심리적 파워가 가격 지불에 있어 사회적 규범 수용에 미치는 영향: 행위 주목성의 조절 효과와 창피함의 매개 효과를 중심으로

This study is designed to test how an interaction between consumers’ state power and visibility of one’s action affect the motivation to follow social norms in paying the price of the product or the service. Power is defined as the ability to access or control the valuable resources in social relations. While individuals with high power have the capability to resist the social pressures or interference, and try to be independent in social relations, individuals with low power are more likely to rely on others, and make an effort to follow the social standard. Prior research in consumer behavior mainly highlighted on the role of state power in consumption settings, and proved that power can affect consumers’ processing product information, making purchase decisions, and consumption behaviors. Specifically, researchers have proved that individuals with low power may easily turn to be powerlessness. The powerlessness want to seek for the opportunity to avoid such aversive state by showing compensatory consumption. By extending such findings in consumer behavior studies, this study investigates how power creates the difference in a payment setting. In particular, low-power consumers are more likely to follow the social norm because they are more sensitive with how others might view them. Low-power consumers try to give good impression to others in order to protect their social images even in a situation when they are not forced to obey social standards. Therefore, they will pay more compared with high-power consumers to send a signal that they want to maintain the relationship with others in the society otherwise they may feel embarrassing if others blame them for paying less than socially accepted. In contrast, high-power consumers are more likely to show nonconforming behavior, such that they would pay less than suggested price because they know that they can signal competence to others through deviating from the social norm. This paper also examines the moderating effect of visibility of one’s action to leave a tip or pay for an entrance fee, and the mediating effect of embarrassment. Two studies were conducted to test hypotheses. Study 1 finds that when others observe my giving tips to a server, patrons with low power leave more tips than high-power patrons do. While low-power consumers are concerned with how others view their intentions to follow the social norm, high-power consumers are not threatened by the eyes of others. They want to send a signal that they have an ability to deviate from the social norm. However, the effect of power was diminished when their activities are not visible to others. Study 2 also demonstrates that low-power visitors will pay more entrance fees if someone watches their payments as the museum adopts ‘Pay What You Wish’ pricing policy. Conversely, high-power visitors will pay less because they want to signal their capability to be independent from social constraints. Study 2 also shows the important role of embarrassment as the mediator. Low-power consumers compared with high-power consumers are more likely to express their intentions to follow the social norm to avoid the feeling of embarrassment.