KOREASCHOLAR

This study seeks to examine the effects of customer’s power motivation in the social media context, driven primarily by to extend the theory of how powerlessness induces compensatory consumption (Rucker and Galinsky, 2008). Power motivation refers to a chronic desire to strive and retain power (Maner, Gailliot, Butz, & Peruche, 2007). Given that positions of power are often associated with enjoyment of social and material rewards, naturally some individuals strive to achieve and retain positions of power as a satisfying goal in itself (Cassidy and Lynn, 1989). These ‘power-strivers’ are motivated to achieve status and superiority, and prone towards negative emotional states when confronted with situations that induce a state of powerlessness. The sense of inferiority have been shown to lead to greater desire for status-enhancing goods, such as luxury items with more prominently displayed brand names to restore their sense of wellbeing (Rucker and Galinsky, 2009). In the context of social media, research suggests that longterm exposure to upward social comparisons on social media resulted in lower levels of self-esteem (Vogel, Rose, Roberts, & Eckles, 2014). We argue that observing other people’s ‘highlight reel’ on social media may also negatively influence the consumers’ sense of power. Thus, these type of consumers are likely to be more receptive towards communications that advertise status-enhancing goods. However, this effect should be particularly pronounced in consumers who have high power motivation in the first place. Subsequently, our first proposition is that when exposed to negative social comparisons, power motivation would moderate the consumers’ sense of inferiority and lead to more positive attitude towards advertisements of luxury goods. Our second proposition points to mindfulness as a palliative to mitigate this sense of inferiority, since exercising mindfulness enables better self-regulation that contributes to behaviors and decisions that positive contribute towards one’s wellbeing (Brown and Ryan, 2003). Two experimental studies confirm our hypotheses that when exposed to upward social comparisons on social media, power-strivers exhibit more positive attitude towards advertisements of luxury goods, mediated by a sense of inferiority. In the second study we found that implicitly inducing mindfulness mitigates the effects of power motivation. This paper thus enriches the understanding of the role of consumers’ sense of power in the context of social media. Furthermore, we offer a balanced view that (1) unpacks how marketers could exploit social media features to induce desire for luxury goods but also (2) suggests ethical solutions that contributes to positive psychology literature in the context of social media usage.

• Agung Sembada(Swinburne University of Technology, Australia)