Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the consumption of counterfeit luxury goods and identity construction. The argument is that through the consumption of counterfeit luxury goods consumers obtain real and symbolic benefits that allow them to express a desired social image and further their identity. Design/methodology/approach -A total of 37 in-depth interviews were conducted with women who owned both originals and counterfeits of luxury fashion products. Findings -The findings highlight three main themes describing inner benefits that consumers attain with the purchase and consumption of counterfeit luxury goods: first, being efficient by optimizing their resources; second, having fun by experiencing adventure, enjoyment, and risk; and third, fooling others expecting not to be caught. But most important, through the accomplishment of these goals consumers of counterfeit luxury goods construct an identity in which they perceive themselves as "savvy" individuals. Originality/value -The intent is to contribute to the understanding of the process of identity construction through consumption. This consumption occurs in a particular context; the consumption of counterfeit luxury goods. The experience is singular in the sense that this paper shows the existence of consumers who can afford the prices of luxury fashion brands but decide to buy counterfeits and also because it depicts how individuals can construct a confident self-image from an ethically questionable behavior. The consumption of counterfeit luxury brands serve consumers a self-concept expressive function (by helping them to communicate who they are) and an adaptive social function (by rewarding them with social acceptance).

Individuals set health goals all the time, but sometimes their intentions are not translated into actions. Even when authors like posit that individuals have the resources and skills needed to achieve the desired behavior, there are occasions when the individual seeks for support among from friends and relatives. Such support can come from several sources, one of them being specific self‐help groups, which are known to be part of a social movement that seeks to promote a social change by allowing individuals to improve their lifestyles and achieve physical and emotional well‐being. The purpose of this study is to shed light on the role social networking sites (SNS) play in providing individuals with a virtual community where they can meet with others in a non‐judgmental environment to share goals and challenges and together find tools and support to translate good intentions into specific actions and as well as accomplish health‐related goals. A Netnography of four SNS was conducted to understand how individuals get motivation and are motivated by SNS peers to consume a healthy diet and engage in physical activity in order to achieve their healthy goals. The Findings reveal that SNS offer individuals a virtual community where they can find encouragement, get answers to specific health‐related questions, and a place to share their success stories, which in turn can motivate others to achieve similar goals. Thus, the quest for health and well‐being can be easily embraced with the aid of digital media to reach millions of people who share similar goals and seek answers to their health‐related concerns.

Purpose Previous research indicates that dissatisfied consumers in other countries react differently as compared to those in the USA, due to their cultural orientation. These studies, however, have not recognized that retail policies (regarding returns and exchanges) in the USA are much more liberal and “consumer friendly” than in other parts of the world, and thus it is possible that their conclusions are flawed. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to determine the extent to which cross-national differences in complaint behavior are due to cultural vs situational factors. Design/methodology/approach To examine this issue, a two-part study was conducted. Study 1 compared consumers living in China, India and Mexico to cohorts who immigrated to the USA. Study 2 compared individuals from those same countries to subjects who are native to the USA. Findings The findings indicate that situational factors (i.e. consumer-oriented vs restrictive refund/return/exchange policies) have a large impact on consumer complaint behavior (i.e. redress, negative-word-of-mouth and exit), and that the effects of culture are minor. Research limitations/implications To infer cause-effect, and establish scientific theory, one must rule out alternative hypotheses. Researchers who are investigating cross-cultural complaint behavior must take situational factors into account. Practical implications With the emergence of “global consumers” consumer expectations around the world are changing. Astute retailers should institute and promote more liberal return policies, thereby mitigating consumers’ perceived risk. Originality/value This study dispels the notion that culture is responsible for differences in cross-national consumer complaint behavior.

Purpose This paper aims to seek to provide a more comprehensive view of the determinants of experienced well-being by incorporating personal characteristics suggested to be significant predictors of global well-being, such as income, materialism, religiosity, community mindedness and sleep quality (Diener et al., 1999; Frey and Stutzer, 2002), as well as time-use activities (Kahneman and Krueger, 2006) and contextual elements, such as day of the week (Csikszentmihalyi and Hunter, 2003; Kahneman et al., 2004a) and the presence of companions, into a single model of predictive experienced well-being using the day reconstruction method (Kahneman et al., 2004a). Design/methodology/approach The authors applied the day reconstruction method to a sample of 1,823 episodes from 104 undergraduate students at a private university in Mexico to determine time assignment and emotional experience. Data were analyzed using a panel data regression model. Findings It is currently accepted that experienced well-being depends on how people assign their time; however, the results suggest marginal and interaction effects between time assignment and sharing activities with others. Individuals experience an increase in well-being when any activity is done with others, independent of the valence or the duration of the activity. Also, while money does not produce higher well-being, the share of the budget that is spent with others does cause people to experience more well-being. Finally, the results indicate that personal characteristics are equally important to experienced well-being. Research limitations/implications The sample was restricted to students; thus, to achieve external validity, it is necessary to replicate this analysis within different populations as well as groups of different ages and occupations. Originality/value The authors provided an integrative model of experienced well-being that combines personal characteristics, time assignment and contextual factors. In addition, this model provides a more accurate gauge of the impact of personal characteristics on well-being than previous studies by controlling for time assignment and by measuring the impact on experienced, rather than global, well-being.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework on the experience of cross-border shopping. This experience is constructed on narratives, rituals, and intergenerational transfers that move beyond the simple description of experienced events to provide explanatory frameworks of family identity construction. Design/methodology/approach -Nine in-depth interviews are conducted with three generations of North Mexican women from three families who shop frequently across the border. Findings -The findings highlight different processes associated with the experience of cross-border shopping. First, each family works throughout the years to construct its own identity using the tales of their shared experiences. Second, an intergenerational transfer of knowledge going from grandmothers to mothers to granddaughters in each family occurs as result of the experiences lived together. Third, common knowledge is developed both by Mexican consumers and North American retailers that translates into particular commercial practices. Finally, all our contributors are immersed in a national culture, the North Mexican, sharing and transmitting values like thriftiness, malinchismo, and the relevance of family ties. These values affect their shopping patterns, generating important consequences for both the Mexican and North American economies. Originality/value -The authors' intent is to contribute to the understanding of the process of family identity construction through consumption. This consumption occurs in a particular context; cross-border shopping. The experience is singular in the sense that families spend considerable amount of time together while traveling and establishing their shopping routines. This work depicts the shopping rituals passed down from generation-to-generation and the derived construction of meaning within the family.