Date of Publication

4-24-2023

Document Type

Bachelor's Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Business Management

Subject Categories

Applied Behavior Analysis | Marketing | Social and Behavioral Sciences

College

Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business

Department/Unit

Decision Sciences and Innovation Dept

Thesis Advisor

Ruth Angelie Cruz

Defense Panel Chair

Cristina Lim

Defense Panel Member

Emmanuel Fernando Jimenez

Abstract/Summary

With the far-reaching expansion of social media, FoMO, or the “fear of missing out,” has risen to be a pervasive social phenomenon in modern pop culture. This study extends the FoMO literature by examining the complex set of relationships that exist between the individual-level antecedents of consumer-centric FoMO (i.e., consumer independence and consumer need for uniqueness), its underlying dimensions (i.e., desire for belonging and anxiety of isolation), and its consequences on players’ conformity and conspicuous consumption of non-functional virtual items in free-to-play games. The data were collected from 400 respondents through homogeneous purposive sampling. To analyze the research constructs, the researchers performed confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and mediation analysis. The findings revealed that consumer need for uniqueness positively affects FoMO. In contrast with theoretical predictions, gamers’ anxiety of isolation has a positive association with the consumption consequences of FoMO due to the unique social interaction environment of free-to-play games. The researchers also found that consumer-centric FoMO fully mediated the relationship between gamers’ need for uniqueness and their conformity and conspicuous consumption of non-functional items. The operable implications of the findings were also discussed.

Abstract Format

html

Language

English

Keywords

Consumer behavior; Fear of missing out; Free-to-play games; Video gamers—Psychology

Upload Full Text

wf_yes

Embargo Period

4-23-2023

Download

Share

COinS