs liking, purchasing, and holding," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    5. Giang Barrera, Kevin & Shah, Denish, 2023. "Marketing in the Metaverse: Conceptual understanding, framework, and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 155(PA).
    6. Russell W. Belk, 2013. "Extended Self in a Digital World," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 40(3), pages 477-500.
    7. Colicev, Anatoli, 2023. "How can non-fungible tokens bring value to brands," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 30-37.
    8. de Bellis, Emanuel & Venkataramani Johar, Gita, 2020. "Autonomous Shopping Systems: Identifying and Overcoming Barriers to Consumer Adoption," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 74-87.
    9. Rebecca Mardon & Janice Denegri-Knott & Mike Molesworth & Eileen Fischer & Markus Giesler & Craig J Thompson & Giana Eckhardt, 2023. "“Kind of Mine, Kind of Not”: Digital Possessions and Affordance Misalignment," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 50(2), pages 255-281.
    10. Lea Dunn & Katherine White & Darren W Dahl & David Glen Mick & Laura A Peracchio, 2020. "A Little Piece of Me: When Mortality Reminders Lead to Giving to Others," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 47(3), pages 431-453.
    11. Yuwan Dai & Tonglin Jiang & Miao Miao, 2022. "Uncovering the Effects of Awe on Meaning in Life," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(7), pages 3517-3529, October.
    12. Sheprow, Elizabeth & Harrison, Spencer H., 2022. "When regular meets remarkable: Awe as a link between routine work and meaningful self-narratives," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    13. repec:plo:pone00:0178899 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Katherine Burson & David Faro & Yuval Rottenstreich, 2013. "Multiple-Unit Holdings Yield Attenuated Endowment Effects," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(3), pages 545-555, November.
    15. Quentin André & Nicholas Reinholtz, 2024. "Pre-Registered Interim Analysis Designs (PRIADs): Increasing the Cost-Effectiveness of Hypothesis Testing," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 51(4), pages 845-865.
    16. Rudd, Melanie & Catapano, Rhia & Aaker, Jennifer, 2019. "Making Time Matter: A Review of Research on Time and Meaning," Research Papers 3745, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    17. repec:oup:jecgeo:v:50:y:2023:i:2:p:255-281. is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Clay M. Voorhees & Michael K. Brady & Roger Calantone & Edward Ramirez, 2016. "Discriminant validity testing in marketing: an analysis, causes for concern, and proposed remedies," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 119-134, January.
    19. Belk, Russell & Humayun, Mariam & Brouard, Myriam, 2022. "Money, possessions, and ownership in the Metaverse: NFTs, cryptocurrencies, Web3 and Wild Markets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 198-205.
    20. David Finken & Tim Döring & Reto Hofstetter, 2025. "Fragile Permanence: How NFTs Shape Perceptions of Artistic Identity and Value," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 10(2), pages 137-152.
    21. Choi, Jungsil & Park, Hyun Young, 2021. "How donor's regulatory focus changes the effectiveness of a sadness-evoking charity appeal," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 749-769.
    22. Rudd, Melanie & Vohs, Kathleen D. & Aaker, Jennifer, 2012. "Awe Expands People's Perception of Time, Alters Decision Making, and Enhances Well-Being," Research Papers 2095, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Massi, Marta & Vocino, Andrea & Piancatelli, Chiara & Cillo, Paola & Pellicelli, Anna Claudia, 2026. "Revolutionizing consumption: Unveiling the Allure of NFTs and digital twins for sustainable luxury fashion," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    2. Ahn, Suhyoung & Ellie Jin, Byoungho & Seo, Hyesim, 2024. "Why do people interact and buy in the Metaverse? Self-Expansion perspectives and the impact of hedonic adaptation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    3. Li, Wenjie & Corral de Zubielqui, Graciela & Rao Hill, Sally, 2025. "Unlocking the potential of NFTs in branding: An exploration of NFT-based brand experience," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    4. Vomberg, Arnd & von Gegerfelt, Mats, 2025. "Unveiling investment vs. ownership perspectives among NFT buyers: A segmentation study exploring engagement patterns in NFT markets," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 536-556.
    5. Giulia Nevi & Olivier Nicolas & Luca Dezi & Gian Luca Gregori, 2026. "To be or to want to be: how followers engage with NFTs, their communities and how it influences their identity journey," Post-Print hal-05577144, HAL.
    6. Pillai, Rajasshrie & Sivathanu, Brijesh & Rana, Nripendra P., 2025. "Unveiling virtual interactive marketplaces: Shopping motivations in the Metaverse through the lens of uses and gratifications theory," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    7. Roberto Bruni & Annarita Colamatteo & Dušan Mladenović, 2024. "How the metaverse influences marketing and competitive advantage of retailers: predictions and key marketing research priorities," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 965-982, June.
    8. Gleim, Mark R. & McCullough, Heath & Gabler, Colin & Ferrell, Linda & Ferrell, O.C., 2025. "Examining the customer experience in the metaverse retail revolution," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    9. Tan, Teck Ming & Salo, Jari & Brashear Alejandro, Thomas G. & Wei-Han Tan, Garry & Ooi, Keng-Boon & Dwivedi, Yogesh K., 2024. "Guest editorial: A blockchain-based approach to marketing in the sharing economy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    10. Liyanaarachchi, Gajendra & Mifsud, Matthieu & Viglia, Giampaolo, 2024. "Virtual influencers and data privacy: Introducing the multi-privacy paradox," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    11. D. Mladenovic & E. Ismagilova & R. Filieri & Y. Dwivedi, 2024. "MetaWOM – toward a sensory word-of-mouth (WOM) in the metaverse," Post-Print hal-04582457, HAL.
    12. Keegan, Brendan James & McCarthy, Ian P. & Kietzmann, Jan & Canhoto, Ana Isabel, 2024. "On your marks, headset, go! Understanding the building blocks of metaverse realms," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 107-119.
    13. Boukis, Achilleas, 2024. "The effect of tokenized rewards on customer loyalty programs," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    14. Simonetti, Aline & Bigne, Enrique & Rico Navas, Luis Fernando, 2025. "Consumer brand choice in the metaverse: Exploring personal and social factors," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    15. Singh, Gaganpreet & Roy, Sanjit K. & Apostolidis, Chrysostomos & Quaddus, Mohammed & Sadeque, Saalem, 2025. "Identifying the metaverse value recipe(s) affecting customer engagement and well-being in retailing," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).
    16. Vincenzo Basile & Federica Caboni, 2026. "Exploring the Metaverse-tailing: Characteristics, Drivers, and Outcomes," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 17(2), pages 3905-3935, April.
    17. Hu, Lala & Olivieri, Mirko & Giovannetti, Marta & Cedrola, Elena, 2025. "The retail strategies of luxury fashion firms in the metaverse: Enhancing brand experiences," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    18. Kautish, Pradeep & Lim, Weng Marc & Joshi, Nisarg, 2025. "Awe-inspired experience in the metaverse: A multi-study investigation," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    19. Raeesah Chohan & Ellen Schmidt-Devlin, 2024. "Sports fandom in the metaverse: marketing implications and research agenda," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 1-14, March.
    20. Kumar, Aman & Shankar, Amit & Behl, Abhishek & Wamba, Samuel Fosso, 2025. "Do you believe in the metaverse NFTs? Understanding the value proposition of NFTs in the metaverse," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ijrema:v:42:y:2025:i:3:p:626-643. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-research-in-marketing/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.