The Reciprocal Connection Between Identity and Consumption: A Literature Review

Sassonko, Benjamin Article The Reciprocal Connection Between Identity and Consumption: A Literature Review Junior Management Science (JUMS) Provided in Cooperation with: Junior Management Science e. V. Suggested Citation: Sassonko, Benjamin (2020) : The Reciprocal Connection Between Identity and Consumption: A Literature Review, Junior Management Science (JUMS), ISSN 2942-1861, Junior Management Science e. V., Planegg, Vol. 5, Iss. 2, pp. 246-261, https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v5i2pp246-261 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/294931 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. 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Der Einfluss von Self-Service Reporting auf die Qualität von Managemententscheidungen Benjamin Sassonko,The Reciprocal Connection Between Identity and Consumption: A Literature Review 148 176 197 209 223 246 Published by Junior Management Science e.V. The Reciprocal Connection Between Identity and Consumption: A Literature Review Benjamin Sassonko University of Augsburg Abstract Consumer identity has been an integral part of marketing and psychology research for decades, resulting in an extensive stream of literature. The main purpose of this paper is twofold: First, to accentuate the reciprocity between identity and consumption, a relationship that has been insufficiently addressed in marketing literature. Second, the core papers in this field are reviewed to propose an overarching framework for grouping past and future research. The paper identifies three fundamental concepts that are at the core of the framework: (1) Identity Construction: the process of mentally forming one’s identities that constitute the self-concept; (2) Self-Expression Through Consumption: conscious and strategic consumption decisions for identity-expression; and (3) Identity-Effects on Judgments: static effects of chronically salient identities and dynamic effects of primed identities on decisions. This framework will help identify potential avenues for future research. Keywords: Identity consumption reciprocity; Consumer behavior; Consumer identity; Consumer identity literature review. 1. Introduction “That we are what we have [...]is perhaps the most basic and powerful fact of consumer behavior" (Belk,1988, p. 139) Belk’s statement is supported by a growing body of work about consumer identity. As shown in Figure 1, since the publication of his influential paper “Possessions and the Extended Self”, the percentage of marketing articles about identity has substantially increased. Overall, consumer identity literature is very extensive with disparate streams of research. While some papers provide conceptual contributions and models that explain identity construction (e.g. Belk,1988;Escalas and Bettman, 2005;Vignoles et al.,2006), others focus on specific connections between consumption and identity (e.g. Berger and Heath,2007;Gao et al.,2009;Ward and Broniarczyk,2011). Moreover, a large part of the past research has examined the effect of identity on consumption and judgments in various settings (e.g. Escalas and Bettman,2003;Forehand and Deshpandé,2001;Wheeler et al.,2005). However, the reciprocity in this relationship has rarely been directly addressed (see Thompson and Loveland,2015 for an exception). This abundance of different research topics and articles creates significant barriers for students and researchers who are not familiar with the topic. Therefore, the first contribution of this thesis is to categorize and synthesize consumer identity literature in order to provide a starting point for future researchers who are interested in exploring this field. Since there are numerous expansive subtopics from marketing and psychology, this thesis will focus on the main contributions as well as selected papers about specific topics. They will be grouped by concepts to provide a broad overview that still explains the most important ideas in detail. The second contribution is to highlight the reciprocal connection between identity and consumption which has been insufficiently addressed in the past. The remainder of this thesis is structured as follows: First, elaborate definitions of the key terms in consumer identity literature will be given, providing clear distinctions between non-self-explanatory terms. Second, a literature table will summarize the most important contributions, structured by three main concepts: “Identity Construction”, “Self-Expression Through Consumption” and lastly “IdentityEffects on Judgments”. Third, these concepts and their connection will be covered in detail. Finally, implications for theory and practice will provide an outlook and emphasize the importance of further research on reciprocity in this area. 2. Theoretical Background on Consumer Identity Consumer identity literature is situated at the intersection between psychology and marketing. It blurs the boundaries DOI: https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v5i2pp246-261 B. Sassonko /Junior Management Science 5(2) (2020) 246-261 247 Figure 1: Share of articles about identity in renowned marketing journals Source: Reed et al. (2012) between both domains and research in one area often borrows from the other. Generally, the psychological domain focuses more on topics about human identity, perceptions and cognitive processes. These findings are then used as a base for research on consumer behavior, especially the connection between consumption and identity. Since this thesis draws upon numerous streams of literature and the terminology is sometimes ambiguous, the main terms will be clearly defined. 2.1. Definitions In the general linguistic usage, “identity” is defined as “the distinguishing character or personality of an individual” (Merriam-Webster,2017). In marketing and psychology, however, the term is significantly more specific. First, it is important to understand that each person has a multitude of identities that comprise his “self-concept” (Reed et al., 2012). The self-concept therefore represents a person’s overall characteristics, shaped by numerous different identities, similar to the general definition of identity. Reed et al. define each of these identities as “any category label to which a consumer self-associates either by choice or by endowment” (Reed et al.,2012, p. 312). For example, one may have the identities of a “soccer fan”, “father” and “artist” which together form his self-concept. Closely related to identity is the term “self-view” which refers to how a person sees and characterizes himself in general (e.g. athletic, intelligent) (Gao et al.,2009). While the aforementioned terms are clearly defined in identity literature, the use of “self” is nonuniform. Cushman defines self as a general concept of human characteristics that are unique for a certain culture and era. This allows him to compare the self in a historical context (Cushman,1990). Most papers, however, utilize the term self synonymously with either identity (Suzuki and Satoshi,2012) or self-concept (Gao et al.,2009). To avoid confusion, the distinct terms self-concept and identity will be used in this thesis. Another important term and concept is “self-construal” which divides people into two categories: Independents and interdependents (Zhang and Khare,2009). Similar to Hofstede’s cultural dimension “individualism”, as opposed to “collectivism”, the former group is highly individualistic and places less value on group membership while the latter is collectivistic and group-oriented (Hofstede,2011;Zhang and Khare,2009). An individual is not strictly independent or interdependent but rather possesses both characteristics (Zhang and Khare,2009). The extent to which one type of self-construal dominates depends mostly on societal norms (ibid.). Asian cultures tend to be interdependent as opposed to independent Western cultures (ibid.). Last, “consumption” will be defined broadly to accommodate various streams of consumer identity literature. It encompasses the purchase and subsequent use of goods and services (Oxford University Press,2017). However, a purchase decision is not necessarily involved. Consumption also includes the continuous use of possessions that have been acquired through other means such as inheritance and gifts (Ahuvia,2005;Belk,1988). Furthermore, even experiences can be consumed, especially when offered in combination with goods and services (Kleine et al.,2009). 3. Literature Review: The Reciprocal Connection Between Identity and Consumption This chapter will first provide a complete overview in the form of a literature table. Then, the three overarching concepts “Identity Construction”, “Self-Expression through Consumption” and “Identity-Effects on Judgments” will be explained in detail. B. Sassonko /Junior Management Science 5(2) (2020) 246-261248 3.1. Overview 3.1.1. Methodology To ensure a correct methodological approach, several papers about writing literature reviews were used as a guideline. Three papers outlined stylistic features and common mistakes (Baumeister and Leary,1997;Summers,2019; Zorn and Campbell,2006). The fourth article provided help for conducting a complete literature search and for properly grouping relevant literature in a concept matrix (Webster and Watson,2002). The literature search was started in the field of identity construction with Belk’s influential paper “Possessions and the Extended Self”. Subsequently, the EBSCO database has been used for general searches with the keywords “identity and consumption”, “identity and consumption reciprocity”, “identity consumption reciprocal”, “identity construction”, “social identity”, “gender identity”, “identity and culture”, “identity accessibility”, “self-construal”, “consumption types”, “consumer identity”, “identity conflict”, “identity threat”, “extended self”, “identity advertising”, “identity salience” and “identity shift”. The results were filtered by publication to ensure a high quality of sources. Based on the VHB ranking, only A+and A rated journals were used to filter at first. Multiple searches confirmed that most relevant papers were published in the Journal of Consumer Research, rated at A+. Most papers provided short literature reviews that helped to identify further relevant keywords. Based on these publications, backward searches proved to be particularly useful for finding other relevant research and filling gaps. Given the exact keywords, Google Scholar was used for backward searches. The most fundamental papers were used for forward searches through the Web of Science. This yielded additional results in subdomains to complete the literature search. The quality of all cited sources was assessed using either the VHB, with C as the minimum ranking, or the Scimago Journal Ranking, with a Cites /Doc. (2 years) score of at least 1. 3.1.2. Literature Table The following literature table provides short summaries of the main findings for all important papers cited in this thesis. Due to space limitations, the titles have not been included in the table. Please refer to the list of references for details about each publication. Additionally, a table that summarizes journal details and the corresponding abbreviations can be found below. The VHB was used as the main source for journal rankings. Journals not ranked by the VHB were assessed using the Scimago Journal Ranking with the Cites /Doc. (2 years) score. With regards to content, consumer identity literature has been divided into several parts. There are three overarching concepts: “Identity Construction” describes how individuals’ identities mentally form. “Self-Expression Through Consumption” and “Identity-Effects on Judgments” build on these constructed identities and their connection with consumption. Due to the immense quantity of available literature, only the most central publications in each domain are included. Moreover, many papers broach several of these concepts and clear distinctions are at times impossible to make. The scientific papers have been grouped by these concepts and then sorted alphabetically by authors. 3.2. The Reciprocal Connection Between Identity and Consumption 3.2.1. Identity Construction, Principles and Perpetuation Identity Construction To illustrate how individuals construct their self-concept, psychological motives for identity construction need to be described. Vignoles et al. (2006) summarized the six main motives that guide identity construction. The first motive is “self-esteem” and describes that individuals view themselves positively and try to preserve this feeling. Secondly, people want to experience “continuity” in their actions and self-concept. This continuity does not exclude changes in identity but is rather based on the idea of expressing one’s own story through identity. The third and fourth motives, “distinctiveness” and “belonging” are crucial to the formation of social identities as they influence group-membership (Vignoles et al.,2006). “Efficacy” is the fifth motive which revolves around “competence and control” (Breakwell,1993, p. 205). Lastly, “meaning” refers to the human need to understand the meaning of life (Vignoles et al.,2006). These six described motives influence how individuals adopt separate identities and incorporate them into their self-concept either by “choice or endowment” (Reed et al.,2012, p. 312). Individuals perceive the motives self-esteem, distinctiveness, continuity and meaning as most central to their identity (Vignoles et al.,2006). Furthermore, these motives influence consumer behavior once the identities are constructed. Identity construction happens in two main ways: Through material possessions and group membership. For a possession to become part of an identity and thus the self-concept, the consumer needs to attach value to the object (Belk,1988; Kleine et al.,1995). This attachment also incorporates memories and associations. Over the course of a person’s life, a timeline of identity adoption and abandonment, called “identity narrative”, forms (Ahuvia,2005). A person can start to possess an object either deliberately, for example through an active purchase decision, or unintentionally through heritage or gifts. In all cases, the degree of attachment to each object determines how strongly it is incorporated into the self-concept and what role it plays in the identity narrative (Kleine et al.,1995). Especially valued possessions, so-called “loved objects”, are central to who one is and can significantly affect one’s life (Ahuvia,2005). An example could be a vintage car that has been passed down generations. In fact, some possessions are so vital to a person’s self-concept that losing them causes distress comparable to the loss of a loved one (Belk,1988). However, tangible objects are not the only means of identity construction. Group membership is crucial to the forma- B. Sassonko /Junior Management Science 5(2) (2020) 246-261 249 Table 1: Journal Details Source: Own depiction. Abbreviation Journal Name Ranking VHB /SJR ACR Advances in Consumer Research C AP American Psychologist 4 IJRM International Journal of Research in Marketing A JA Journal of Advertising B JAP Journal of Applied Psychology A JBR Journal of Business Research B JCB Journal of Consumer Behaviour C JCP Journal of Consumer Psychology A JCR Journal of Consumer Research A+ JESP Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 2.3 JM Journal of Marketing A+ JMR Journal of Marketing Research A+ JMTP Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice C JPSP Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 5.4 PSPR Personality and Social Psychology Review 8.5 tion of identities and encompasses a broad array of different categories. Identities that are connected to group membership are called “social identities” (He et al.,2012). In the same way as identities derived from possessions, they can be either predetermined (e.g. ethnicity, gender, culture) or adopted by choice (e.g. fan club member). Often, distinguishing between social identities and those constructed from possessions is difficult as they can merge and become one identity (e.g. a car enthusiast who is a fan club member). Social identities that are constructed from a person’s general environment, and often through endowment (e.g. nationality, family background), are central to shaping the selfconcept which in turn affects the world-view and behavior of a person significantly (Cushman,1990). Ethnicity is particularly important for identity construction and several studies observing the consumption behavior of migrants show that different ethnic identities are present throughout their entire lives (Askegaard et al.,2005;Oswald,1999). Though, the importance of each identity differs between individuals (ibid.). If the individual has access to “basic levels of economic, social and cultural capital” (Üstüner and Holt,2007, p. 43), so-called “hybrid identities”, a mixture of dominant and minority culture identities, form (Üstüner and Holt,2007). An individual engages in a particular “identity project” where separate cultural identities are weighted and merged according to personal preferences (ibid.). In the past decades, as globalization progressed and “Western culture” became omnipresent worldwide, this phenomenon has started to affect not only migrants but all people who are constantly confronted with a “global culture”. Youth become “bicultural” as they grow up with both the “local identity” of their home country and a “global identity” that is conveyed through mass media and technology (Arnett,2002). This omnipresence of Western ideals causes problems, if the individual does not have access to sufficient capital (e.g. person living in a slum) and consumption practices of the dominant culture (e.g. large city /Western culture) are mostly inaccessible. In this case, mixing dominant and minority culture is considerably more difficult and hybrid identities do not form (Üstüner and Holt,2007). Apart from ethnicity, personal and social traits such as age, gender and family status determine important identities in the self-concept (Barnhart and Peñaloza,2013;Machin, 2007). While gender is, in most cases, static, age and family status change over the course of a person’s life. As a result, even undesirable identities like old age identity can form (Barnhart and Peñaloza,2013). Furthermore, gender influences the importance of group membership and distinctiveness from other people (Dommer and Swaminathan,2013). Men are generally focused on being clearly distinct from outgroups (ibid.). In contrast, women value connections with others more and have a weaker urge to be different from out-groups (ibid.). These gender differences are comparable to having a more independent (men) or interdependent (women) self-construal (Markus and Kitayama,1991). Identity Principles To explain the interplay between multiple identities and their effect on behavior, different identity principles have been used in consumer identity literature. Reed et al. (2012) provide a synthesis of the most important characteristics of identity: The first principle is “identity salience” which refers to how important a particular identity is in a given moment. This salience changes depending on environmen- B. Sassonko /Junior Management Science 5(2) (2020) 246-261250 Table 2: Literature Table Publication Details Main Concepts Main Findings Author(s) and Publication Year Journal Ranking VHB/SJR Identity Construction Self-Expression Through Consumption Identity Effects on Judgments Cushman (1990) AP 4 X Model of the “empty self” that drives consumption as individuals try to “fill” it Kleine et al. (1995) JCR A+X Types of attachment to possessions moderate their importance in the life-narrative Vignoles et al. (2006) JPSP 5.4 X Most central psychological motives for identity construction: Self-esteem, continuity, distinctiveness and meaning Oyserman (2009) JCP A X X X Review of identity-based motivation and its effect on behavior Reed et al. (2012) IJRM A X X X Synthesis of five main identity principles: Identity salience /association /relevance /verification /conflict Ahuvia (2005) JCR A+X X Synthesizing solutions (often loved objects) reconcile identity conflicts Barnhart and Peñaloza (2013) JCR A+X X Old age identity forms through social interactions with peers Belk (1988) JCR A+X X Possessions are crucial to identity construction and self-expression Escalas and Bettman (2003) JCP A X X Member and aspiration groups are used to create self-brand connections Escalas and Bettman (2005) JCR A+X X Identity construction through brands and stronger (weaker) self-brand connections if the brand fits the ingroup (outgroup) Oswald (1999) JCR A+X X Consumers with different ethnic identities switch between them using goods Suzuki and Satoshi (2012) ACR C X X East Asians’ absence of the need for a coherent identity narrative (Continued) B. Sassonko /Junior Management Science 5(2) (2020) 246-261 251 Literature Table 2—continued Thompson and Loveland (2015) JMTP C X X Theoretical framework that incorporates the reciprocity between identity and consumption and the strategic reasoning of consumers Üstüner and Holt (2007) JCR A+X X Development of the dominated consumer acculturation model that is applicable for acculturation among poor individuals Vignoles et al. (2000) PSPR 8.5 X X Subdivision of the psychological need for distinctiveness into difference, separateness and position Berger and Heath (2007) JCR A+X Consumption is driven by the desire to express identities through symbolic products Berger and Ward (2010) JCR A+X Subtle signals are used to covey group membership to insiders Gao et al. (2009) JCR A+X Self-view restoring actions taken by individuals whose self-view has been threatened Kleine et al. (2009) JCB C X Strong associations with a desired identity lead to transformational consumption choices Machin (2007) ACR C X Identity-shifts over time lead to changed consumption behavior Schau (2000) ACR C X Consumer imagination as the cognitive link between identity and consumption Tian et al. (2001) JCR A+X Three types of consumer behavior for expressing uniqueness Ward and Broniarczyk (2011) JCR A+X Purchase of identity contradicting gifts causes giver identity threat and subsequent identity reestablishing actions White and Dahl (2007) JCR A+X Consumption practices linked to dissociative reference groups are regarded as most harmful to the own self-concept Chatterjee et al. (2013) JCR A+X X Endowment effect results from selfthreat that is caused by loss aversion and ownership Chernev et al. (2011) JM A+X X Finite need for self-expression that can be satiated by unrelated activities Morewedge et al. (2009) JESP 2.3 X X Proposition that the endowment effect is caused mostly by attachment to the object (Continued) B. Sassonko /Junior Management Science 5(2) (2020) 246-261252 Literature Table 2—continued Zhang and Khare (2009) JCR A+X X Identity salience affects preferences for global /local products Bolton and Reed (2004) JMR A+X Identity-driven judgments dominate analytic judgments and the latter are difficult to induce Dimofte et al. (2003) JA B X Unusual advertisements are more likely to increase identity salience Forehand and Deshpandé (2001) JMR A+X Impact of ethnic-primes on ethnic selfawareness and advertising response Forehand et al. (2002) JAP A X Situational cues and social distinctiveness increase identity salience He et al. (2012) JBR B X Brand identification influences value perception, satisfaction and trust Markus (1977) JPSP 5.4 X Self-schemata are identity-based knowledge patterns that influence judgments Reed (2004) JCR A+X Impact of self-importance (strength of identification) and identity salience on judgments Sela and Shiv (2009) JCR A+X Goal activation through self-discrepant cues, semantic activation through selfconsistent cues Torres and Briggs (2007) JA B X High product involvement prevents identity primes from increasing salience Wheeler et al. (2005) JCR A+X More critical elaboration of messages that match a recipient’s self-schema tal cues which in turn affects subsequent behavior. Secondly, “identity association” refers to how a certain action or object is assessed depending on its association with an identity. In other words, an individual infers his opinion on something depending on its mental connection with an identity. For example, an avid soccer player will view products related to that sport more favorably. Thirdly, “identity relevance” describes the degree to which an identity is applicable for a decision. For instance, a “musician” identity has no impact on the selection of a car but it is relevant for discriminating between guitars. The fourth principle is called “identity verification”. It is based on the assumption that individuals have an ideal image of a person with their desired identity. They strive to act in accordance with these desired traits and the internal process of controlling whether they do so is called “identity verification”. The last principle, “identity conflict”, describes that some identities might not fit in an individual’s self-concept as they represent conflicting values or traits. (Reed et al.,2012) All of these principles are frequently used in consumer identity literature and are crucial for explaining the connection between consumption and identity. However, there is some ambiguity concerning these terms. The term “identity salience” is also called “identity accessibility” and “diagnosticity” is used synonymously with “identity relevance“ (Zhang and Khare,2009). Maintaining a Coherent Identity Narrative As described, every individual’s self-concept is constructed from multiple identities that are derived from either possessions or group membership. Yet, with the existence of different identities, conflicts can arise and cause psychological tensions (Ahuvia,2005;Reed et al.,2012;Suzuki and Satoshi,2012). For example, a woman who is a mother and extreme sports professional might experience an identity conflict. On the one hand, she wants to be safe and care for her children. On the other hand, she is aware of the risk of B. Sassonko /Junior Management Science 5(2) (2020) 246-261 253 her occupation and even enjoys it. A growing body of research suggests that individuals generally try to avoid and reconcile identity conflicts in order to maintain a coherent identity narrative (Ahuvia,2005;Amiot et al.,2007;Reed et al.,2012;Suzuki and Satoshi,2012). One way to do so is by “managing the relative salience of their various conflicting identities” (Reed et al.,2012, p. 318). This means that the conflicting identities are not "activated” at the same time. Rather, the individual “activates” the identities separately depending on the situation. Another way to reconcile a conflict is by abandoning an identity either through disposing possessions or ceasing group membership (Kleine et al.,1995). While both managing the salience of identities and identity abandonment simply avoid conflicts instead of reconciling them, there is a third option. Socalled “synthesizing solution[s]occu[r]when an object or consumption activity successfully combines the previously conflicting aspects of the consumer’s identity” (Ahuvia,2005, p. 181). An example for such a solution is rural clothing that on the one hand reminds the individual of his childhood and on the other hand is regarded as a fashion statement by coworkers. Thus, the “rural roots” are synthesized with being a young professional in the city. Since most research about identity conflicts was conducted among culturally Western participants, those findings are not necessarily applicable worldwide. In fact, Suzuki and Satoshi (2012) investigated identity conflicts among East Asians and observed vastly different consumer behavior. After in-depth interviews they concluded that Japanese do not experience the need for a coherent identity narrative. Instead, they accept contradictions between different identities and adjust their behavior depending on the situation. (Suzuki and Satoshi,2012) Summing up, while the identity principles are applicable for both East Asians and Westerners, culture seems to have an influence on the acceptance of contradictions. 3.2.2. Expression of Identities Through Consumption Now that the principles of identity construction and conflict have been described, the expression of identities through consumption will be covered. At the base of this chapter lies the idea that identity influences consumption but consumption can in turn also influence identity. The following paragraphs will first explain that individuals have a need for distinctiveness to then describe how they express their identities through consumption, product avoidance and abandonment. Then, the notion of “identity threat” and its influence on consumption will be covered. Lastly, the reciprocity between identity and consumption, a topic that has been insufficiently addressed in consumer identity literature, will be emphasized. Self-Expression Through Consumption, Avoidance and Abandonment As described earlier, psychological needs govern identity construction. These needs also drive self-expression through consumption, but the main motives are “distinctiveness” and “belonging” (Vignoles et al.,2006,2000). Three types of distinctiveness have been classified by Vignoles et al. (2000): The first type is called “difference” and refers to “intrinsic qualities of the individual, such as abilities, opinions, traits [and]physical characteristics” (Vignoles et al.,2000, p. 346) that set him apart. For instance, there are people who dress strikingly to express this “difference”. At the core of the second type of distinctiveness, called “separateness”, lies the idea of physical and mental boundaries. While “difference” is also used to associate oneself with others, “separateness” aims at dissociating. An example for such behavior is the use of symbols as markers of social class (e.g. garments that are reserved to certain individuals). The last type, “position”, describes intragroup (e.g. superior in a company) and intergroup (e.g. teachers and students) connections and one’s role in these settings. All three types of distinctiveness are used by individuals to express their identities in various situations. Furthermore, culture and self-construal influence the importance of each distinctiveness type. While individuals with an independent self-construal value difference and separateness more, interdependents prefer position to express their distinctiveness (Vignoles et al.,2000). Since consumers want to be distinct, a large part of consumption is driven by the desire to express their specific identities. This self-expression only works because individuals tend to infer a person’s character from visible cues (Belk, 1988;Berger and Heath,2007;Chernev et al.,2011). These cues are actively shaped and manipulated by consumers in order to express a desired identity (Schau,2000). However, not all objects are equally good at conveying a message. While “all commercial objects have a symbolic character” (Levy,1959, p. 119), there are certain product domains that are predominantly used for identity-signaling. These domains are usually highly visible and therefore the ones that identity is mostly inferred from by other people (Berger and Chip Heath,2007;Berger and Heath,2007;Berger and Ward, 2010). For example, a music CD or car are highly symbolic while tooth paste or soap usually have no connection to identity (ibid.). One further concept that explains how individuals connect consumption and identity is “consumer imagination”. It describes the mental process of how consumers first analyze their surroundings to then personally form opinions about different signals. They then try on an identity in their mind and decide whether to express it and which products to use for doing so (Schau,2000). As described by Tian et al. (2001), there are various types of consumer behavior that are enacted by individuals to display their distinctiveness and personal identity. Through “creative choice counterconformity” people express being different by adopting original tastes that are liked by the mainstream consumer. A more extreme form is “unpopular choice counterconformity” where the general population is unlikely to imitate (e.g. “ugly” clothes). In both cases, initially unique consumption practices are often mimicked by others after some time has passed. Consequently, individuals B. Sassonko /Junior Management Science 5(2) (2020) 246-261260 References Ahuvia, A. C. Beyond the Extended Self: Loved Objects and Consumers’ Identity Narratives. Journal of Consumer Research, 32(1):171–184, 2005. ISSN 0093-5301. doi: 10.1086/429607. Amiot, C. 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