In 2010, there were approximately 38.9 million Black Americans residing in the U.S. (Waters, Kasinitz, & Asad, 2014). Caribbean and African-Americans do engage in luxury shopping (Forbes, 2013). A three part theoretical framework has been developed to present this research, including spatial diffusion theory, conspicuous consumption theory, and the Value Chain model. Although there is a vast amount of information on luxury attributes, there is a gap in research surrounding this topic in relation to ethnic groups such as Caribbean and African-American consumers. Hence, the purpose of the study is to examine the impact of luxury brand attributes on Caribbean and African-American consumers. The specific objectives of this study were to identify the main attributes of luxury goods and services; to examine these main attributes and compare Caribbean and African-American consumers; and to study the impact of those attributes on purchase intentions and word-of-mouth on purchase decisions. The study surveyed 440 consumers and interviewed 8 individuals. Participants were West Indians residing in the U.S. and in the Caribbean, and African-Americans residing in the U.S. between the ages of 18 and 64. The data was then analyzed using SPSS. A total of eight (8) interviews were conducted (7 females and 1 male). The consumers ranged from ages 20 to 33. Questions covered the following topics: demographics, lifestyle, sources of appearance, shopping patterns and preferences, and dress and appearance preferences. Texts within the interviews were coded and Cohen’s kappa was also conducted to establish reliability. The main criterion when shopping was style. There were significant differences between Ethnicity and the following: having favorite brands while shopping (Χ2 = 37.741, p = .000); whether or not the respondents’ favorite brands were high fashion (Χ2 = 19.123, p = .000); whether or not respondents liked wearing expensive clothing and/or accessories (Χ2 = 21.200, p = .000); feeling the need to invest in luxury apparel (Χ2 = 20.836, p = .000); respondents thinking that wearing luxury products convey success or accomplishment (Χ2 = 40.936, p = .000); and imitating the way celebrities dress (Χ2 = 37.006, p = .000). The survey revealed that respondents consulted family members, friends, and co-workers for fashion advice. The findings of this study support previous literature in relation to the main attributes of luxury goods. Conspicuous consumption theory explains the behavior of these consumers who may be trying to display their wealth by purchasing expensive items. Word-of-mouth played a significant role in the purchase decisions of both consumer groups. For Caribbean consumers, the main criteria were style and quality, whereas for African-Americans, the main criteria were style and price. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed.

Anna Dello Russo has worked with H&M, the Sartorialist's Scott Schuman has written his second book and home-grown Susie Bubble has consulted for Gap, Armani and Selfridges to name a few. There is no doubt that these figures are key influencers in the world of fashion and they are turning their efforts and knowledge into fiscal benefits. Fashion blogs have become not only a form of user-generated content, a medium for communicating to the masses without any prior training or knowledge, but have also evolved to become a new marketing communications channel in their own right. Fashion writers are not only dictating content to esteemed fashion titles that were once only contributed to by the fashion journalist elite, but they are engaged as brand consultants with the aim of shaping the future direction of brands in terms of content, style and scope. When did all this power and influence happen and how can we measure it? This is the central question inherent to this study’s focus. The dynamic nature of digital, online and social media activities means that most research is out of date or getting closer to ‘expiry’ even as the ink dries on the page. To exemplify: research dated just three years ago still includes MySpace in a comprehensive list of online networks and social media sites (e.g. Mir and Zaheer, 2012) and ‘second life’ as an innovation [albeit this has been experiencing somewhat of a renaissance within certain consumer sectors in recent times]. This aside, the point is thus: academic scholarship cannot keep up with the rapid rate of digital change in the landscape, but it continues to try, as does this humble study. A volume of research has recently contributed to the understanding of the influence of social media in the fashion sphere, predominately from an electronic word-of-mouth (e-wom) perspective, for example (Bronner and Hoog, 2013; Fang, 2014; Hennig-Thurau, 2004; Kulmala et al., 2013; Liu, 2006; Trusov et al., 2009) engagement with social media (e.g. Campbell et al, 2012; Dhaoui, 2014). This body of literature has supplied a solid foundation for understanding why user-generated content may be shared and under what circumstances and to whom. However, a limitation of these significant contributions are reasons for propensity to influence, that is, once it has been shared, distributed and circulated, how do we measure the impact of this influence? Yes we can use analytics to quickly demonstrate quantitative and numerical impact in terms of followers, traffic, interaction, sales and (not so quickly) the wider reach of blogs on PR for brands, brand-metrics and customer engagement. But what about the wider influential impact of key social media writers and opinion leaders, or those that follow and listen to them: how can we evaluate this impact of influence? How does it work? Why does it work with some over others? We seek to find answers around this notion of social influence and ask: why do people listen to bloggers? Do consumers of this information distinguish between platforms: do they prefer blogs? Twitter? Picture-content through Instagram or Pinterest? Is there a gender difference? Considering also the rise in ‘erasable’ social media in the form of SnapChat, which lasts ten seconds before ‘self destructing’: what impact are these having in terms of influence in particular sectors like fashion, how can brands harness this power and use it to build equity, target new consumers, increase sales and revenue? In other geographical domains, such as China, where social media constraints and censorship are notable, emerging applications like WeChat are increasing in popularity, first with consumers, but retail and fashion brands are also beginning to endorse them to facilitate a meaningful conversation with their customers through these innovations. We also aim to explore the current state of play regarding terminology for social media contributors – are they still bloggers even though they create content across-platform? (It would be unusual for example, for a popular and credible blogger to only have a blog and no twitter or Instagram activity). Is the term blogger naturally all-encompassing or is it a misnomer that we need to create new terminology to explain these phenomena? Cullen (2014) the fashion magazine editor of Elle Australia created a blogger award ceremony to honour the contribution of these fashion influencers and comments that: “We picked the ones that we felt have the most traction with our readers. It is very clear we are in a blogger boom right now and everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon and [the nominees] gave fashion this new relevance. They took fashion and democratized it, so rather than have to see what the designer wanted you to see [on the catwalk], they took the runway fashion and put it together in their own ways. They made it wearable, as they mixed it with other labels and all those things that make an outfit work for real life.” This quote serves to illuminate an example of the commercial impact of fashion bloggers in the fashion sector and the relevance that influential opinion leaders believe they can have on their readership. Thus, we seek, through our research, to interrogate existing literature on social media, marketing, consumption and consumer psychological theories in the context of fashion influence with the aim of contributing to understanding in this fast-evolving transformative sector. Social media has been defined as: ‘A group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content. (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010, .61). Within this context, social media applications exist to facilitate user interaction, and include blogs, content communities, discussion boards and chat rooms, product and/or service review sites, virtual worlds, and social networking sites (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010; Mangold and Faulds, 2009). In this paper we focus on social networking, which refers to applications, such as Facebook and Twitter, Instagram/Pinterest and more disposable aps like Snapchat. Essentially, we take an all-embracing approach to understanding social media, as this is simply how it is used by consumers, in the virtual landscape (for example, users do not distinguish between platforms, they simply use the most appropriate means to communicate their content at that time). We aim to contribute a perspective that is original by investigating existing literature in two territories: social media influence and Social Impact Theory, which we will use as a theoretical perspective to explore the influence of social media on fashion. A Theoretical Lens: Social Influence Theory (SIT) After dismissing other theoretical frameworks for our study’s focus including: Uses and Gratifications theory; Involvement and Motivation, the choice to focus on Social Impact Theory (SIT) (Latane, 1981) was rationalized by the centrality of influence as a construct, to the characteristics of the theory. SIT (Latane, 1981) maintains, “as the number of people increases the impact on the target individual’s attitude and behavior enhances”. As influence is inherent to our aim, this theory, albeit being created almost two decades before the concept of social media, may have transferable qualities that may aid comprehension of understanding into the complexities associated with understanding the influence of social media in the fashion sector. This seemingly large leap from a traditional application of the theory to the virtual world is made more plausible by at least one previous study, that has started to also recognize the value of this framework for understanding online activity for example, Mir and Zaheer (2012) who use SIT in the contexts of social media and banking. The theory has not however, been used thus far in the realm of fashion and social media, thus, a study of this kind aims to contribute to knowledge in this field. Social impact has been defined by the founding father of the theory as: ‘Any of the great variety of changes in physiological states and subjective feelings, motives and emotions, cognitions and beliefs, values and behavior, that occur in an individual, human, or animal, as a result of the real, implied or imagined presence or actions of other individuals’. (Latané, 1981, p. 343) Latané (1981) created social impact theory to validate his hypothesis about how influence works, which led to the identification of three factors that make up social impact theory: 1) Strength: How important is the influencing group to the target of the influence; 2) Immediacy: How close in proximity and in time is the influencing group to the target of the influence; 3) Number: How many people are in the influencing group. Taking each one of these in turn, the leverage of these variables to a social media context seems obvious. Social media by its very nature encourages a ‘pull’ approach to groups or communities (hence the ‘strength’ variable); the ‘immediacy’ of social media in the sense that messages can be communicated and responded to in real time, have been facilitated by social media capabilities. Finally, the third variable of SIT is ‘number’; in a virtual world, there is a real sense that there is no limit to the amount of people you can communicate with. To exemplify, we refer to Facebook with its 9 Billion plus users as an example of this reach, or Lady GaGa with her 44 Million plus followers on Twitter. This succinct insight into SIT theory provides a short rationale as to its applicability to a social media context, specifically the fashion sector. A more in-depth analysis of its use and application to this study will be developed for the final paper following data collection.

Instagram’s 200 million subscribers place it among the most popular Participatory Sensing Systems (PSSs) on the Internet today (de Melo et al. 2013). With its 62 million Internet users (Comscore, 2013), Russia is quickly becoming a powerful online market. With five million active daily users, Russia follows Brazil and US and comes ahead of UK by number of users (Alexa.com 2014). Being an early adopter of many technologies, the fashion industry actively uses image-based platform, by posting shots from runway shows, outfits of the day, pre-viewing new lines. Instagram is a no language barrier tool that is proving suitable for the visualization in the fashion industry. By observing the biggest Russian retailers TrendsBrands Instagram activity over a year, this paper outlines the most efficient way of brand communicating to consumers through images only as opposed to other mixed channel social media platforms employed, e.g. Facebook or Twitter. It studies the use of the most popular hashtags, influence of the photo sharing frequency as well as specific cultural behavior, which illustrates the promising potential of PSSs for the study of Russian online fashion environment. It also analyses the visual content that creates the biggest buzz. This research is complimented by in-depth interviews with a consumer sample from Trends-Brands follower to access the consumption interaction from the individual’s perspective. Deriving from Olbrich and Holsing (2011) business model of social shopping communities, Instagram is taken as an example. Discussing the phenomena of saling through Instagram, makes this platform a perfect example of social shopping community, which is are a mix of both: online shopping platform and social networking. Users of Instagram can share, comment, tag as well as purchase products online. Social shopping is a development of an online community that plays the role of both connecting consumers by communication and shopping (Olbrich and Holsing, 2011). Building up also on the Jenkins spredability (2013) theory as well Kozinetz (2010) nethnographic approach this research paper draws upon the distinctive features of Instagram as the channel not only to engage in the consumer-brand communication but also to communicate the consumption experience. This paper sets managerial implications for marketing communication managers who wish to conduct a successful strategy in Russia on Instagram.

The evolution of technology, on one hand, and the transformation of consumers’ behaviors, on the other hand, are taking marketing communication strategies, together with instruments and actors involved in their planning process, to the need of confronting themself with a huge change must consider the consumer polarization and different media attitudes at the same time. This research project assumes that companies should change their strategic action, if they want to communicate with their changing target. What happens in luxury mature markets? The intent is to empirically and qualitatively examine how luxury brands communication strategies have been evolving during the latest years towards a stronger relationship with a huge variety of different audiences at the same time. The interaction must follows a continuous path and the contents sharing must be the center of every communication effort in order to enhance the experience of consumers and to establish a strong relationship with the audience. The present research on 75 cases shows that players who have the most authority and esteem are the ones using social media tools and counting a higher number of impressions on social networks and a higher frequency of video views and shares content online.

Customer emotion evoked during shopping is closely linked to customers’ central attitude toward the brand. Few studies, however, have examined what type of customer emotion is triggered at what stage of shopping by what factors, particularly in the luxury fashion retail context. This study intends to fill this gap in the research. To differentiate between customer emotions displayed before and after entering a luxury shop, we first identified what emotions are displayed at each stage and what factors triggered such emotions. We then examined the impact of customer emotions at each stage on customer responses, such as evaluations of service quality and brand attitude. Further, we attempted to identify patterns in the change in the type of customer emotions between before and after entering a luxury shop (i.e., from positive to negative or from negative to positive) and examined their effect on brand attitude. We collected 298 valid responses through a self-administered survey among luxury shop visitors in a major duty free complex in Seoul, Korea. The results show that customers display diverse emotions prior to entering a luxury shop. When customers were divided into four emotion groups (positive emotions only, mixed emotions, negative emotions only, no emotion), the positive emotion only group was the largest. As for specific emotions, happiness, contentment, and feeling comfortable were the three most experienced emotions. Negative emotions such as fear or shame were rarely experienced. Brand familiarity affected the type of emotion customers felt. While customers with high brand familiarity tended to feel privileged and comfortable, those with low brand familiarity tended to feel fear and shame. The emotions customers felt also differed by the shopping motive. When the motive was browsing only, customers tended to feel shame. When purchasing was a part of the motive, they tended to feel comfortable. Customer emotions displayed after entering a luxury shop were also diverse. The positive emotion only group was the largest, but it was not as large in the case of emotions felt prior to entering the shop. The effect of the retail service quality (RSQ) dimensions on in-store emotions varied depending on the specific emotion. The RSQ dimensions of "reliability" and "physical aspect" influenced the greatest number of in-store customer emotions. The moderating effect of brand familiarity was significant. The number of emotions affected significantly by RSQ dimensions was higher with the group with low familiarity. The moderating effect of the shopping motive was also significant. The RSQ dimensions that influenced emotion differed by the shopping motive. In terms of the effect of in-store emotions on brand attitude, it differed by the specific emotion. A significant effect was only present in three positive emotions (happiness, pride, privileged) and one negative emotion (anger). This implies that not all in-store emotions are equally influential on customer attitude. As for the effect of emotion change pattern on brand attitude, due to a large difference in the sample size of the emotion change pattern group (positive to positive (PP), positive to negative (NP), negative to positive (NP), negative to negative (NN)), we could not conduct a meaningful statistical analysis but could only observe some directions and tendencies. The brand attitude of the NP group tended to be higher than that of the PP group. This study contributes academically by extending the research on customer emotion, particularly in the luxury fashion retail context, in three ways. Firstly, we differentiated customer emotion before and after entering a shop. Secondly, we identified the triggers for specific emotions. Thirdly, we attempted to identify and examine the patterns of changes in customer emotion between before and after entering a shop and the impact of this pattern on customer responses. Managerially, this study contributes in two ways. Firstly, we demonstrated the importance of managing customer emotion at various stages of shopping at a specific emotional level. Secondly, we showed what factors should be managed for a particular customer emotion. Our research could be further extended in several ways. Customer experience research has shown that other customers present in the service setting can influence customer emotion; hence, in a luxury retail store, the degree of customers’ sense of compatibility with other customers may affect customer emotion and therefore should be explored. Another factor for future consideration is gender. Extant research in a luxury setting shows that the characteristics of luxury consumption tend to vary by gender. Considering that males’ luxury consumption is increasing, the difference in customer emotions based on gender might be worth investigating.

Theoretically, the meanings attached to luxury brands have been thought to be integrated in consumers’ identities, yet this possibility has not yet been explicitly investigated. This paper describes the development of a 23-item instrument for assessing the enrichment of an individual's personal identity through their identity as a luxury consumer. An exploratory factor analysis on data from a survey using this instrument indicates the existence of five factors (unburdening, pleasure, impressiveness, sensation and connectedness). The scale has a variety of potential applications and can serve as a framework for further empirical research.

Over the past decades, researchers devoted considerable attention to the impact of store environments on shopping behavior (e.g. Baker et al., 2002; Kotler, 1973; Turley & Milliman, 2000). More recent, practitioners and academics alike have argued that a greater challenge for brands is the creation and enhancement of compelling shopping experiences along, and beyond, the entire path-to-purchase (Interbrand, 2014; Shankar et al., 2011). In a luxury brand context, where the shopping experience is a significant motivator for purchases (Yoon, 2013), the interaction of multiple retail environments greatly affect consumer behavior towards the brands. Accordingly, brand experiences is created at both ends of the marketing supply chain, by brand manufacturers and retailers. Yet, although research has developed fruitful areas for new perspectives on the relationships between manufacturers and retailers (Ganesan et al., 2009), the vast majority of existing research predominantly focuses on consumer response to brand experiences with respect to manufacturer cues (Dolbec & Chebat, 2013; Tynan et al., 2010), store cues (Baker et al., 2002), or retail settings (Möller & Herm, 2013). The evolving business world needs to implement more comprehensive and holistic approaches (Choi et al., 2014), where integrated strategies must emerge. The objective of this study is to present an explanation of luxury brand experiences across manufacturer and retailer’s settings. By overviewing the literature on the interaction between brand management, store atmospherics, and consumer behavior, and applying qualitative methods, the authors provide relevant insights for academics and practitioners toward a more comprehensive understanding of the luxury brand experience. Customer experience and luxury brands In the field of contemporary marketing, customer experience has been defined as a construct which “encompasses the total experience and may involve multiple retail channels” (Verhoef et al., 2009, p. 32). It includes the search, purchase, consumption, and after-sale phases of the experience. In a holistic brand perspective, this definition enlightens the key role of luxury brands in delivering the same brand promise and brand message across each connection between the consumer and the brand. Among the characteristics of luxury brands, consumers are willing to pursue luxury products as these products provide psychological benefits rather than functional benefits (Kapferer, 1997). Further, luxury brands are associated with status, wealth, exclusion, and pride (McFerran et al., 2014). As result, strong experiences with luxury brands derive when consumers develop deep emotional bonds with brands (Grisaffe & Nguyen, 2011). From a marketing perspective, consumers that develop deep emotional relationships with a brand have a lot of positive and strong associations (Yoo et al., 2000), such as the perception of the brand uniqueness and inimitability, and loyalty to the brand. However, when it comes to analyze the brand experience, research confers a conceptually different meaning from other brand constructs. According to Brakus et al. (2009), brand experience has distinct dimensions from evaluative, affective, and associative brand constructs, such as brand attachment, brand attitudes, customer delight, and brand personality. The concept of brand experience encompasses multiple dimensions, which refer to the sensorial, affective, intellectual, and behavioral sphere (Zarantonello & Schmitt, 2009). More specifically, the intrinsic concept of luxury brands as hedonic products with high symbolic value, holistically incorporate manufactures and retailers in fulfilling these various dimensions of brand experience. By assuring consistency across the manufacturer and retailer’s settings of the luxury brand, customer experiences evoke the exclusivity of the brand and transfer the authenticity of the brand message. From a consumer’s perspective, consumers reach brand authenticity when they perceive both the internal consistency, which focuses on maintaining the luxury brand standard and style, honoring its heritage, preserving its essence, and avoiding its exploitation, and the external consistency, which pertains to appearances and claims of the brand (Choi et al., 2014). Similarly, consumers tend to perceive the exclusivity of the luxury brand when they encounter consistent experiences across multiple brand touch points. Accordingly, in the experiential view, the principle of consistency and contiguity proposes that sensations, imagery, feelings, pleasures, and other symbolic or hedonic components are paired together to create mutually evocative consumer response (Holbrook & Hirschmann, 1982). The integration between the marketing and consumer’s perspectives suggests that luxury brands create and maintain powerful customer experiences when there is consistency across the manufacturer and retailer’s environments. However, in the landscape of luxury brand management, the conceptualization of customer experience requires the understanding of how consumers respond to luxury brand messages. This investigation is particularly important when examining brand experiences emerged in the manufacturer versus retailer physical environment. Existing literature on brand experiences, retail atmospherics, and luxury brands cannot fill the gap we address. Prior studies aiming to investigate the brand experience have analyzed the phenomenon of this construct from a theoretical perspective (Verhoef et al., 2009), case study analysis (Payne et al., 2009), or focused only on the direct relationship between manufacturer and consumer (e.g. Dolbec et al., 2013; Kim, 2009). For example, Dolbec et al. (2013) have studied in-store brand experiences on consumer response to flaghship vs. brand stores, and highlighted how their study suffers from not considering the continuity between current, previous and future experiences. Regarding the impact of store atmospherics and retailer’s settings on customer experiences (e.g. Baker et al. 2002; Bloch, 1995), research has found that specific combinations of atmospherics elements influences consumers’ perceptions about merchandise, service quality, and the overall store image. More recently, Möller & Herm (2013) showed how retail settings may shape consumers interpretation and evaluation of the brand, and in-store bodily experiences transfer a metaphoric message to customers’ perceptions of the brand. However, the authors empirically tested a mono-brand fashion retail store, and stressed the importance of examining the interaction between brand and store personalities in transferring meaning “from the product to the retailer and the other way around” (Möller & Herm, 2013, p. 8). The retail landscape has dramatically changed the dynamics of consumer-brand interactions in the physical encounter. The main challenge of these interactions concerns the effective integration of multichannel brand experiences into an exciting, emotionally engaging, and coherent brand experience. However, in-depth studies on consumer perceptions to these multi-environment experiences have not yet emerged. In this paper, we aim to fill that gap. By addressing the attention to the customer’s sphere, we specifically investigate how consumers perceive luxury brands in relation to brand experiences across various retail settings. Method and studies Owing to the lack of relevant research, this study applies a direct qualitative and exploratory approach to develop deep insights of consumers response to luxury brand experiences in different retail settings (Creswell, 2012). Two sequential studies investigate consumer cues of brand experiences across various environments. Study 1 provides the identification of luxury brand elements that are pivotal in the creation of exciting shopping experiences. In study 1, respondents named a luxury brand which they had frequently experienced in the last year, and to which they felt being in a deep relationship across multiple retail touch points of the brand. Respondents were asked about what elements of the brand they were more engaged to. The authors imposed no constraints on the elicitation. Following the categorization of luxury brands (Jackson, 2004) which comprehends fashion, perfumes and cosmetics, wines and spirits, and watches and luxury, respondents chose whatever brand they wanted. One of the authors provided the instructions to respondents. This study includes in the first sample a variety of 35 consumers from various age (20 to 65 years old consumers), as well as various education levels. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and evaluated with content analysis, following quality criteria of Kassarjian (1977). The luxury brand elements emerged from Study 1 were used in Study 2 as thematic basis for investigating how these elements provide exciting experiences across multiple retail setting of the luxury brand. The same interviewer of Study 1 undertook in-depth interviews with eight of the above respondents, two from each consumer profile identified in line with the hedonic profiles of Arnold & Reynolds (2003). Each interview discussion lasted between 30 and 45 minutes, was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The text was analyzed by the authors following the generalized sequence of steps of data reduction and transformation, data display and conclusion drawing/verification (Miles & Huberman, 1994). The code development followed thematic analysis (Boyatzis, 1998), and coding was multivariate within subjects. With multiple ideas per respondent, we extracted a large list of properties. We sorted thematic elements into logically related clusters and assigned representative headers. The authors now describe results regarding respondents’ perceptions of luxury brand experiences in multiple retail environments. Results and discussion Consumers identified a wide range of experience factors that they seek in luxury brands, and highlighted how the brand and retail environment fulfill these expectations. They considered the brand evocation to exclusivity and authenticity as the primary reason for purchasing luxury brands. One of the respondents stated: “I buy brand X because it is a nice and deeply authentic brand to have. When I use the brand X I feel I am wearing something very exclusive. And I feel exclusive”. Regarding experiencing luxury brands in the stores, respondents stressed the importance of “finding the same brand appealing in the monobrand store as well across retailers’ stores”, and added that when they did not perceive this coherence of message they often switched to other brands in the purchasing stage. Another determinant element of holistic experiences concerns the products presentation of the brand in various settings, which has to be very similar and related across the brand touch points. Respondents explained to feel confused when they visit one store and encounter “colorful display with a charming presentation of the brand Y in the store of retailer 1”, while finding in store of retailer 2 “black and white displays and an awful presentation for the brand Y”. Concerning the specific impact of the retailer’s environment on luxury experiences, we identified that the overall store setting of the retailer influences the luxury brand even when consumers do not experience the brand in the specific. For example, one respondent highlighted that “If I have to buy brand Z, I never go to retailer 3. I know that brand Z does not feel luxury at all in retailer 3 because of its very old fashioned store”. This study shows how consumers respond to luxury brand strategies across manufacturer and retailer’s brand setting. By providing deep insights on their relationship with luxury brands, consumers contributed to understand key elements for living consistent luxury brand experiences. They stresses the pivotal role of a coherent brand exclusivity. This is an evident implication to motivate consumers in purchasing the luxury brands. Retailers can also make important considerations from our study. They must create more appealing and overall exciting store images. By enhancing luxury experiences in the store, retailers can leverage opportunities of stronger connection with consumers. Simultaneously, brand manufacturers can build upon retailers enhanced in-store experience to magnify the holistic luxury brand experience. Finally, this study is one of the first explorations concerning the cross-effect of brand experiences and store atmospherics. In an empirical context, the authors investigate the conceptualization of consumer experiences in a multichannel view, and provide relevant contributions to analyze the brand and the environment as interdependent elements. Further research may test empirically our findings on the interaction between luxury brands and multi-retail experiences.

In the advent a new market that didn’t exist a few years ago, the total sales in wearable devices could top $32.2 billion by 2019, up from $18.9 billion last year (Kharif 2015). The most anticipated new device is the Apple Smart Watch which has a function to detect pulse rate and send messages using voice commands (There is a gold version for $10,000). Further, Tag Heuer recently announces a partnership with Intel and Google to produce the world's first luxury Android Wear Smartwatch. Given that the high potential to do some research in this area (i.e., luxury brand alliances), little research examines luxury brand strategy and especially luxury ingredient branding (IB) strategy. This study explores the evaluations of and attitudes to the host luxury brand after IB alliances. An ingredient branding (IB), the incorporation of parent brand with another brand as ingredient (Desai and Keller 2002), allows two brands to have better market competitiveness (Simonin and Ruth 1998). The IB parent brand is the “host,” the main product, and the “ingredient,” a component that is integrated into the host. For example, Dell computer (the host) has a co-branding relationship with Intel as the ingredient (Intel, 2006). Both brands enjoy the benefits of the relationship that include mutual cooperation and knowledge sharing. The IB strategy has valuable benefits for both brands. For example, the host (i.e., Dell) may enjoy an enhanced market reputation, while the ingredient brand (i.e., Intel) may benefit by reducing the probability of entry by competitors. Further, Dell receives a preferential price from Intel, while Intel enjoys a stable and long-term customer. Current research on ingredient branding examines the determinants of IB success (Desai and Keller 2002) as well as the feedback effect on a parent brand subsequent to an IB alliances (Rodrigue and Biswas 2004). IB feedback effect involves changes in consumer attitudes toward the original parent brand resulting from the IB alliances. Extant research in this topic shows positive effects of IB strategy for the host (e.g., Balachander and Ghose 2003). However, some other research also shows that negative effects for the host caused by an IB alliances (e.g., Votolato and Unnava 2006). This equivocal findings suggest that there are some other conditions generating positive and negative effects of IB strategy for the host. Thus, the purpose of our study is to examine the conditions under which IB strategy influences negatively or positively to the host. We will focus uncovering this research gap on finding the conditions that influence positively or negatively to the host. Using ingredient brand strategy in luxury brand, we will examine how the fit of the host (Tag Heuer) and the ingredients (Google and Intel) influences the host’s brand attitude. We assume that the product fit (i.e., the host current product category: Tag Heuer watch vs the final product after IB alliances: Tag Heuer Android Wear Smartwatch) may positively influence the host’s brand attitude while the brand fit (i.e., luxury brand: Tag Heuer vs non-luxury brand: Google and Intel) may negatively influence the host’s brand attitude. Further, we will examine the role of Brand Engagement in Self-Concept (BESC) as a moderator in this relationship (Sprott, Czellar, and Spangenberg 2009).

Korea is a relative newcomer in the global medical tourism market. The reported success from of forerunners including Thailand and Singapore inspired Korea to consider medical tourism as a path toward economic development. In a time of economic recession, medical tourism presented opportunities to create jobs and generate revenue. After the Korean government designated medical tourism as a new growth engine in 2009, several actions including allocation of revenue, enactment of promotional law, and establishment of specialist committees were taken. In 2007, 16,000 foreign patients were treated in Korea, generating US$68 million in revenue. By 2013 this number had risen to over 210,000 patients, contributing revenue of US$390 million. The Korean government has set a target of treating over 1 million patients by 2020. Competitors including Thailand, Singapore, and India take a large fraction of the Asian medical tourism market and are continuously innovating medical tourism services and seeking to improve delivery. New entrants such as Japan are also attempting to achieve a share of the market. Furthermore, the rapid development of medical technology and changing customer generate market turbulence. In order to gain a competitive advantage in this highly turbulent market, countries need to differentiate their destination brand identity from others in the market. This involves medical tourism products providing unique values to the customers being developed and advertised. Such a context increasingly requires medical tourism industry competitors to consider marketing perspectives and skills. Marketing in the healthcare field has a relatively short history and was traditionally strictly regulated, emerging as an important tool for creating competitiveness in the healthcare field from the early 1980s (Thomas, 2010). The challenge is clear for the Korean medical tourism industry – ensuring a trajectory of growth in medical tourism requires innovative marketing campaigns. Many hospitals and clinics have developed medical tourism products and actively advertised them to target nations. The Korean government has sought to establish a favorable environment for promoting medical tourism, with actions ranging from de-regulation to allow medical institutions to undertake marketing activities targeted at foreign patients, to hosting global conferences and exhibitions. Korea also undertook a thorough review of the marketing activities of its competitors. This presentation aims to identify the marketing actions undertaken by both the Korean government and medical institutions within Korea, using it as a case to highlight the broader issues concerning the marketing of medical tourism within a regional and global marketplace. Medical tourism marketing within Korea is analyzed using the 7 Ps of marketing mix. The longstanding marketing mix framework consisting of 4 Ps was criticized as an inappropriate tool for healthcare field. The framework’s elaboration by Tracy (2014) suggested the 7 Ps – product, price, people, packaging, positioning, place, and promotion. The 7 Ps of marketing mix must be systematically reviewed, managed and coordinated. Without a vision and blueprint, marketing activities surrounding 7 Ps will be undertaken separately and sporadically. Attention to coordinating seven elements of marketing mix will ensure the most effective allocation of limited marketing resources. Marketing has the capacity to increase competitive edge. However such marketing can be a financial drain, providing a poor return on investment as measured by tourist spending per advertisement dollar. Inefficiencies, poor positioning, and misuse of channels can lead to poor returns of investment and these questions must be asked at the organizational level of providers as well as the state level and national approaches.

This study proposes the use of fashion as a tool of psychotherapy for individuals feeling social and psychological pressure due to society’s emphasis on appearances. The concept of fashion therapy was re-established, and theories (cognitive behavioral therapy, person-centered therapy, solution-focused brief therapy) founded on art therapy were introduced. Based on past research, this study developed a process for fashion therapy.

This research is underpinned by the theory of planned behaviour to examine how past experience impacts on intention to engage in cosmetic procedures. Findings are expected to help researchers understand decision-making related to cosmetic procedures and assist industry practitioners to identify factors that drive consumers to repeat a cosmetic procedure.

Wellness is usually used to focus on the activities of young or middle aged generation. But, in the extremely aged society like Japan and other developed countries, we must pay much more attention to the wellness of aged person. This study discusses the issue with partnership marketing.

Our work analyses the theme of authenticity as a process of self-appropriation pursued by companies during their existence. The goal is to investigate this process by identifying the trade-off companies have faced. By doing this, we propose to recognize the sources of brand authenticity. The research methodology is based on the case analysis of Tuscan wine companies that are emblematic for the topic investigated.

The global diffusions of free trade agreements have encouraged an increasing number of companies to participate in foreign markets. However, export firms fall behind big data-based customers in international export markets. The gap between the needs of export markets and the capabilities of export companies is broadening. Marketing capabilities are export firms’ ability to understand what target customers want and develop tactical marketing actions and allocate available resources, and achieve export performance (Day 1994; Vorhies and Morgan, 2003). Export firms have to enhance marketing capabilities to narrow the gap (Day, 2011). This study investigates marketing capabilities, export marketing strategies, and their relationships with export performance of the export companies in an industrial complex in South Korea. This study tries to find how marketing variables impact the performance of export firms through the relationships among them. Marketing literature examined that the suitability between marketing capabilities and export marketing strategy is important because of its impact on export performance. Export marketing literature reviewed that export firms’ characteristics such as international experience, firm size, firm age, and export intensity, firm level of market orientation are considered positively related to export performance. Especially for inexperienced and small and medium-sized firms, which have limited marketing resources to achieve successful export performance, the right choice of export marketing, export marketing strategy, and export performance is indispensable. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating effects of export firms’ characteristics on the interactive linkages within marketing capability, export marketing strategy, and export performance. Our first focus in this study is the relationships between marketing capabilities and export strategies and both export marketing strategy and export performance. We discuss their relationships with each other and with export firms’ performance. We develop testable hypotheses as shown in Fig.1. The final samples we used are 104 manufactured export firms in S. Korea. Next, as a result of testing, based on the relationships of having positive effects, we identify the moderating effects of export firms’ characteristics. Our research model proposes that marketing capabilities affect export marketing strategies and ‘specialized marketing capabilities’. These affect the overall export performance. We therefore hypothesize that H1: Marketing organizational capability is positively related to (a) export marketing strategy and (b) specialized export marketing capability. H2: Marketing human resource capability is positively related to (a) export marketing strategy and (b) specialized export marketing capability. H3: Marketing financial capability is positively related to (a) export marketing strategy and (b) specialized export marketing capability. H4: Marketing infrastructure is positively related to (a) export marketing strategy and (b) specialized export marketing capability. H5: Export marketing strategy is positively related to (a) specialized export marketing capability and (b) export performance. H6: Specialized export marketing capability is positively related to export performance. The results of our PLS-SEM analyses are as follows. Our results support H1b, linking marketing organizational capability and specialized export marketing capability. Marketing infrastructure was found to be positively related to both export marketing strategy and specialized export marketing capability, supporting H4a and H4b, respectively. We also observed that export marketing strategy a positive link with specialized export marketing capability and export performance, supporting H5a and H5b, respectively. However, no support is found for H2, H3, and H6. Moderating Effects of Export firms’ Characteristic Factors We tested how export firms’ characteristics moderate the relationships described in our research model (Hypotheses1-6) We used the moderate factors such as export product (final product vs. parts), customer (domestic vs. overseas, company (manufacturer vs. vendor), employment size (less than 100 person, 100 to300, more than 300), sales(less than $46 million, $46 million to $182 million, more than $182 million), export intensity (less than 50% vs. more than 50%) The moderating effects of export firms’ characteristics on the relationships within our research model are discussed (see Figure 1). Four of 30 moderating hypotheses for export firms’ characteristics were supported. The more number of employees and Greater sales volume strengthened the relationships between marketing infrastructures and export marketing strategies. Higher foreign customer strengthened the relationships between marketing infrastructure and specialized export marketing capability. Greater final products strengthened the relationships between export marketing strategies and export performance. However, the relationships between marketing organizational capability and specialized export marketing capability and between export marketing strategy and specialized export marketing capability were not significantly changed with export firms’ characteristic factors. There are no moderating effects on the types of firm and the types of export intensity. The results of this research suggest that the export companies should consider the choice of export marketing strategies the most important factor to achieve high export performance. This study indicates that policy makers for export companies in S. Korea should develop export assistant programs based on export firms’ characteristic factors such as the number of employee, sales volume, the type of customer, and the type of export product. Following limitations of this research should be noted. First, in addition to the manufacturing industry, more researches should be done in other industries. The findings of this study will ensure more validation. Second, to assess the export performance of export firms, this study uses the subjective opinion of respondent about the degree of export performance because of the difficulties of obtaining financial data. The objective financial data should be used to ensure more objectiveness for this research. Third, this study relies on survey data related to the export companies within an industrial complex area in S. Korea. It should be extended to other regions.

This study integrates the cognitive appraisal theory and script theory, highlighting the bridging role played by recollective memory. The relationships between visitors’ appraisals, emotions, recollection, storytelling and repurchase intention as they relate to the luxury cruise trip experience were assessed. We developed 14 theoretical hypotheses from a literature review. We then tested these hypotheses using data collected from 300 luxury cruise passengers. To the best of our knowledge this study is the first to incorporate the cognitive appraisal approach into script theory in a luxury tourism setting. Our work discloses that these two theories complement each other and recollection is the tie between them. This research reinforces the theoretical literature on cognitive appraisal and script theory. Moreover, the luxury cruise sector is under pressure due to fierce competition and as a result there is a need to acknowledge the crucial determinants of tourists’ emotional reactions. An understanding of tourists’ emotional experiences, and their antecedents and consequences will aid in the formulation of strategic marketing, segmentation, and communication efforts. The results of our study confirm that different emotional reactions can be elicited due to the power of four appraisal dimensions: appetitive goal congruence, certainty, novelty and agency. The findings not only enrich the cognitive appraisal framework and script theory literature but also provide guidance for managerial and marketing strategies of cruise industry practitioners.

This research aims to understand how an interdisciplinary approach could help Italian firms to enhance their offer to the market. In this perspective, authors have studied benefits and obstacles of an interdisciplinary research approach, by describing the case of RITRATTO, a project by University of Florence referents of various disciplines (agronomy, design, engineering, history and marketing).

The purpose of this paper is to explore underlying motivations relating to the purchase of counterfeit luxury brands. Due to an increased demand for counterfeit goods in the luxury sector, understanding the motivations and determinants of counterfeit purchasing behaviour is becoming increasingly important for both academics and managers (Wee et al 1995; Perez et al 2010; Bian and Moutinho 2011). Counterfeit products rely on original brand features and leverage the brand’s evocative power and symbolic values, even if they don’t possess its intrinsic attributes and original materials. Therefore, consumers might choose a specific brand (and the associated brand values) and in the meantime compromise on the functional values of the product itself, because they are attracted more towards the symbolic features of recreating a brand experience (Gentry et al. 2001). This “brand importance” in counterfeit consumption represents for Grossman and Shapiro (1988) the possibility for consumers to “unbundle the quality and prestige attributes of branded products”, so that counterfeit consumers can “enjoy the status of displaying a prestigious label without paying for a high-quality product” (Grossman and Shapiro, 1988, p.98). Wiedmann et al (2012, p. 554) highlight the need to “examine the reasons why consumers choose the counterfeit over the authentic product,” arguing that an understanding of counterfeit purchase behaviour has to be informed by an understanding of the motivational value dimensions related to genuine luxury brands and goods. This paper uses their luxury value framework to explain the values related to counterfeit consumption. This study focuses on European consumers of luxury products, specifically Italians and Germans. Using a qualitative research approach we were able to evaluate consumers’ multidimensional luxury and counterfeit consumption decision making patterns. Since counterfeit is ultimately an illegal trend, there was a risk that consumers might not want to discuss their perspectives in front of other peers (Bryman and Bell, 2007). Hence, in order to avoid the appearance of potential bias linked to social desirability issues, this research has been structured around in-depth interviews. These semi-structured interviews were informed by existing literature (Saunders et al., 2009). Overall, the sampling frame had to exhibit different socio-demographic psychographic characteristics, so to give a more widespread overview on the response type. Therefore, the sample consisted of consumers with a differentiated educational and employment background and different lifestyles. All respondents were domiciled in larger cities, which increased the possibility for previous interaction with the counterfeit market. Analysis focused on the key themes and patterns that that emerged throughout the interview process (Yin, 2011). Findings have shown how there are major differences in how German and Italian respondents value and engage with counterfeit consumption. Indeed, the research has underlined the presence of varied counterfeit value dimensions that are linked to a consumer’s own luxury values (Wiedmann et al., 2012). Moreover, while luxury consumption is motivated by a consumer’s intrinsically and extrinsically driven desires, counterfeit consumption has been assessed to be motivated more by the values attached to the financial or functional dimensions of a counterfeit product, which complies with past researches on consumer’s value consciousness and on the possibility to engage with short-term trends without the economic investment of purchasing a genuine product (Geiger-Oneto et al., 2012). The research outcome emphasises how consumers from both countries are stimulated to engage with counterfeit goods according to the values they attach to. Since the evaluated consumers are mainly also active luxury goods purchasers, who therefore are aware of and can recognise the difference between a genuine and non-genuine good, it appears as restrictive and ineffective to highlight differences between luxury and counterfeit goods. Additionally, as highlighted by Hieke (2010) and Hart et al. (2004), the more consumers grow familiar with purchasing counterfeit goods, the more they reduce dramatically the consideration they have for the illicitness of this purchase behaviour. The contribution of this study is twofold; theoretical and managerial. Using Wiedmann et al’s (2012) framework we develop theory by delineating motivations of counterfeit buying behaviour. We present practical suggestions to managers for mitigating against the negative impact of counterfeiting on legitimate luxury brands.

The world of luxury is harboring an endangered species: that of the independent companies! In an increasingly-challenging and globalized luxury environment, companies are fighting to escape from the ever-growing clout of luxury “conglomerates” - Swatch Group, LVMH, Kering, and Richemont. As of 2015, these “big four” own more than 100 brands and are maintaining a constant pace of acquisitions , relying on vertical integration to secure supplies (and deprive competitors of them) which has particularly insidious consequences for independents. Most independents are struggling to survive and end up being acquired or going out of business. Interestingly, this same movement towards consolidation is rendering brands more and more uniform, thus creating opportunities for players able to craft unique offerings for niche luxury clientele. Innovation is the path to follow in this challenging journey. Based on a multiple case study analysis of innovative independent luxury companies, we have identified four innovation strategies (Hoffmann & Lecamp, 2015). “Back to the roots” include independent companies innovating in the essence of luxury: extreme quality and extraordinary craftsmanship to create the ultimate sensorial and emotional experience. For companies like Vignes, Thomas Mercer, Mirazur by Mauro Collagreco, Norlha and Brunello Cucinelli, luxury is rooted in a terroir and a sense of purpose permeates this endeavor. “Code breakers” are playing with product and societal codes to culturally innovate and build the icons of today and tomorrow. Examples include Martin Margiela and Miuccia Prada in fashion, Fernando & Humberto Campana in furniture design, and HYT in watchmaking. “Eagle in the aquarium” companies are disrupting the way luxury companies create, deliver and capture value. Globalization and digitization are powerful enablers to reconfigure resources at the levels of funding (e.g. crowdfunding), design (e.g. 3D design), manufacturing (e.g. 3D printing), distribution (e.g. online platforms), marketing and communication (e.g. online social networks). “Game changers” are building breakthrough innovations at the product and business model levels. Comme des Garçons, Etudes Studio, Iris Van Herpen, MB&F, and W Motors are independents taking bold initiatives in a fascinating and inspiring journey. Managerial implications and venues for future research will be highlighted during the conference.

The goal of this paper is to examine whether and how brand licensing can be an appropriate marketing tool for the development of a brand strategy in footwear SMEs. The article is based on a qualitative research methodology by adopting the multiple case study approach. Main results shows that licensing proves to be effective and that a multi-stage process of development exist that is common within footwear SMEs using brand licenses.