In the fashion industry, online opinion leaders (e.g. fashion blogs) that may be a source of advice for other consumers have emerged since the beginning of the century. Nowadays, among the several social networking sites (SNS) available, Instagram is also experiencing a steady increase in the amount of active users related to the fashion industry. Taking into account the relevant role of social influencers in the fashion industry (Wiedman et al., 2010) and the increasing use of Instagram by influencers and their followers, this study is thus designed to identify some of the antecedents and consequences of opinion leadership in a fashion Instagram account. First, we consider the perceived characteristics of the account (originality [H1a], uniqueness [H1b], quality [H1c] and quantity [H1d] of the contents posted) as the main antecedent factors of opinion leadership. Second, since opinion leaders are thought to have a great understanding of a specific product category (Thakur et al., 2007), we propose that opinion leadership may influence consumer behavioral intentions (Park, 2013). Specifically, opinion leadership will influence the intention to interact with the Instagram account (H2a), the intention to recommend it (H2b) and the intention to follow the advices obtained there (H2c). Finally, online interaction propensity will reinforce the influence of opinion leadership on interaction (H3a) and recommendation intentions (H3b), and the influence of opinion leadership on the intention to follow the advice will be reinforced when the contents of the account match the consumer personality and interests (i.e. personal fit) (H3c). Data to test these hypotheses was collected from an Instagram account focused on fashion in which a potential influencer posts pictures related to new trends in the fashion industry and that could be imitated by the followers of the account. Specifically, this account has more than 62.000 followers, who were invited to participate in the research. Finally, 808 participants answered a questionnaire including measurement scales adapted from previous literature, using seven-point Likert-type response formats, which respondents rated from 1 (“strongly disagree”) to 7 (“strongly agree”). Partial Least Square was used as the estimation procedure. First, we analysed data to check validity of measures in order to confirm the factor structure, guarantee its internal consistency, and check both convergent and discriminant validity. After that, results of the proposed model reveal that opinion leadership is positively affected by perceived originality (β=.380, p<.01) and uniqueness (β=.298, p<.01), supporting H1a and H1b. However the influence of both perceived quality and quantity is non-significant. In turn, opinion leadership has a significant influence on the intention to continue interacting in the account (β=.558, p<.01), the intention to recommend the account online (β=.482, p<.01), and the consumer intention to follow the advice received in the Instagram account (β=.232, p<.01). As a result H2a, H2b and H2c are supported. Finally, while the interaction effects of online interaction propensity and opinion leadership are not significant, the interaction effect of perceived fit with personal interests and opinion leadership on the consumer intention to follow the advice received in the Instagram account (β=.078, p<.01) is significant. Therefore, H3c is supported. In sum, this study confirms that opinion leadership in the Instagram context may influence consumers and finds that originality and uniqueness are the key variables to develop this leadership and become influential, which suggests several implications for management.

A firm’s new product success is mainly determined by how well it is accepted by the mass in a short time. Although companies have been adopting various marketing methods, word-of-mouth [WOM] has been regarded as one of the most effective means for customer acquisition (Villanueva, Yoo & Hanssens, 2008), primarily due to its reliability, social support, and support by social pressure and surveillance as Arndt (1967) has suggested (as cited in Woodside and Delozier, 1976). Moreover, online word-of-mouth is being given new significance alongside the advent of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and other online channels (Berger and Iyengar, 2013; Dellarocase, 2003; Schafer & Taddicken, 2015). For this reason, researchers have paid a close attention to opinion leaders, who are not only early adopters of innovation themselves (Goldsmith & Witt, 2003), but also information transmitters and influencers (Vernette, 2004). Therefore, this study aims to identify both online and offline opinion leaders, who could adopt new products first, and diffuse the adoption of new products to others. Thus, this study draws upon the innovation diffusion theory conceptualized by Rogers (1995). According to Rogers (1995), innovation is defined as an individual’s or an organization’s perception of an idea as new. In addition, he articulates that if an innovation is transferred through certain communication channels over time within a social system by its members, diffusion occurs (Rogers, 1995; Rogers, 2002). The main purpose of this paper is to examine the intermediary role of opinion leadership as a quintessential link between consumer characteristics (consumer innovativeness and lifestyle and values) and new product adoption behavior. The research data is collected through survey, which is conducted by distributing questionnaires to a group of users of Apple Watch by Apple, Mi band by Xiaomi, and the products by Fitbit. The model of the study will be tested through structural equation modeling approach. In particular, this paper considers not only regular opinion leadership in offline context, but also online opinion leadership in order to go with the tide of the developing online world. Moreover, this study selects wearable technology as a new product category, which makes the overall research highly fashion-oriented. Furthermore, this study explores the moderating effect of involvement of product category on the relationship between lifestyles and values and opinion leadership. The author anticipates that fashion innovativeness and four lifestyle and values factors (sense of accomplishment, self-fulfillment, excitement, and fun and enjoyment) will positively affect online and offline opinion leaderships, which again will have a positive influence on new product adoption behavior. Moreover, this study predicts that the correlation between lifestyles and values and involvement of product category will have a positive influence on online and offline opinion leaderships and new product adoption behavior. This study may contribute both to the academia and to the managers within businesses that deal with wearable devices. Theoretically, this study is of particular value in that it adopts consumers’ lifestyles and values as predictors of opinion leadership and new product adoption behavior, which is an uncommon approach within existing research streams regarding opinion leadership and new product acquisition. In managerial terms, by revealing the significant relationships between the consumer characteristics and both offline and online opinion leaderships who are the potential customers of new products, this study enables the managers to identify their targets and differentiate their marketing strategies considering the different characteristics of consumers in offline and online environments. In particular, since this study adopted several wearable technologies as new products, businesses that deal with wearable devices may pay close attention to the results of this study and manipulate their marketing strategies in adequate terms.

The purpose of this study is to assess whether the emotional leadership of the CEO of a fashion company has a significant influence on corporate performance. In this study, a survey was conducten on employees of fashion companies from August 1 to 30, 2015, and 350 copies of questionnaires were collected and used for analysis. Factor analysis, reliability analysis, and regression analysis were employed to analyze the data using SPSS software (ver. 21.0). According to the study results, if a fashion company CEO has higher emotional leadership, it leads to an increase in the job satisfaction and performance of the staff members, and an improvement in new product performance thanks to more investment and development and an expanded R&D staff. Additionally, the higher emotional leadership of the CEO contributes to an increase in operating profits, sales, and market share. Therefore, the importance of organizational culture was confirmed by its regulation effect on the emotional leadership and management performance of a fashion company. According to the results of this study, the emotional leadership of a CEO plays an important role in improving the performance of a fashion company, and future studies are needed to identify how to enhance the corporate performance of a fashion company from various perspectives.

The purposes of this study were to investigate the influences of need for cognition (NFC) and fashion leadership on regret after purchasing fashion goods in female consumers and examine the relationships between regret and its dependent variables (i.e., dissatisfaction, regret resolution, and rebuying intentions). Data collection was conducted through a survey for females in their 20s~40s, and 642 questionnaires were used for final data analyses in which frequency analysis, factor analysis, reliability analysis, and regression were applied using SPSS 14.0. The results were as follows. The higher NFC was or the lower fashion leadership was, the higher the degree of regret, as NFC and fashion leadership both had a significant influence on regret. In terms of the dependent variables, the higher the degree of regret, the higher the degree of dissatisfaction and ultimately the lower the rebuying intentions. In addition, the influence of regret on regret resolution and the influence of regret resolution on rebuying intentions were significant. This study verified that consumers’ characteristics and feelings of regret had a significant influence on their buying behavior of fashion goods. The results suggest that consumers’ feelings of regret (which influence consumer satisfaction and rebuying intentions) should be considered in terms of competitive marketing strategies at fashion companies.