E-Mail Chestnut Hill, Mass. (12/21/2020) - When confronted with comparisons to high status friends and colleagues, consumers prefer to make a "status pivot" into another area where they can shine brighter than their successful peers, according to new research into how consumers respond to status competition, which appears in the Journal of Consumer Research. With a status pivot, consumers "change the game" when they buy and display products to showcase their accomplishments in other areas where they fare better, referred to as "alternative domains," than if they try to hold firm and buy products in the domain where their peers prevail, said Boston College Associate Professor of Marketing Nailya Ordabayeva, a co-author of the new paper.