Fashionably late: Differentially costly signaling of sociometric status through asubtle act of being late

Dogerlioglu-Demir, Kivilcim, Ng, Andy H. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0220-0850 and Koçaş, Cenk 2023. Fashionably late: Differentially costly signaling of sociometric status through asubtle act of being late. Journal of Business Research 155 A , 113331. 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113331

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Abstract

This research examines how arriving late to social gatherings operates as a signal of social connectedness and desirability, leading to elevated sociometric status attributions. Drawing on costly signaling theory and the premises of sociometric status and consumption mimicry, we argue that tardiness to a gathering, as a costly and visible signal, can lead to positive inferences of sociometric status, thereby leading to mimicry. We define fashionably late as a separating equilibrium tardiness based on a signaling game and demonstrate through a series of experimental studies that people infer higher status to late- rather than on-time-arriving people. Consequently, they strive to be in the same social network with such individuals, favor their product choices, and imitate their consumption behaviors. This research contributes to the literature on the conspicuous consumption of time and to research on costly signaling by revealing the powerful influence of signaling (through late arrival to a social event) on perceptions of sociometric status.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Business (Including Economics)
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0148-2963
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	25 September 2022
Date of Acceptance:	16 September 2022
Last Modified:	10 Nov 2024 12:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/152828

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