مقاله انگلیسی رایگان در مورد درک مصرف کنندگان از برندهای لوکس – الزویر 2018

To deepen theoretical and practical understanding of consumers’ perceptions of luxury brands, prior marketing literature has investigated the financial, functional, individual, and social dimensions of the luxury value construct. However, it has not considered the owners of luxury brands or detailed the moderated effects of luxury value on related attitudinal outcomes. To address this gap, this study draws on an existing second-order conceptualization of luxury value to introduce and empirically examine an extended conceptualization of the owner-based luxury value (OBLV) construct. The study draws on brand equity theory to offer a conceptual model of the attitudinal outcomes of OBLV in terms of brand loyalty, brand attachment, brand community behavior, and brand engagement. Using unique data from 452 actual owners of three luxury brands (Cartier, Louis Vuitton, and Prada), the authors confirm the predicted attitudinal outcomes of OBLV and reveal moderating effects of awareness of counterfeit existence. Their findings provide new insights and implications for luxury brand research and luxury brand managers. The research provides a richer understanding of OBLV and yields important managerial insights into how to influence luxury-seeking consumers’ perceptions of, and attitudes to, luxury products.

Introduction

Despite difficult global economic circumstances, personal luxury goods such as accessories and apparel show continued growth; the global market for personal luxury goods reached record revenues of $309 billion in 2017 and is expected to grow to $350 billion by 2020 (Bain & Co., 2017). This remarkable growth can be the consequence of globalization, wealth-creation opportunities, digital communications, international travel, and cultural convergence (Okonkwo, 2009). It also may be the result of social changes, such as the emergence of “masstige” (mass + prestige) brands that trigger both greater interest in luxury brands among average consumers (Gurzki & Woisetschläger, 2017; Silverstein & Fiske, 2008) and the democratization of luxury (Wong & Ahuvia, 1998), such that broad availability replaces exclusivity. Whatever the reason for the growth of the luxury goods market, to satisfy demands for luxury without threatening the uniqueness and exclusivity of luxury brands (Tynan, McKechnie, & Chhuon, 2010), luxury brand managers need to know what constitutes a luxury brand according to luxury-buying consumers. They need to be able to leverage, monitor, and preserve the value of luxury brands as perceived by those consumers. Scholars can assist luxury brand managers by developing and validating a robust measure of luxury value perception (Wiedmann et al., 2012). In terms of construct measurement, marketing literature describes four dimensions of perceived luxury value: financial, functional, individual, and social (e.g., De Barnier, Falcy, & Valette-Florence, 2012; Vigneron & Johnson, 2004; Wiedmann, Hennigs, & Siebels, 2009). However, most scholars examine these dimensions conceptually, without empirically evaluating luxury value or related attitudinal outcomes (e.g., Berthon, Pitt, Parent, & Berthon, 2009; Kapferer, 1997; Vigneron & Johnson, 1999). Moreover, these studies often focus on premium rather than luxury brands, or on luxury brands in general instead of specific luxury brands, so their findings may not generalize to genuine luxury brands (e.g., Bendale & Agrawal, 2012; Hennigs, Wiedmann, Behrens, & Klarmann, 2013; Sung, Choi, Ahn, & Song, 2015; Vigneron & Johnson, 2004; Wiedmann et al., 2012). For example, Hennigs et al. (2013) empirically examine the consumer outcomes of luxury value but do not specifically address luxury brands. Furthermore, because research often relies on samples of students and/or nonowners of luxury brands (e.g., Vigneron & Johnson, 2004; Yim, Sauer, Williams, Lee, & Macrury, 2014), it is doubtful that the first-order factors typically used to measure the four luxury-value dimensions (e.g., Wiedmann et al., 2009) fully reflect the value perceptions of genuine luxury brand owners. Beyond relating luxury value to luxury purchase intentions, studies do not consider luxury brand owners or the consumer outcomes of luxury value. This gap is surprising, considering that the relevant attitudinal outcomes of luxury value may reveal valuable knowledge about the effectiveness of luxury branding strategies.