Is it FOMO or is it ME? The influence of personality traits on cryptocurrency consumption

Abstract

AbstractWhy do consumers invest in cryptocurrency despite its sharp increases and decreases in value? While it seems rational that such volatility should increase consumers' fear of investment, we posit that the fear of missing out (FOMO) on the possible positive returns negates such. Further, this study explores the impact that consumers personality traits, using the big five model, has on FOMO when predicting consumers purchase intentions of cryptocurrencies. Additionally, while consumer behaviorists theorize that information search is an important aspect of the consumer decision making process, marketers have yet to integrate consumers degree of cryptocurrency knowledge as a conditional factor that influences their cryptocurrency purchase behavior. Grounded in trait and prospect theory, we employ a repeated cross‐sectional sampling design to investigate these relationships in a bear and bull market. An analysis of the data from 444 and 250 respondents suggests that FOMO predicts the likelihood of investing in cryptocurrencies for certain personality traits. The findings of this study are novel as we observe that FOMO is a driving force behind cryptocurrency's consumption for agreeable and neurotic consumers. However, FOMO negatively mediates cryptocurrency investment likelihood for consumers with high openness to experience and conscientiousness in a bear market, but not in a bull market.