Share:


Sustainable behaviors and personality moderating the status goal and purchase intention relationship of luxury brands

    Jorge Vera-Martínez Affiliation
    ; Humberto Fuentes Affiliation
    ; Diana Kolbe Affiliation

Abstract

Luxury brands are related to two major mechanisms of social adaptation: value-expressive and social-adjustive. Researchers have established that these two functions are likely to influence customer purchase intention. Additionally, evidence suggests an interaction between sustainability beliefs and personality traits. Traditional, luxury brand purchasers are considered carefree of sustainability considerations. Therefore, a research gap exists regarding sustainable behaviors and personality issues in relation to luxury brands. Thus, building on a model of the effects of the value-expressive and social-adjustive functions of luxury brands on purchase intention, this study analyzes the effects of two types of moderating variables, namely, sustainable consumption (anthropocentrism, perceived self-efficacy, ecological behavior, conservatism, and egoism) and personality traits (conscientiousness, extraversion, openness, and neuroticism). Results of a structural equation modeling analysis with nested models, using a sample of 299 U.S. luxury car consumers, reveal that for the value-expressive and purchase intention relationship, only perceived self-efficacy shows a negative moderating effect. Meanwhile, for the relationship between social-adjustive and purchase intention, anthropocentrism, egoism, extraversion, and neuroticism demonstrate moderating effects. Thus, the variables here proposed primarily moderate the social-adjustive and purchase intention relationship. Therefore, luxury product firms pursuing a long-term sustainability agenda may benefit from strategies based on social-adjustive needs.

Keyword : luxury brands, brand social functions, social-adjustive, value-expressive, sustainable luxury, sustainable behavior, personality traits

How to Cite
Vera-Martínez, J., Fuentes, H., & Kolbe, D. (2024). Sustainable behaviors and personality moderating the status goal and purchase intention relationship of luxury brands. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 25(2), 377–395. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2024.21062
Published in Issue
May 6, 2024
Abstract Views
529
PDF Downloads
521
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Ab Hamid, M. R., Sami, W., & Mohmad Sidek, M. H. (2017). Discriminant validity assessment: Use of Fornell & Larcker criterion versus HTMT Criterion. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 890, Article 012163. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/890/1/012163

Adıgüzel, F., & Donato, C. (2021). Proud to be sustainable: Upcycled versus recycled luxury products. Journal of Business Research, 130, 137–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.03.033

Amatulli, C., de Angelis, M., & Donato, C. (2021a). The atypicality of sustainable luxury products. Psychology and Marketing, 38(11), 1990–2005. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21559

Amatulli, C., de Angelis, M., Pino, G., & Guido, G. (2020). An investigation of unsustainable luxury: How guilt drives negative word-of-mouth. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 37(4), 821–836. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2020.03.005

Amatulli, C., de Angelis, M., & Stoppani, A. (2021b). The appeal of sustainability in luxury hospitality: An investigation on the role of perceived integrity. Tourism Management, 83, Article 104228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104228

Bagwell, L. S., & Bernheim, B. D. (1996). Veblen effects in a theory of conspicuous consumption. American Economic Review, 86(3), 349–373.

Barrera, G. A., & Ponce, H. R. (2021). Personality traits influencing young adults’ conspicuous consumption. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 45(3), 335–349. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12623

Bian, Q., & Forsythe, S. (2012). Purchase intention for luxury brands: A cross cultural comparison. Journal of Business Research, 65(10), 1443–1451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.10.010

Choi, D., & Johnson, K. K. P. (2019). Influences of environmental and hedonic motivations on intention to purchase green products: An extension of the theory of planned behavior. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 18, 145–155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2019.02.001

Choi, S., Kim, J. J., Choe, Y., Hyun, S., & Kim, I. (2020). Modeling the role of luxury air-travelers’ self-enhancement. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 37(2), 200–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2020.1740137

Coren, D. (2015). Anthropocentric biocentrism in a hybrid. Ethics & the Environment, 20(2), 48–60. https://doi.org/10.2979/ethicsenviro.20.2.48

Dashper, K. (2019). Moving beyond anthropocentrism in leisure research: Multispecies perspectives. Annals of Leisure Research, 22(2), 133–139. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1080/11745398.2018.1478738

Dubois, D. (2020). Fulfilling social needs through luxury consumption. In Research handbook on luxury branding (pp. 75–91). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781786436351.00015

Dubois, D., Jung, S. J., & Ordabayeva, N. (2021). The psychology of luxury consumption. Current Opinion in Psychology, 39, 82–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.07.011

Dunlap, R. E., Van Liere, K. D., Mertig, A. G., & Emmet Jones, R. (2000). Measuring endorsement of the new ecological paradigm: A revised NEP scale. Journal of Social Issues, 56(3), 425–442. https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-4537.00176

Duong, C. D. (2022). Big Five personality traits and green consumption: Bridging the attitude-intention-behavior gap. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 34(6), 1123–1144. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-04-2021-0276

Eastman, J. K., Goldsmith, R. E., & Flynn, L. R. (1999). Status consumption in consumer behavior: Scale development and validation. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 7(3), 41–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/10696679.1999.11501839

Eastman, J. K., Iyer, R., & Dekhili, S. (2021). Can luxury attitudes impact sustainability? The role of desire for unique products, culture, and brand self-congruence. Psychology and Marketing, 38(11), 1881–1894. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21546

Eberl, M. (2009). An application of PLS in multi-group analysis: The need for differentiated corporate-level marketing in the mobile communications industry. In V. Esposito Vinzi, W. Chin, J. Henseler, & H. Wang (Eds.), Handbook of partial least squares (pp. 487–514). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-32827-8_22

Fauzi, M. A., Hanafiah, M. H., & Kunjuraman, V. (2022). Tourists’ intention to visit green hotels: Building on the theory of planned behaviour and the value-belief-norm theory. Journal of Tourism Futures. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-01-2022-0008

Fuentes, H., Vera‐Martinez, J., & Kolbe, D. (2023). The role of intangible attributes of luxury brands for signalling status: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 47(6), 2747–2766. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12852

Garcia, S. M., Weaver, K., & Chen, P. (2019). The status signals paradox. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 10(5), 690–696. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550618783712

Gilg, A., Barr, S., & Ford, N. (2005). Green consumption or sustainable lifestyles? Identifying the sustainable consumer. Futures, 37(6), 481–504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2004.10.016

Goenka, S., & Thomas, M. (2019). The malleable morality of conspicuous consumption. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 18(3), 562–583. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000237

González, E. M., Felix, R., Carrete, L., Centeno, E., & Castaño, R. (2015). Green shades: A segmentation approach based on ecological consumer behavior in an emerging economy. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 23(3), 287–302. https://doi.org/10.1080/10696679.2015.1032395

Greenberg, D., Ehrensperger, E., Schulte-Mecklenbeck, M., Hoyer, W. D., Zhang, Z. J., & Krohmer, H. (2020). The role of brand prominence and extravagance of product design in luxury brand building: What drives consumers’ preferences for loud versus quiet luxury? Journal of Brand Management, 27(2), 195–210. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-019-00175-5

Grewal, R., Mehta, R., & Kardes, F. R. (2004). The timing of repeat purchases of consumer durable goods: The role of functional bases of consumer attitudes. Journal of Marketing Research, 41(1), 101–115. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.41.1.101.25090

Griskevicius, V., Cantú, S. M., & van Vugt, M. (2012). The evolutionary bases for sustainable behavior: Implications for marketing, Policy, and social entrepreneurship. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 31(1), 1547–7207. https://doi.org/10.1509/jppm.11.040

Guido, G., Amatulli, C., Peluso, A. M., De Matteis, C., Piper, L., & Pino, G. (2020). Measuring internalized versus externalized luxury consumption motivations and consumers’ segmentation. Italian Journal of Marketing, 2020(1), 25–47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43039-020-00002-9

Han, H. (2021). Consumer behavior and environmental sustainability in tourism and hospitality: A review of theories, concepts, and latest research. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(7), 1021–1042. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2021.1903019

Hirsh, J. B. (2010). Personality and environmental concern. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30(2), 245–248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2010.01.004

Hooper, D., Coughlan, J., & Mullen, M. R. (2008). Structural equation modelling: Guidelines for determining model fit. Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 6, 53–60. www.ejbrm.com

Hung, K., Chen, U., Peng, A., Hackley, N., Tiwsakul, A., & Chou, C. (2011). Antecedents of luxury brand purchase intention. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 20(6), 457–467. https://doi.org/10.1108/10610421111166603

Islam, T., Wang, Y., Ali, A., & Akhtar, N. (2022). Path to sustainable luxury brand consumption: Face consciousness, materialism, pride and risk of embarrassment. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 39(1), 11–28. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-09-2020-4099

John, O. P., & Srivastava, S. (1999). The Big-Five trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and theoretical perspectives. In L. A. Pervin & O. P. John (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (2nd ed., pp. 102–138). Guilford Press.

Katz, D. (1960). The functional approach to the study of attitudes. Public Opinion Quarterly, 24(2), 163–204. https://doi.org/10.1086/266945

Kim, J., Park, J., & Septianto, F. (2022). The impact of socioeconomic status on preferences for sustainable luxury brands. Psychology and Marketing, 39(8), 1563–1578. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21671

Kopnina, H., Washington, H., Taylor, B., & J Piccolo, J. (2018). Anthropocentrism: More than just a misunderstood problem. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 31(1), 109–127. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-018-9711-1

Kunz, J., May, S., & Schmidt, H. J. (2020). Sustainable luxury: Current status and perspectives for future research. Business Research, 13(2), 541–601. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40685-020-00111-3

Kvasova, O. (2015). The Big Five personality traits as antecedents of eco-friendly tourist behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 83, 111–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.04.011

Leban, M., Thomsen, T. U., von Wallpach, S., & Voyer, B. G. (2020). Constructing personas: How high-net-worth social media influencers reconcile ethicality and living a luxury lifestyle. Journal of Business Ethics, 169, 225–239. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04485-6

Ledgerwood, A., Eastwick, P. W., & Smith, L. K. (2018). Toward an integrative framework for studying human evaluation: Attitudes toward objects and attributes. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 22(4), 378–398. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868318790718

Leech, N. L., Barrett, K. C., & Morgan, G. A. (2011). SPSS for intermediate statistics: Use and interpretation. (4th ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Association Inc. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203821848

Markowitz, E. M., Goldberg, L. R., Ashton, M. C., & Lee, K. (2012). Profiling the “pro-environmental individual”: A personality perspective. Journal of Personality, 80(1), 81–111. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2011.00721.x

Mazac, R., & Tuomisto, H. L. (2020). The post-anthropocene diet: Navigating future diets for sustainable food systems. Sustainability, 12(6), Article 2355. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12062355

Milfont, T. L., & Sibley, C. G. (2012). The big five personality traits and environmental engagement: Associations at the individual and societal level. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 32(2), 187–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2011.12.006

Ngo, L. V., Northey, G., Tran, Q., & Septianto, F. (2020). The Devil might wear Prada, but Narcissus wears counterfeit Gucci! How social adjustive functions influence counterfeit luxury purchases. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 52, Article 101671. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.09.003

Park, J., Eom, H. J., & Spence, C. (2022). The effect of perceived scarcity on strengthening the attitude–behavior relation for sustainable luxury products. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 31(3), 469–483. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-09-2020-3091

Perez-Castillo, D., & Vera-Martinez, J. (2021). Green behaviour and switching intention towards remanufactured products in sustainable consumers as potential earlier adopters. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 33(8), 1776–1797. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-10-2019-0611

Roberts, J. A. (1996). Green consumers in the 1990s: Profile and implications for advertising. Journal of Business Research, 36(3), 217–231. https://doi.org/10.1016/0148-2963(95)00150-6

Schade, M., Hegner, S., Horstmann, F., & Brinkmann, N. (2016). The impact of attitude functions on luxury brand consumption: An age-based group comparison. Journal of Business Research, 69(1), 314–322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.08.003

Straughan, R. D., Roberts, J. A., & Mays, W. A. (1999). Environmental segmentation alternatives: A look at green consumer behavior in the new millennium. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 16(6), 558–575. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363769910297506

Talukdar, N., & Yu, S. (2020). Do materialists care about sustainable luxury? Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 38(4), 465–478 https://doi.org/10.1108/MIP-05-2019-0277

Tavakol, M., & Dennick, R. (2011). Making sense of Cronbach’s alpha. International Journal of Medical Education, 2, 53–55. https://doi.org/10.5116/ijme.4dfb.8dfd

Vanhamme, J., Lindgreen, A., & Sarial-Abi, G. (2023). Luxury ethical consumers: Who are they? Journal of Business Ethics, 183, 805–838. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04981-3

Veblen, T. (1973). The Theory of the Leisure Class. The Easton Press.

Vera, J. (2015). Perceived brand quality as a way to superior customer perceived value crossing by moderating effects. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 24(2), 147–156. https://doi.org/10.1108/jpbm-04-2014-0551

Vermunt, J. K., & Magidson, J. (2002). Latent class cluster analysis. In J. A. Hagenaars, & A. L. McCutcheon (Eds.), Applied latent class analysis (pp. 89–106). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511499531.004

Wang, Y., John, D. R., & Griskevicious, V. (2021). Does the devil wear Prada? Luxury product experiences can affect prosocial behavior. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 38(1), 104–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2020.04.001

Wheaton, B., Muthén, B., Alwin, D., & Summers, G. (1977). Assessing reliability and stability in panel models. Sociological Methodology, 8(1), 84–136. https://doi.org/10.2307/270754

Wilcox, K., Kim, H., & Sen, S. (2009). Why do consumers buy counterfeit luxury brands? Journal of Marketing Research, 46(2), 247–259. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.46.2.247