IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v99y2019icp306-318.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Dogs have masters, cats have staff: Consumers' psychological ownership and their economic valuation of pets

Author

Listed:
  • Kirk, Colleen P.

Abstract

Results of three experiments reveal that consumers place a higher economic valuation on dogs versus cats, as evidenced by willingness to pay more for life-saving surgery, medical expenses, and specialty pet products, as well as increased word-of-mouth about the pet. This effect is explained by consumers' enhanced psychological ownership of and resulting emotional attachment to the pet. The effect is reversed when a dog acts like a cat and a cat acts like a dog and is due to the perceived ability to control the animal's behavior rather than other attributes intrinsic to the pet. This research offers a first look at psychological ownership of a living creature and its effect on economic valuation.

Suggested Citation

  • Kirk, Colleen P., 2019. "Dogs have masters, cats have staff: Consumers' psychological ownership and their economic valuation of pets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 306-318.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:99:y:2019:i:c:p:306-318
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.02.057
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296319301468
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.02.057?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lancendorfer, Karen M. & Atkin, JoAnn L. & Reece, Bonnie B., 2008. "Animals in advertising: Love dogs? Love the ad!," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 384-391, May.
    2. Downey, Hilary & Ellis, Sarah, 2008. "Tails of animal attraction: Incorporating the feline into the family," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 434-441, May.
    3. Beverland, Michael B. & Farrelly, Francis & Lim, Elison Ai Ching, 2008. "Exploring the dark side of pet ownership: Status- and control-based pet consumption," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 490-496, May.
    4. Colleen P Kirk & Joann Peck & Scott D Swain & Darren DahlEditor & Jennifer ArgoAssociate Editor, 2018. "Property Lines in the Mind: Consumers’ Psychological Ownership and Their Territorial Responses," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 45(1), pages 148-168.
    5. Brockman, Beverly K. & Taylor, Valerie A. & Brockman, Christopher M., 2008. "The price of unconditional love: Consumer decision making for high-dollar veterinary care," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 397-405, May.
    6. Holak, Susan L., 2008. "Ritual blessings with companion animals," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 534-541, May.
    7. Keaveney, Susan M., 2008. "Equines and their human companions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 444-454, May.
    8. Gineikiene, Justina & Schlegelmilch, Bodo B. & Auruskeviciene, Vilte, 2017. "“Ours” or “theirs”? Psychological ownership and domestic products preferences," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 93-103.
    9. Holbrook, Morris B. & Woodside, Arch G., 2008. "Animal companions, consumption experiences, and the marketing of pets: Transcending boundaries in the animal-human distinction," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 377-381, May.
    10. Holbrook, Morris B., 2008. "Pets and people: Companions in commerce?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 546-552, May.
    11. Bettany, Shona & Daly, Rory, 2008. "Figuring companion-species consumption: A multi-site ethnography of the post-canine Afghan hound," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 408-418, May.
    12. Dotson, Michael J. & Hyatt, Eva M., 2008. "Understanding dog-human companionship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 457-466, May.
    13. Kosuke Imai & Dustin Tingley & Teppei Yamamoto, 2013. "Experimental designs for identifying causal mechanisms," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 176(1), pages 5-51, January.
    14. Cavanaugh, Lisa A. & Leonard, Hillary A. & Scammon, Debra L., 2008. "A tail of two personalities: How canine companions shape relationships and well-being," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 469-479, May.
    15. McMullen, Cathi, 2008. "Romancing the alpaca: Passionate consumption, collection, and companionship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 502-508, May.
    16. Hassan, Louise M. & Shiu, Edward, 2015. "The moderating role of national cultural values in smoking cessation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(10), pages 2173-2180.
    17. Belk, Russell W, 1988. "Possessions and the Extended Self," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 15(2), pages 139-168, September.
    18. Ellson, Tony, 2008. "Can we live without a dog? Consumption life cycles in dog-owner relationships," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 565-573, May.
    19. Miller, Rohan & Howell, Gwyneth V.J., 2008. "Regulating consumption with bite: Building a contemporary framework for urban dog management," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 525-531, May.
    20. Mosteller, Jill, 2008. "Animal-companion extremes and underlying consumer themes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 512-521, May.
    21. Ridgway, Nancy M. & Kukar-Kinney, Monika & Monroe, Kent B. & Chamberlin, Emily, 2008. "Does excessive buying for self relate to spending on pets?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 392-396, May.
    22. Joann Peck & Suzanne B. Shu, 2009. "The Effect of Mere Touch on Perceived Ownership," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 36(3), pages 434-447.
    23. Kirk, Colleen P. & McSherry, Bernard & Swain, Scott D., 2015. "Investing the self: The effect of nonconscious goals on investor psychological ownership and word-of-mouth intentions," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 186-194.
    24. Kennedy, Patricia F. & McGarvey, Mary G., 2008. "Animal-companion depictions in women's magazine advertising," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 424-430, May.
    25. Woodside, Arch G., 2008. "Using the forced metaphor-elicitation technique (FMET) to meet animal companions within self," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 480-487, May.
    26. Caldwell, Marylouise, 2008. "Pet loves, rants, and raves: Commentary on Downey and Ellis's article," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 442-443, May.
    27. Hirschman, Elizabeth C, 1994. "Consumers and Their Animal Companions," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 20(4), pages 616-632, March.
    28. Gilly, Mary C., 2008. "The price of peace in the household: A commentary on "The Price of Unconditional Love: Consumer Decisions Concerning High-Dollar Veterinary Care"," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 406-407, May.
    29. Hill, Ronald Paul & Gaines, Jeannie & Wilson, R. Mark, 2008. "Consumer behavior, extended-self, and sacred consumption: An alternative perspective from our animal companions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 553-562, May.
    30. Bernadette Kamleitner & Berna Erki, 2013. "Payment method and perceptions of ownership," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 57-69, March.
    31. Sinclair, Gary & Tinson, Julie, 2017. "Psychological ownership and music streaming consumption," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 1-9.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. D’Souza, Clare & Apaolaza, Vanessa & Hartmann, Patrick & Nguyen, Ninh, 2023. "The consequence of possessions: Self-identity, extended self, psychological ownership and probabilities of purchase for pet’s fashion clothing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    2. Bong-Goon Seo & Do-Hyung Park, 2020. "The Effective Type of Information Categorization in Online Curation Service Depending on Psychological Ownership," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-13, April.
    3. N. Gromek & J. Perek-Białas, 2022. "Why is pet goods consumption imperceptible for economists? A scoping review," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(11), pages 1-25, November.
    4. Kim, Hyunsu & Li, Jing & So, Kevin Kam Fung, 2024. "Psychological ownership research in business: A bibliometric overview and future research directions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    5. Apaolaza, Vanessa & Hartmann, Patrick & Paredes, Mario R. & Trujillo, Alejandra & D'Souza, Clare, 2022. "What motivates consumers to buy fashion pet clothing? The role of attachment, pet anthropomorphism, and self-expansion," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 367-379.
    6. Benoit, Ilgım Dara & Miller, Elizabeth G., 2022. "Enhancing creativity perception through fear," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1084-1098.
    7. Kirk, Colleen P. & Rifkin, Laura S., 2020. "I'll trade you diamonds for toilet paper: Consumer reacting, coping and adapting behaviors in the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 124-131.
    8. Kumar, Jitender, 2024. "Psychological mechanisms behind access-based luxury brand consumption: Empirical investigation from the lens of new ownership paradigm," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).

    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. D’Souza, Clare & Apaolaza, Vanessa & Hartmann, Patrick & Nguyen, Ninh, 2023. "The consequence of possessions: Self-identity, extended self, psychological ownership and probabilities of purchase for pet’s fashion clothing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    2. Syrjälä, Henna, 2016. "Turning point of transformation: Consumer communities, identity projects and becoming a serious dog hobbyist," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 177-190.
    3. Apaolaza, Vanessa & Hartmann, Patrick & Paredes, Mario R. & Trujillo, Alejandra & D'Souza, Clare, 2022. "What motivates consumers to buy fashion pet clothing? The role of attachment, pet anthropomorphism, and self-expansion," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 367-379.
    4. Rötzmeier-Keuper, Julia & Hendricks (née Lerch), Jennifer & Wünderlich, Nancy V. & Schmitz, Gertrud, 2018. "Triadic relationships in the context of services for animal companions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 295-303.
    5. N. Gromek & J. Perek-Białas, 2022. "Why is pet goods consumption imperceptible for economists? A scoping review," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(11), pages 1-25, November.
    6. Neill, Clinton & Zhang, Peilu, . "Payment Plans and Veterinary Services: Do They Reduce the Pain of Pet Owner Payment?," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 49(1).
    7. Kamleitner, Bernadette & Dickert, Stephan, 2015. "The two faces of ownership: Introduction to the special section on ownership and economic decisions," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 159-161.
    8. Leah Warfield Smith & Randall Lee Rose & Alex R. Zablah & Heath McCullough & Mohammad “Mike” Saljoughian, 2023. "Examining post-purchase consumer responses to product automation," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 530-550, May.
    9. Zhao, Taiyang & Lu, Yan & Lynette Wang, Valerie & Wu, Banggang & Chen, Zhi & Song, Wei & Zhou, Liying, 2023. "Shared but unhappy? Detrimental effects of using shared products on psychological ownership and consumer happiness," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    10. Bong-Goon Seo & Do-Hyung Park, 2020. "The Effective Type of Information Categorization in Online Curation Service Depending on Psychological Ownership," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-13, April.
    11. Paul Rogers, 2021. "Rented But MINE! Application of Psychological Ownership Theory to Access-Based Consumption and the Circular Economy," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 719-744, September.
    12. Fritze, Martin P. & Benkenstein, Martin & Belk, Russell & Peck, Joann & Wirtz, Jochen & Claus, and Bart, 2021. "Commentaries on the Sharing Economy: Advancing New Perspectives," SMR - Journal of Service Management Research, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 5(1), pages 3-19.
    13. Shengxiang She & Shicheng Li & Jiaqi Xu & Bo Yang, 2022. "Exploring the Concept, Antecedents, and Consequences of Environmental Psychological Ownership," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-15, October.
    14. José E. Ramos-Ruiz & Minerva Aguilar-Rivero & Jaime Aja-Valle & Lucía Castaño-Prieto, 2024. "An Analysis of the Demand for Tourist Accommodation to Travel with Dogs in Spain," Societies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-15, January.
    15. Hassan, Louise M. & Shiu, Edward, 2015. "The moderating role of national cultural values in smoking cessation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(10), pages 2173-2180.
    16. Kim, Hyunsu & Li, Jing & So, Kevin Kam Fung, 2024. "Psychological ownership research in business: A bibliometric overview and future research directions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    17. Hingston, Sean T. & Whelan, Jodie, 2024. "What’s mine is mine, what’s yours is yours: Contamination concerns enhance psychological ownership," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    18. Kokkoris, Michail D. & Hoelzl, Erik & Kamleitner, Bernadette, 2020. "Self-found, spellbound: The sense of own discovery shapes customer bonds with service venues," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 303-316.
    19. 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.
    20. Kumar, Jitender, 2024. "Psychological mechanisms behind access-based luxury brand consumption: Empirical investigation from the lens of new ownership paradigm," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).

    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:jbrese:v:99:y:2019:i:c:p:306-318. 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: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    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.