Enablers and inhibitors of digital hoarding behaviour. An application of dual-factor theory and regret theory

Abstract

The study examines the factors influencing digital hoarding behaviour by applying the dual-factor and regret theories. Additionally, we examine the moderating effect of dispositional greed and fear of missing out (FOMO). Online questionnaires were employed to gather data from a total of 285 participants. The findings indicate that clutter propensity has a negative impact on both perceived materialism and anticipated regret, digital withholding has a positive impact on perceived materialism, anticipated regret and perceived materialism has a positive impact on digital hoarding, digital hoarding has a positive impact on psychological well-being and a negative impact on privacy and security issues. Moderation analysis shows that dispositional greed significantly moderates the relationship between technostress, digital withholding and anticipated regret. The association between digital withholding and perceived materialism is also moderated by dispositional greed. FOMO also significantly moderates the relationship between digital withholding and perceived materialism. This study's findings make valuable additions to the current academic understanding of digital hoarding and provide direction to digital marketers in understanding retail consumers' behaviour towards digital hoarding.