When suffering hurts more: suffering for material products reduces intrinsic motivation, well-being, and repurchase intention compared to experiences

IF 10.5 1区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS

Journal of Business Research Pub Date : 2025-06-24 DOI:10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115506

Amy Errmann , Luis Arango

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Abstract

Suffering (significant effort with negative valence) is increasingly present in consumption, yet little is known about when it undermines motivation or well-being. This paper examines how suffering affects intrinsic motivation, well-being, and repurchase intention, moderated by material and experiential product types. Across four studies, we test whether suffering (vs. control) has differential effects on consumer outcomes. Study 1 (N = 300) shows that suffering reduces well-being in material but not experiential purchases. Studies 2a (N = 429) and 2b (N = 394) replicate this across scenarios, showing that suffering in material contexts lowers well-being and repurchase intention, effects not observed for experiential purchases. Study 3 (N = 487) shows that in material contexts, suffering reduces intrinsic motivation and well-being, thereby decreasing repurchase intention. These findings demonstrate that suffering undermines outcomes in material consumption, while experiential consumption appears insulated. We extend self-determination theory by showing how suffering impacts motivation across consumption types.

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当痛苦伤害更大时：与体验相比，物质产品的痛苦会降低内在动机、幸福感和再购买意愿

痛苦（负效价的巨大努力）越来越多地出现在消费中，但很少有人知道它何时会破坏动机或幸福感。本文考察了苦难如何影响内在动机、幸福感和回购意愿，并受物质和体验产品类型的调节。在四项研究中，我们测试了痛苦（与控制）是否对消费者结果有不同的影响。研究1 （N = 300）表明，痛苦会降低物质上的幸福感，而不是体验上的幸福感。研究2a （N = 429）和2b （N = 394）在不同的场景中重复了这一点，表明物质环境中的痛苦会降低幸福感和再购买意愿，而这种影响在体验性购买中没有观察到。研究3 （N = 487）表明，在物质环境下，痛苦会降低内在动机和幸福感，从而降低再购买意愿。这些发现表明，痛苦会破坏物质消费的结果，而体验消费似乎是绝缘的。我们通过展示痛苦如何影响消费类型的动机来扩展自我决定理论。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Business Research BUSINESS-

CiteScore

20.30

自引率

10.60%

发文量

956

期刊介绍： The Journal of Business Research aims to publish research that is rigorous, relevant, and potentially impactful. It examines a wide variety of business decision contexts, processes, and activities, developing insights that are meaningful for theory, practice, and/or society at large. The research is intended to generate meaningful debates in academia and practice, that are thought provoking and have the potential to make a difference to conceptual thinking and/or practice. The Journal is published for a broad range of stakeholders, including scholars, researchers, executives, and policy makers. It aids the application of its research to practical situations and theoretical findings to the reality of the business world as well as to society. The Journal is abstracted and indexed in several databases, including Social Sciences Citation Index, ANBAR, Current Contents, Management Contents, Management Literature in Brief, PsycINFO, Information Service, RePEc, Academic Journal Guide, ABI/Inform, INSPEC, etc.