Jeanne Heitmeyer

Social Values and Fashion Leadership

Because fashion leadership among women is of great interest to clothing researchers and retailers alike, much effort has been devoted to studying the demographic characteristics of women who can be identified as fashion leaders. Although demographic data provide valuable information, demographics alone give little insight into the forces that motivate women to become fashion leaders. Beyond demographic factors, personal and social values have been argued to have an important influence on the strength and direction of consumer behavior. Few studies, however, have attempted to reveal the social values of fashion leaders. Our study examines the relationships between fashion leadership and the nine social values measured by Kahles List of Values. Data from 248 women whose ages ranged from 16 to 85 years confirmed that younger women are more likely to be fashion leaders and that level of education and income are unrelated to fashion leadership. Fashion leaders were also found to be more active in fashion-related behaviors (spending for clothing, reading fashion magazines, spending time shopping, buying new fashion items). Finally, fashion leadership was associated with the social values of excitement and fun/enjoyment in life. The study suggests ways this knowledge about values can be incorporated into marketing and retail strategies.

Ethnicity and consumer choice

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explain the level of involvement of Asian‐Indian consumers residing in the US when purchasing Indian ethnic apparel and contemporary American clothing at different levels of acculturation.Design/methodology/approach – Data were gathered by a questionnaire administered to 254 Asian‐Indian consumers from the southeastern United States.Findings – Low levels of acculturation among Asian‐Indians did result in a higher level of involvement in Indian ethnic apparel. Consumers who were moderately acculturated to western culture were less involved in Indian ethnic apparel but became increasingly involved as they became more acculturated to the US culture. In conclusion, Asian‐Indians, who were new to the US, may try to identify with the new culture leading to a decline in involvement with Indian ethnic apparel. As these consumers became more comfortable in their new environment they may have felt a need to connect with their original culture, and this could have led to a r...

Factors that impact United States retailers' expansion into the international marketplace

Purpose – This research investigated the foreign expansion of US‐owned retailers into the Latin American markets of Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Brazil. The purpose of this study was to determine how important the following factors were in a retailers decision to establish a presence in Latin America: political and economic stability of the country, retail market size and growth, real estate issues, government regulations in terms of types of entry modes, customer base or target market, competition, and technical feasibility. This study also determined if there was a significant difference in these factors for US‐owned retailers who were interested in international retailing and US‐owned retailers who were not interested in international expansion.Design/methodology/approach – Data were gathered via a questionnaire administered to vice‐presidents of the international development division for US retail companies.Findings – Factors determined important for a retailers decision to expand into an internatio...

Sun Protection: Knowledge, Attitude, and Perceived Behavior of Parents and Observed Dress of Preschool Children

The purpose of this study was to determine the actual and perceived sun-protective practices of parents and caregivers of preschool children. Because children are dependent on adults for protection, an investigation of actual sun-protection practices of parents, child caregivers, and retailers in Florida was conducted. One-hundred children were observed at selected childcare centers to identify clothing worn during outdoor play. Eighty-six parents or guardians of the children completed questionnaires regarding their sun-protection knowledge, attitude, and perceived behavior. A survey of 15 retailers was conducted to determine sun-protective products. Although parents were aware of the need to protect their children from the sun’s UV rays, childcare observations revealed that children were wearing apparel that provided little sun protection. Retail stores were found to stock a limited supply of sun protective clothing and products for children. Increased sun exposure is leading to unprecedented levels of premature aging, skin cancer, and eye damage (Davis, Capjack, Kerr, & Fedosejevs, 1997). The rate of skin cancer in the United States has grown from 200,000 new cases in 1980 to more than 1 million new cases in 1997 (Schakowsky, 1997), and the age of onset is declining at

Renewed Focus on Learning through Cognitive Learning Styles in Fashion Merchandising Programs

The purpose of this study was to examine cognitive learning styles in a specific field of study—fashion merchandising. The Witkin Group Embedded Figures Test and the Kolb Learning Style Inventory classified 173 fashion merchandising students and six instructors into cognitive learning style categories. The Herold Teaching Strategy Observation Checklist categorized six clothing/textile classes into instructional styles of field independent orfield dependent. Results showed students in the selected field offashion merchandising did have a predominant cognitive learning style; fifty nine percent of the students were field dependent on the Witkin instrument and 44.5% were Divergers on the Kolb inventory. No relationship wasfound between: (1) aparticular cognitive learning style and academic achievement, (2) a match or mismatch ofcognitive learning style ofstudent and instructional setting and student achievement, (3) the Kolb and Witkin instruments in classification of students into learning style categories, nor (4) personal cognitive learning style of teachers and their style of teaching.

Lifestyle retail internet marketing: how does it meet consumer needs

This study investigates how shopping centres communicate their market position to perspective shoppers. The content analysis of lifestyle shopping centre communications is framed in Fishbeins multi-attribute model. The purpose of this study is to investigate if lifestyle centre websites clearly communicate the identified retail attributes to customers. Nine attributes related to lifestyle centre retailing, identified in previous research, were used to create a multi-attribute model that provided the basis for this study. Fifty recently established life-style centres websites, identified by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) were used. The content analysis revealed the most frequently mentioned attributes on the lifestyle centre websites were tenant mix, centre events and convenient location. Parking and safety were the least mentioned attributes on the websites.