Will no-ownership work for apparel?: Implications for apparel retailers

Collaborative consumption (CC) has significantly changed the way people consume resources from everyday goods to non-product assets. However, despite the rapid growth of CC, adoption has been slow in regards to apparel. Based on the endowment effect claiming that simply owning a good can enhance its perceived worth, this study proposes two deterrents of CC adoption including a sense of ownership and possession-self association, and hypothesizes that these constructs positively affect perceived risk of CC, which in turn impedes adoption intention of CC. Two additional moderators (consumers' involvement with apparel products, consumers' emotional attachment to apparel) in the relationship between possession-self bond and perceived risk were also suggested. An online self-administered survey was administered to 1,841 US respondents to test a research model including four different CC modes for apparel, finding support for the endowment effect as a potential barrier to consumer adoption of CC when ownership is removed. Specific managerial implications for CC retailers are provided.