How Access‐Based Consumption Turns Abusive: A Self‐Destruction Account of the Extended Self

Prior research has examined consumer–product relationships across ownership and access contexts, but less is known about why temporary access may lead consumers to use products harshly or excessively. This research develops fear of ephemerality as an additional psychological mechanism explaining why abusive product use may be more likely in temporary access than ownership contexts. We focus on abusive product use, which refers to harsh use or overuse that can harm the product or consumer, and compare abusive usage behaviors toward consumer‐owned products and consumer‐accessed products. Drawing on self‐preservation and self‐destruction theories within the extended‐self framework, the present research employs both field data collection and experimental evidence. We find that accessed products, compared to owned products, are more prone to abusive use. This pattern is consistent with a fear‐based shift from self‐preservation toward self‐destruction when the temporary nature of access becomes salient. Furthermore, fear of ephemerality explains why accessed products are more prone to abuse than owned products. We also examine how self‐esteem and self‐extension tendency shape the strength of this effect as boundary conditions.