Identity relevant possessions

Abstract

Consumers rely on possessions to construct their identity. Yet, literature lacks a coherent organizing structure to understand the multiple ways consumers rely on possessions to construct their identity. This article addresses this issue by synthesizing current and prior research to identify the multiple ways possessions become identity relevant to consumers. Current findings report on video ethnographic accounts of possession biographies, discussing 594 possessions solicited from 57 participants. The identified themes outline five main sources of elevated self-possession identity relevance: internal management, impression management, activity facilitation, personal preference satisfaction, and self-communication. In addition to broadening the scope of sources or drivers of possession identity relevance that can facilitate the development of novel consumer-product relationships, three product positioning strategies for managers are offered: (1) staging possessions for future resourcing, (2) positioning possessions as activity proxies, and (3) promoting products as multipurpose. The research concludes by offering suggestions for future research.

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