Experiencing Dehumanization, Seeking Uniqueness: The Effect of Organizational Dehumanization on Uniqueness-Seeking Consumption

Consumers often engage in the marketplace to symbolically restore aspects of the self. While prior research has examined compensatory consumption in response to functional and situational threats, it has largely overlooked chronic, institutional threats that undermine deeper dimensions of identity. Addressing this gap, this paper conceptualizes organizational dehumanization (i.e., the perception of being treated as mechanized and replaceable in service of organizational goals) as an ontological self-threat that undermines one's sense of humanness. Across one preliminary survey and five studies, we show that organizational dehumanization could positively predict (Study 1) and increase (Studies 2-5) subsequent uniqueness-seeking behaviors. This effect is attenuated when alternative coping options (e.g., charitable consumption, Study 2) and self-affirmation (Study 4) are present. Moreover, uniqueness-seeking consumption helps restore perceived humanness (Study 5). This study extends compensatory consumption theory by introducing humanness threat as a novel self-discrepancy and shows how institutional experiences shape symbolic consumer behavior, offering implications for both identity restoration and workplace policy. © 2025 Wiley Periodicals LLC.