Purpose The present study aims to demonstrate that the volunteering licenses people to indulge in luxury purchase, and both heightened moral self-evaluation and reduced guilt mediate the effect of licensing on ratings of a luxury item by implementing three experimental studies. This study explained the moral licensing behavior using a passive goal guidance model: i.e., people license themselves to indulge when people perceive progress on one of their long-term goals. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, three experiments were used to test hypotheses. Findings The present paper is new in terms of three aspects. First, moral self-evaluation as a mediator is tested using a more stringent method in comparison to prior studies. Second, reduced guilt which had not yet been explicitly tested is established as a mediator. Third, the present study demonstrates that the passive goal guidance model as a valid theory in explaining the licensing behavior by showing that when people perceive progress in a long-term goal by helping others in need, they are more likely to engage in dysfunctional luxury brand purchases. Previous studies have used credentialing theory to explain this. Originality/value The present study established and confirmed that reduced guilt is a mediator in the licensing effect on the purchase of luxury items.
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