Matteo De Angelis

Stuck in the Middle The Psychophysics of Goal Pursuit

The classic goal-gradient hypothesis posits that motivation to reach a goal increases monotonically with proximity to the desired end state. However, we argue that this is not always the case. In this article, we show that motivation to engage in goal-consistent behavior can be higher when people are either far from or close to the end state and lower when they are about halfway to the end state. We propose a psychophysical explanation for this tendency to get “stuck in the middle.” Building on the assumption that motivation is influenced by the perceived marginal value of progress toward the goal, we show that the shape of the goal gradient varies depending on whether an individual monitors progress in terms of distance from the initial state or from the desired end state. Our psychophysical model of goal pursuit predicts a previously undiscovered nonmonotonic gradient, as well as two monotonic gradients.

Sharing with Friends Versus Strangers: How Interpersonal Closeness Influences Word-of-Mouth Valence

How does interpersonal closeness (IC)—the perceived psychological proximity between a sender and a recipient—influence word-of-mouth (WOM) valence? The current research proposes that high levels of IC tend to increase the negativity of WOM shared, whereas low levels of IC tend to increase the positivity of WOM shared. The authors hypothesize that this effect is due to low versus high levels of IC triggering distinct psychological motives. Low IC activates the motive to self-enhance, and communicating positive information is typically more instrumental to this motive than communicating negative information. In contrast, high IC activates the motive to protect others, and communicating negative information is typically more instrumental to this motive than communicating positive information. Four experiments provide evidence for the basic effect and the underlying role of consumers’ motives to self-enhance and protect others through mediation and moderation. The authors discuss implications for understanding how WOM spreads across strongly versus weakly tied social networks.

Luxury, Sustainability, and Corporate Social Responsibility: Insights from Fashion Luxury Case Studies and Consumers’ Perceptions

Since the mid-twentieth century, rapid technological and scientific developments have produced continuous and significant improvements in people’s daily lives. However, this growth has had considerable, and sometimes horrifying, consequences for the climate and environment (Egri and Ralston 2008). As a result, sustainability has become a central point in public discourse—not only for consumers, but also for the companies, and in particular those in the luxury industry, who generally operate at the international level and may serve as relevant actors in economic development (Fraj and Martinez 2007; Kerr et al. 2009). Our focus on luxury firms was born from the fact that such firms are still uncertain about how to combine luxury and sustainability; indeed, these two concepts are often seen as contradictory (Joy et al. 2012; Kapferer and Michaut-Denizeau 2014). The very term “Luxus” has a double meaning: It positively connotes such concepts as beauty, prestige, and power, but also implies excessive and ostentatious displays of wealth (Kapferer 1997, 2012). This duality helps to explain consumers’ difficulty in reconciling luxury, sustainability, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and also why a company like Prada recently launched a website dedicated to highlighting initiatives that reflect the brand’s commitment to sustainability. The present chapter thus delves into a currently neglected area of research—namely, consumers’ perceptions of the relationship between luxury, sustainability, and the CSR strategies that major luxury companies adopt to counter said perceptions. To analyze luxury brands’ initiatives, we conducted a qualitative study on three well-known brands—Gucci, Tod’s, and Bulgari—and examined their eco-sustainable collections and approaches. We supplemented this research with a survey of consumers’ perceptions regarding luxury, sustainability, and CSR specifically by interviewing 200 consumers via an online questionnaire. From these data sources, we draw theoretical and managerial implications.

Inside Luxury: Main Features, Evolving Trends, and Marketing Paradoxes

The luxury business represents an interesting opportunity for companies that are able to market excellent products also because of its extraordinary evolution. Indeed, the luxury sector has been characterized in the last decades by changes in terms of product features offered by companies and also in terms of the way in which customers approach high-end products.

How to Make Better Consumers in Luxury: The Role of Shame and Empathy

Sustainable consumption—i.e., the use of products that minimize the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as emissions of waste and pollutants so as not to jeopardize the needs of future generations (Oslo Roundtable 1994)—has emerged in marketing scholarship as a pressing matter. Indeed, sustainability is a key determinant of future economic growth and development. Both scientific research (e.g., Nidumolu et al. 2009) and business reports (e.g., Deloitte 2011) agree that sustainability has become a crucial driver of innovation, thus serving as a key as a critical success factor for firms. However, in some consumption contexts, such as in the luxury market, consumers are typically more reticent to consume sustainable products (Davies et al. 2011; Davies and Streit 2013). At the same time, the luxury market is also very interesting because of the influence of luxury consumption on socially valued behavior (Wilcox et al. 2014) and because of its relevance for the global economy (Bain & C. 2013). Nevertheless, despite the relevance of the relationship between sustainability and luxury, scientific research has overlooked the study of factors that might determine the effectiveness of communication strategies (e.g., advertisement scenarios or messages conveyed by salespersons) typically employed to promote sustainable luxury products. Indeed, according to Kapferer (2010), real luxury brands have already responded to the demand for sustainability, but have not adequately engaged in communicating their sustainable values. In particular, studies both from Bonini and Oppenheim (2008) and Davies et al. (2011) have underlined how one of the major barriers for sustainable luxury consumers is the lack of awareness and information. Therefore, researchers must investigate what drives conditions consumers to become more willing to buy sustainable products.

Responsible Luxury Development: A Study on Luxury Companies’ CSR, Circular Economy, and Entrepreneurship

In this chapter, we discuss how luxury brands can build their success on corporate social responsibility (CSR), leveraging specifically on the paradigm of circular economy. The idea advanced in the chapter is that luxury and sustainability are not conflicting concepts, as many believe, but they are positively correlated, inasmuch as the quintessential characteristics of luxury goods make them potentially more sustainable than mass-market goods. Through the discussion of four case studies of luxury brands operating in the sectors of fashion (Brunello Cucinelli, Gucci and Stella McCartney brands) and food (Godiva), we point out that the reuse of tangible resources, such as money generated by companies’ activities and raw material, can be a very solid basis for building market success as well as to broaden the positive contribution luxury brands can make to the environment, the employees, the local community of producers, and, as a consequence, to the society at large. A common feature of all the cases discussed is represented by the key role played by the entrepreneur (often the founder of the company) in fostering the balance between brand prestige and sustainability.

Design Similarity as a Tool for Sustainable New Luxury Product Adoption: The Role of Luxury Brand Knowledge and Product Ephemerality

Despite rising demand for brands that can combine luxury with the zeal to make the world better, many luxury brands still hesitate to introduce environmentally (or green) sustainable new luxury products. However, indulgence without guilt is possible by correctly marketing sustainable new luxury products. Even more, introducing sustainable new luxury products can be an effective way for luxury companies to differentiate their offering and get competitive advantage. We argue that luxury and sustainability are not incompatible concepts when luxury brands do employ the right product design strategy. Indeed, the effectiveness of two new green luxury product design strategies have been investigated in depth in this chapter. First, the green new product might be similar in design to luxury company’s previous non-green products. Second, the green new product might be similar in design to models of a different, non-luxury company specialized in green production. We investigate the effect of design strategy on new product purchase intention, and propose that such an effect might be affected by fit (i.e. moderated mediated) by the combination of one product-related factor, such as product ephemerality (i.e., how long lasting the new product is), and one consumer-related factor, such as consumers’ luxury brand knowledge (i.e., how much consumers know about the brand and its past). We empirically test our account through an experimental study, whose results show that lowly and medium knowledgeable consumers might react negatively to a new green product similar to green company’s models due to reduced fit perceptions when the new green luxury product is ephemeral. Such an effect was not observed for durable new luxury products.

Insights from Key Topics in Sustainable Luxury Research

The sixth and last chapter of this book offers readers some knowledge about the state of the art in sustainable luxury research. Since such a research stream is quite broad to be effectively investigated in a book chapter, we had to choose those topics that might be considered as particularly “hot” and relevant in today’s academic and managerial debate. In particular, we chose to shed light on research insights into the following areas: (1) sustainability and innovation, (2) CSR, (3) communication, and (4) cultural differences.

Luxury, Sustainability, and “Made In”

The relationship between the luxury industry and the sustainability movement is quite complex. On the surface, the values associated with luxury and those promoted as sustainable are widely seen as antithetical (e.g., Beckham and Voyer 2014; Strong 1997; Torelli et al. 2012). Luxury is associated with excess, hedonism, superficiality, and ostentation, while sustainability evokes altruism, sobriety, restraint, and morality (Carrier and Luetchford 2012; Widloecher 2010). Economically, the luxury industry seeks maximum gross margins and, as a result, luxury providers do not emphasize cost reduction, but rather they focus on value creation, with the aim of making the buyer feel like a celebrity. This focus on quality over costs is maintained along the entire value chain, beginning with the selection of high-end production materials and continuing through the phases of production, selling, servicing, and branding. In contrast, sustainable development focuses on values such as parsimony, moderate consumption, and equality, which privilege economy over high quality.

Introduction: Sustainability in Luxury Branding

Luxury brands used to sell themselves. High-quality materials, skilled craftsmanship, and unsurpassed aesthetic beauty made luxury products the only option for people with the means to buy them. Professionals of a certain generation were expected to have a Burberry trench coat in their work wardrobe. Young men made their intentions known by investing in a Cartier engagement ring. Executives bought the Mercedes after earning the promotion.