Recently there has been debate in popular media on brands that used other cultures’ elements in their advertising (Green & Kaiser, 2017). For example, the Dutch brand “Rituals Cosmetics” attempted to promote their Asian-inspired product lines called “Samurai” and “Namasté” by hiring a Caucasian model dressed in a supposedly traditional Asian costume, while posing in a Chinese temple-like setting (Peters, 2018). Because the company’s European origin and the ethnicity of the model did not align with the Asian setting, props and apparel, this marketing activity can be considered an act of cultural appropriation. The advert has since sparked controversy on social media as cultural exploitation or unethical cultural appropriation (Bryanboy, 2018). To avoid such controversy, marketers need to achieve cultural sensitivity while effectively managing culturally overlapping situations (Usunier & Lee, 2005; De Mooij, 1998). A mismanagement of cultural appropriation is potentially eliciting a negative customer response. Hence, it is integral to understand how do customers respond to culturally appropriated elements in advertisement?

Prior social robotics research has shown that robot design influences if people perceive a robot as friendly, trustworthy, or safe (Castro-Gonzalez et al., 2016; Rosenthal-Von Der Pütten & Krämer, 2014). Meanwhile, recent conceptual work has suggested that social robots will increasingly be used in the front line of service encounters (Gonzalez-Jimenez, 2018; Van doorn et al., 2017). According to The International Journal of Social Robotics social robots are robots that can communicate and interact with humans, among themselves, and with the environment, within the cultural and social structure assigned to its role. Real examples of the inclusion of these robots in retail settings already exist. For instance, some retailers use Softbank´s robot Pepper to greet and inform customers. Social robots such as Pepper can use their sensors and cameras to interpret customer reactions and adapt accordingly. Moreover, the robot can even make product recommendations based on the assessed customer´s mood, age, gender and, if available, purchase history (McKenna, 2018). Not surprisingly, there is a vast market potential associated with these robots, which is expected to grow to 87 billion by 2025 (BCG, 2017).

Individuals consume products and services as a means of symbolic self-expression in private and public contexts (Ahuvia, 2005; Belk, 1988; Harmon-Kizer et al., 2013). The body should be seen as the continuation of the individual, as the self is exhibited to others via its embodiment (Borelli and Casotti, 2012). Thus, the body functions as object that can serve self-expressive purposes and consumption behaviors (Schouten, 1991). Meanwhile, cosmetic surgery is described as a “fashion object” (Venkatesh et al., 2010, p. 468) and a form of extreme symbolic consumption that uses the body as an object to express the self (Schouten, 1991). Research indicates that individuals use of cosmetic surgery as a means of self-identity reconstruction (Askegard et al., 2002) and that motivational antecedents such as sociocultural influences, competition with others, media influence, body appreciation, and a materialist orientation are drivers of cosmetic surgery (Henderson-King and Brooks, 2009; Markley-Roundtree and Davis, 2011; Swami et al., 2009). Contrary to prior evidence, we argue that besides being a consequence, cosmetic surgery acts also as an antecedent that influences materialist consumption practices through changes to a consumers’ self. Surprisingly, despite the growing number of cosmetic surgery procedures around the globe and the self as a key driver of consumer behavior, no study to date has explored how cosmetic surgery acts as an antecedent of materialistic consumption practices through potential alterations of an individual’s self. We carried out semi-structured in-depth interviews with 10 South Korean participants. Our participants were 22 to 57 years old, representing a range of income and professional roles. They had previously undergone plastic surgery procedures such as double eyelid surgery, breast enhancementt and nose surgery. First, our findings suggest that materialism is not just an antecedent of cosmetic surgery propensity (Henderson-King and Brooks, 2009), but also that cosmetic surgery influences materialist consumption practices (e.g. cosmetics, beach vacations) through changes to the self. Second, our findings indicate that individuals need to control influences how cosmetic surgery shapes the self. Specifically, consumers seek cosmetic surgery to bridge the discrepancy between the physical self (provided by nature) and their “sought” psychological self. Third, our findings illustrate the role of marketplace cultures and, in particular, socio-cultural driven factors that interact with the self in a cosmetic surgery context (Arnoud and Thompson, 2005). Fourth, our findings show that cosmetic surgery leads to various emotional outcomes through changes to the self (i.e. pride, self-satisfaction, subjective happiness, and increased guilt). We contribute to discourses of embodied practices (e.g. cosmetic surgery) related to the self and materialism (e.g., Richins, 2012; Schouten, 1991; Venkatesh et al., 2010).

E-WOM is described as all informal communications directed at consumers through Internet-based technology related to the usage or characteristics of particular goods and services, or their sellers (Litvin, Goldsmith and Pan, 2008). In contrast with conventional WOM, e-WOM has unique characteristics. For instance, it often occurs in strangers or fellow consumers, and can be and can be anonymous (Goldsmith & Horowitz 2006; Sen & Lerman 2007). In this regard, people feel free to express opinions without identity disclosure (Goldsmith & Horowitz 2006). INTRODUCTION In a word dominated by social media, the diffusion of e-WOM is undoubtedly speeding up. Plus the international trade prevailing, people can experience products from all over the world at home, and they typically collect both positive and negative e-WOM for domestic and foreign brands with the aim of comprehensively evaluating the brands and their products. It is worth mentioning that in reality consumers often adheres to consumer ethnocentrism (CE) to counter the significant effects of imports on domestic economies and defend against foreign products in local markets. So far, there has been relatively little research on the effect of e-WOM on CE. In our study, we employ social media to discover the impacts of e-WOM on CE with respect to domestic and foreign smart phone brands from the Chinese e-WOM receiver’s perspective. Simultaneously, we test consumer pride and prejudice toward mature industries in the home country. Drawing on survey data from 302 consumers, our study reveals several significant findings. First, positive e-WOM regarding local brands may enhance CE, whereas positive e-WOM regarding foreign brands may reduce CE. Second, Negative e-WOM may break the advantage of CE for domestic brand, which result in the dominance of foreign brand. Third, positive e-WOM may enhance brand equity for both domestic and foreign brands. By contrast, negative e-WOM has no significant influence on Chinese consumers’ attitude toward brand equity. Finally, CE has positive influence on brand equity for domestic brand but not effect on foreign brand. To our best of knowledge, our paper is the first to study the effect of e-WOM on CE, which enriches the relevant theory with regard to CE.

Inspired by the success of the Dove real beauty campaign, companies such as Amazon Fashion, Nike and Walmart have started to adopt authentic branding strategies, i.e., strategies based on the use of ordinary looking models to reflect real consumers in brand communications (e.g., Zombeck, 2015). Authentic branding is an alternative to the strategy of aspirational branding, where companies use “attractive” models to communicate that consuming their brands will bring consumers closer to an idealized view of themselves (e.g., being an attractive person like the models in the ads; D'Alessandro and Chitty, 2011). However, the body of evidence on their superiority over aspirational strategies is inconclusive. We expand knowledge on aspirational vs. authentic branding strategies by focusing on a new context of major economic importance for brand marketers, China, as well as by testing the moderating effect of a to date not considered contingency: local vs. foreign brand origin perceptions (i.e., low vs. high perceived brand foreignness). Data was gathered through an online survey of non-student consumers based in China recruited through Qualtrics online survey panels (n=623). Tests of reliability, convergent and discriminant validity of the measurement models deliver overall satisfactory results. R2 and Q2 values demonstrate that the tested models show good explanatory power and predictive relevance of emotional brand attachment (R2 = 0.699 to 0.759; Q2 = 0.527 to 0.696). Results support H1, as authentic branding has a positive effect on emotional brand attachment (β = 0. 293, p < 0.001), thus adding support to the efficacy of authentic branding strategies across West and East. Results also support H2, as aspirational branding has a positive effect on emotional brand attachment (β =0.598, p < 0.001). These findings support recent evidence from the UK and USA (e.g., Japutra et al., 2017) yet are out of line with recent studies in Switzerland and India, which fail to support this link (e.g., Malär et al., 2011). Results support H3, as aspirational branding has as stronger effect on EBA than authentic branding (t = 4.603, p < 0.001). Our findings question recent evidence suggesting a generic superiority of authentic over aspirational branding (e.g., Japutra et al., 2017). Results support H4, as for brands perceived as local, the effect of aspirational branding on EBA is significantly stronger than that of authentic branding (t= 4.125, p < 0.001). Thus, results support the notion that brands low on social signalling value, i.e., those perceived as local, can develop stronger attachment with consumers when they employ aspirational strategies. Finally, results do not support H5, as the data shows that for brands perceived as foreign, aspirational branding (β = 0.536, p < 0.001) still has a significantly stronger effect (t= 2.123, p < 0.05) on EBA than authentic branding (β =0.339, p < 0.001). In other words, brands perceived as foreign can still benefit from conveying aspiration over authenticity.

Individuals use material possessions such as clothes as a means to express their individual predispositions, values and position in their social environment (Kaiser et al., 2001). Evidence indicates that various individual differences such as hormone levels, body image perception and a cosmopolitan orientation influence clothing choices (Eisenbruch et al., 2015, Frith and Gleeson, 2004, Gonzalez-Jimenez, 2016). Moreover, body satisfaction, body mass index and trait self-objectification determine if individuals choose clothes for specific purposes such as fashion, comfort or camouflage (Tiggemann and Andrew, 2012). However, while these studies have made an important step towards understanding the influence of individual characteristics on clothing choices, there is a lack of studies that investigate the role of individuals’ materialist tendencies and propensity to engage in social comparison. We extend prior research on clothing choices by examining the associations between individuals’ materialist tendencies and social comparison propensity with sought clothing functions (i.e., fashion, comfort, etc.). Findings show that materialist individuals seek clothing for specific functions such as fashion, individuality and assurance, while avoiding clothes designed for comfort. Individuals’ propensity to engage in social comparison is linked with choosing clothes for fashion, individuality and assurance, but not for camouflage and comfort. Our study confirms that materialism and social comparison drive individuals to seek very specific clothing functions. Specifically, findings suggest that individuals use specific clothing types as a medium to establish their position in a social environment and to express their materialistic tendencies. Gender influences the tested relationships.

This article explores how the concepts of masculinity and socialisation influence the decision-making process young males undergo when purchasing and using typically feminine related products (Beauregard, 2007). We use socialisation theory to understand the varying differences in the progression and perceptions of males today with regard to masculinity and skincare products. The article utilises a scenario exercise to cross reference their attitudes to male skin care brands and we propose that male attitudes to skincare and their socialised background are inherently linked. The result show six latent themes driven by theory-led coding (Kotler, 2000; Otnes and McGarth, 2001; Kraft and Weber, 2012). The ‘act’ of masculinity and the ‘adoption of femininity’ explain the influences in early socialisation. Meanwhile, ‘efficiency’ (or practicality), ‘help’, ‘trust’ and ‘past experience’ are additional influencers in the decision-making process. Specifically, males with predominantly female skincare users in the home embrace skincare related products, whereas males who were brought up to ‘act’ like men, particularly without a father presence in the home, are more likely to adhere to the masculine stereotype and avoid using such products. Finally, males with a strong father figure in the home are found to differentiate from their fathers, either by avoiding the same brands or choosing not to use the products at all. These behaviours (social, psychological and personal) are the external factors which ultimately affect their final purchase choice. Overall, the article offers an extended understanding on these external influences that drive the purchase decision of this under-researcher consumer segment.

Research offers conflicting evidence with regard to the potential effectiveness of using authentic (focused on the actual self) versus aspirational branding (focused on the ideal self) strategies. This study extends previous research by modelling how four individual characteristics of value for cross-cultural market segmentation (an individual’s level of independence, interdependence, cosmopolitan orientation and local orientation) influence the actual and ideal self-congruity effects. The model is tested by using survey data from US (n=828) and Indian non-student consumers (n=824). Findings show that the actual self-congruity effect on brand attitude is stronger than the ideal self-congruity effect for interdependents and locals. Conversely, the ideal self-congruity effect on brand attitude is stronger than the actual self-congruity effect for independents and cosmopolitans. The study offers practitioners suggestions on the use of authentic versus aspirational branding strategies in their brand communications in order to elicit most positive brand attitude among consumers depending on their individual characteristics.