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The Endowment Effect as Self-Enhancement in Response to Threat

Author

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  • Promothesh Chatterjee
  • Caglar Irmak
  • Randall L. Rose

Abstract

The discrepancy between willingness to pay (WTP) and willingness to accept (WTA) for a product, referred to as the endowment effect, has been investigated and replicated across various domains because of its implications for rational decision making. The authors assume that implicit processes operate in the endowment effect and propose an explanation that is derived from the two main accounts of the effect, ownership and loss aversion. Based on the implicit egotism and self-affirmation literatures, the model argues that selling is perceived as an implicit self-threat and that sellers, as a part of their automatic defense mechanism, respond to this self-threat by enhancing the value of the self-associated object. Five studies test these conjectures and provide support for the proposed model.

Suggested Citation

  • Promothesh Chatterjee & Caglar Irmak & Randall L. Rose, 2013. "The Endowment Effect as Self-Enhancement in Response to Threat," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 40(3), pages 460-476.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:doi:10.1086/671344
    DOI: 10.1086/671344
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    Cited by:

    1. Martin P. Fritze & Andreas B. Eisingerich & Martin Benkenstein, 2019. "Digital transformation and possession attachment: examining the endowment effect for consumers’ relationships with hedonic and utilitarian digital service technologies," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 311-337, June.
    2. Alexopoulos, Theodore & Šimleša, Milija & Francis, Mélanie, 2015. "Good self, bad self: Initial success and failure moderate the endowment effect," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 32-40.
    3. Diogo Hildebrand & Yoshiko Demotta & Sankar Sen & Ana Valenzuela, 2017. "Consumer Responses to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Contribution Type," Post-Print hal-01576949, HAL.
    4. Diogo Hildebrand & Yoshiko DeMotta & Sankar Sen & Ana Valenzuela & Laura PeracchioEditor & Gita JoharEditor & Jaideep SenguptaAssociate Editor, 2017. "Consumer Responses to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Contribution Type," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 44(4), pages 738-758.
    5. Yan Sun & Barbara Mellers, 2016. "Trade-upgrade framing effects: Trades are losses, but upgrades are improvements," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 11(6), pages 582-588, November.
    6. Xie, Guangming & Lü, Kevin & Gupta, Suraksha & Jiang, Yushi & Shi, Li, 2021. "How Dispersive Opinions Affect Consumer Decisions: Endowment Effect Guides Attributional Inferences," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 97(4), pages 621-638.
    7. Daniel Villanova, 2019. "The extended self, product valuation, and the endowment effect," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 9(3), pages 357-371, December.
    8. repec:cup:judgdm:v:11:y:2016:i:6:p:582-588 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Joseph W. Chang, 2017. "To sponsor or not to sponsor: Transgressions are unequally detrimental," Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(3), pages 209-225, July.
    10. Thomas, Veronica L. & Yeh, Marie & Jewell, Robert D., 2015. "Enhancing valuation: the impact of self-congruence with a brand on the endowment effect," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 178-185.
    11. Linwan Wu & Jiangmeng Liu, 2021. "Need for control may motivate consumers to approach digital products: a social media advertising study," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 1031-1054, December.
    12. Nicole Koschate-Fischer & Katharina Wüllner, 2017. "New developments in behavioral pricing research," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 87(6), pages 809-875, August.
    13. Matthew G. Nagler, 2023. "Thoughts matter: a theory of motivated preference," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 94(2), pages 211-247, February.
    14. Diogo Hildebrand & Yoshiko Demotta & Sankar Sen & Ana Valenzuela, 2017. "Consumer Responses to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Contribution Type," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) hal-01576949, HAL.
    15. Charan K. Bagga & Neil Bendle & June Cotte, 2019. "Object valuation and non-ownership possession: how renting and borrowing impact willingness-to-pay," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 97-117, January.
    16. Bélyácz, Iván & Kovács, Kármen, 2018. "A birtoklási hatás megnyilvánulásának háttere és következményei. A kilátáselmélet alkalmazása fogyasztási döntésekre [Background and consequences of the endowment effect. Applying prospect theory t," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(4), pages 382-401.
    17. Kun Zhou & Jun Ye & Xiao-xiao Liu, 2023. "Is cash perceived as more valuable than digital money? The mediating effect of psychological ownership and psychological distance," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 55-68, March.

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