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The dark side of brands: exploring fear of missing out, obsessive brand passion, and compulsive buying

The dark side of brands: exploring fear of missing out, obsessive brand passion, and compulsive buying
The dark side of brands: exploring fear of missing out, obsessive brand passion, and compulsive buying

Understanding the roots of compulsive buying is critical because it often leads to negative outcomes like depression, social anxiety, and debt. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of the fear of missing out and brand passion on compulsive brand buying. We collect data from 511 consumers and use partial least squares for the data analysis. The study supports the dual theory of passion, which delineates brand passion into harmonious and obsessive forms, with the latter representing a negative aspect. The findings strongly affirm the relationship between the fear of missing out and both types of brand passion. Obsessive passion emerges as a more significant predictor of compulsive buying. Moreover, the study unveils that consumers’ age moderates the relationship between the fear of missing out and obsessive passion. We recommend marketing strategies to facilitate consumers’ passions driven by the fear of missing out, to encourage and nurture harmonious passion, to foster obsessive passion in a more responsible manner, and to focus on brand-passion-driven marketing towards younger consumers.

Dual theory of brand passion, Fear of missing out, Harmonious passion, Impulsive buying, Obsessive passion, Obsessive-compulsive buying
0148-2963
Japutra, Arnold
004a3f8c-4d07-4cc7-8660-c5b3a5983760
Gordon-Wilson, Sianne
df3537b7-9525-468d-a390-440bddfc04d6
Ekinci, Yuksel
4b14fabd-b126-4462-beda-91d427230cda
Adams, Elisa Dorothee
b896f81a-28e6-4621-8ca5-5dba9922a6fb
Japutra, Arnold
004a3f8c-4d07-4cc7-8660-c5b3a5983760
Gordon-Wilson, Sianne
df3537b7-9525-468d-a390-440bddfc04d6
Ekinci, Yuksel
4b14fabd-b126-4462-beda-91d427230cda
Adams, Elisa Dorothee
b896f81a-28e6-4621-8ca5-5dba9922a6fb

Japutra, Arnold, Gordon-Wilson, Sianne, Ekinci, Yuksel and Adams, Elisa Dorothee (2024) The dark side of brands: exploring fear of missing out, obsessive brand passion, and compulsive buying. Journal of Business Research, 186, [114990]. (doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114990).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Understanding the roots of compulsive buying is critical because it often leads to negative outcomes like depression, social anxiety, and debt. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of the fear of missing out and brand passion on compulsive brand buying. We collect data from 511 consumers and use partial least squares for the data analysis. The study supports the dual theory of passion, which delineates brand passion into harmonious and obsessive forms, with the latter representing a negative aspect. The findings strongly affirm the relationship between the fear of missing out and both types of brand passion. Obsessive passion emerges as a more significant predictor of compulsive buying. Moreover, the study unveils that consumers’ age moderates the relationship between the fear of missing out and obsessive passion. We recommend marketing strategies to facilitate consumers’ passions driven by the fear of missing out, to encourage and nurture harmonious passion, to foster obsessive passion in a more responsible manner, and to focus on brand-passion-driven marketing towards younger consumers.

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Accepted/In Press date: 22 September 2024
e-pub ahead of print date: 28 September 2024
Published date: 28 September 2024
Keywords: Dual theory of brand passion, Fear of missing out, Harmonious passion, Impulsive buying, Obsessive passion, Obsessive-compulsive buying

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 500474
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/500474
ISSN: 0148-2963
PURE UUID: 05a1d0d8-42d2-4eb1-a25d-6bb1b9e87bff
ORCID for Arnold Japutra: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0513-8792

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Date deposited: 01 May 2025 16:31
Last modified: 22 Aug 2025 02:49

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Contributors

Author: Arnold Japutra ORCID iD
Author: Sianne Gordon-Wilson
Author: Yuksel Ekinci
Author: Elisa Dorothee Adams

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