“Investigating the role of individualism/collectivism as underlying motives and status consumption as a behavioral outcome of LOHAS: Focusing on the moderating effect of materialism”

During the recovery from a global pandemic, people around the world remain committed to adopting healthier and more sustainable lifestyles. LOHAS stands for lifestyle of health and sustainability. LOHAS, as a premium lifestyle, is well incorporated into the capitalistic market through exclusive consumption choices. This study uses the means-end-theory of lifestyle to focus on individualism and collectivism as underlying values of LOHAS and status consumption as its behavioral outcome and explores the moderating effect of materialism. To determine the internal motives and behaviors of the targeted population with a LOHAS lifestyle, 204 survey data from general U.S. consumers between the ages of 18 and 65 were collected. The data were analyzed by PLS-3.0. The results indicate the hybrid attribute of the LOHAS lifestyle such that both individualism and collectivism are positively related to LOHAS. This indicates that LOHAS consumers take a holistic approach to their lives by promoting harmony across different life aspects and recognizing an interconnectedness between personal health and well-being and environmental sustainability. LOHAS is positively associated with status consumption, indicating its upscale consumption selections. Finally, material-ism positively moderates the relationship between LOHAS and status consumption.

Investigating the role Investigating the role of individualism/collectivism of individualism/collectivism as underlying motives as underlying motives and status consumption and status consumption as a behavioral outcome as a behavioral outcome of LOHAS: Focusing of LOHAS: Focusing on the moderating effect on the moderating effect of materialism of materialism

INTRODUCTION
After the global pandemic, people are consistently more eager to adopt a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.LOHAS (Lifestyle of health and sustainability) refers to a consumer segment that seeks personal health, well-being, and sustainability (Choi & Feinberg, 2021).The LOHASians take a holistic approach to life by promoting harmony across diverse life aspects, including body, mind, and the environment.They are differentiated from the general population through the choice of premium products and services that focus on health, personal development, the environment, and social justice.LOHAS consumers represent more than one-third of adults in the US.LOHAS market is expected to grow rapidly, driven by climate change, resource scarcity, and the development of new products and services (Lunn, 2022).
Understanding the underlying motives of LOHAS consumers helps to better understand their decisionmaking on lifestyle choices.The hybrid nature of LOHAS, which is self-centered but society-oriented (Schulz, 2008), indicates that LOHASians balance between individual freedoms and social interests.Individualism drives LOHASians to endeavor personal development through the achievement of optimal health and well-being in different life domains (Szakály et al., 2017).Collectivism also motivates LOHAS consumers to fulfill the sustainability of the environment and the greater good of a larger community through the consumption choices made by the consideration of its environmental and social impact (Bierhoff, 2013;Emerich, 2011).In alignment with this, Horx (2011) argued that LOHAS is a new form of collectivism that combines individualism with sustainability.
LOHAS, as conscious and ethical consumption, has evolved to intersect with status consumption in a number of ways.For example, the premium choice made by LOHAS consumers in favor of ecological, ethical, and health-conscious products can serve as status symbols in their social circles or larger communities by increasing status among consumers through the high quality or limited availability of sustainable brands that position themselves as exclusive or premium (Ergüven & Yilmaz, 2016;Tuitjer & Küpper, 2020).Furthermore, LOHAS consumers may leverage their knowledge or prior experience with healthy and sustainable products as a form of cultural capital (Szakály et al., 2021).For instance, being an expert on organic food or environmental issues can be a means of gaining credibility in social circles.Furthermore, LOHAS is a green materialist who satisfies materialistic desires by purchasing green products instead of restraining themselves from consuming goods to mitigate environmental impact.Therefore, substantial profit-oriented businesses are being formed around this segment in a wide range of market sectors, including organic and natural foods, fitness, healthcare, personal development, home goods, tourism, building, transportation, and investment (Köse & Kırcova, 2021).With their prioritization of life quality backed up by relatively higher disposable income (Lubowiecki-Vikuk et al., 2021), LOHASians pay a premium for natural items of the best quality (Hyun, 2010;Ryu & Han, 2010), demonstrating their ability to accept incurred expenses for their well-being as well as a greater good of the environment.
Due to the growing global trend of increasing interest of consumers in how businesses behave socially, environmentally, and culturally, enhancing corporate social responsibility, ethical principles, and environmental efficiency is no longer a point of difference but an expectation.With the LOHAS market growing by about 10% per year, brands have both the opportunity and the obligation to make LOHAS a key part of their business (Oshione, 2022).While the future of green premium lies in sustainable innovation that offers solutions to provide LOHASians with control and confidence in their decision-making, attention to LOHAS as a market segment in sustainable luxury has been scarce thus far.Therefore, for the solutions that empower LOHAS consumers to engage in the sustainability of their environment, one needs to understand the determinants of the LOHAS lifestyle and their marketplace behavior.

LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESES
LOHAS (Lifestyle of health and sustainability) is a growing lifestyle trend that focuses on individual health and well-being and environmental sustainability.This terminology was created by the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) to capture the market opportunity for a new and emerging segment that reflects changing motivational and behavioral patterns in the marketplace (Mitchel-Chesebro, 2006).LOHAS consumers buy products and services that focus on health, personal development, the environment, and social justice.They strive for healthier and more sustainable living with the recognition of the interdependence between the well-being of an individual's body and mind and environmental and social health (Bierhoff, 2013;Emerich, 2011).In other words, their concern for environmental and social health stems from its linkage to personal health and wellbeing.Prosocial actions of LOHASians have indi- The LOHAS market segment is composed of relatively high-income, up-scale, well-educated, and morally committed consumers who are motivated to purchase goods that uphold their beliefs (Lim et al., 2022).They can afford to pay a price premium for natural and sustainable products for their high income and prioritization of quality of life (Hyun, 2010;Ryu & Han, 2010).This is well described in their willingness to purchase organic and natural products (Machová et  Cultural value has been discussed as a determinant of consumer behavior.Primary cultural values that affect many aspects of consumer behavior are individualism and collectivism.Individualism is a social pattern characterized by individuals who consider themselves independent and autonomous (Triandis, 1995).Individualists behave primarily based on their attitudes rather than ingroup norms, prioritize personal goals above ingroup goals (Triandis & Singelis, 1998), and focus more on their own identity (Brewer & Chen, 2007).On the other hand, collectivism refers to social norms that prioritize the community over the individual (Hofstede, 1980).Collectivists see themselves in terms of how related they are to ingroups, prioritize mutual goals over personal goals, and emphasize relationships (Marcus & Le, 2013).They have a stronger feeling of connectedness to the environment and society because of cooperative values and tend to live in harmony with their surroundings (Hofstede, 2001).Although individualism and collectivism originated in the context of cross-cultural research, researchers have gained interest in individual-level representations of individualism and collectivism (Yamaguchi et al., 1995) due to the individuals within a culture's varying degrees of collectivity and individuality (Yamaguchi et al., 1995).Cultural differences may be a significant consideration when developing a prediction about consumer behavior, but variations within cultures are also crucial (Triandis & Singelis, 1998).For example, more or less individualistic individuals in collectivistic cultures may want to disengage what is perceived to be under the pressure of their in-groups, and collectivistic individuals in individualistic cultures may have a desire to join groups and communities (Triandis, 1995).Research on the individual-level differences within a culture focuses more on one's individualistic or collectivistic predispositions compared to the national data-based cultural study (Yamaguchi et al., 1995).
An individualistic characteristic of LOHAS consumers is well manifested in the main idea of personal development in LOHAS.To be specific, LOHAS consumers endeavor to actualize themselves as they get in touch with a deeper self and recover their true nature (cultivating spirituality) (Gelfer, 2010) with the recognition of the unity of mind, body, and spirit (Emerich, 2011).They choose spiritual products that help personal reinforcement or do some exercises such as yoga, meditation, Qi-gong, aromatherapy, or macrobiotics to heal themselves (Zentner, 2016).These activities lead them to a more sophisticated individual.
Another characteristic of individualism in LOHAS that values uniqueness and distinctiveness is represented in the LOHAS consumers' behaviors that pursue hedonism for the maximization of personal experience (Chirkov et al., 2003).As hedonistic individualists, LOHASians are eager to acquire new, distinctive, and quality products by following new trends (Szakály et al., 2017).In line with this, Errichiello and Zschiesche (2022) argued that LOHAS consumers show consumption patterns developed in favor of one's aesthetic judgment as well as being primarily focused on personal taste and opinions.This group is also characterized by a pursuit of personal values, such as well-being, happiness, and comfort (Szakály et al., 2017).
The sustainability aspect of LOHAS, which emphasizes the greater good of the environment and community beyond individual well-being and personal growth, is based on collectivism.The LOHAS consumers' commitment to the consumption of socially responsible and environmentally safe products aligns with the attention of collectivists on the need of the community and their expressed concerns about the impact of their behavior on society (Hofstede, 2001 Status consumption refers to "the motivational process by which individuals strive to improve their social status through consuming consumer products symbolizing status both for the individual and surrounding significant others" (Eastman et al., 1999, p. 41).Internally motivated status consumption focuses on satisfying one's self-awarding needs through private and subtle status symbol products, whereas external motivation-based status consumption can be prompted by a motivation to convey a specific image (DeBono, 1987).
Externally driven status-conscious consumers are highly concerned about the impression they make on others and, therefore, consume visible status products in the community to obtain status symbols and social identity (J.K. Eastman & K. L. Eastman, 2015).They utilize status products as a means to communicate information about themselves, such as accomplishments and social status (Sung et al., 2018).
The LOHAS segment prefers high-priced natural and organic brands made with premium ingredients compared to other consumer segments due to its symbolic meaning of helping the environment without sacrificing quality (NMI, 2008).According to the premium green attitudes investigation, LOHAS consumers believed that the premium green purchase would help the environment while also making them stand out, especially if they wanted to be recognized as ones who make a difference (NMI, 2008).This underpins the literature on sustainable luxury that refers to the purchase of premium green products motivated by status consciousness (Akehurst et al., 2012).For example, Armstrong Soule and Sekhon (2022) found that consumers with a moderate-to-high level of need for status among those who have moderate-to-high environmental concerns tend to engage in sustainable luxury consumption because the premium-priced products convey a meaning of high environmental and social qualities (e.g., Tesla driving).In a similar vein, Griskevicius et al. ( 2010) questioned the reason for the purchase of expensive green products that are not entirely based on environmental protection concerns.They found that when green products cost 20% more than traditional products, consumers prefer to choose the green options rather than the non-green ones because of the activated status motive.At the same time, consumers choose green products over traditional ones when the choice is made in public rather than in private, indicating that the green purchase is enhanced when the choice is observable and affects one's reputation.De Silva et al. ( 2021) discovered that sustainable consumers can be conferred status through costly signaling, which conveys the idea of incurring personal costs by sacrificing more expensive costs than their traditional counterparts for the benefits of the environment and social good.Thus, the purchase of healthy and sustainable high-end products may serve as a 'costly' signal of social status by providing LOHAS consumers with a perceived higher social and economic reputation.
Materialism is "the importance ascribed to the ownership and acquisition of material goods in achieving major life goals or desired states" (Richins, 2004) nizable products at higher prices than the average product within the product category to improve their social reputation (Nepomuceno & Laroche, 2015).
LOHAS consumers fulfill their materialistic needs through possessions and accumulations of ethical products rather than restricting consumption (Osawa, 2014).While LOHAS consumers are apparently expected to be further away from the capitalistic market due to their health consciousness and environmentally friendliness, they are well incorporated with the market to get not only individual benefits of improved personal health but also collective advantages, including good natural and social environment (Köse & Kırcova, 2021).Backed up by their relatively high income and prioritization of quality of life, they are willing to pay a price premium for high-quality natural products (Hyun, 2010;Ryu & Han, 2010).As a result, a substantial profit-orientated market segment (Kramarczyk & Alemany Oliver, 2022) was created by their consumption life.
The means-end theory of lifestyle is a lifestyle framework that is consistent with the means-end theory of consumer behavior (Olson & Reynolds, 1983), especially in its description of hierarchical cognitive structures (Gutman, 1982).Lifestyle is viewed as an intervening system of cognitive structures that link product perception to abstract and situational personal values.Personal values are at the top of the hierarchy as abstract and integrated cognitive categories that are consistent across situations.Product perceptions are situation-specific input to a classicization process at the most basic level (Brunsø & Grunert, 1998).
The means-end theory has been used in consumer behavior to investigate the role of perceived value in consumer decision-making.The literature review revealed that LOHAS is a hybrid concept of health and sustainability.There is a paradox of individualism and collectivism under LOHAS.In addition, its behavioral outcome is associated with status consumption, and materialism is involved in determining the purchase of high-end ethical products.Therefore, grounded on the means-end theory of lifestyle that regards the lifestyle as an intermediating cognitive system that associates a personal value with behavior, this study aims to empirically test if both individualism and collectivism drive LOHAS and whether LOHASians are more likely to engage in status consumption by focusing on the moderating role of materialism (Figure 1).Therefore, this study proposed the following hypotheses: H1: There is a positive relationship between individualism and LOHAS.

H2: There is a positive association between collectivism and LOHAS.
H3: There is a positive association between individualism and collectivism.

H4: The positive association between individualism and LOHAS is mediated by collectivism.
H5: There is a positive association between LOHAS and status consumption.
H6: Materialism affects the relationship between LOHAS and status consumption.
H7: The positive association between individualism and status consumption is mediated by LOHAS.
H8: The positive association between collectivism and status consumption is mediated by LOHAS.
H9: Collectivism and LOHAS jointly mediate the relationship between individualism and status consumption.

METHODS
For sample and data collection, 250 respondents made up the initial sample size.However, the final sample size of 205 remained after 32 incomplete and 13 invalid responses were deleted.The sample size is appropriate, given it exceeds the advised sample size of 100 (Hair et al., 2010).Table 1 represents the descriptive statistics of the participants.Data were collected using the Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk).The MTurk has been extensively considered to represent the U.S. population as a whole, and the data quality is comparable to the samples recruited by other methods (Paolacci et al., 2010).A convenience non-probability sampling method was used because it is the most commonly used method among academics and it is considered to be the most practical approach (Iacobucci & Churchill, 2010).For measures, the survey was administered using existing instruments from the literature.Eight items measuring individualism and eight items measuring collectivism were adopted from Singelis et al. (1995).LOHAS was measured with twenty-six items from Choi and Feinberg (2021).Five items were adopted from Eastman et al. (1999) to measure status consumption.Finally, materialism was measured using six items from Richins and Dawson (1992).All items were scored on a five-point scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree.The measures are specified in Appendix A.
To evaluate the quality of the measurement (i.e., reliability and validity) and structural model, partial least square-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is utilized.

Measurement assessment
Factor analysis was first done to assess the measurement model.Two or ten items from each of the scales that are unreliable and invalid were dropped during the scale validity procedure.
The factor loadings of all remaining measures were greater than the recommended value of 0.60 (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994).To evaluate the internal consistency, a reliability test with Cronbach's alpha coefficient was conducted for all constructs.Cronbach's alphas ranged from 0.793 to 0.933, demonstrating satisfactory levels of reliability for the constructs (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994).For a more rigorous reliability test, composite reliability was examined for all constructs.Composite reliability ranged from 0.857 to 0.946, indicating satisfactory reliability levels for all constructs (Hair et al., 2011).Table 2 reports the results of factor loadings and reliabilities.To assess convergent validity, the average variance extracted (AVE) was calculated.As shown in Table 2, the values of all AVEs were above the threshold limit of 0.50 (Fornell & Larcker, 1981), demonstrating satisfactory convergent validity.The discriminant validity of the variables was confirmed, given heterotrait-monotrait (HTMT) ratio of correlations for all latent constructs was found to be less than 0.90 (Henseler et al., 2015) (Table 3).

Structural model assessment
To test the hypotheses, structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted using Smart PLS 3.0.Table 4 shows the results of the individual hypothesis.According to the results, both individualism and collectivism had positive and significant relationships with LOHAS, supporting H1 (β = 0.222, t = 2.746, p < 0.01) and H2 (β = 0.595, t = 9.550, p < 0.001), respectively.This indicated that the more individualistic or collectivistic oriented, the more likely the one is to live LOHAS.However, the impact of collectivism on LOHAS was found to be greater than that of individualism.Secondly, individualism was found to be positively associated with collectivism, supporting H3 (β = 0.699, t = 13.616,p < 0.01).H4 was also supported by the positive association between individualism and LOHAS mediated by collectivism (β = 0.416, t = 7.815, p < 0.01).In other words, the influence of the independent feature of individualism on LOHAS was significant in terms of the values of harmony and cooperation in collectivism.
Moreover, the results showed that LOHAS has a positive and significant relationship with status consumption, supporting H5 (β = 0.236, t = 3.791, p < 0.01).This indicated that the more LOHAS oriented, the more likely s/he is to consume for status.In addition, the moderation effect of materialism for H6 was tested by including the interactions with LOHAS.For creating the interaction terms, the product indicator calculation method was used, and the product terms were standardized in their generation.The result indicates the significant moderating effect of materialism on the relationship between LOHAS and status consumption, supporting H6 (β = 0.179, t = 2.134, p < 0.05).Namely, the higher level of materialism enhanced the influence of LOHAS on status consumption.With regard to the indirect effect of LOHAS, both individualism and collectivism had a positive and significant impact on status consumption by way of LOHAS, supporting H7 (β = 0.052, t = 2.398, p < 0.05) and H8 (β = 0.141, t = 3.411, p < 0.01), respectively.Finally, H9 was supported, given that collectivism and LOHAS jointly play a dual mediation role in the relationship between individualism and status consumption (β = 0.150, t = 3.810, p < 0.01).

DISCUSSION
This study confirmed that both individualism and collectivism underpin the LOHAS lifestyle.This is consistent with previous studies that discov-ered that the two different underlying values lead LOHAS in a way that individualistic values drive individuals to adopt LOHAS for enhancing personal health and well-being, whereas collectivistic values lead them to live LOHAS for the sustainability of the environment and community (Bacher, 2020;Lendvai et al., 2022;Lubowiecki-Vikuk et al., 2021).Namely, individuals follow LOHAS to maximize themselves as human beings through optimal health and well-being in diverse life domains as well as to fulfill their sense of responsibility to the environment and social well-being.
Second, individualism was found to influence LOHAS by way of collectivism.This finding may be because the pro-sustainable tendency of LOHAS is based on the 'me-centered' idea.This result supports Choi and Feinberg (2018) that the LOHAS consumers' collectivistic tendencies underpinning sustainable behaviors originated from the recognition that environmental sustainability is the basis for personal health and well-being.The LOHASian's commitment to sustainability is not fundamentally due to the distinctive cognitive structure of other orientations but rather because it will ultimately be to self-benefit.In sum, the individualism underpinning LOHAS does not promote personal well-being at the expense of community well-being rather it encourages individuals to be deeply involved in communal issues.
Third, the influence of LOHAS on status consumption revealed that LOHAS consumers tend to purchase status products that signal economic and social status.This may indicate that the LOHAS consumer's green consumption can signal that the one is willing to accept the incurred expense of self-sacrifice for the sake of others.It also represents that one has the ability (financial means, time, etc.) to cover this cost (Burroughs & Rindfleisch, 2002), demonstrating one's economic and social status.This supports the previous research that showed status motives increase the attractiveness of green products when they are comparatively more expensive and consumed in public (Griskevicius et al., 2010).
Fourth, the positive moderating effect of ism in the relationship between LOHAS and status consumption indicated that the materialistic tendency enhances the impact of LOHAS on sta-tus consumption.In other words, a materialistic individual with LOHAS is more likely to engage in status consumption.This supports a positive link between materialism and LOHAS.For example, Errichiello and Zschiesche (2022) revealed that LOHASians enjoy the comfort of economic freedom in a hedonic way, while also being environmentally and socially conscious, in contrast to the traditional environmental movement that requires abstinence from consumption.
Fifth, this study demonstrates the suitability of the means-end theory of lifestyle to unpack relevant values and behavioral outcomes of LOHAS.Specifically, while the means-end theory of lifestyle has been studied extensively to enhance knowledge about consumption choices in food and hospitality management, this study expands the application of the means-end theory of lifestyle in broader consumer behavior contexts.
This study has several limitations that may provide future research directions.One limitation is that the paper did not consider specific status product categories or brand types.This limits one's understanding of the role of product cate-gories or brands in achieving status for LOHAS consumers and whether specific products or brands are more relevant to status consumption than others.Therefore, future research could investigate the role of products and/or brands and whether LOHAS consumers are predisposed to purchase specific products and/or brands to signal their economic and social status.Moreover, the study did not examine individualism and collectivism, which are thought to be at the national level.Future research could extend this study by investigating the national-level cultural orientation and whether the role of cultural orientation differs across countries.Further, the finding that materialism moderates the relationship between LOHAS and status consumption could be explained by the use of the sample in a developed country.Thus, it would be worthwhile to examine the relationships with other demographic profiles to see whether the outcomes differ.

CONCLUSION
This study aims to investigate how the LOHAS lifestyle is influenced by individual values of individualism and collectivism and whether it influences status consumption.The findings suggest that both individualism and collectivism have a direct positive impact on the LOHAS lifestyle, and the influence of individualism on LOHAS was mediated by collectivism.Furthermore, the LOHAS lifestyle increases status consumption, and the materialistic characteristics of individuals enhance the impact of LOHAS on status consumption.The examination of the role of two contrasting cultural and philosophical values of individualism and collectivism in shaping LOHAS allows for a more nuanced understanding of LOHASian behavior and the dynamics of LOHAS.In addition, the findings of the positive association of LOHAS with status consumption contribute to the growing discussion on sustainable luxury in contemporary literature.Sustainability and luxury have traditionally been regarded as oxymoronic because sustainability is focused on careful consideration, other orientation, and temperance, but luxury relates to hedonistic self-satisfaction.However, a positive impact of the LOHAS lifestyle on status consumption may indicate that there are fundamental principles that the two concepts both ground on.
The findings have several practical implications for marketing managers.First, the finding helps lifestyle repositioning of status brands.Marketing managers could change some of their brand images or attributes to align them with the psychographic profile of LOHAS consumers, considering that consumer market responses are desirable when brands on the market are in line with consumer lifestyle patterns.In practice, recent upscale brands have taken sustainable luxury as an innovation to cope with the pressure to satisfy increasing and changing consumer demands.Second, research finding that shows both individualistic and collectivistic LOHAS consumers are willing to purchase status products indicates that marketers need to target each type of consumer using distinctive marketing strategies to satisfy their demands respectively.For example, a marketing campaign may persuade collectivistic LOHAS consumers to purchase premium green products for their social standing by highlighting not only the premium but also the altruistic features of a product.On the other hand, a different promotion strategy that convinces individualistic consumers to buy high-end products may be available using other factors, such as personal well-being and health.Third, the research finding of the greater chance of the LOHAS consumers with high materialism to consume status products compared to the LOHAS consumers with low materialism indicates that marketing managers can make the status product more appealing to them by highlighting the benefits that align with the materialist's value such as reputation, achievement, and uniqueness.By appealing to the desire for status, they could capture highly materialistic LOHAS consumers' attention to the products with higher social value.
For example, Sheng et al. (2019) discovered that cultural values influenced consumer lifestyle, and lifestyle was positively associated with green purchase intention, indicating a mediating effect of lifestyle in the context of sustainable consumption.Brunsø et al. (2021) also confirmed the role of three underlying dimensions of food-related lifestyle in the relationship between life values and food-related behaviors.Furthermore, Kautish et al. (2021) investigated the relationship between value orientations, brand consciousness, and behavioral inten-tion in the context of luxury fashion consumption and discovered that instrumental and terminal values influenced brand consciousness and behavioral intention.

Figure 1
Figure 1.Research model Eastman and Woo (2019))Collectivistic individuals are more concerned about the welfare of the group and focus on group goals and duties(McCarty & Shrum, 2001).The LOHAS consumers' endeavors to make a personal contribution to environmental and climate protection can be found in different market sectors.For example, Ekasari et al. (2021) identified that the LOHAS orientation is positively associated with to the use of a reusable bag, which is mediated by a positive attitude toward it.SungEastman and Woo (2019)found that the ones with high LOHAS tended to have a high level of perceived value toward slow fashion.

Table 1 .
Descriptive analysis of participants

Table 2 .
Measurement model assessment

Table 4 .
Structural model evaluation Finally, although the sample sizes are consistent with previous research, relatively small sample sizes were used to test the theoretical framework.Future research may investigate the theoretical model with a larger and different sample population to see if the same relationships are retained.