Conspicuous vs. inconspicuous travel consumption displays on social media: Emotional arousal through self-evaluation maintenance lens

Abstract

With the growing role of social media in shaping consumption experiences, travel-related posts have become a salient arena for identity signaling and social comparison. Drawing on Self-Evaluation Maintenance theory (SEM), this research develops and tests a dual-path model explaining how conspicuous versus inconspicuous travel consumption displays evoke distinct emotional and self-system processes that drive differentiated envy responses. Across two controlled experiments (N<inf>1</inf> = 282; N<inf>2</inf> = 420), conspicuous displays elicit negative emotional arousal, which amplifies self-identity threat and subsequently increases malicious envy. In contrast, inconspicuous displays generate positive emotional arousal, enhancing state self-esteem and fostering benign envy. Boundary-condition analyses revealed that tie strength and perceived self-relevance further intensified the negative emotional route associated with conspicuous displays. These findings reveal asymmetric emotional mechanisms underlying adverse versus constructive consumer reactions to social media consumption cues, extending SEM and social comparison-based accounts to digital, experience-consumption contexts. Implications are discussed for consumer experience management, travel and lifestyle service branding, and platform/interface design aimed at reducing harmful social comparison while facilitating healthier engagement.