Bruno Godey

A measurement scale of “aesthetic style” applied to luxury goods stores

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address the recent evolution of the luxury goods sector as well as the distribution strategy of some major companies. The distribution strategy must consider two different issues: first, the need to control the value chain in order to gain a competitive advantage in a sector that is becoming concentrated; second, the need to meet a desire for emotions and for aesthetic experience, as expressed by the customers of luxury goods. Design/methodology/approach – For this exploratory phase, the paper chooses to draw the data from a convenience sample made of undergraduate students from the Rouen School of Management. Slides presenting a varied selection of luxury goods stores are exposed. On the basis of this sample, a principal component factor analysis with Varimax rotation is performed. This enabled us to find a three-factor structure. As a preliminary, tests are carried out on the suitability of the data sample for factor analysis. The paper also testes the internal reliability of this scale. Findings – The paper introduces and validates a scale measuring the aesthetic style of consumers of luxury goods and an extension of this scale to the outlets selling these papers. Originality/value – As for the academic aspect, it is the first application of a measurement scale of aesthetic perception to retail. Concerning the managerial aspect, the three dimensions of the scale could bring important indications to luxury goods firms as well as to shop designers concerning the elements which influence consumer perception.

Modeling links between the decision-making process and luxury brand attachment: An international comparison

This research aims to extend the analysis of the factors influencing consumer purchase of luxury goods. The effects of brand and country of origin (CoO) on the purchase decision are specifically considered. A total sample of 1103 respondents in seven countries (China, France, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, USA) is analyzed through a structured questionnaire administered online. The research tests the scales of decision-making and brand attachment through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. It also tests the causal model of relationships between decision-making and luxury brand attachment. The richness of this research is related to the intercultural analysis of the results obtained in seven countries. These results concern the differences and similarities in: (1) defining the concept of country of origin (country of design, country of manufacture/country of assembly); (2) the combined effects of factors, including brand, CoO, price, guarantee, design and advertising, in the purchasing decision for luxury brands; and (3) the links between decision-making and attachment of the consumer to the luxury brand. The results are interesting in terms of management recommendations for a company that wishes to expand internationally into one of the geographic areas covered by this study, since significant differences are observed. 此项研究旨在扩展影响消费者购买奢侈品的因子分析。特别考虑了品牌原产地对于购买决策的影响。已知的消费者行为研究采取了两种理论解释奢侈品消费。他们最初的灵感来自于专门面向全社会动机的社会心理学。最近，这一趋势已经得到补充基于个人愿景的理论解释。 无论何种视角，先前的奢侈品领域的研究展示了品牌作为战略的载体，使用于消费者制定决策过程 (Kapferer, 1997, 1998; Vigneron & Johnson, 1999, 2004, Dubois, Czellar & Laurent, 2005) 。此研究适合这一理论视角，考虑了品牌在消费者决策过程中的特别作用。 品牌虽然在传统认识中认为是消费者决策的核心驱动，我们观察到公司也将其与原产地联系在一起开发他们的国际营销策略。原产地对于消费者评估和购买意愿的影响是国际营销研究中普遍的主题 (Usunier, 2006; Bloemer, Brij & Kasper, 2009) 。然而，据我们所知，在奢侈品行业并没有这一相关主题的研究。原产地的定义在整个学术界广泛的蔓延，从而支持国际贸易的经济发展 (Dichter, 1962; Schooler, 1965; Roth & Romeo, 1992; Nebenzahl & Samie, 1994, Nebenzahl, Jaffe & Lampert, 1997, Jaffe & Nebenzahl, 2001; Samiee, Shimp & Sharma, 2005; Roth & Diamantopoulos, 2009) 此研究的1103份样本来自于7个国家（中国、法国、印度、意大利、日本、俄罗斯、美国），问卷通过在线收集整理。此研究通过探索性因子分析和验证性因子分析测试了制定决策和品牌附属品的范围。同时也对制定决策和奢侈品牌附属品关系的因果模型进行了测试。 此研究最有价值的是对7个国家的数据进行了跨文化分析。研究结果涉及以下不同点和相同点：i) 定义了原产国概念 (设计地, 生产地/装配地); ii) 奢侈品购买决定的影响因子组合：品牌、原产地、价格、保证、设计和广告； iii)奢侈品消费者的决策和附属品之间的关系。 研究结果对于公司管理建议很有趣，对于公司扩展国际市场很有帮助。

An Intercultural Comparison of the Perception of Luxury by Young Consumers

Recently, has there been a change in the perception of luxury: from an elitist concept to a consideration of luxury as a many-faceted issue [3], [10]. In the last few years, it has become clear that luxury consumption is open to different kinds of consumers, and that it therefore contributes to defining differentiated identities.

Affecting brand loyalty intention: The effects of UGC and shopping searches via Facebook

ABSTRACT Despite the fact that social networking sites (SNSs) provide new opportunities for firms and brands, there is still a little understanding of how user-generated contents (UGC) and shopping-related research via Facebook (FB) affects brand loyalty intention in the luxury fashion context. The present work develops a conceptual model to empirically analyze how brand loyalty intention is affected by customers’ trust in a brand’s FB page, by their willingness to utilize brand’s FB page for shopping-related searches, and by three different types of UGC: peer recommendations, informational support and emotional support. In order to fulfill this aim, the study examines 277 Millennials and the Victoria’s Secret FB page. Structural equation model results reveal that online shopping-related searches, peer recommendations and social support have significant positive effects on customers’ trust. Moreover, the research points out a significant positive effect between customers’ trust and their brand loyalty intention, supporting marketers to better understand the role played by trusted UGC. The research provides interesting insights, for both academic and practitioners, because it contributes to the existing body of knowledge in the field of brand and social media marketing. Moreover, UGC, especially informational support, could enable firms to influence consumers’ behavior positively and to transform their brands’ FB pages into trusted ones.

Are You Like Me? I Will Be Attached to You. Empirical Findings from an International Research About Consumer, Brand and Store Personality Congruence in Luxury Sector.

The paper analyses the phenomena of congruence between consumer, brand and store personality and its effect on attachment to brands in luxury sector at an international level. From a theoretical point of view, human personality, brand personality, store personality, congruence and attachment constructs are considered. From an empirical point of view, the paper presents the results of a quantitative primary research run on a sample young people “luxury experienced” from 10 countries. The empirical research considers specifically 6 luxury brands. In term of results this paper presents the validation of the personality congruence measurement scale proposed by the authors; furthermore the research highlights the existence of a correlation between personality congruence and brand attachment.

How Social Media Marketing Efforts Influence Brand Equity Creation and Its Consequences: The Case of Luxury Brands

Recent evidence suggests a dramatic increase in social media marketing activities across industries. By analyzing pioneering brands in the luxury sector, this study explores the impacts of social media marketing efforts on brand equity and its consequences. Based on a survey of 397 French and Chinese luxury brand customers who follow the brands in social media, we developed a structural equation model to support our research hypotheses. Our study contributes to the growing social media branding literature by confirming that social media marketing efforts can be identified and measured as a holistic concept incorporating five aspects: entertainment, interaction, trendiness, customization, and word of mouth. Moreover, our findings demonstrate the links between social media marketing efforts, brand equity, and its consequences including preference, loyalty, and price premium. We discuss the implications of our findings for future research and managerial practices and strategies of luxury brands aiming to grow brand equity in social media environments.