Purpose

This research draws on drive reduction theory and mental accounting theory to understand how the prospect of reselling used items can influence consumer feelings of consumption guilt and impact their willingness to purchase new products.

Design/methodology/approach

We conducted two studies with between-subjects designs to explore this relationship. In Study 1, we examined the correlation between consumers' perceived guilt and their willingness to buy a new product, considering their awareness of the product’s resale potential. Study 2 delved into the aspect of reselling a similar old product already owned by the consumer.

Findings

The findings suggest three key insights. First, consumers' awareness of resale potential significantly affects their guilt perception and purchasing decisions. Second, the resale reference price (RRP) can decrease guilt perception but increase the intention to buy a new product. Lastly, when consumers are aware of the resale value of a previously owned product that is similar to the desired new product, the effect of the RRP on their purchasing intent is mediated by consumer guilt.

Originality/value

This research fills a theoretical gap by empirically exploring the emotional motivations behind consumer resale behavior. It presents a novel perspective on how resale activities can shape feelings of guilt and impact purchasing decisions. This offers important implications for understanding the dynamics of consumer behavior in the second-hand market.

中文翻译：

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通过转售减轻消费者的负罪感

目的

本研究利用内驱力降低理论和心理账户理论来了解转售二手物品的前景如何影响消费者的消费内疚感并影响他们购买新产品的意愿。

设计/方法论/途径

我们进行了两项受试者间设计的研究来探索这种关系。在研究 1 中，我们考虑了消费者对产品转售潜力的认识，研究了消费者的内疚感与购买新产品意愿之间的相关性。研究 2 深入研究了转售消费者已经拥有的类似旧产品的问题。

发现

研究结果提出了三个关键见解。首先，消费者对转售潜力的认识显着影响他们的内疚感和购买决策。其次，转售参考价格（RRP）可以减少内疚感，但增加购买新产品的意愿。最后，当消费者意识到以前拥有的产品的转售价值与想要的新产品相似时，建议零售价对其购买意愿的影响会受到消费者内疚感的调节。

原创性/价值

这项研究通过实证探索消费者转售行为背后的情感动机，填补了理论空白。它提出了关于转售活动如何塑造内疚感并影响购买决策的新颖视角。这对于了解二手市场消费者行为的动态具有重要意义。