Results
Title

My money—My problem: How fear‐of‐missing‐out appeals can hinder sustainable investment decisions.

Authors

Meyer, Jan‐Hinrich; Friederich, Felix; Matute, Jorge; Schwarz, Michelle

Abstract

Cryptocurrencies (cryptos) have detrimental environmental effects due to their massive energy consumption. While several green crypto coins have been launched, the mainstream—environmentally unfriendly coins—still lead the market. In this study, we explore if influencer marketing, specifically fear‐of‐missing‐out (FOMO) appeals, can contribute to promoting green crypto coin purchases to encourage sustainable investments. The results of five studies (two lab experiments using neurobiological sensors, two online experiments, and a discrete choice experiment) show that social media postings conveying FOMO appeals decrease (increase) green crypto (normal crypto) coin investments. The results further show that message congruence and emotional value perceptions mediate this effect. Finally, we demonstrate that the observed results hold when adding governance and regulatory crypto support as well as the crypto price path evolution to the choice. The results provide notable theoretical contributions and implications for policymakers concerned with fostering more sustainable consumption behavior in the crypto context.

Subjects

CRYPTOCURRENCIES; SUSTAINABLE investing; COINS; INFLUENCER marketing; CONSUMER behavior; SUSTAINABLE consumption

Publication

Psychology & Marketing, 2024, Vol 41, Issue 11, p2677

ISSN

0742-6046

Publication type

Academic Journal

DOI

10.1002/mar.22077