Committed to help: the effects of frequency of corporate donations on luxury brand evaluations

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 681-694
Author(s):  
Charmant Ndereyimana Sengabira ◽  
Felix Septianto ◽  
Gavin Northey

PurposeWhile luxury brands have increasingly pursued CSR activities such as corporate donations, this strategy may not be effective because there is an inherent mismatch between the concepts of “luxury” and CSR. The present research examines the effects of different types of donation strategies (frequency-focused vs. amount-focused).Design/methodology/approachTwo experimental studies were conducted. Study 1 provides initial evidence to our prediction that a frequency-focused strategy is beneficial for luxury (vs. non-luxury) brands to leverage their positive brand evaluations. Study 2 further replicates this using a different brand and establishes the underlying mechanism.FindingsFindings show that a frequency-focused strategy is beneficial for luxury (vs. non-luxury) brands to leverage their positive brand evaluations. This is because a frequency-focused strategy makes consumers perceive the luxury brand's commitment to help, which in turn reduces consumers’ skepticism toward their CSR activities.Originality/valueThe study illustrates a novel mechanism that shows when and how different corporate donations influence luxury brand evaluations.

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 558-571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahy Ramadan ◽  
Maya F. Farah ◽  
Armig Dukenjian

Purpose Luxury brands tend to be hesitant in adopting social media. This matter has created an imminent need to understand the different types of online luxury followers so as to help luxury brands communicate effectively with their consumers, while maintaining the “luxe” image and experience. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to provide luxury brands with a deeper understanding of their online audience and the strategies needed to engage with them through the different social media platforms. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach was utilized in which 24 in-depth interviews were conducted with Lebanese followers of an online luxury brand’s social media pages. Findings The study identifies the presence of six main categories of online luxury followers: pragmatists, bystanders, trend hunters, image seekers, passionate owners, and prime consumers. Each group has a specific engagement and propensity to buy levels. Research limitations/implications Understanding the different segments of luxury brand followers provides a framework for marketing managers that allows them to correctly target their marketing and communication strategies in order to maximize consumer engagement and purchasing behaviors. Originality/value A significant gap exists in the extant literature which offers no understanding of the different luxury brand followers and their different characteristics. This study is the first to offer an exploratory typology of the various luxury brand followers on social media platforms.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaushalya Nallaperuma ◽  
Felix Septianto ◽  
Argho Bandyopadhyay

PurposeThe concepts of luxury and pro-environment may be viewed as being in contradiction with each other. Consequently, it is unclear how to promote pro-environmental luxury brands. The present research seeks to develop effective advertising strategies for pro-environmental luxury brands by employing mixed emotional appeals.Design/methodology/approachTwo experimental studies were conducted to test two hypotheses. Study 1 examines the effects of mixed emotions (happiness and sadness vs. happiness alone) on intentions to purchase a pro-environmental luxury product. Study 2 replicates the findings of Study 1 using a different product and extends it by establishing the underlying mechanism.FindingsThe results reveal that an advertisement featuring mixed emotions of happiness and sadness (vs. happiness alone) enhances intentions to purchase a pro-environmental luxury product. Further, the effect is mediated by cognitive flexibility.Originality/valueThe present research tests a novel perspective on how mixed emotional appeals can leverage the advertising effectiveness of pro-environmental luxury brands.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wangshuai Wang ◽  
Nuoya Chen ◽  
Jie Li ◽  
Gong Sun

Purpose Social networking sites (SNSs) are an indispensable part of people’s daily lives. However, scant literature describes how SNSs affect users’ behaviors, especially consumer behavior in emerging markets. This research aims to fill this literature gap. Design/methodology/approach Two empirical studies were conducted using different methods. Study 1, a survey, provided correlational evidence. Study 2, a lab experiment, further verified the causal relationship. Findings From Chinese consumer data, SNS consumption exposure enhances luxury brand consumption, mediated by social comparison motivation and moderated by legitimacy perceptions of SNSs as information outlets. Originality/value This research bridges SNSs and luxury brand consumption, two islands among different streams of literature. In addition, the paper illuminates the psychological mechanism through which SNSs affect luxury brand consumption and the boundary condition in which this effect diminishes. Practically, this paper is also instructive for SNSs and luxury brands.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 728-739
Author(s):  
Marie Ozanne ◽  
Stephanie Q. Liu ◽  
Anna S. Mattila

Purpose While online reviews are of paramount importance in brand evaluations and purchase decisions, the impact of a reviewer’s attractiveness is not well understood. To bridge that gap, this paper aims to explore how physical attractiveness cues through profile photos influence customers’ brand evaluations. Design/methodology/approach The first study assesses the impact of attractiveness and review valence on brand evaluations. The authors used an experimental design and tested the model with an ANCOVA. Study 2 examines the impact of attractiveness in the context of multiple reviews and tests attractiveness heuristic as the underlying mechanism. Findings The findings indicate that when an attractive (vs less-attractive) reviewer writes a positive review, brand evaluations are enhanced. However, such an effect does not occur with a negative review. With multiple reviews varying in valence, cognitive load activates the use of an attractiveness heuristic when a positive review is written by an attractive (vs less-attractive) reviewer, thus leading to enhanced brand evaluations. Originality/value These findings highlight the presence of the attractiveness halo effect in online reviews and offer important implications to social media marketers. While previous studies have largely focused on review characteristics (e.g. star ratings, strength of the argument, etc.), this study focuses on reviewer characteristics (i.e. attractiveness) and cognitive biases associated with online brand evaluations.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanan Yu ◽  
Lori Rothenberg ◽  
Marguerite Moore

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the realistic trade-offs young consumers make when evaluating luxury co-branding combinations based on signalling theory.Design/methodology/approachConjoint analysis was employed to evaluate the relative impact of four major attributes (i.e. brand combinations, retail channels, uniqueness and price) on consumer desirability for luxury co-branding combinations. The data were analysed using desirability indices.FindingsBrand combinations, uniqueness and price significantly impact consumer desirability of luxury co-branding combinations. The luxury brand and sportswear combination results in the highest desirability when price is more similar to the sportswear constituent and participants perceive that the collaboration as exclusive.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that luxury brands need to consider the partnering brand's retail format primarily for co-branding strategy. Luxury brand collaborations with sportswear and premium priced streetwear brands are more likely to result in higher desirability among consumers compared to collaborations with fast fashion and mass-market brands. Additionally, uniqueness may not be effective as a point of differentiation in cases where luxury brands cannot guarantee a single yearly collaboration.Originality/valueThe decision to use existing brands for the fictitious combinations developed more sensible scenarios for respondents. In addition, rather than discrete questions, attribute-based combinations provide a more realistic depiction of consumers' decision making on luxury co-branding. Finally, the results provide marketing practitioners with practical directions for future development of fashion luxury co-branding strategy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuri Seo ◽  
Margo Buchanan-Oliver

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the emergence of a global luxury brand industry and discusses previous conceptualisations of luxury brands. In this endeavour, the study illustrates the unique context of luxury consumption, to highlight several developments in extant literature, and to advocate for the advancement of the consumer-centric paradigm of luxury branding. Design/methodology/approach – The study reviews the emergence of a global luxury brand industry, discusses macro-environmental trends that have influenced luxury brand consumption, critically evaluates the existing literature on luxury brands, and offers directions for future research. Findings – The study highlights that luxury brands have emerged as a special form of branding that conveys the unique sociocultural and individual meanings to their adherents. Moreover, it was found that these meanings have been shaped by a number of important cultural, social, and external trends, which call researchers and practitioners to consider the consumer-centric paradigm of luxury branding. Originality/value – The study calls for a shift in the focus from the characteristics of luxury brands per se, and towards phenomenological experiences and socio-cultural influences, in the pursuits to understand what brand luxury conveys in the broader context of post-modern consumer culture. The study offers two distinct areas for future research to address these developments.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 378-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arian Razmi-Farooji ◽  
Hanna Kropsu-Vehkaperä ◽  
Janne Härkönen ◽  
Harri Haapasalo

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to understand data management challenges in e-maintenance systems from a holistically viewpoint through summarizing the earlier scattered research in the field, and second, to present a conceptual approach for addressing these challenges in practice. Design/methodology/approach The study is realized as a combination of a literature review and by the means of analyzing the practices on an industry leader in manufacturing and maintenance services. Findings This research provides a general understanding over data management challenges in e-maintenance and summarizes their associated proposed solutions. In addition, this paper lists and exemplifies different types and sources of data which can be collected in e-maintenance, across different organizational levels. Analyzing the data management practices of an e-maintenance industry leader provides a conceptual approach to address identified challenges in practice. Research limitations/implications Since this paper is based on studying the practices of a single company, it might be limited to generalize the results. Future research topics can focus on each of mentioned data management challenges and also validate the applicability of presented model in other companies and industries. Practical implications Understanding the e-maintenance-related challenges helps maintenance managers and other involved stakeholders in e-maintenance systems to better solve the challenges. Originality/value The so-far literature on e-maintenance has been studied with narrow focus to data and data management in e-maintenance appears as one of the less studied topics in the literature. This research paper contributes to e-maintenance by highlighting the deficiencies of the discussion surrounding the perspectives of data management in e-maintenance by studying all common data management challenges and listing different types of data which need to be acquired in e-maintenance systems.


2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Åkestam ◽  
Sara Rosengren ◽  
Micael Dahlen

Purpose This paper aims to investigate whether portrayals of homosexuality in advertising can generate social effects in terms of consumer-perceived social connectedness and empathy. Design/methodology/approach In three experimental studies, the effects of advertising portrayals of homosexuality were compared to advertising portrayals of heterosexuality. Study 1 uses a thought-listing exercise to explore whether portrayals of homosexuality (vs heterosexuality) can evoke more other-related thoughts and whether such portrayals affect consumer-perceived social connectedness and empathy. Study 2 replicates the findings while introducing attitudes toward homosexuality as a boundary condition and measuring traditional advertising effects. Study 3 replicates the findings while controlling for gender, perceived similarity and targetedness. Findings The results show that portrayals of homosexuality in advertising can prime consumers to think about other people, thereby affecting them socially. In line with previous studies of portrayals of homosexuality in advertising, these effects are moderated by attitudes toward homosexuality. Research limitations/implications This paper adds to a growing body of literature on the potentially positive extended effects of advertising. They also challenge some of the previous findings regarding homosexuality in advertising. Practical implications The finding that portrayals of homosexuality in advertising can (at least, temporarily) affect consumers socially in terms of social connectedness and empathy should encourage marketers to explore the possibilities of creating advertising that benefits consumers and brands alike. Originality/value The paper challenges the idea that the extended effects of advertising have to be negative. By showing how portrayals of homosexuality can increase social connectedness and empathy, it adds to the discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of advertising on a societal level.


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 375-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuğba Özbölük ◽  
Yunus Dursun

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the different types of members based on their roles within an online brand community dedicated to Apple. Design/methodology/approach Design/methodology/approach Data are drawn from an 18-month netnographic study, including participant and non-participant observation. Findings Findings reveal that members of the online brand community share a common goal but they are heterogeneous in many respects. In this research, five different types of brand community members are identified: learner, pragmatist, activist, opinion leader and evangelist. These findings emphasize the heterogeneity of the brand community or the differences of members and subgroups they form in the community. Practical implications This paper offers some insights for brand managers. There are different sub-tribes in online brand communities and these sub-tribes develop their own meanings of the brand. This means that online brand communities do not form one single homogenous target group and can be segmented into subgroups. Findings also offer a deeper understanding of negative characteristics of online brand community members. The role “activist” found in this study may be crucial for marketers, as activists can represent the negative side of online brand communities. Originality/value The literature on brand communities has focused predominantly on the homogeneity of these communities. This paper extends the literature by demonstrating the heterogeneity in an online brand community. The paper contributes to the brand community literature by substantiating that online brand community members can be segmented into subgroups based on their roles within the community. In addition, the paper extends the existing literature on brand communities that has overlooked the destructive consumer roles.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
V. V. Singh ◽  
Abubakkar Idris Mohhammad ◽  
Kabiru Hamisu Ibrahim ◽  
Ibrahim Yusuf

PurposeThis paper analyzed a complex system consisting n-identical units under a k-out-of-n: G; configuration via a new method which has not been studied by previous researchers. The computed results are more supportable for repairable system performability analysis.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the authors have analyzed a complex system consisting n-identical units under a k-out-of-n: G; configuration via a new method which has not been studied by previous researchers. The supplementary variable technique has employed for analyzing the performance of the system.FindingsReliability measures have been computed for different types of configuration. It generalized the results for purely series and purely parallel configurations.Research limitations/implicationsThis research may be beneficial for industrial system performances whereas a k-out-of-n-type configuration exists.Practical implicationsNot sure as it is a theoretical assessment.Social implicationsThis research may not have social implications.Originality/valueThis work is the sole work of authors that have not been communicated to any other journal before.


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