This study builds on prevalent approaches of extending the applications of importance performance analysis (IPA) tool. Thus, we analyse the influence of Performance expectancy on Customer Satisfaction. The instruments employed were adapted from previous studies and pilot tested with a group of master students to verify clarity of meaning and comprehension. Findings reveal the stronger influence of three factor that emerge from performance expectancy: Usability, Reliability, Information Quality.

While the luxury goods market has shown a slow growth, brands are becoming devoted when developing strategies optimized for customer’s needs in order to survive in a competitive environment. Face-to-Face (FtF) service is one of the differing strategies that luxury brands pursue in their offline in-store environment. With the advance of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, this service is expanding also to online. Chatbot is an emerging online communication tool that offers to customers a new, unique and personalized digital service. The traditional way of measuring communication between a luxury brand and the luxury customer has been through face-to-face (FtF) interactions that customers can experience directly at the store. However, there is a lack of researches on chatbot, a new conversational agent. The aim of the present study is to identify the effects of conversational agents marketing efforts on communication outcomes. Second, within this context, the study clarifies how the service provided in-store (FtF) differs from the service provided through online store (chatbot). Last, it verifies how communication outcomes differ according to the customer’s personal traits. Online questionnaires were distributed among individuals aged 20-30 residing in Korea; thereafter, SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 18.0 were used to verify the proposed model and research hypotheses. Results show that luxury brand’s conversational agents marketing efforts have a positive effect on communication outcomes. In addition, communication outcomes that customers experience have difference for both FtF and Chatbot, as well as according to customer’s personal traits. The findings of the study provide meaningful implications for marketers, thus the conversational agents marketing efforts that customers experience in the brick-and-mortar store is also of some value in the digital context.

The global apparel market is estimated to increase from US$1,105 billion in 2012 to US$2,110 billion in 2025 (Statista, 2014), with women’s wear accounting for approximately 55% of the total within the United Kingdom (UK) (Verdict, 2015). In 2013 and 2014 market research performed by Mintel identified the ‘shopping experience’ as one of the key factors in women’s shopping habits, noting that consumers aged 16-24, in particular, tended to browse online but to buy in-store, still seeing shopping for clothes as a day out with friends (Mintel, 2013). Nevertheless, the growing influence of social media was noted, and by 2015 this age group had overtaken the 25-34 year olds to become the main online clothes shoppers. Despite this, young people aged 16-24, all of whom potentially qualify as digital natives, still show a preference for shopping in-store (Mintel, 2015), although preliminary research indicates that more of them are now shopping alone than with friends. This suggests that there has been a shift in consumer shopping habits within the youth sector, with less importance being placed on the shopping experience. Given that, this study aims to explore the social media behaviours of the youngers aged between 18-24 with a particular focus on fashion consumption. Crowd sourcing has been identified as an emerging practice found in several sectors including fashion (Yeomans, 2013). Preliminary research suggests that the shift is just a perceived one and that technology savvy young fashion consumers are using smart-technology to upload ‘chelfies’ (‘selfies direct from the changing rooms’) to crowd source opinion about proposed purchases (Soar and Torn, 2015), using social media to replace ‘physical friends’ with ‘digital friends’. To explore this phenomenon further, this study employs qualitative research method and uses semi-structured interviews. The result of this research provides evidence of crowd sourcing behaviours via social media, as well as indicates the complex communication mechanism that embeds within fashion consumption among the generation of the youth.

While there is broad agreement on the importance of an identity-oriented brand understanding and management, there is a high degree of disagreement as regards the definition of the brand identity construct. In the scientific discussion, a definition seems to prevail, in which the brand image that exists among the customers is contrasted with the brand identity which is either only associated with the within the brand company existing picture of the brand (self-image) or at least additionally with the brand’s meaning and goal. Falling back on very different research traditions in the field of the development of an identity theory, it is shown that the construct of brand identity should be understood in a much more comprehensive sense in order to fully unleash its heuristic power. In addition, it seems imperative to take into account that strong brands can become a kind of "personality sui generis", the further development of which cannot only be determined by the company which once brought the brand onto the market. The specific brand identity is much more subject to many social influences involving a huge variety of social actors. Against this background the idea of brand management needs reform, and should be re-conceptualized more in the sense of an attempt to channel all relevant social influences in a targeted manner. In this contribution, a corresponding approach of identity-oriented brand management is presented and illustrated by examples from the fashion sector. This is mainly due to the fact that the identity development of fashion marks depends to a great extent on numerous social influences and influencers.

Purpose - The aim of this study is to analyze fashion bloggers, in order to discover their characteristics and their influence. Thanks to the Internet, they are able to have a global presence, to reach a massive market and they have become a new communication channel for brands. Fashion bloggers are a new phenomenon with a higher perspective to represent the new influentials. Design/methodology/approach – First an online questionnaire was designed focused on the three key attributes of an influential, a sample of 253 bloggers was obtained. Secondly, we studied 40 most important Spanish blogs, quantitative study was conducted by looking at one of the most important parameters for the influence that is interaction in the blog and social networks. Findings – Findings show de profile of influential fashion blogger: personal characteristics, knowledge criteria and social factors. It also shows that they are very little blogs that really can have a great influence or at least a daily influence. Research limitation/implication - Future studies may deepen the impact of fashion bloggers at the time of purchase quantifying a company's sales through communication campaigns supported in fashion blogs Practical implications – The study help fashion companies to indentify influential fashion blogger in order to do successful strategies and communication campaigns in fashion companies. Originality/value – The study not only confirms previous findings regarding bloggers and the importance for prescription, but it also expands the description of this key actors and how to find them.

Fast fashion is a hot trend, facilitated by advances in technology. But how fast should fashion be? Surprisingly, some answers may come from Silicon Valley, one of the geekiest and least fashion-conscious places on earth. This talk explains why changing technological epochs and changing fashion trends are more similar than one might think, and explores, using agent-based models, the conditions under which fashion should be fast, and when it should be slow.

The number of North Korean defectors in South Korea has reached 30,000, however, it has been reported that many of them still have adaptation problems. Research on adaptation of North Koreans to South Korean society has been approached mainly from social, economic, and psychological perspectives, and little research has been conducted on their adaptation in terms of lifestyle of North Koreans in South Korean society. Adaptation to daily life pattern in a new social-cultural environment may be examined in the context of acculturation. As a part of the daily life, we are focusing on North Korean defectors’ clothing behavior and how they use clothing as a strategic tool for their adaptation to South Korea. The results of this study may provide marketers the information needed to develop mobile applications to help the North Korean defectors adapt to South Korean fashion style. This research also examined the impact of fashion SNS and word-of-mouth communication as a means of identity formation. In depth interviews using snowball sampling were conducted with 10 North Korean defectors in their 20s and 40s who agreed to voluntarily participate in the research from December 2016 to February 2017. The findings from the interviews are as follows. First, according to Berry’s(1997) types of acculturation, North Korean defectors were classified based on the subjective aspects(e.g. clothing norms) and objective aspects(e.g. clothing purchase behavior) of their daily clothing behavior. The Integrators still tried to abide by the clothing norm acquired in North Korea, but at the same time accepted the clothing norms of South Korea and tried to change their personal ideal. In the objective aspects, their clothing styles still reflect North Korean fashion norms, yet they newly acquire norms regarding thin body ideals or skin care management in the South. They also showed the change of store preference and choices as they become adapted to South Korean culture. The second group, Assimilators show high degree of acceptance of South Korean culture. They regarded the sense of belonging to South Korean society and appearance management as important. Many of them played a role as a fashion adviser among their North Korean peers while they have formed and kept the social network with South Korean. Thirdly, Segregators are the people who try to maintain North Korean culture and try to segregate from the South Korean (host) culture. Defectors in this type still abided by the clothing norms they acquired while in North Korea, and had a negative viewpoint on the South Koreans' styles. They still preferred North Korean fashion style, and were familiar with using North Korean words for expressing terminology related to fashion. Finally, Marginalized group is the people who consider themselves being individual and independent self-standing entity with low degree of acceptance of South and North Korean culture. They sought to express their own individuality before and after defecting by creating their own style. This study may contribute to the understanding of adaptation process, not only of North Korean defectors, but also other immigrants to other countries.

Trust is an individual’s belief that an exchange will happen in a manner consistent with one’s confident expectations. In social networking sites (SNS), uncertainty is usually higher due to the high level of user-generated contents and the lack of face-to-face interactions. Despite this, the enhancement of experience with exchange parties could reduce the uncertainty and the increase tendencies for social commerce adoption through the increase in trust. Information seeking on SNS enhances the users’ knowledge about a product through access to the pool of information. Familiarity with SNS enhances users understanding of the shopping process and reduces the intricacy of the decisions. This study investigates the relationship between trust in SNS and purchase intentions. We propose a model including trust, information seeking, familiarity with SNS, and purchase intentions of fashion products on SNS. Data were obtained from 206 respondents who had experienced the purchase of fashion products on SNS. Mean age of the respondents was 22.1 years old and nearly 69.4 percent of the subjects were women. Approximately 84.0 percent reported a monthly income/allowance of less than US$400 and the majority (57.9 %) spent less than US$100 per six months on fashion products (e.g., apparel, shoes, etc.) purchases on the SNS. The structure equation model analysis was conducted by AMOS 23.0 using a correlation matrix with maximum likelihood approach. The structural equation model was relatively acceptable (chi-square value = 88.02, df = 57, p = .005; GFI = .94, AGFI = .90, RMR = .04). Cronbach's alphas were ranged between .80 and .88. We used Facebook as the best known SNS to empirically test our model. Results from a survey of Facebook users showed that trust in SNS increases information seeking which in turn increases the familiarity with SNS. In addition, trust and familiarity with SNS increase the intention to purchase fashion products on SNS. Findings indicate that trust in SNS was found to be a key predictor of intention to purchase fashion products from SNS directly and indirectly. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Authenticity is an important topic in business activities and society at large. Sustainability management and marketing activities are required as consumers become more interested in society. The consumer evaluation of brand authenticity is a crucial factor in a brand’s reputation and long-term growth, which affects brand loyalty, electronic word of mouth (eWOM) and purchase behavior. With this latest trend, luxury brands are paying attention to sustainability activities, but consumer confidence in the sustainability of luxury brands is still low. Experts emphasize that building trust with customers by promising authenticity is a key challenge. Meanwhile, luxury brands are actively communicating with consumers through SNS, such as Instagram. Social media marketing directly and indirectly influences brand authenticity, as well as purchase intentions and eWOM. Nevertheless, there is little exposure to sustainability activities in the social media accounts of luxury brands. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the sustainability activities on the social media of luxury brands and brand authenticity, as well as the effects of brand authenticity on eWOM and purchase intention. For this study, we conducted an online survey targeting individuals with ages of 20–30 years and who are highly interested in society while actively using social media. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS 21.0 software package. The main finding of this study reveals that consumers are more aware of brand authenticity when they see an Instagram post that includes messages about sustainability rather than a post without any such messages. In addition, brand authenticity has positive effects on eWOM and purchase intention. These findings suggest that sustainability marketing by luxury brands leads to positive consumer response, and the broadcasting of messages about sustainability via social media is effective for the marketing strategy of luxury brands.

Today, consumers are becoming more sensitive to price since price have been an essential motivation for them to choose the electronic retail venue. Recently, it is recognized that social commerce, with higher rate of daily active users, is ahead of traditional electronic mobile commerce in Korea. One of strengths in social commerce is attractive price deals for fashion brands, which positively lead to purchase probabilities. Therefore, fashion retailers should understand consumers’ price perception and their responses toward sales promotions on the social commerce. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of consumer price perception and choice heuristics on impulse buying behavior for sales promotion of fashion brands and to examine the moderating effect of an engagement level in the social commerce. A self-administered questionnaire was developed, and mainly included consumer price perception (e.g., price consciousness, sales proneness), choice heuristics (e.g., affect referral, price referral), engagement, impulse buying and demographics. An online survey was undertaken by a research agency. A total of 235 usable responses were obtained from Korean consumers who had purchased fashion brands from social commerce sites (e.g., Coupang, Wemakeprice, Ticketmonster, etc.) using mobile devices. Respondents represent more females (n=129, 54.9%) than males (n=106, 45.1%). They are aged from 19 to 39 years old (Means=29). Results showed that consumers’ sales proneness had a positive effect on affect referral and price referral heuristics, which positively lead to impulse buying behavior. However, consumer price consciousness had a negative effect on impulse buying at the social commerce sites. Also, the mediating effect of the engagement was significant in the relationship among sales proneness, choice heuristics, and impulse buying behavior for sales promotion of fashion brands in the social commerce sites. This study discussed marketing implications for social commerce to effectively manage promotional program in the social commerce market.

A multi-disciplinary approach is used to analyze current trends in environmental and technology color research to provide better understanding of how color plays a crucial role in engineering, medical science, law, design, arts, marketing, and business. The study shows that understanding the complexities of color perception can contribute to better product and building design and the use of color therapy in medicine.

The “Signature” project is the result of several years of study and research in the field of interdisciplinary artistic fields and phenomenology of contemporary fashion, identity, body as a means in fashion and performative arts, and the post-human condition of the body in performance. In contemporary fashion, the clothing item is morphed into a completely new identity. The real body is transformed by clothes, as well as by other forms (prosthetics, plastic surgery), called human extensions. The evolution of the body and clothes enshrining it represents a spectre of methods, theories and styles in line with every author presented in the “Signature” project. For them, the body should be in harmony with its inner and outer surrounding, since it has a need to intervene and change its nature. We live in a hyper-consumerist society in which everything is reduced to recycled, revitalised images of past historical styles. It all becomes personal styles and yet it still represents in our “spectacle” society. At the Signature exhibition of the Arts Association and Lidija Fistrek as a author, held at the Technical Museum in Zagreb in 2013 and 2016 at the Design Week in Zagreb, four Croatian fashion designers’, performance artist’s, sculptures, music producers works were presented. To these designers, clothing represents a medium, which enters visually into our consciousness and becomes significant as we communicate in nonverbal manners. The approach to clothing and bodies as mediums vividly shows how each author leaves his/her recognisable signature. The body itself, and its personal lifestyle-reflecting appearance, is already visually pre-construed. It needs to dress, to change styles, to intervene and redesign its own „nature” according to changes in the inner and outer environment. Fashion designers use the body surface in various ways as a territory for inscription, which erases in a rather appealing way the boundaries of belonging and offers an opportunity to leave a personal signature mark on their original work.