Uncovering the relationships between aspirations and luxury brand preference

Abstract

Purpose-This paper seeks to test the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations on luxury brand preference. The objective is to help luxury marketers better understand and anticipate the psychological needs of their customers. Design/methodology/approach-Based on a thorough review of the literature, a series of hypotheses are derived and tested using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The final sample consists of a total of 615 participants. Findings-The main findings show that aspirations can affect luxury brand preference depending on the type of aspirations: positive for extrinsic aspirations and negative for intrinsic ones. The findings also suggest that intrinsic aspirations play a more substantial role in luxury consumer behaviour than had been previously thought. Practical implications-The findings suggest that luxury marketers should take into consideration the duality of intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations when designing marketing campaigns. Particularly, focusing advertising campaigns on extrinsic values seems restrictive and discards consumers who are intrinsically motivated. Originality/value-Aspirations are important in social psychology research because they have a strong influence on individuals' behavior. However, little research has been done in marketing to assess the potential effects of aspirations on consumer behavior, especially within the context of luxury goods.

Social media marketing efforts of luxury brands: Influence on brand equity and consumer behavior

“…Brand preference is commonly measured by asking consumers to indicate their favorite brands from a category or selection of brands. Previous studies on luxury brands used specific brand preference scales (Truong, McColl, & Kitchen, 2010;Vigneron & Johnson, 2004). …”

Why the devil wears Prada: Consumers’ purchase motives for luxuries

“…In this respect, both expressive and impressive dimensions of luxury brands may motivate consumers to purchase these brands ( Dubois and Laurent, 1996 ;Wong and Ahuvia, 1998 ;Kapferer and Bastien, 2009 ;Wiedmann et al , 2009 ). Past research mainly focused on consumers ' expressive motives to purchase luxury brands (for example, Han et al , 2010 ;Truong et al , 2010 ;Linssen et al , 2011 ).…”

Intrinsic motivations, self-esteem, and luxury goods consumption

“…Consequently the luxury consumption literature is concentrated on understanding the role and function of external motivations (e.g., Amaldoss and Jain, 2005;Bagwell and Bernheim, 1996;Mason, 1981Mason, , 2001O'Cass and Frost, 2004;Wong, 1997), while few studies examine the influence of intrinsic motivations (Truong et al, 2010;Tsai, 2005).…”