When Positive Affect Felt During Consumption Increases Psychological Ownership for Brands
(A2019-9236)

AUTHORS

Carina Thürridl, WU Vienna; Bernadette Kamleitner, WU Vienna; Ruta Ruzeviciute, University of Amsterdam; Sophie Süssenbach, WU Vienna; Stephan Dickert, Queen Mary University of London

KEYWORDS

psychological ownership; positive affect; attribution

ABSTRACT

Can positive affect experienced during the consumption of a branded product boost consumers’ psychological ownership for the consumed brand? Provided that consumers attribute their affect to the consumed brand, we propose it can. We thus expect the effect of positive affect on psychological ownership to be contingent on brand consumption and to vary in response to whether or not consumers expect the brand to make them happy. Across four studies, various consumption settings, lab and field data, different product categories and several brands, we find support for these propositions. Positive affect increases feelings of ownership only for brands that people actually consume and this effect is most pronounced for affectively positioned brands. We also show that this matters because psychological ownership has important downstream consequences on intentions and behaviors. These findings contribute novel insights for the literatures on affect, ownership and hold implications for branding.