China, with its rapid growing wealthy consumers, is increasingly becoming a major market for luxury brands and products. It is believed that the growing consumption of wildlife products in China is one of the key factors in the acceleration of global extinction of endangered species. It is certainly not an easy task to reveal consumers’ true motivations behind their purchase, but is even tougher to change their behavior. In the field of wildlife conservation, despite many efforts so far have been made to de-market the consumption, the results are not encouraging. This study is designed to fill the research gap by treating ivory purchase as a type of luxury product purchase in China. Through studying the behavior and its underlying values and motivations, this research is aimed to identify effective communication strategies to curve the ivory consumption in China. Pretest among small groups was first conducted for the purpose of scale validity evaluation. A random stratified sample was obtained from an online panel in China in January 2018. Total 600 usable samples were obtained. The data analysis showed a strong and positive relationship between power distance and materialism; power distance and negative attitude toward social media. Materialism/collectivism is found a strong predicator of positive attitude toward social media and social media usage. While ivory likely buyers associate uncertainty avoidance with materialism and positive attitude toward social network, ivory purchase rejecters demonstrate a positive relationship between long term orientation and materialism; long term orientation and positive attitude toward social media. Based on the strong relationships between materialism and social media usage we found form this study, it is recommended to design a social media campaign to dissociate ivory products from social status; and to associate social status with healthier, greener alternatives (e.g., Tesla car). Advocating desired behavior (e.g., charitable works to save elephants in Africa) in social media and de-advocating the undesired behaviors by celebrities on TV (e.g., ‘No Trading - No Killing’ campaign by YaoMing) is likely to work for likely ivory buyers.

While extant research examines the consumption of luxury products, the disposal behaviors of such products and business’ means for promoting this behavior through social media has yet to be examined. This research builds on belief congruence theory and the anticonsumption literature to understand how religiosity (with prescriptions against material possessions and performing actions just for show) influences disposal method of luxury goods and disposal behavior on social media. Specifically, findings show that extrinsically (intrinsically) religious consumers are more likely to throw away (donate) luxury products after use. The moderating influence of emotions is also explored to show that intrinsically (extrinsically) religious consumers are more (less) likely to use sustainable methods of product disposal for luxury and non-luxury products alike after being primed to feel shame/guilt in comparison to a control condition. A separate study manipulates product type (luxury vs. non-luxury) and product state (used vs. new), showing that extrinsically religious consumers are most (least) likely to use sustainable disposal methods when a product is used (new) and non-luxury (luxury). Additionally, findings show that identity mediates this relationship and has clear outcomes on social media behavior regarding product disposal and end-consumption behavior with luxury products. Implications for belief congruence theory and advertising practitioners are provided (with a specific emphasis on advertisers of luxury products using social media).

This research investigates luxury consumption preferences for different types of luxury goods (quiet vs loud) and shopping environments (online vs offline), as a function of individual motivation (bandwagon vs snob) and self-construal (independent vs interdependent), using a quantitative approach (online survey). Bandwagon-motivated consumers, as well as those with higher levels of interdependent self-construals show significant preferences for conspicuously branded luxury goods. Conversely, snobmotivated consumers show significant preferences for inconspicuously branded luxury goods. Finally, consumers displaying preferences for conspicuously branded luxury goods engage in both webrooming and showrooming behaviours, highlighting the complementary nature of online and in-store shopping. Results are discussed in the light of luxury consumption in the 21st century.

Ever since sustainable development was brought up in the United Nation in 1987, sustainability has been one of the top priorities in the policy making process of different governments as well as different companies. Despite the fact that different industries have been putting efforts in promoting sustainability in their business, little effort was initially shown in the luxury industry. The sector has been regularly criticized by the general public for its lack of sustainable development imperatives. This has led to an extensive discussion in the academic field on whether luxury and sustainable development are by nature compatible or not. Some scholars suggest that the two concepts are indeed able to co-exist as they share many similarities. They suggest that virtual rarity is the key to increase the motivation of luxury consumers for sustainable luxury purchase. However, no further studies have concerned the relation between virtual rarity and sustainable luxury. It is the objective of the present paper to challenge this hypothesis, confronting it with the market perspective. Studying the views of Western regular luxury consumers towards the two concepts should ultimately help luxury managers design more efficient, and hopefully effective, strategies to promote sustainability in their companies. To achieve this objective, the paper is organized into the following parts. First, a thorough literature review helps defining the concepts of virtual rarity and of sustainable luxury, and ultimately merges both. Then, the qualitative methodology to conduct the study is explained, along with a detailed description of the methods used for data collection and data analysis. The paper then focuses on the most important theoretical and managerial findings, still acknowledging further research developments due to research limitations.

On the one hand, organic food consumption has emerged as a rapidly growing consumption trend, juxtaposed against the unsustainability of industrialized food provisions. On the other hand, recent reports highlight that premium food consumption is one of the fastest growing luxury market segments worldwide. This paper draws on the theory of social practices in order investigate how organic food consumption can be understood as an emerging luxury fashion trend, comprised of multiple interrelated ‘nexuses of doings and sayings’ that represent the elements of, and situated within the broader context of consumer culture. In this endeavour, we have conducted a situated investigation of organic food consumption in South Korea. Our findings illustrate that Korean consumers engage in organic food consumption not merely for their superior health benefits or sustainability concerns. Instead, organic consumption conveys three distinct consumption value types – namely, functional (e.g., superior quality), experiential (e.g., feeling better about themselves because they purchase eco-friendly produce), and symbolic (e.g., allows them to convey their social status). Importantly, when these value types are taken together, they closely resemble the value derived from luxury fashion, which lead us to the conclusion that organic food consumption can be conceived as a particular type of luxury fashion trend. The paper concludes with the discussion of theoretical contributions and managerial implications.

This research aims to the effect of a sexual signaling system for a mate attraction on luxury products purchase. Some research has examined priming of mating motives such as looking at pictures of attractive opposite-gender can increase males’ stated willingness to purchase luxury products. This research extends costly signal theory into promotional message or model. we suggest that men tend to purchase luxury products, exposed to ads with attractive women models rather than attractive men according to costly signaling. Likewise, women may tend to purchase luxury products, exposed to ads with attractive women according to intra-sexual competition theory. Three experiments are conducted to examine the hypotheses.

In real life most are searching for ways to pursue happiness through positive affirmation from others. This practice includes conspicuous luxury consumption in capitalist societies. Veblen Thorstein critically describes this construct as lavishing money on unnecessary evident goods as a means to gain social status and recognition from others (Veblen, 1899). Following Veblen, researchers have examined various antecedent and consequent factors of conspicuous luxury consumption behaviour from broad research streams such as power, social class, culture and materialism (e.g., Berger & Ward, 2010; Han, Nunes, & Drèze, 2010; Lee & Shrum, 2012; Rucker & Galinsky, 2008, 2009; Sivanathan & Pettit, 2010; Wang & Griskevicius, 2014). Though research on conspicuous luxury consumption has received great attention over the past decade, and previous research discovered how various factors affect conspicuous luxury consumption, the ways in which core factors influence conspicuous luxury consumption are still not well understood. In this research, we revealed two important factors; self-focus versus other-focus and self-transformative versus self-expressive motivation. In multiple experiments, the major dependent variable is the logo size of luxury brands, which is generally accepted to reflect the conspicuous consumption intentions of the purchaser. This research reveals the following two important findings. First, individuals have a greater desire for conspicuous luxury products when they focus more on others than themselves, because of brand logo visibility of luxury consumption. This is because focusing on others makes individuals more concerned about others’ opinions of them and social criticism (Fenigstein, Scheier, & Buss, 1975), thus leading individuals to gravitate towards the products that can guard against potential social criticism. This in turn, makes other-focused individuals place more value than self-focused individuals on conspicuous luxury products that have socially favourable indicators. Secondly, the current research shows that individuals who are motivated to transform themselves into the person they wish to be prefer conspicuous luxury products more than those who are motivated to express their actual selves. This is because conspicuous luxury products are highly associated with an ideal self. The current research offers several important contributions. First, the studies reported here will enrich the extant conspicuous luxury consumption literature by unveiling the fundamental motivations lying behind the various factors that have been shown to influence conspicuous consumption in previous research (e.g., Lee & Shrum, 2012; Rucker & Galinsky, 2008, 2009). Second, the findings of this research highlight ways to attenuate conspicuous luxury consumption that affect the happiness of individuals; the self-focused and self-expression. Consequently, this research’s findings advance understanding of luxury consumption as most research has focused more on antecedents that increase conspicuous luxury consumption behaviour (e.g., Lee & Shrum, 2012; Sivanathan & Pettit, 2010; Wang & Griskevicius, 2014) than factors that decrease conspicuous luxury consumption behaviour (Stillman, Fincham, Vohs, Lambert, & Phillips, 2012).

This research investigates the influence of age in luxury counterfeit consumption in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. More specifically, a pilot quantitative survey conducted in the United Arab Emirates demonstrates that GCC consumers’ age has a positive influence on counterfeit luxury consumption, which runs counter the general consensus observed in the counterfeiting literature. Based on 25 in-depth interviews, a follow-up qualitative study explores this unexpected result using the functional theory of attitudes. It shows that the experience of the region’s major socio-economic changes in the last 40 years may explain the shift on how consumers understand the value of things, and therefore the existence of a positive correlation between age and counterfeit consumption in the GCC countries. This article contributes to the field of luxury counterfeit research and expands theoretical understanding on consumer responses of different age groups to counterfeit consumption. Our analyses corroborate the relevance of the functional theories of attitudes in explaining both luxury and counterfeit consumptions. Social-adjustive function is dominant for young people, however, the attitudes, which serve the social-adjustive function, are less likely to drive counterfeit consumption. Further, the research refines the existing model, suggesting that the value-expressive function served by different attitudes was relevant on both age groups, but depending on the values which are expressed, it influences the counterfeit consumption. The findings are of significant interest for public policy makers, luxury brand managers fighting counterfeiting, and more generally to any managers dealing with GCC nationals.

This conceptual paper discusses the influence of brand knowledge through various components of personal luxury products’ towards the purchase intention. Rapid shifts in luxury consumers’ behaviours is one of the predominant drivers contributing to the growth of the modern luxury market. In response to this, luxury consumers’ characteristics and profiles need to be reexamined. In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in global luxury consumption with the rise in number of luxury consumers from 140 million to 350 million globally (Bain & Company, 2015). Such a phenomenal growth in the luxury market leads to a widely increased interests among researchers across all disciplines (Truong et al., 2008; 2009, Tynan et al., 2010; Kapferer & Valette-Florence, 2016). In particular, personal luxury goods market is forecast to continue to grow between 2-3 percent through 2020 (Bain & Company, 2016). Despite the fact that personal luxury goods is a major driver of the entire market, there is a limited research in this product category. Two factors of this fast-growing trend stimulate the need for additional research into consumers’ behaviours. First, there has been a shift in luxury consumers’ profile (Hanna, 2004; Fionda & Moore, 2009) and purchasing patterns (Bain & Company, 2015; 2016) where social influences (Dubois et al., 2001; Berthon et al., 2009; Cheah et al., 2015; Yang and Mattila, 2014; Kapferer & Valette-Florence, 2016) and people’s needs for materialism, appearances to enhance their ego and self-concept (Phau & Prendergast, 2000; Kapferer, 2006) are having greater impact on how consumers make their luxury purchase decisions. Second, it appears that the characteristics of the traditional luxury consumers as well as old marketing models from many decades ago need to be redefined (Bain & Company, 2015). Danziger (2005) indicates that the changes in luxury consumers’ purchase decision has created a dramatic shift in the purchase behaviour as a whole, making it difficult for luxury marketers to recognise the trend. To date, existing literature on luxury purchase intention focuses mainly from the cultural, economic, psychological perspectives (Leibenstein, 1950; Veblen, 1899; Bian & Forsythe, 2012; Liu et al., 2012; Wong & Ahuvia, 1998; Vigneron & Johnson, 2004; Shukla, 2012; Cheah et al., 2015) but remains limited on investigating luxury consumers’ behaviours through the integration of brand knowledge domain. Major works from marketing scholars on luxury value perceptions (Wiedmann et al., 2007 and 2009; Vigneron & Johnson, 2004; Shukla, 2012; Shukla & Purani, 2013; De Barnier et al., 2006; Hennigs et al., 2012 and 2013) suggest that they are important in explaining the whole picture of luxury consumption but insufficient in explaining purchase intentions (Shukla, 2012). Kapferer (2006) discusses that it is typical for consumers to identify which brand belongs to the luxury category, however, it could be more complex for the precise definition of luxury to be identified and understood. Therefore, this study seeks to incorporate the branding aspects into the investigation on the significance of brand knowledge towards the intention to purchase personal luxury products. Literature Review The concept of luxury is first explained by Veblen (1899) that the consumption of luxury goods is primarily considered by the affluent consumers with the desire to display their wealth to the relevant significant others. Even though the concept of luxury remains obscure, the clearer definition of luxury is given by Nueno & Quelch (1998) as the “ratio of functional utility to price is low while the ratio of intangible and situational utility to price is high” and that luxury products are beyond an ordinary expensive goods but “an ephemeral status symbol”. Shukla (2010) also defines luxury as the consumption that is not for just oneself but a socially-oriented type of consumption that fulfils the consumers’ own indulgence as well as to serve the “socially directed motives”. The aforementioned definitions of luxury show it is an “elusive concept” (Kapferer, 1998) with “fuzzy frontiers” (Kapferer, 2006). The luxury concept is describes as “incredibly fluid, and changes dramatically” over time and varied among different cultures (Yeoman and McMahon-Beattie 2006). As consumers become richer (Fionda & Moore, 2009) and are able to afford more luxury brands (Nueno & Quelch, 1998), luxury is no longer reserved for the rich but also includes the rising number of aspiring middle-class consumers (Shukla, 2012) who enjoy material comfort (Yeoman & McMahon-Beattie, 2006; Yeoman, 2011: Granot et al., 2013). This change makes the term luxury even more difficult to define (Shukla, 2010) and will continue as an ongoing debate among research scholars (Kapferer & Valette-Florence, 2016). Dubois & Paternault (1995) mention that “luxury items are bought for what they mean, beyond what they are”, this statement defines the nature of luxury brands where consumers often purchase luxury products not merely because of their outstanding quality but because of the name and the symbolic identity the brand provides. Kapferer (1998) recognises the importance in exploring the perception of luxury brands from the end-users themselves because they know best. This also adds to the ongoing complexity and difficulties in giving luxury a discreet definition (Kapferer, 1997 and 1998). The work of Grotts & Johnson (2013) investigates the status consumption of millennial consumers and indicates that it is highly possible that the consumers may not express any interest on the quality of the products but are placing greater emphasis on the ability of the handbags to be recognised and generate attention from their reference groups. With regard to marketing strategy, luxury marketers react to the rapid increase in demand to maintain their position of exclusivity by increasing the price every year in order to secure their clientele (Kapferer, 2015b). Louis Vuitton, Rolex, and Christian Dior increase the price of their products every year to sustain the dream value of the consumers (Kapferer, 2015a; 2015b). It is apparent that most luxury companies are managing the dilemma of maintaining the exclusivity of its products while increasing brand awareness as well as focusing on securing more market share and revenue (Kastanakis & Balabanis, 2012; Berthon et al., 2009). Despite the recognisable shifts in luxury consumption pattern, the sector will continue to grow with the majority of affluent consumers as discussed by Steve Kraus of Ipsos (King, 2015). The most recognisable shift in luxury marketing strategy is on the increasing number of luxury companies offering lower-price products in response to the rising level of demand for luxury consumption by the enthusiastic middle class consumers (Truong et al., 2008; Kastanakis & Balabanis, 2012). Luxury was once reserved for the “happy few” (Veblen, 1899) but this notion is no longer practical for today’s luxury environment where luxury products are “consumed by a larger aspirational segment” (Granot et al., 2013). Democratisation of luxury refers to when luxury brands create a lower-priced accessory items in order to appeal to the broader market, making luxury accessible to those “who could never afford to purchase the principal items in the line” (Nueno & Quelch, 1998) or the new luxury consumers who seeks recognition from luxury purchase. Han et al. (2010) discusses that different classes of consumers can now be distinguished by the brands of purses, watches, or shoes that they own. They let the brands speak for them, whether they prefer the loud Gucci logo or displaying the consumption of a “‘no logo’ strategy” by carrying a Bottega Veneta bag (Han et al., 2010). As Husic & Cicic (2009) state, an important question on today’s luxury consumption that if it is possible for everyone to obtain luxury items, are the brands still considered luxury? This is one of the important agendas concerning luxury consumption that prompts researchers to investigate this changing behaviours and perceptions of luxury consumers. It is also significance to note that the increase in global demand in luxury market is not necessarily positive but could be negative if the demand is not being managed efficiently (Hennigs et al., 2015). Despite frequent changes in luxury consumption patterns, Kapferer & Valette-Florence (2016) argues that it is vital to understand how consumers behave in order for the brands to create and maintain trust and reputation among its consumers. Danziger (2005) argues that the notion of “past behaviour predicts future behavior” may not be applicable to the luxury market. However, the foundation remains where the marketers need to understand the basics about the past and present behaviours in order to offer the products and services at the price that luxury consumers are willing to pay. It is partly due to the minimisation of the possible risks that might occur in purchasing luxury products as stated by Kapferer & Valette-Florence (2016) that “in luxury, no one wants to buy the wrong brand”. In light of these changes in the demand and strategies, a new framework of luxury purchase intention will be presented. This framework integrates brand knowledge in order to accommodate the traditional consumer, who appreciates the brand and its exclusivity, as well as the new buyer who wants recognition. This attempt in merging the two groups of luxury consumers together will highlights how traditional and new luxury consumers make their purchase decisions based on different components of luxury product characteristics as well as different value perception, or that is to say, based on a different levels of brand knowledge. Conceptual Framework Over several decades scholars attempted to agree on a single comprehensive definition for the term ‘luxury’ but have not yet reached that goal because the concept of luxury is highly individual and the market itself is heterogeneous (Hennigs et al., 2013). The definition of luxury, therefore, is very complex to define (Vigneron & Johnson, 1999; Dubois & Duquesne, 1993) due to its “subjective character” (De Barnier et al., 2012) with many diverse facets (Phau & Prendergast, 2000). This study provides a new perspective by looking at the factors that influence luxury purchase intention. Based on the original work of Keller (1993), it is important to understand the structure and content of brand knowledge because these dictate what comes into the consumer’s mind when they think about a brand and what they know about the brand (Keller, 2003). Consumer brand knowledge is defined as the “personal meaning about a brand stored in consumer memory, that is, all descriptive and evaluative brand-related information” (Keller, 2003). Strong, unique, and favorable brand associations must be created with consumers (Kotler & Keller, 2012 and 2016). In luxury consumption, different consumers seek different emotional and functional benefits from luxury brands (Kapferer, 1998), which makes it relevant and significant to investigate the level of influences of brand knowledge and value perceptions on the intention to purchase luxury products. The proposed conceptual framework for this study is presented in Figure 1 in the Appendix section. Managerial Implications This study provides both theoretical and managerial implications. On theoretical grounds, this study provides an enhanced model in investigating the influence of luxury brand knowledge towards luxury purchase intention considering luxury brand characteristics and luxury value perceptions. On managerial perspective, this study provides an update in the modern luxury consumers consumption pattern in terms of what specific characteristics of luxury products they would consider when they intend to purchase. At the same time, this study analyses the types of luxury value perceptions acknowledge by modern luxury consumers towards their purchase decision. In addition, the proposed conceptual framework will take into account the behaviours of traditional luxury consumers, who seems to have been lost due to the increased demand among the new luxury consumers. According to Keller et al. (2012), the marketers of the brand needs to acknowledge the insights to how brand knowledge exists in consumer memory. From the model, marketers can plan and execute efficient marketing and communication strategies for modern luxury consumers given their fast-changing preference in luxury consumption. Following the suggestion from Kapferer & Valette-Florence (2016) which indicates that “luxury is made by brands” and apart from selling luxurious products, the dream is what is attached to the brand logo and name. Therefore, by investigating the relationship between luxury products characteristics along with luxury value perceptions, this study aims to provide a refreshing analysis of today’s luxury consumers and what stimulates them to buy personal luxury products. Further Research A questionnaire will be developed by the integration of the established measurements and scales from the existing luxury consumption and branding literature. A draft of the questionnaire will be reviewed against the literature and the practical insights obtained from the sales associates and experts in the luxury industry for the suitability and clarity of the questions. The final draft of the questionnaire will be pre-test on a small number of respondents from the target audience. The target population for the study is among general luxury consumers. The data collected from the survey will be analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach to model decision process and validate the proposed conceptual framework. Cluster analysis will be used to identify segments of consumers as recommended by Aaker et al. (2013). The anticipated research findings will expand on the degree of influences of the brand knowledge towards the willingness to purchase of personal luxury goods. It is also expected that the research findings will be useful in redefining the existing types of luxury consumers to represent today’s luxury consumers.

The counterfeit market makes up as much as seven percent of worldwide trade and is estimated as a $650 billion industry. Due to consumer demand, this phenomenon has grown over 10,000% in the past two decades and presents a serious threat to the global economy. Many luxury brand managers assume that counterfeiting damages brand image, however some experts have indicated that luxury houses use counterfeit sales to predict demand for their own brand. In this sense, brands are reacting to the effects of counterfeit purchase and need to develop a proactive strategy for preventing it. By understanding consumers’ perception of brands and how it relates to their counterfeit consumption, brand managers can better plan their marketing strategies to build relationships with consumers for increasing loyalty and preventing possible loss in sales. The purpose of this study is to understand the effect of branding on non-deceptive counterfeit consumption of luxury brands by proposing that brand equity plays a moderating role in the relationship between attitudes toward counterfeits and purchase intentions and in the relationship between social factors and purchase intentions. Specifically, this study conceptualizes the customer-based brand equity model with the Theory of Reasoned Action to develop strategic marketing implications for luxury brands. Previous research has resulted in managerial implications for combatting the counterfeit phenomenon, but it is more effective to prevent the increase in demand for counterfeits than to react to that demand. This study examines the role of brand equity to help brand managers focus their marketing strategies on specific levels of customer-based brand equity to build stronger relationships with consumers and reduce the demand for counterfeit products. Previous studies have examined the effects of counterfeits on brands, but research on the effects of brands on counterfeit consumption is very limited. This study adds to literature on counterfeits by understanding how branding can affect counterfeit purchase. Studies have used the Theory of Reasoned Action for understanding consumers’ intention to purchase counterfeit products. Drawing on the customer-based brand equity model, this research proposes brand identity, brand response, brand meaning, and brand relations as moderating variables in addition to the basic constructs of the model to extend previous literature, as no previous research has used customer-based brand equity for understanding counterfeit consumption. Previous studies have conceptualized customer-based brand equity for building relationships with customers, but this concept has never been used in the counterfeit context. This study is the first to use brand equity for understanding consumers’ counterfeit purchase intentions. This study suggests important implications for luxury brand marketers. By understanding how consumers associate with a brand, marketers can target specific levels of brand equity as part of their marketing strategies to deter counterfeit purchase. The proposed model serves as an initial step for understanding how brand equity affects non-deceptive consumption of counterfeit luxury goods. Future studies include empirically testing this proposed model and quantifying how much each level of customer-based brand equity contributes to consumer’ perception of brands. Future studies could also test the impact of branding on specific product types to analyze differences in consumers’ brand associations based on product category, as some product categories are more favorable to counterfeit consumers than others.

Following the resurgence of the application of theories of social practices in consumer research, we offer a comprehensive typology of luxury consumption practices. In doing so, we shed light on how personalized meanings of brand luxury are emergent in the private sphere of everyday life, as luxury consumers integrate various materials, meanings, and competencies within their practice performances. The findings provide important insights for both scholars and practitioners in developing a more holistic understanding about the multi-dimensionality and fluidly of luxury brand meanings in the context of contemporary consumer culture. Specifically, we draw attention towards the active and creative role that consumers play in constructing multiple meanings of brand luxury, and illustrate that brand luxury can be appropriated and personalized by consumers in many different ways. This ranges from being considered as a form of financial investment to facilitating an imaginary escape; from being perceived as markers of an affluent lifestyle and a conveyer of social status to emerging as resources for aspirational personalities that assist consumers in their self-transformations. Moreover, we found that consumers are not restricted to preforming only one particular luxury brand consumption practice. They can, and often do engage in different practices of luxury consumption, where each addresses different needs salient to the context of their life themes and situational influences. Finally, we show that different dimensions of luxury brand imaginary can become more or less important, depending on which practices are performed by consumers.

Since there are intimate relationships between customers and customer equity, this study aims to explore the effects of covert and overt narcissistic consumers on luxury brands’ customer equity. The authors confirm the significance of the previous qualitative study on the two types of narcissists in regard to luxury consumption and customer equity by using quantitative methods. Narcissism basically means a self-loving tendency in one’s mind. People with narcissism overly respect themselves and act in an egotistical way(Lasch, 1980). Some scholars state that there are distinctions in narcissists in that they can be either overt or covert. Covert narcissists are hypersensitive, feel inferiority, pursue social power and honor, crave compliments, have strong jealousy, feel dissatisfaction with work and society, have fragile egos, and a likelihood of conscience contamination. People with covert narcissism also try to avoid damage both physically and emotionally. Overt narcissists pursue social success, lack depth, ignore and devalue others, have strong aspirations, and passion for ethics, social politics, and aesthetic issues. They believe in their own grandiosity, which causes direct expression of exhibitionism, self-importance, and a preoccupation with getting the attention and admiration from others(Hendin & Cheek, 1997; Park & Kang, 2013; SALMAN AKHTAR & Thomson Jr, 1982).

The study of luxury is a rapidly rising star in the firmament of business, management, the arts, media and communication studies. In the discipline of marketing alone, it informs research into corporate strategy (e.g. Mazancourt & Schwartz, 2012; Hennigs, Weidmann, Behrens & Klarmann, 2015), production and consumption in the context of national, regional, local cultures (e.g. Zhan & He, 2012; Schultz & Jain, 2015) and, of course, global brands (Mazzalovo, 2012), just to name a few. Of particular interest to this author is the theoretical challenges and opportunities of an entirely new frontier for the study of luxury and consumption: namely, how do we theorize luxury and luxury consumption in an age of space travel, habitation and tourism? Travel to Mars is fast becoming a reality and space tourism is already rapidly growing as a leisure pursuit for wealthy elites. The trajectory of space travel, and human habitation, in space is, however, evolving in ways that are still not widely reported or communicated to the public. Yet, it is almost certainly the case that the mass consumption of space travel (and future habitats on other planets) will become a reality in the foreseeable future. The anthropocentric vision that has driven the human species to flourish on Earth will also allow us to populate other planets. Guiding this paper are two primary – and hitherto foundational – premises: first, all existing work on luxury and luxury consumption by marketing scholars has taken our continued existence on planet Earth for granted. That is, luxury as we know it (and however one it is defined) occurs within spatial and temporal dimensions that are, broadly speaking, Newtonian (despite the remarkable advances in quantum theory and mechanics), linear, bounded and life-sustaining by virtue of stable sources of energy, water and fuel (at least in the world’s advanced economies). This premise alone accounts for, and explains, for example, much of the current literature on ‘luxury consumption in China’ or ‘India’ or ‘Turkey’ or any other specific locale. My contention is that this premise can no longer be taken for granted in a post-ecological age; second, I wish to develop one or more novel dimensions to the conventional, albeit provocative, literature that argues (rightly, in my view) that consumption of any kind must be central to “theorizations of space and place” (Goodman, Goodman & Redclift, 2010). At the same time, technology companies such as Tesla and Space X are effecting radical transformations in our view of what is possible for human consumption over the next five to twenty years. What is the role and likely transformations in the concept and practice of luxury in this scenario? This is the key question that faces marketing scholars in the next decade and this paper is the first attempt to interrogate the issue.Several scenarios present themselves and should be taken seriously until we devise other frameworks that can satisfactorily tackle the question I have posed. For instance, the ‘bandwagon effect’ (Kastanakis & Balabanis, 2012) helps explain how mass luxury consumption might take off after the first wave of early adopters of space technology and space-led living have indicated their preferences and as private as well as public enterprises innovate to capture the public imagination with regards to the consumption of luxury items in space (Thomas, 2007). Alternatively, we could explore further the implications and modifications in behavioural theories of luxury consumption (Yeoman, 2010) to understand how the antecedents and consequences of popular modes of adoption, use and future purchases might be modified in the Space Age. Last, but certainly not least, one can focus the theoretical lens on transformational consumer research along the lines (and limits) of the consumption of place and space (Goodman, Goodman and Redclift, 2016). This avenue, in my view, affords some intriguing advantages over alternative approaches. As Clarke, Doel and Hoisaux (2003, 80) note, ‘consumption tends to reconfigure space and place, often disrupting, undermining and displacing consumption activities that were once thought of as being related to specific places’. Thus, while we may be reluctant to discard the notion that consumption is essentially geographical, we now need to reconsider what and where those geographies are and what they will mean for us as a species in the next several decades. How will relational networks of consumption work? How can we understand the bodily enactments of consumption and the environmental and metabolic conditions that are a prerequisite for practices of luxury? The corporate implications are numerous and profound as well: the global green/sustainability movements have undoubtedly changed market forces and behavior – can they play another, even more valuable role in the next consumer revolution?

Luxury brands embed meanings in advertising and encourage brand/category ritualistic behavior (Johar, Holbrook, & Stern, 2001; Otnes & Scott 1996). The ritualization of a luxury brands, such as champagne, is important because rituals encourage transformation and status attainment (Driver, 1991; Otnes & Scott, 1996). Yet, do all luxury consumers interpret the rituals communicated in advertising similarly? We consider Collins (2004) Interaction Ritual Theory (IRT) to examine how advertised rituals transform consumption practices of luxury products. We used a hermeneutic phenomenological research method (Langdridge, 2007), collecting data (interviews and photos) from 18 informants (Atkinson & Flint, 2001) using a two-tier collection strategy (see Ziller, 1990). After informants provided images of champagne (see Collier & Collier, 1986; Heisley & Levy, 1991), semi-structure interviews were conducted. The questions related to topics such as champagne sharing, ritual influence, image descriptions, and personal consumption. The data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach (Glaser, 1978), inductively coded based on IRT’s conditions. A thematic analysis of the images was also conducted (Fereday & Muir-Cochrane, 2006) as was an iterative analysis of the transcripts. The researchers separately and then together analyzed the images and transcripts to determine similarities, understandings, and interpretations of emergent themes. Consistent with taste regimes literature (Arsel & Bean, 2013), we find champagne consumption is also practiced and ritualized according to two types of regimes. Within an open regime, informants experience champagne as a medium for engaging with limited individuals, with the product as the kernel of the experience. The open regime is a negotiated (beyond what is advertised) ritual that can be explored and extended. Alternatively, a closed regime represents a more stagnant system of social interaction, emerging as a product of the situation, often a celebration (as typically advertised). Those practicing a closed regime banalize the ritual, have hegemonic discourses related to product, and have more difficulty naming brands. Consumer’s luxury brand expectations, including rituals, are often interpreted through advertising and brand-created communications. Understanding how consumers integrate brand messages into rituals with the products and brands as well as the brand role in rituals is important. While it can be hard for brands to know their target customers’ ritual regime, brands may choose varied communications approaches to reach both consumer types. Either way, consumer expectations of open regimes are likely built through advertising, while closed regimes are built through special events and intensive distribution strategies.

본 연구는 고급레스토랑 이용 고객들의 체면민감성이 과 시적 소비성향과 구매의도에 미치는 영향에 대해 알아보기 위해 문헌고찰과 실증적 분석 연구를 진행하였다. 본 연구 결과의 주요 내용은 다음과 같다. 선행연구를 토대로 체면민감성 요인을 타인의식성 체면, 창피의식성 체면, 사회격식성 체면 총 3개 하위요인, 9개 문 항으로 구성하였다. 과시적 소비성향은 유명브랜드 선호 및 유행추구, 타인지향 총 2개 하위요인, 8개 문항으로 구성하 였으며, 구매의도는 단일 차원 4개 문항으로 구성하였다. 전체표본 430(100%)부 중 유효 표본 400(93%)부를 중심 으로 실증분석을 실시하였다. 응답자의 성별 특성을 보면 여 성이 264명(66%)으로 남성 응답자보다 더 많은 것으로 나타났으며, 연령은 30대가 209명(52.3%)으로 가장 많은 것으로 나타났다. 최종학력은 4년제 대학 졸업이 215명(53.8%), 직업은 회 사원이 235명(58.8%), 월 소득은 200-300만원 미만이 115명 (28.8%)으로 가장 많은 것으로 나타났다. 고급레스토랑 이용고객의 체면민감성이 과시적 소비성향 에 미치는 영향을 살펴본 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 타인의식성 체면(t=3.095, p< .005), 창피의식성 체면 (t=6.615, p< .005), 사회격식성 체면(t=4.802, p< .005)이 유 명브랜드 선호 및 유행추구에 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 또한 타인의식성 체면, 창피의식성 체면, 사회격식 성 체면이 타인지향 과시적 소비에 미치는 영향을 살펴보면, 타인의식성 체면(t=7.587, p< .005), 사회격식성 체면(t=4.057, p< .005)이 타인지향 과시적 소비에 영향을 미치는 것으로 나 타났지만, 창피의식성 체면은 타인지향 과시적 소비에 유의 한 영향을 미치지 않는 것으로 나타나 부분채택 되었다. 이 연구 결과는 Kim et al.(2013)의 연구에서 골프클럽 소 비자의 체면민감성 특성이 과시소비 성향에 유의한 영향을 미친다는 결과와 유사하게 나타났으며, Lee et al.(2015)의 연구에서 타인 의식성 체면과 창피 의식성 체면이 과시적 체 면에 유의한 영향을 미친 것과 연구 결과가 유사하게 나타 났다. 또한 형식 의식성 체면 또한 과시적 소비에 유의한 영 향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 이는 유명브랜드나 유행이 소 비자들의 체면에 의해 영향을 많이 받는 것을 의미하는 것 으로 사료된다. 최근 들어 TV프로그램이나 인터넷 방송 등에서 외식과 관련된 컨텐츠가 많이 제작되고 있는데, 이를 적극적으로 활용 하여 외식 브랜드를 많은 소비자들에게 인식시키고 외식산 업의 유행을 만들기 위한 노력이 필요할 것으로 사료된다. 창피의식성 체면이 타인지향 과시적 소비에 영향을 미치 지 않는 것으로 나타났는데 이는 소비자들이 레스토랑 선택 시 남의 눈치를 보거나 타인에게 어떻게 비춰지는지에 대하 여 크게 염두에 두지 않는다는 것을 의미하는 것으로 사료 된다. 둘째, 고급레스토랑 이용고객의 체면민감성이 구매의도에 미치는 영향을 살펴본 결과는 다음과 같다. 타인의식성 체면, 창피의식성 체면, 사회격식성 체면이 구매의도에 미치는 영 향을 살펴본 결과 창피의식성 체면(t=3.233, p< .005), 사회격 식성 체면(t=3.247, p< .005)이 구매의도에 유의한 영향을 미 치는 것으로 나타났지만, 타인의식성 체면은 구매의도에 유 의한 영향을 미치지 않는 것으로 나타나 부분 채택 되었다. 고급레스토랑을 이용하는 고객들은 구매의사를 결정할 때 다양한 요인들을 고려하는데, 그 중에서도 체면과 관련된 요 인들이 중요한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 따라서 외식 기업에서는 체면이나 과시적 소비성향과 같은 변수뿐만 아 니라 다양한 심리적 요인을 활용한 마케팅을 적극적으로 수 립할 필요가 있을 것으로 사료된다. 셋째, 과시적 소비성향이 구매의도에 미치는 영향을 살펴 본 결과 유명브랜드 선호 및 유행추구(t=12.384, p< .005)는 구매의도에 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났지만, 타인 지향 과시적 소비성향은 구매의도에 유의한 영향을 미치지 않는 것으로 나타나 부분 채택 되었다. 이 결과는 타인의식 성 체면이 구매의도에 유의한 영향을 미치지 않는다는 결과 와 유사하게 나타났으며 반면, 유명브랜드를 선호하거나 유 행에 민감한 사람일수록 고급레스토랑을 구매할 가능성이 더 높은 것으로 사료된다. 본 연구의 시사점은 첫째, 기존의 소비 심리 연구와 달리 체면민감성, 과시적 소비성향과 같은 변수들을 추가함으로써 연구의 범위를 다양하게 설정하였고, 소비 심리 분석에 있어 서 유용한 변수가 될 수 있을 것으로 사료된다. 둘째, 본 연구에서 체면민감성, 과시적 소비성향 등이 실 질적으로 구매의도에 유의한 영향을 미친다는 것을 연구를 통해 확인하였다. 이는 소비자들이 자신과 타인을 구분 짓기 위해 또는 우월감을 표현하기 위해 자신의 형편을 고려하지 않은 소비를 하거나 또는 소비에 많은 의미를 부여한다는 것 을 다시 한 번 확인할 수 있는 연구 결과라고 사료된다. 기업들의 생존 경쟁이 점점 치열해지고 있는 현재 시점에 서 외식기업들은 인터넷이나 TV 등의 매체나 인쇄물, 잡지 등을 활용한 적극적인 마케팅을 통해 소비자들이 유명브랜 드 또는 유행하는 브랜드로 인식하도록 해야 한다. 또한 소 비자들의 니즈나 욕구 또는 체면이나 과시적 소비성향과 같 은 심리적 요인들을 지속적으로 연구하여 경쟁 기업과 차별 화를 이루어 내는 것이 중요한 과제일 것이다. 본 연구의 한계점 및 향후 연구방향은 첫째, 본 연구의 조 사대상을 객단가 8만원 이상의 고급레스토랑 이용고객으로 한정지었는데, 조사대상자의 범위를 다양하게 설정한 연구가 필요할 것으로 사료되며 또한 고 가격의 제품과 저 가격의 제품을 소비할 때 어떠한 차이가 있는지에 대한 비교 분석 등과 같은 다양한 측면에서의 연구들이 지속적으로 이루어 지면 더욱 의미가 있을 것으로 사료된다. 둘째, 본 연구에서 분석한 심리적 요인은 체면과 과시적 소비성향에 한정되어 있지만, 그 외에도 다양한 심리적 변수 들을 활용한 추가적인 연구가 이루어지면 소비자들의 소비 심리와 소비 행동을 분석하는데 유용한 기초자료로 활용될 수 있을 것으로 기대 된다.

Reflecting the phenomenon of the growing importance of sustainable consumption in achieving sustainable development, this study argues that luxury fashion brands can promote consumers to make sustainable consumption, by encouraging consumers to choose timeless style over seasonable fashion and long-lasting quality over excessive quantity, and thereby buy less and wear the product for long, having a socially and environmentally friendly influence to the planet. In addition to the leading role that luxury fashion brands play in consumers’ sustainable consumption, this study draws on the Coping Theory to explain how consumer guilt plays an important role in promoting consumers’ sustainable behavior (i.e., sustainable divestment intention). To achieve the aim of this study, we will collect 400 valid responses from consumer panelists of a commercial online survey company. Further, this study will analyze the data by adopting structural equation modeling (SEM) via AMOS 22.

We have examined the antecedents of luxury consumption by conducting a thorough review of literature. Valid scale items for measuring psychological, personal, social, cultural antecedents of luxury consumption in India are proposed. Using Factor Analysis on a sample of 550 responses of the scale items, we have developed a valid questionnaire for Indian luxury consumers. The proposed questionnaire is relevant in context of the proposed model and luxury consumption in India. The proposed questionnaire achieves parsimony in terms of reducing the cardinality of the set of items from 141 to 55.