TITLE:
Antecedents of Conspicuous Consumption, Status Aspiration, and Its Consequences: An Empirical Study on Migrant Blue-Collar Workers in GCC
AUTHORS:
Mathew Philip, Mimy Mathew, Gopalakrishnan Soundararajan
KEYWORDS:
Conspicuous Consumption, Antecedents, Consequences, Blue-Collar
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.9 No.2,
March
23,
2021
ABSTRACT: Conspicuous consumption means consumers prefer to buy expensive items to
show their wealth and status to society. This study objective is to develop a
framework that connects conspicuous consumption variables with the aspirations
and consequences and to test the model among the migrant blue-collar workers
located in the GCC countries. Primary data was collected with a structured
questionnaire from 400 blue-collar migrant workers in GCC countries. Eight
hypotheses were formed and tested by using factor analysis and structural
equation model analysis. The study concluded that blue-collar expatriate
workers exhibit a high level of lush luxury behavior to gain family and social
acceptance, which is one of the best ways of expressing themselves; however these are attained
at the cost of financial sustainability of personal wellbeing.