I Consume, Therefore I Am? Hyperconsumption Behavior: Scale Development and Validation

Abstract

Social and material models consider hyperconsumption to be an unsustainable practice of consumer behavior that is responsible for the considerable damage inflicted upon the planet. The primary objective of this research study was to develop and validate a novel measurement scale to assess hyperconsumption behavior (HB) from a consumer’s point of view. Based on the literature on measurement theory, an HB scale was developed and validated over three studies. The first study consisted of item development, while the second study focused on exploring and confirming the factor structure of the scale. The investigations revealed that hyperconsumption behavior was a first-order construct with four underlying dimensions: shopping control (food); perceived repair benefits; possession of a large amount of goods; and experiential consumption. The third study assessed the nomological validity of the proposed scale by testing its association with two relevant scales of materialism and sustainable purchase behavior.

Keywords

• hyperconsumption
• unsustainable consumption
• materialism
• sustainable purchase behavior