The Sound of Status: Product Volume as a Status Signal of Dominance or Prestige

Abstract

Prior research on status signaling reveals that consumers may select subtle or overt signals to convey their social status. In this research, the authors build on this insight in the context of auditory signaling and show that consumers use product volume as a status signal. Using the dominance–prestige account of rank allocation framework, the authors propose that the path consumers take to achieve status will influence their choice of loud or quiet products. A combination of quantitative models, a lab experiment, and a conjoint study demonstrates that consumers pursuing status via dominance are more likely to choose relatively louder products, whereas those who use a prestige path are more likely to choose relatively quieter products. The authors further identify a boundary condition for prestige-driven consumers: the presence of other signals of social rank, such as education or profession. When no other markers of their social rank are present, prestige-driven people reduce their preference for quiet signals.