Saerom Lee and Karen Page Winterich

The Price Entitlement Effect:

When and Why High Price Entitles
Consumers to Purchase Socially
Costly Products ?
Nader Dhib
Chloé Michel
A focus on the authors :
Karen Page Winterich
Holds a Ph.D. in Marketing
Renowned Researcher specializing in Consumer Behavior
Recognized Expert in Pricing Strategies
Extensive Research Focus on Sustainable Consumption

Saerom Lee Among the first researchers to

systematically study the role of social
Ph.D. in Business Administration
factors in consumer behavior and it’s
Distinguished Researcher in Consumer Behavior
influence on consumer decision-
Specialization in Sustainable Marketing making.
Author of Influential Studies
The Entitlement Effect
Definition:
Psychological phenomenon leads people to value something they own more than they
would if they didn't own it, even if the value of the object didn’t change.

The PRICE Entitlement Effect Definition:

Specific type of entitlement effect that occurs when people are more willing to social costs: cost of an
purchase products with social costs when the price higher. economic activity that is
borne by society as a
whole, rather than by the
individuals involved in the
activity.

$18 000 $25 000

Electic car Gasoline car
Research Question

What conditions lead to higher prices increasing

consumers' entitlement for socially costly products?

The authors investigate how the interaction between:

social class
product price
perceived social costs
the contexte of the purchase
and how it influences consumer behavior.
Key Aspects of the solution
The price entitlement effect is more pronounced :
among upper-class consumers.
when products that are associated with social status or luxury
when the price differential between the two products is
significant
The price entitlement effect is mediated by consumers' feelings of
self-importance compared to others

When a product is both socially costly and higher priced, upper-

class consumers feel more entitled to the benefits of the product,
which leads to a purchase.

Thanks to 6 studies to prove 5 hypothesis concerning the exact conditions

under which ones the price entitlement effects is appearing and justifying
the purchase.
Study 1: Entitlement Effect On Product Purchase
H1: Social class and product price jointly influence product purchase trough the entitlment effect

Objective: To investigate whether high prices lead to increased purchase intentions for socially costly
products among upper-class consumers.

Procedure: Participants were presented with a choice between a traditional (nongreen) and a green
(natural) hand sanitizer and received $2 to spend. They were separated in a two-group design
comparing nongreen hand sanitizer prices (same vs. higher) and measuring subjective social class.

Results: When the nongreen option was priced higher than the green one, upper-class
participants were more likely to choose the nongreen product. Price influenced lower-class
consumers differently, having a general negative impact.

Higher prices for socially costly products increase entitlement

perceptions, leading to higher purchase intentions for upper-class
consumers.
Study 2: Entitlement Mechanism
H2: The joint effect of social class and product price on the purchase of socially costly
products is mediated through entitlement.

Objective: This study examined the role of purchase justification, perceived personal benefits,
quality, status, and the belief that a high price offsets social costs.

Procedure: Participants were exposed to a news article highlighting social costs associated with
clothing and fabric goods and to a shopping scenario featuring a $75-priced backpack with varying
average prices of similar items. They were separated in two groups similar than in Study 1

Results: When the price exceeded the average, subjective social class increased purchase
intention for upper-class participants, supporting the price entitlement effect.

Entitlement is a primary driving mechanism in the purchase of

higher-priced products with social costs and that consumers use
various processes to justify their choices in situations involving trade-
offs between personal benefits and social costs.
Study 3: Entitlement in Consumption Situations
H2: The joint effect of social class and product price on the purchase of socially costly
products is mediated through entitlement.

Objective: To focus on the emergence of entitlement and justification in consumption situations

involving trade-offs between social costs, consumer benefits, price, and subjective social class.

Procedure: Participants considered a library book return scenario, with price manipulation through
library fees for keeping the book. They reported entitlement, justification, focus on personal gain vs.
social costs, quality perceptions, status perceptions, and price belief. (same two groups than S1)

Results: Higher prices increased entitlement for upper-class participants. The mediating role of
entitlement on justification was significant when the price was higher. Other processes were
explored but not affected by the interaction of price and social class.

Paying a higher price led to increased entitlement for upper-class

consumers, resulting in a focus on personal gain. This mechanism
helps resolve conflicts in situations involving trade-offs between
social costs and consumer benefits
Study 4: Turning Off Price Entitlement by Egalitarian
Values
H3: The positive effect of social class on the purchase of higher-priced products with social
costs is mitigated when egalitarian values are salient.

Objective: To explore a boundary condition for the price entitlement effect by examining the impact
of making egalitarian values salient

Procedure: Participants completed a writing task to manipulate egalitarian values. The study utilized
a backpack shopping scenario and reported purchase intention, entitlement to product benefits,
justification, perceived personal benefits, quality, status and consideration of environmental harm.

Results: In the control condition, social class increased purchase intention, particularly for
upper-class participants, while this effect was mitigated in the egalitarian values condition.

Activating egalitarian values can diminish the price entitlement

effect among upper-class consumers, discouraging their
purchases of higher-priced socially costly products.
Study 5: Social Cost Needed to Elicit Price Entitlement
H4: The positive effect of social class on the purchase of higher-priced products is reduced
when the product does not involve significant social costs.

Objective: To explore whether the price entitlement effect is contingent on the presence of social
costs in the context of higher-priced products
Procedure: Participants were exposed to a news article to manipulate the presence of social costs. In
the salient social cost condition to an article about hidden sources of plastic pollution, while the
nonsalient social cost condition to an article on ways to relieve dry eye problems. Then, participants
engaged in a backpack shopping scenario.
Results: Social class increased purchase intention only when social costs were salient. In this
condition, participants with higher social class exhibited higher purchase intention, whereas
those with lower social class displayed lower purchase intention.

The price entitlement effect is contingent on the presence of salient

social costs for higher-priced products. Upper-class consumers are
more likely to perceive price positively and focus on product benefits
when the purchase entails social costs.
Study 6: Severe Social Cost as a Boundary for Price
Entitlement
H5: The positive effect of social class on the purchase of higher-priced products is reduced
when the social cost is severe.

Objective: To investigate the influence of the severity of social costs on the price entitlement effect
and whether extremely severe social costs diminish this effect.
Procedure: Participants were presented with a news article to manipulate the severity of social costs.
In the extremely severe social cost condition, an article about a catastrophic environmental event. In
the less severe social cost condition, an article about the environmental effects of improper recycling.
Results: A significant two-way interaction between price and social class, revealing that social
class increased purchase intention when social costs were less severe. But, when social costs
were extremely severe, the effect of social class became non-significant.

while social class positively influenced purchase intention when

social costs were less severe, extremely severe social costs
nullified the price entitlement effect.
General Results

1 - Price Entitlement Effect: Higher prices lead upper-

class consumers to feel entitled to socially costly product
benefits.

2 - Robustness of the Effect: Price entitlement applies

across various products and social cost contexts.

3 - Mediation Through Entitlement: Consumers'

entitlement leads to product purchase justification, with
other factors playing roles.
General Results

4 - Effect of Social Class: Upper-class consumers are

more influenced by higher prices for socially costly
products.

5 - Role of Egalitarian Values: Egalitarian values can

diminish the price entitlement effect.

6 - Severity of Social Costs: The effect weakens when

social costs are exceptionally high.
General Results

Higher prices for socially costly products trigger a price entitlement effect in
upper-class consumers, leading them to justify their purchases, with
robustness across various contexts and a potential mitigation through
egalitarian values.
Applications of the results

Theoretical Contributions and

Future Research:
Purchase Justifications

Social Class Impact

Practical Implications:
Situational Entitlement
Policy Recommendations

Pricing Strategies
Remarks

On the methodology:
Scale of the study not optimal : each experiment is conducted based on
undergraduate student which behaviour can not be generalized to the whole
population.

On the general results :

It’s a insightful concept that can lead to the understanding of many aspect of the
consumer behaviour but there are other factors that influnce it as well.
 Thank You
For Attention

Nader Dhib
Chloé Michel