TY - JOUR

T1 - A cross-cultural exploratory content analysis of the perception of luxury from six countries

AU - Godey, Bruno

AU - Pederzoli, Daniele

AU - Aiello, Gaetano

AU - Donvito, Raffaele

AU - Wiedmann, Klaus Peter

AU - Hennigs, Nadine

N1 - Funding Information: Acknowledgements Wet lab part of the work was partially carried out at BioAxis DNA Research Centre (P) Ltd Hyderabad, India. Authors want to acknowledge and thank Department of Science and Technology (DST) Government of India for financial support towards this work.

PY - 2013/5/24

Y1 - 2013/5/24

N2 - Purpose: The authors' research was carried out with the aim of analyzing perception of luxury and luxury brands among an international sample of young people. Design/methodology/approach: This article was based on an empirical study among 233 respondents. First, a qualitative analysis of content using the respondents' own words was conducted. Then, to show whether there are differences between countries and significant groups of countries, an analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) was performed and analyzed with Fisher F-test and post-hoc Duncan tests. Findings: Beyond the belief in the existence of two stable groups of developed and developing countries with regard to luxury, this study shows a situation that requires further analysis. The main results show some strong cross-cultural differences in the perception of luxury, which is multi-faceted as demonstrated by previous studies in this field. Research limitations/implications: Results of this exploratory study confirm that the concept of luxury presents multiple facets, and the authors' analysis provides an in-depth survey of the main categories and attributes that can be used to describe this concept. Although this study was only exploratory in nature, a number of comments can be made to highlight the congruence between the concept of luxury for young people and recent academic literature. Practical implications: To maintain their brand equity, companies in the luxury sector seek to improve their image within younger targets. Managerial implications of the authors' research indicate that international luxury companies should take into consideration the multi-faceted concept of luxury in general, but also the main differences between countries in the continuum between the "status" and "emotional" dimensions of luxury. According to the authors' research, luxury companies cannot adopt a global strategy when addressing the six countries analyzed. Some managerial recommendations are developed in this perspective. Originality/value: The additional value of this article stems from its reliance on a cross-cultural in-depth study between six countries (Italy, France, Germany, China, Japan, and USA). The balance between qualitative and quantitative techniques makes this article particularly relevant when drawing both conceptual and managerial conclusions.

AB - Purpose: The authors' research was carried out with the aim of analyzing perception of luxury and luxury brands among an international sample of young people. Design/methodology/approach: This article was based on an empirical study among 233 respondents. First, a qualitative analysis of content using the respondents' own words was conducted. Then, to show whether there are differences between countries and significant groups of countries, an analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) was performed and analyzed with Fisher F-test and post-hoc Duncan tests. Findings: Beyond the belief in the existence of two stable groups of developed and developing countries with regard to luxury, this study shows a situation that requires further analysis. The main results show some strong cross-cultural differences in the perception of luxury, which is multi-faceted as demonstrated by previous studies in this field. Research limitations/implications: Results of this exploratory study confirm that the concept of luxury presents multiple facets, and the authors' analysis provides an in-depth survey of the main categories and attributes that can be used to describe this concept. Although this study was only exploratory in nature, a number of comments can be made to highlight the congruence between the concept of luxury for young people and recent academic literature. Practical implications: To maintain their brand equity, companies in the luxury sector seek to improve their image within younger targets. Managerial implications of the authors' research indicate that international luxury companies should take into consideration the multi-faceted concept of luxury in general, but also the main differences between countries in the continuum between the "status" and "emotional" dimensions of luxury. According to the authors' research, luxury companies cannot adopt a global strategy when addressing the six countries analyzed. Some managerial recommendations are developed in this perspective. Originality/value: The additional value of this article stems from its reliance on a cross-cultural in-depth study between six countries (Italy, France, Germany, China, Japan, and USA). The balance between qualitative and quantitative techniques makes this article particularly relevant when drawing both conceptual and managerial conclusions.

KW - Brands

KW - Consumer behaviour

KW - Consumer perception

KW - Consumers

KW - Cross-cultural analysis

KW - International

KW - Luxury

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84879391974&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1108/JPBM-02-2013-0254

DO - 10.1108/JPBM-02-2013-0254

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84879391974

VL - 22

SP - 229

EP - 237

JO - Journal of Product and Brand Management

JF - Journal of Product and Brand Management

SN - 1061-0421

IS - 3

ER -