Individuals' materialism and brand rituals and traditions as drivers of luxury brand love on social media

Luxury brands have engaged in social media use, becoming exposed to a wider market but confronting the exclusivity and uniqueness linked to these brands. This paper explores the role of a personality trait and a brand characteristic in brand love by social media users in the luxury fashion industry....

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of consumer behaviour Vol. 23; no. 4; pp. 1820 - 1831
Main Authors Cruz‐Ros, Sonia, Miquel‐Romero, Maria‐Jose, Yee, Rachel W. Y.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.07.2024
Subjects
Brands
Comparative analysis
Consumer behavior
Luxuries
Materialism
Personality
Personality traits
Research methodology
Social media
Social networks
Structural equation modeling
Traditions
Uniqueness
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Summary:Luxury brands have engaged in social media use, becoming exposed to a wider market but confronting the exclusivity and uniqueness linked to these brands. This paper explores the role of a personality trait and a brand characteristic in brand love by social media users in the luxury fashion industry. Specifically, the individual's materialism (measured by the relevance given to luxury premium prices and fashionability), the essence of the brand perceived through its rituals and traditions, and their influence on self–brand integration are considered. An empirical study is carried out on 432 social media users, and two different research methodologies are conducted: Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS‐SEM) and fuzzy‐set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). Findings from both methodologies support the relevance of the variables analysed with regard to brand love. However, fsQCA offers a new perspective by identifying that for loving the brand, materialistic individuals also have to value the brand's rituals and traditions; and that personality traits can contribute to brand love, the resultant outcome of the relevance given to a luxury premium price, or to its aesthetic and fashionability, but not to both aspects at the same time; finally, self–brand integration is not necessary for brand love but is sufficient. From these results, managerial implications are suggested in order to favour brand love, as it exerts a strong influence on purchase intention.
ISSN:1472-0817
1479-1838
DOI:10.1002/cb.2305