Whose experience is it, anyway? Psychological ownership and enjoyment of shared experiences

Abstract

Every day people engage in numerous shared experiences - from having lunch with colleagues to going on a vacation with family. Despite the ubiquity of such experiences, little is known about how consumers organize and manage such experiences. In this chapter, we review past literature as well as our own research to answer two main questions: (1) why do consumers choose to share ownership over an experience by co-creating it with others, and (2) how could shared experiences be managed by the group in order to maximize the satisfaction obtained for all participants? We propose that sharing psychological and practical ownership of a joint consumption experience is important in order to take advantage of the potential benefits of a group (vs. a solo) event. However, in contrast to experiences in transactional settings where a uniform distribution of psychological ownership may be most desirable, we suggest that in consumption situations, an asymmetric distribution of psychological ownership may lead to the greatest level of satisfaction - despite the additional effort it may require for some consumers. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of several fruitful areas for future research, which could further explicate the relationship between psychological ownership and pursuit and enjoyment of shared consumption experiences.