This study investigates the psychological drivers of masstige fashion consumption by integrating masstige theory and trait activation theory (TAT). A moderated mediation model is proposed in which dark personality traits influence consumers’ purchase intentions for masstige brands. Specifically, masstige brand equity (MBE) is hypothesized to mediate this relationship, while perceived prevalence of masstige consumption (PPMC) moderates the indirect effect.
A cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted using a convenience sample of 303 fashion brand consumers in India. The proposed moderated mediation model was tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling
The results indicate that MBE mediates the relationship between dark personality traits and purchase intentions. Furthermore, PPMC significantly moderates the indirect effect only in the case of psychopathy by conditioning its influence on purchase intention through MBE and not in the case of narcissism and Machiavellianism.
The study highlights the role of psychological drivers and dark personality traits in shaping masstige fashion brand evaluations and purchase intentions. The findings suggest that marketers in emerging markets should adopt tailored positioning and communication strategies aligned with consumers’ status-related and self-expressive motivations to enhance favorable brand evaluations and purchase intentions.
Although dark personality traits have been examined in luxury and counterfeit consumption contexts, limited research has explored their role in masstige fashion consumption. By integrating masstige theory with TAT, this study offers a nuanced understanding of how dark traits influence purchase intentions through MBE in an emerging market setting.
