This study identified types of online retail internationalization in the fast-fashion context and proposed driving factors of retailers’ choices in online-based market entry following the logic of the Uppsala model and the eclectic theory. In particular, this study proposes three types of online-based internationalization: 1) entering a host market with a physical store first, and then expanding with an online store, 2) entering a foreign market with an online store, then expanding to physical stores, and 3) entering only with an online business. In addition, this study investigated the causal factors, ownership-specific and location advantages, that influence the choice of the type of developmental process of online-based internationalization. To develop theoretical and managerial insights into the issue researched, this study employed a qualitative research design involving case studies of three European fast-fashion retailers, H&M, TOPSHOP, and ASOS. This study suggested that fast-fashion retailers that enter a host market with high ownership-specific advantages are likely to choose to enter the market with physical stores and then expand with online stores. On the other hand, when faced with uncertainties attributable to low ownershipspecific or location advantages, fast-fashion retailers are likely to choose to enter with an online store first and then expand with physical stores as conditions change. Consequently, this study provides a better understanding for fast-fashion retailers who are willing to expand their businesses to foreign markets via online stores.

The millennials are an important generational group of consumers who purchase luxury online and therefore to know their attitude to luxury has become a significant subject for our study. This study explores whether materialism, need for uniqueness, susceptibility to normative influence, and social media usage affect millennials’ attitudes and purchase intentions toward luxury fashion brands online. In addition, this research examines moderating effect of each dimension of national culture on the relationship between factors and millennials’ attitudes toward luxury fashion brands online. Hofstede’s framework is considered to be the most reliable measure of national culture (Yeniyurt & Townsend, 2003). We used four dimensions of Hofstede’s model of national culture: masculinity, individualism, power distance and uncertainty avoidance. In study 1, we examine millennials’ attitudes toward luxury fashion brand through Q methodology. In study 2, we examine relationships between variables using the SPSS 20.0 program for descriptive statistical analysis and the AMOS 20.0 program for structural equation model (SEM) analysis. The findings will enable marketers of luxury fashion brands to understand millennials’ attitudes toward luxury fashion brands and increase the sales among this target group.

For the past decade, the convenience of sharing information online has improved drastically with the development of smart devices and social media. Such changes have contributed to regarding online word-of-mouth (WOM) as one of the most important consumer information sources. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine online WOM effects (acceptance/redelivery intention) with the two-way interaction effects of fashion involvement and the market maven. The empirical study consisted of an offline survey that collected data from 341 respondents and analyzed the data by factor analysis, independent t-test, and two-way ANOVA with SPSS 20.0, producing the following results. First, the market maven effect was found to differ significantly based on the level of fashion involvement, and is also higher when fashion involvement is high. Second, fashion involvement primarily affected online WOM acceptance, while the market maven significantly affected redelivery intention. Moreover, fashion involvement and market maven had relevant two-way interaction with both of the online WOM effects. Third, market maven had measurable effects on WOM redelivery types (objective/subjective) and directions (positive/negative/ neutral), whereas fashion involvement did not have any primary effects on them. However, fashion involvement and market maven had two-way interaction effects on the positive and negative direction of WOM redelivery. Based on these findings, the study suggests the importance of investigating and understanding the complicated online WOM behaviors of consumers, specifically from both managerial and theoretical perspectives.

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.

One specific manifestation of CSR is the solicitation of donations in collaboration with an NGO. Especially in an online environment, companies can easily control if they present donation options to consumers either before or after the actual purchase moment of their products. The aim of this paper is to investigate how the sequence of purchase and donation requests in the customer journey influences the willingness to donate to a charitable cause and the potential revenues for the seller. As theoretical frame, we use two related concepts of moral self-regulation, namely moral licensing and moral cleansing. We assume that consumers spend a higher sum on a luxury product after donating to an NGO (moral licensing) and vice versa donate a higher sum to charity after purchasing a self-indulgent product (moral cleansing). While we do not consider luxury products as morally questionable per se, prior research has shown that consumers repeatedly feel bad after purchasing a luxury item. Our results indicate that the moral cleansing effect is present in our experiment. On average, participants who first indicate their WTP for a luxury product are subsequently more prone to donating money to an NGO. We could not observe a moral licensing effect at large. Both conditions lead to comparable mean WTP measures, hence to similar total potential revenues. In general, our results indicate that both parties profit the most, if donation options are available after purchase decisions.

The goal of this study is to get a better understanding of the relationship between online customer reviews (OCRs), product returns and sales after returns in online fashion. Furthermore, we generate deeper insights about the moderating role of mobile shopping usage, product involvement and brand equity in this context. We answer our research questions by empirically analyzing a unique data set from a European fashion e-commerce company. This study links a wide range of transaction data (2.5 billion page clicks, 46 thousand different products, 700 brands, 40 product categories, 72 million sold and 33 million returned items) with a large set of OCRs (0.9 million). Our results show that positive OCRs can lead to higher sales, lower returns, and better conversion rates. Considering higher search costs on mobile devices, we reveal a weaker impact of OCRs in the mobile than in the desktop sales channel. Furthermore, in line with involvement theory, we see a significant impact of product involvement in this context such as the influence of positive OCRs is stronger for high-involvement products than vice versa. Moreover, we find strong support for statements from brand signaling literature, that OCRs matter more for weak than for strong brands.

E-commerce is a global phenomenon that reshapes retailing and the appropriate multinational corporations. The goal of this study is to get a better understanding of the relationship between online customer reviews (OCRs), sales and sales after returns in the cross-national and cross-cultural context. We discuss our hypotheses by empirically analyzing a large and unique data set from a European fashion e-commerce company. This study links a wide range of transaction data (0.8 billion page clicks, 17 thousand different products, 499 brands, 50 product categories, 22 million sold and 11 million returned items) from six different countries (Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland) with a large set of OCRs (0.7 million). Our results show that positive OCRs can lead to higher sales and sales after returns with considerable cross-country differences. We argue that differences in culture provide a substantial explanation for these effects by using Hofstede's cultural framework.

Initial situation and Problem Statement The world faces extraordinary challenges relating to the environment and society. Rapidly increasing demand is colliding with declining resources, the awareness of the need for environmental and social sustainability has grown (Martin & Schouten, 2014, p. 20). Due to these facts collaborative consumption has emerged and has disrupted various established industries all over the world. People’s attitude towards ownership and the way societies consume are changing (Chen, 2009, p. 926). Today, consumers are willing to pay for using or accessing a product rather than buying or owning it (Chen, 2009, p. 926). Gradually, consumers are turning their backs on the traditional consumer-oriented paradigm and over-consumption and are progressively looking for ways which downshift or simplify their lives (Albinsson, Wolf, & Kopf, 2010, p. 414). Collaborative consumption is driven by a variety of factors including the global recession, anti-hyper-consumerism, cost-consciousness as well as awareness of the need for a waste-reducing and sustainable living (Gansky, 2010, p. 16). The main drivers are technological advances, such as the internet and social media, which allow new ways of accessing and sharing. By using information technology, products and services can be reused, distributed and shared at the right time and location to the right customer (Gansky, 2010, p. 16). The most successful field of collaborative consumption is the one of tangible assets, such as clothing, which are not used to their full potential by their owners and can be therefore temporarily shared (Botsman & Rogers, 2010, p. XVI). Within the fashion industry many collaborative consumption concepts are developing and thriving (Pedersen & Netter, 2015, p. 259). Generation Y is interested in collaborative consumption and can identify with this phenomenon as it fits their increasingly ideological lifestyles (Höflehner, 2015). According to a study published by Mindshare in November 2015, 44 % of persons of Generation Y in Austria are aware of the prominent online collaborative consumption platforms and one out of ten has already participated in a fashion-sharing activity (Mindshare, 2015). In 2014, 8.5 billion euros were spent on clothing (Statista, 2016), whereas almost 60 % consisted of fast fashion items (Ökosoziales Forum, 2013). On average, a person has 90 clothing items in their wardrobe, and more than half, is not used at all any more. Moreover, the average item is worn for about a month before its usage drops significantly (Threadflip, 2014) or the item gets disposed of in spite of still being in good condition (Shephard & Pookulangara, 2014, p. 11). Online collaborative consumption for fashion can help expand products’ life-cycles, as unneeded or unwanted fashion items can be easily rented, lent, given or sold to other consumers by using various online platforms available (Fletcher & Grose, 2012, p. 88). However, hardly any research was found that specifically focus on online collaborative consumption for Gen Y and examine the influencing factors Research Aim and Research Methods The aim of this study was to find out about the determinants influencing the intention to participate in online collaborative consumption for fashion items among Gen Y taking as an example young adults in Austria. Additionally, the factors, which can increase participation should be identified. In order to find out the influencing determinants, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 of Venkatesh et al. (2012) will serve as the basis for the applied research construct. The following research questions are to be answered in this study: RQ: Which factors have an influence on consumer's intention to participate in online collaborative consumption for fashion among Generation Y in Austria? SubQ: Which measures help Generation Y in Austria to be more motivated to participate in online collaborative consumption for fashion?. In order to be able to provide answers to the research questions a quantitative study in the form of an online questionnaire (n= 219) among respondents of Gen Y in Austria was carried out. A number of research hypotheses have been developed in order to identify a possible influence of several variables on the intention to participate in online collaborative consumption for fashion items, mainly focusing on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) and on the Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 of Venkatesh et al. (2012). Theoretical Background Theory of Planned Behaviour by Ajzen (1991) The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was presented by Ajzen in 1991 as an extension of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) by Ajzen and Fishbein, introduced in 1975 (Teo & Lee, 2010, p. 60). Both models are part of the multiattribute models. The theory of reasoned action tries to offer an explanation for a performed behaviour. The idea behind the theory is that behaviour is performed due to an intention to perform that behaviour. The intention is influenced by the subjective norm and the attitude towards the behaviour. The TRA thereby attempts to predict the possibility of the occurrence of a specific behaviour (Schwenkert, 2006, p. 27). Although it can be said that no behaviour can be predicted with a 100% certainty there are several studies that unveil that the intention to perform a behaviour makes a significant contribution to the actual performance. The intention is the motivational factor behind the behaviour. It indicates “how hard people are willing to try, of how much of an effort they are planning to exert, in order to perform the behaviour” (Ajzen, 1991, p. 180). The main variables of the model are the Subjective Norm and the Attitude towards the Behaviour. Subjective Norm (SN) can be described as the assumption of the individual that people important to the individual are expecting the behaviour to be performed. In other words, that people close to the individual think that the behaviour should be performed by him or her (Schwenkert, 2006, pp. 27-28; Teo & Lee, 2010, p. 61). This belief somehow conveys a sense of unconscious social pressure for the individual – the pressure to perform as the norm demands. Some researchers have found that the social norm does not have as much influence on the intention to perform a specific behaviour as originally assumed (Li, Mizerski, Lee & Liu, 2009, p. 233). It has been found that the culture also tends to have an impact on the influence of the Subjective Norm. People living in an individualistic culture have a tendency to be not as influenced by social pressure as people living in a collectivistic culture (Li et al., 2009, p. 234). This may result in the fact that in collectivistic cultures the opinion of the group is highly important and therefore often followed. In individualistic cultures people are not that influenced by others which may explain those differences in the impact of the Subjective Norm. The TRA involves another variable – the Attitude towards the Behaviour (AtB). As the phrase already suggests, it does not describe the attitude towards an object, but the attitude towards the behaviour itself (Schwenkert, 2006, p. 27). The individual has a positive or negative feeling about the behaviour which influences the intention to perform it, is influenced. The attitude towards a specific behaviour is connected with one’s inner beliefs about the consequences of executing it. Therefore, also the possible consequences and outcomes of the behaviour are evaluated. If they are seen or predicted as positive the possibility of the intention to exert the behaviour is high, and so is the possibility of an actual performance (Li et al., 2009, p. 233; Teo & Lee, 2010, p. 61). As the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is an extension of the TRA, there has been added another variable – the Perceived Behavioural Control (PBC). The PBC points out the “perceived ease or difficulty of performing the behaviour” (Li et al., 2009, p. 234). By adding this variable Ajzen tried to include the element of uncertainty and to increase the ability to predict the behaviour. Studies show that the accuracy of prediction is higher than with the TRA but still the cognitive processes are in the foreground (Kroeber-Riel & Gröppel-Klein, 2013, p. 236). Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology by Venkatesh et al. (2012) The original Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) was constructed by Venkatesh et al. in 2003 after reviewing eight existing popular models for IT adoption. The eight models revised were The Model of PC Utilisation, Innovation Diffusion Theory, Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), Motivational Model (MM), Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), Technology of Acceptance Model (TAM and TAM2), Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Combined TAM/TPB (Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, & Davis, 2003, pp. 428-433). The UTAUT was mainly created for IT corporate use. The extension, the UTAUT2, was developed in 2012 by Venkatesh et al. to make it applicable in consumer contexts and it is used to study new technology applications (Venkatesh, Thong, & Xu, 2012, p. 158). The UTAUT2 consists of seven variables that have an influence on Behavioural Intention. Behavioural Intention is a determinant for adoption of the Use Behaviour. Variables that refer to an individual’s difference, namely age, gender and experience, are used to moderate various relationships within the model. Performance Expectancy is the extent to which consumers gain benefits in their performance when using a technology. From reviewing the eight prior models, Venkatesh et al. (2003) have developed the construct Performance Expectancy, which pertains to Perceived Usefulness (TAM/TAM2), Outcome Expectations (SCT) and Extrinsic Motivation (MM), which refers to the behaviour that is driven by external rewards. According to Venkatesh et al. (2003) it is the strongest predictor of Behavioural Intention (Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, & Davis, 2003, p. 447). Effort Expectancy is the “degree of ease associated with consumers’ use of technology” (Venkatesh, Thong, & Xu, 2012, p. 159). In general, the easier a technology it is to use in the adoption phase, the more positive the attitude towards said technology (ibid.). Social Influence is defined as the degree to which consumers think it is important that others, such as family and friends, believe they should use a certain technology. This construct refers to the Subjective Norm in TRA and TBP. Prior research suggests that individuals, who are not well informed about the technology in question, are more likely to intend to use the technology, if other, well-informed, peers use said technology (Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, & Davis, 2003, p. 453). Facilitating Conditions refer to the extent to which consumers “believe that an organisational and technical infrastructure exists to support use of the system” (Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, & Davis, 2003, p. 453). Hedonic Motivation, or intrinsic motivation, refers as the enjoyment or pleasure derived from using a technology. It is shown to be an important factor in determining technology acceptance and use in consumer contexts (ibid.). Price Value is an important value in a consumer use setting as the consumer usually pays for the technology application or the use of it. The Price Value is positive and adds to explaining the Behavioural Intention to use when the benefits of using the technology perceive to outweigh the costs (ibid.). Finally, Habit is the degree to which people tend to behave automatically because of learning (Limayem, Hirt, & Cheung, 2007, p. 718). Conclusions Summary The empirical study has shown that the factors Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, Facilitating Conditions, Hedonic Motivation, Price Value and Sustainability have an influence on the Behavioural Intention to participate in online collaborative consumption for fashion. Firstly, it has been hypothesized that Performance Expectancy has an influence on the intention to use online collaborative consumption for fashion. As it turns out, the results showed no significant difference. Therefore, consumers might find other ways of acquiring clothing more appropriate and better suited. The second examined factor is Effort Expectancy, defined as how easy it is for consumers to use the technology. The results display that this factor shows a significant, positive influence on the intention to participate. This is in accordance with results of Venkatesh et al. (2012, p. 159), stating that the easier a technology is to use, the more likely is its adoption. The third factor, Social Influence, explains whether consumers feel it is important that other people, such as family and friends, think they should use a technology. As it turns out, this variable is positively and highly significantly related to the adoption of online collaborative consumption for fashion. Prior research proposes that persons, who are less informed about the technology, are more likely to use it if other influential persons use said technology (Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, & Davis, 2003, p. 453). Next, Facilitating Conditions were investigated as a potential factor influencing the intention to participate in online collaborative consumption for fashion. It was hypothesized that Facilitating Conditions, such as the access to a technological device with access to the Internet, have an influence on the adoption of online collaborative consumption. According to the results of the study, this variable has a highly significantly correlation to the outcome variable Behavioural Intention. The results also show that Hedonic Motivation is significantly and positively related to the Behavioural Intention. Thus, utilitarian and hedonic components of online consumption need to be taken in consideration, as has been shown by previous research in the context of traditional online shopping (Childers, Carr, Peck, & Carson, 2001, p. 533). The sixth investigated factor was Price Value, which is considered positive when the benefits of using the technology perceive to outweigh the costs. In this research, Price Value is a positive and highly significant predictor for the intention to use online collaborative consumption for fashion. Therefore, the outcomes of the study show that Price Value influences the intention to participate in online collaborative consumption for fashion. The next two factors of the research model, Trust and Sustainability, played a tremendous role when discussing collaborative consumption and even are considered main principles of collaborative consumption in the literature. As expected, Sustainability showed a highly significant and positive impact on Behavioural Intention. As mentioned before, this predictor accounted for 28 % of the total contribution of the research model. Trust did not significantly influence the adoption of online collaborative consumption for fashion. This result might be based on the fact that respondents feel insecure when interacting with strangers on the Internet in order to sell, buy or rent fashion items. Managerial Implications Several implications for retailers could be deduced from the results: According to this study, especially the factors Hedonic Motivation and Sustainability account each for 28 % of explaining the contribution to Behavioural Intention to use online collaborative consumption for fashion. Considering these insights, platforms dedicated to online collaborative consumption for fashion might put emphasis on these factors and increase their level of enjoyment and social interaction. For instance, platforms could boost these factors by including the usage of gamification. This way, the level of fun and pleasure for persons can be enhanced which in turn may lead to the adoption of online collaborative consumption behaviour. Additionally, in order to increase the social factor, online forums and discussion groups might not only help to express users’ experiences, reviews or interests, but also generate general social interaction, which is considered as very important for the participation in collaborative consumption. Furthermore, the study has shown that two thirds of the sample would welcome the possibility of fast fashion retailers offering online collaborative consumption activities. Since there are still a limited number of persons aware of the phenomenon of collaborative consumption, the alternative of peer-to-peer exchange in collaboration with a prominent fast fashion retail chain would be a perfect alternative. Instead of being tied to relatively unknown platforms dedicated to collaborative consumption for fashion, persons would most certainly be more aware and more willing to participate in such practices, if a well-known, established retailer would allow collaborative activities. Moreover, the aspect of sustainability seemed to be a crucial factor for the intention to use online collaborative consumption platforms for fashion. For this reason, platforms should communicate this aspect and publicise the fact that using collaborative consumption activities is an environmentally friendly, To conclude with, more than half of respondents would need more information about the topic in order to participate. Existing online platforms should invest in effective communication strategies or inexpensive guerrilla campaigns in order to attract more users. As the results of this study show, if persons are better informed and more aware of this phenomenon and its advantages, the better are the chances for adoption of collaborative consumption for fashion.

Social media are increasingly becoming a strategic vehicle of modern companies’ way of communicating and interacting with consumers. Actually, social media marketing (SMM) has recently emerged as an effective two-way communication channel able to provide the sharing and exchange of information, ideas, and user-generated content in virtual environments. This is especially true for fashion brands, which are progressively creating interactive platforms such as online brand communities in order to enhance their consumer-based brand equity (CBE), interpreted as the consumers’ assessment of a company brand image, identity, and value. Scholars have widely analyzed the relationship between a company’s SMM and brand equity, thus finding a direct positive impact of the five main constructs depicting perceived SMM activities, namely entertainment, interaction, trendiness, customization, and word of mouth, on CBE. Despite this relevant scholarly interest, the consumer behavioral responses linking a company perceived SMM activities and CBE have been largely neglected. Actually, consumers’ benefits from virtual environments and online brand experience may represent significant elements marketing strategists should focus on in order to enhance a company’s brand equity. Building on the uses and gratifications theory and experiential marketing, we develop a conceptual model that unpacks such linkages, by relating SMM activities, perceived benefits of using social media, online brand experience, and CBE. Specifically, we interpret SMM activities as significant brand-related stimuli able to influence consumers’ cognitive, social interactive, personal interactive, and hedonic benefits, which in turn influence consumers’ sensory, affective, behavioral, and intellectual online experience. Moreover, we investigate the experiential responses of consumers that mostly affect a company’s brand equity, which finally impacts on consumers’ purchase intention of the fashion brand. The model is validated using structural equation modeling (SEM) on a sample of real users of online brand communities operating in the fashion industry. Our sample is composed of Millennials, which currently represent the most influential grown-digital generation of consumers. Overall, our findings shed light on consumers’ online behavioral and experiential responses to a company’s perceived SMM activities, thus proposing strategic implications for the management of brand online communities and suggesting interesting possibilities of future research on social media and fashion consumers.

The purpose of this study is to develop a multi-dimensional scale measuring consumers’ perceived challenge in shopping fashion products online, and to verify its validity and reliability. Relevant literature is first reviewed to identify possible dimensions of perceived challenge. Next, Study 1 is conducted in order to explore the dimensions empirically and to see whether the dimensions that emerged were consistent with prior findings. A total of 190 responses to an open-ended question was qualitatively analyzed by using content analysis. The findings of Study 1 generate 26 items reflecting four dimensions (i.e., product knowledge, previous experience, website functionality, and product availability), which correspond to the dimensions suggested in literature review. Study 2 is subsequently conducted to refine the items so that the perceived challenge scale establishes cross-validation, convergent validity, discriminant validity, reliability, and predictive validity. A total of 238 responses is quantitatively analyzed by using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. In the results of Study 2, the perceived challenge scale is found to consist of a total of 16 items reflecting three dimensions: E-commerce Challenge (corresponding to Previous Experience reported in Study 1), Retailer Challenge (corresponding to Website Functionality), and Product Challenge (corresponding to Product Knowledge); all Product Availability items have been eliminated through the item refinement process. Specifically, E-commerce Challenge and Retailer Challenge are found to predict flow, supporting flow theory, while Product Challenge fails to lead to flow significantly. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future studies are also discussed.

With increasing challenges like climate change, companies are confronted with rising expectations from stakeholders, especially consumers. The paper investigates consumers’ reactions towards CSR strategies using a case-study and focus-groups. Results imply that digitally-based strategies at the core of newly found fashion companies are perceived generally positive, although with mixed impressions.

When substitute products are recommended, online consumers are more likely to evaluate products based on concrete attributes than abstract attributes and to perceive subordinate attributes as more important. When complementary products are recommended, concrete or subordinate attributes considered relatively less important, leading to less choice difficulty during the comparison process. Introduction Retailers use recommendation systems to support Internet shoppers who face the problem of searching for and selecting the right product from a vast assortment of options. Previous research argues that online recommendations help decision making by reducing consumers’ cognitive effort, while other studies claim that online recommendations increase consumers’ confusion (Xiao & Benbasat, 2007). One of the reasons for this lack of consensus seems the characteristics of recommendations not considered in the research. This study attempts to investigate how recommended product types, whether they involve complementary or substitute products, influence consumers’ decision-making process when shopping for fashion products. We address recommendations of complementary and substitute products prime consumers’ construal levels in different ways; consumers compare products at a lower construal level when substitute products are recommended than when complementary products are. We also demonstrate that consumers, as a consequence, evaluate alternatives based on concrete attributes (i.e., the physical and aesthetic characteristics of products), as opposed to abstract attributes (i.e., values and qualities), when substitute products are recommended, and perceive product attributes previously considered less important as being more important after recommendations. Literature Review Recommendations of Complementary and Substitute Products A recommendation system is the electronic software that implicitly and/or explicitly elicits the interests or preferences of consumers and provides recommendations (Xiao & Benbasat, 2007). In online fashion stores, such a recommendation system is often found as a form of recommendations of substitute (i.e., similar) or complementary (i.e., matching) products on the product detail pages. Presenting complementary or substitute products on a webpage can serve as a product display that affects consumers’ purchase decision. Because online shoppers move through webpages vertically (i.e., between product list pages) or horizontally (i.e., from product list pages to product detail pages), the simultaneous comparison of all alternatives can be difficult (Lee & Yi, 2014). Accordingly, consumers make local choices after comparisons on a single page, which subsequently affects the global choice (Simonson & Tversky, 1992). To explain how recommending complementary or substitute products affects decision making, this study adopts Construal Level Theory (Liberman & Trope, 1998) as its theoretical framework. It claims that people construe an event or an object at different levels of abstraction, from a lower-level, concrete to a higher-level, abstract construal, and represent it more abstractly as psychological distance increases (Liberman & Trope, 1998). Recent studies of assortment found that benefit-based organizations of assortment lead to more abstract construal, relative to attribute-based organizations of assortment (Lamberton & Diehl, 2013). Given that recommended substitute products share similar attributes with alternatives and are from the same product categories, the distance between the alternatives and recommended products is relatively short. Meanwhile, complementary products are recommended based on their benefits and selected among different product categories relatively far from the alternatives. Therefore, we suggest H 1 that consumers evaluate and compare alternatives in a concrete way when substitute products are recommended, on the other hand, in an abstract way when complementary products recommended. Recommendations and Product Comparison The attributes considered during evaluation are expected to differ since different levels of construal are induced by two types of recommendations. During the purchase decision, consumers often perform relative comparisons across options on attributes (Bettman, Luce, & Payne, 1998). For fashion products, both concrete and abstract attributes exist within a hierarchical structure, whereby abstract attributes are determined by concrete ones (Kim & Rhee, 1991). Prior research on construal level indicates that concrete attributes are emphasized as psychological distance decreases, whereas abstract attributes become salient as this distance increases (Liberman, Trope, & Wakslak, 2007). Accordingly, we posit H 2 that when substitute products are recommended, consumers weigh concrete attributes more than abstract attributes. On the other hand, when complementary products are recommended, where abstract benefits are emphasized, consumers consider abstract attributes more important than concrete attributes. Recommendations also influence consumers’ experience of difficulty during the comparison process. When examining alternatives based on attributes, consumers have a tendency to give more weight to attributes that they think are important (Dhar, Nowlis, & Sherman, 1999). Thus, choice task entails distinction between more and less important attributes (Sela, Berger, & Nardini, 2013), which leads to clear preference and less difficulty of choice. Research suggests that construal level affects the change in attribute weights for central or peripheral features in that a high construal level decreases comparison relative to a low construal level by shifting attention away from low-level details (Khan, Zhu, & Kalra, 2011). This finding implies that one can distribute attribute weights better at a high construal level, while one may weigh unimportant attributes heavily at a low construal level. Accordingly, we propose H 3 that consumers distinguish important core attributes from less important subordinate ones when complementary products are recommended. On the contrary, when susbtitue products are recommended, consumers consider subordinate attributes more important after recommendations, making the comparison of the alternatives difficult. Method Seven hundred and two females in their 20s and 30s in South Korea participated in online survey. The survey used a 2 (products: shirts and jackets) × 2 (recommendation: substitute and complementary) between-subject design. We randomly assigned half the participants to the shirts condition and the other half to the jackets condition. After giving purchasing scenarios with product assortments of six products, we asked participants to look around the assortments and select tentative purchase options. Participants then were asked to rate the perceived importance of concrete and abstract product attributes. Later, we recommended four substitute or complementary products for each of the two most preferred alternatives. After allowing participants sufficient time to explore the recommended products, we asked them to make their final decision. After indicating their choices, participants completed several questions related to their choice process on seven-point scales. We measured behavioral identification, perceived importance of concrete and abstract attributes, information overload during the selection process, and choice difficulty. To investigate the possibility that participants’ personal tendencies affect the choice, we additionally measured maximization tendency, fashion involvement and perceived fit for recommendation and Internet shopping experience. Finally, demographic characteristics were measured. The stimuli photos used in the study were collected from five Internet shopping malls to increase external validity, and selected on the judgments of the researchers and experts after a pre-test. Results Respondents exhibited no differences in maximization tendency, fashion involvement, perceived fit for recommendation, or experience of Internet shopping regardless of the recommended stimulant. However, as expected, respondents of substitute products with recommendations showed a lower behavioral identification score than did those of recommended complementary products. This result indicates recommendation of substitute products induces a lower construal level, accepting H 1. The perceived importance of product attributes varied by recommendations. Prior to product recommendations, no difference in the importance of concrete or abstract attributes was observed between the groups. However, the perceived importance of concrete attributes increased after recommendation of substitute products, while no significant change in the importance of concrete attributes was found after recommendation of complementary products. Recommendation have no effect on the change in the perceived importance of abstract attributes. Rather, product type did have an effect: the importance of abstract attributes increased after recommendations when jackets were compared. These results imply that recommendation of substitute products solely had an effect on the evaluation of concrete attributes, partially supporting H 2. Recommendations were also found to affect the increase in the importance of subordinate product attributes. Participants were likely to weigh subordinate, concrete attributes more after recommendation of substitute products than after recommendation of complementary products. In addition, when substitute products were recommended, participants considered subordinate, concrete attributes more importantly than subordinate, abstract attributes. The increase in the importance of subordinate, abstract attributes was irrespective of recommendation type. This result supports the notion that recommendation types can systematically influence the evaluation of options. When substitute products were recommended, consumers tend to assess products based on concrete attributes and perceive subordinate attributes as more important than before recommendations. On the contrary, when complementary products were recommended, the types of attributes served as evaluation criteria were unchanged and did not accompany an increase in the importance of subordinate attributes. According to Sela et al. (2013), the distinction between important and unimportant attributes blurs as the importance of subordinate attributes increases, which implies it becomes difficult to compare options. Indeed, regardless of product types, respondents in the present study were more likely to experience difficulty in making a decision when substitute products were recommended than when complementary products were, supporting H 3. Conclusion This study contributes to theory and practice in many ways. Our work demonstrated that the recommendation type alters the perception of the importance of the attributes of fashion products by affecting consumers’ construal levels. Furthermore, we extended the literature on recommendation systems by identifying additional factors that influence consumers’ decision-making process. Prior research has focused on the horizontal presentation of recommendation. We, however, investigated how vertical presentation, namely recommendation on product detail webpages, affected the evaluation of alternatives. Practically, the findings have important managerial implications. Retailers provide recommendations to increase sales by helping consumers efficiently make a purchase decision. Nevertheless, consumers may engage in a complex comparison process when substitute products recommended. When complementray products recommended, the attributes used as comparison criteria are relatively consistent and steady. Thus, retailers can predict a consumer’s final choice based on the early prediction of his/her preferences. The results of this study are useful for offline retailers as well as online retailers wishing to marketing and sales strategies.

본 연구에서는 소비자 혁신성이 온라인 패션광고의 지속가능성에 대한 평가와 광고제품 구매의도에 미치는 영향 을 분석하였다. 인터넷과 모바일의 온라인 패션광고를 접한 경험이 있는 소비자를 대상으로 설문조사를 실시하였으 며, 최종 573명의 데이터가 분석되었다. 수집된 자료는 요인분석, t 검증, 중회귀분석을 사용하여 분석하였다. 소비자 혁신성 평균값을 중심으로 혁신성이 높은 집단과 낮은 집단을 구분하였다. 연구결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 온라인 패션광고의 지속가능성 개념은 광고표현의 객관성, 광고표현의 비유해성, 개인정보의 보호성, 웹이용 비침해성 등 4개 요인의 하위차원으로 구성되었음을 확인하였다. 둘째, 소비자 혁신성이 높은 집단이 낮은 집단에 비해 인터넷 사용시간 뿐만 아니라 온라인 광고경험이 유의하게 높았다. 그리고 소비자 혁신성 높은 집단이 낮은 집단에 비해 온라인 패션광고의 하위 차원 중에서 개인정보 보호성, 웹이용 비침해성, 광고표현 객관성을 유의하게 높게 인식하 고 있었다. 마지막으로, 소비자 혁신성이 높은 집단에서는 광고표현 객관성, 웹이용 비침해성이 광고제품의 구매의도 에 유의한 영향을 미쳤으며, 소비자 혁신성이 낮은 집단에서는 광고표현 객관성, 개인정보 보호성이 광고제품의 구 매의도에 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다.

The purposes of this study was to identify fashion shoppers’perceived risk and satisfaction while shopping at overseas online shopping malls based on their internet shopping values. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection and an internet survey was conducted from April 12~15, 2015. Most consumers purchased one or two fashion items at overseas online malls directly, motivated by low prices, and spent 200,000~400,000 won during the last one year. The factors of consumers’ internet shopping values were information, hedonics, and practicality. Factors of perceived risk were delivery and refund, price and approval, and product and shopping mall. Consumers were divided into three categories: heavy pursuit shoppers, intermediate shoppers, and uninformed shoppers based on their internet shopping values. Heavy pursuit shoppers were primarily female; they spent more, felt a deeper patronage with overseas online shopping malls and their perceived risk regarding delivery and refund was higher than the other shoppers. The group of uninformed shoppers were primarily male. They spent less, had low patronage with overseas online shopping malls, and their perceived risk regarding delivery and refund was lower than other shoppers. Overall satisfaction was positively affected by information provided while shoppers were surfing the overseas online shopping malls and practicality. Satisfaction was negatively affected by perceived risk regarding price and approval and difficulty in finding specific products while shopping at overseas online shopping malls.

Luxury consumption is intrinsically related to unusual expectations from the consumers, among which some are equally shared around the globe. For instance, Europeans, Americans and Asians claim that luxury products should be flawless and their producers (i.e. the luxury brands) should have some history and heritage (Wiedmann et al., 2007). What they put behind these two last notions can fluctuate, but they are systematically stressed out in studies, be they academic or applied, qualitative or quantitative. Therefore, it sounds fundamental for the luxury Maisons to communicate on their heritage and history (Wiedmann et al., 2012). While until the end of the XXth century brands could rely upon different message content and copy to do so, due to localized options of communication, the Internet has implied to complete revision of their approach. The Maisons’ websites, even if available in different languages, are unique platforms to showcase the brand’s history, ambience and offering to a worldwide audience. They should be able to reach consumers, both cognitively and emotionally, recreate the store atmosphere, while simultaneously stimulating some desire to discover new collections. They stand for an open-window on a boundary-free world, be it from the geographical or from the time point of view. However, as pointed out by academics and professionals from the very beginning, the road is paved with risks, especially in terms of brand image management (Geerts & Veg-Sala, 2012). This comes from the apparent non-compatibility between luxury and the online environment. However, such discrepancies have led to a complete redefinition of the luxury concept, with its new semiotics economy (Maman & Kourdoughli, 2014). Part of it is ‘heritage and history’, with little surprise. We can therefore raise the issue of a lack of academic research regarding how such Maisons communicate about their history (even if short) and heritage on their website, be it an institutional or a transactional one. The only studies we have found deal with the automotive sector (Wiedmann et al., 2011) or watch one (Baum, 2011), the second one being a Master’s thesis. It is the objective of the present study to fill in this gap, and to uncover the various ‘signs’ used by luxury brands to communicate their heritage and heritage to their worldwide audience. Besides, we wanted to understand whether different semiotic systems were used by French vs. Italian luxury brands, and whether other variables such as the place of origin or the ‘age’ of the Maison would lead to different signs. To reach this goal, we used a two-pronged approach. First we gathered data from 56 websites of fashion luxury brands, using an inductive approach of content analysis (Kim & Kuljis, 2007). A coding grid was thus built while data was collected, with a back and forth coding process. We also built upon the Gestalt principles to ‘judge’ whether the websites were more focused on 1) current fashion trends, 2) the brand itself or its designer(s), 3) the products offered, or 4) the past of the brand. A first researcher built the grid and filled it in, while a second one directly used the grid for coding. The two coding outcomes were confronted and discrepancies discussed until agreement was reached. Then, major trends and clusters were identified from the data, leading us to understand the various sign-systems used by the Maisons, using Peircian semiotics. We end-up our study with theoretical conclusions regarding the online communication of luxury fashion brands, and with practical recommendations for luxury brand managers.