What Motivates People to Purchase NFTs? A Self-Discrepancy Perspective

Non-fungible token (NFT) sales change unpredictably and trend downward, which motivates us to explore the determinants of why people purchase NFTs. To answer this question, we develop a model based on the self-discrepancy theory and symbolic self-completion theory. The model proposes that the desire for self-completion is a key driver for such purchases, and functional properties of attractiveness, price utility, emotional properties of aesthetics and playfulness, and social properties of parasocial interaction and social relationship support are antecedents of the desire for self-completion. We also hypothesize that psychological ownership moderates the relationship between the desire for symbolic self-completion and purchase intention. The model will be validated using survey data collected from some popular NFT platforms. The results are expected to support our hypothesis, which contributes to the understanding of the purchase of NFTs by extending the theory of self-discrepancy and adds a new perspective to research on NFTs