Conspicuous consumption research: Thematic evolution, theoretical structure, and future directions
de Groot, Evrim ; Philippy, David ; Tunca, Burak LU
and Morhart, Felicitas
(2026)
In Journal of Business Research
215.
- Abstract
- This article presents a comprehensive review of conspicuous consumption research by examining its past and present to project its future. Drawing on a systematic review of 955 articles on conspicuous consumption, we trace how the field has progressed from its origins in economics to a multidisciplinary domain spanning psychology and marketing. This evolution has led to diverse interpretations of conspicuous consumption and to a disentangling of the concepts of conspicuousness, luxury, and status, resulting in a redefinition of conspicuous consumption primarily in terms of status signaling. This definition is agnostic to specific behavioral manifestations and instead accounts for the malleability of status symbols across time and... (More)
- This article presents a comprehensive review of conspicuous consumption research by examining its past and present to project its future. Drawing on a systematic review of 955 articles on conspicuous consumption, we trace how the field has progressed from its origins in economics to a multidisciplinary domain spanning psychology and marketing. This evolution has led to diverse interpretations of conspicuous consumption and to a disentangling of the concepts of conspicuousness, luxury, and status, resulting in a redefinition of conspicuous consumption primarily in terms of status signaling. This definition is agnostic to specific behavioral manifestations and instead accounts for the malleability of status symbols across time and socio-economic contexts. Building on this conceptualization, we outline avenues for future research that engage with ongoing socio-economic transformations and offer practical insights that will guide firms in shaping their product portfolios, communication strategies, distribution choices, pricing decisions, and the markets they serve. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4013d936-efff-46da-aa0d-4b4bd702df1c
- author
- de Groot, Evrim
; Philippy, David
; Tunca, Burak
LU
and Morhart, Felicitas
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-10
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- veblen, Conspicuous consumption, Bibliometrics
- in
- Journal of Business Research
- volume
- 215
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105041010030
- ISSN
- 0148-2963
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116307
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 4013d936-efff-46da-aa0d-4b4bd702df1c
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-09 17:44:11
- date last changed
- 2026-08-10 04:00:52
@article{4013d936-efff-46da-aa0d-4b4bd702df1c,
abstract = {{This article presents a comprehensive review of conspicuous consumption research by examining its past and present to project its future. Drawing on a systematic review of 955 articles on conspicuous consumption, we trace how the field has progressed from its origins in economics to a multidisciplinary domain spanning psychology and marketing. This evolution has led to diverse interpretations of conspicuous consumption and to a disentangling of the concepts of conspicuousness, luxury, and status, resulting in a redefinition of conspicuous consumption primarily in terms of status signaling. This definition is agnostic to specific behavioral manifestations and instead accounts for the malleability of status symbols across time and socio-economic contexts. Building on this conceptualization, we outline avenues for future research that engage with ongoing socio-economic transformations and offer practical insights that will guide firms in shaping their product portfolios, communication strategies, distribution choices, pricing decisions, and the markets they serve.}},
author = {{de Groot, Evrim and Philippy, David and Tunca, Burak and Morhart, Felicitas}},
issn = {{0148-2963}},
keywords = {{veblen; Conspicuous consumption; Bibliometrics}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Journal of Business Research}},
title = {{Conspicuous consumption research: Thematic evolution, theoretical structure, and future directions}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/252522715/de_Groot_et_al_2026_.pdf}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116307}},
volume = {{215}},
year = {{2026}},
}