“It is still someone else’s!” the effect of implicit theories on the consumption of pre-owned goods

With the advent of new technology and increased awareness
about environmental conservation, consumption of pre-owned goods
has grown rapidly. Yet, despite this increased interest, research on
the consumption of pre-owned goods is still limited. A key finding in
this area shows that some consumers are reluctant to buy pre-owned
products due to a fear of contamination (Xu et al. 2014). However,
anecdotal evidence suggests that consumers’ reluctance persists even
if the pre-owned products are in clean condition (e.g., Roux 2006).
This indicates that other factors may be concurrently driving consumers’ acceptance of pre-owned products. In this research, we propose that consumers’ implicit theories may influence their attitudes
toward pre-owned goods as their beliefs affect the extent to which
they feel a sense of psychological ownership over the products.
Research on implicit theories shows that entity theorists believe
that people’s traits are fixed, whereas incremental theorists believe
that traits can be developed by way of personal effort (Dweck et al.
1995). Previous research found that entity theorists are more likely to
use products and brands for a self-signalling purpose and regard their
possessions as part of their extended selves (Park and John 2010).
Drawing from this research, we propose that entity (versus incremental) theorists are more likely to believe that a pre-owned product
cannot be incorporated into their self-identity as it carries remnants
of the previous owner. This leads to a lower sense of ownership and
lower purchasing intention toward such a product. In contrast, incremental theorists, who believe that things are malleable, are likely to
believe that a used product can be detached from its previous owner
and become their own (...)