Brand addiction and compulsive buying in female consumers' relationships with food brands
ISSN: 0007-070X
Article publication date: 7 December 2023
Issue publication date: 14 February 2024
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to respond to the call for exploring and empirically testing both antecedents and outcomes of brand addiction and compulsive buying behaviour. The focus of the study is on the food habits of young female consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the hypotheses, a survey design gathering cross-sectional primary data from 325 female Italian consumers and a structural equation modelling have been adopted.
Findings
Findings show that brand addiction is positively influenced by consumer resilience, leading to increased life happiness and self-esteem, while compulsive buying behaviour is negatively influenced by consumer resilience and positively influenced by impulsivity. Compulsive buying is also associated with brand addiction and emotional overeating. Emotional overeating is additionally influenced by impulsivity and the control variables of enjoyment of food and loneliness. Moreover, loneliness has a negative impact on life happiness and self-esteem.
Originality/value
The study applies the proposed theory by Mrad and Cui (2020) on the relationship between brand addiction and compulsive buying to food consumption. Furthermore, it expands on this research by investigating consumer characteristics as determinants and behavioural outcomes.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Since the submission of this article, the following author(s) have updated their affiliation: Janina Magdalena Schaumann is Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Department of Design, Production, and Management, Universiteit Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.
Addicted to you: The role of brand addiction and compulsive buying in female consumers' relationships with food brands.
Citation
Hegner, S., Schaumann, J.M., Francioni, B. and Curina, I. (2024), "Brand addiction and compulsive buying in female consumers' relationships with food brands", British Food Journal, Vol. 126 No. 3, pp. 1183-1201. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-05-2023-0355
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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