Click to impress: The power of fashion designers in the digital luxury space

EasyChair Preprint 4573

Abstract

The current paper examines how parasocial interaction (PSI), imaginary and illusory relationships with
fashion designers, enhances luxury consumers’ social media participation. SEM results (Mplus 7.4)
from an online survey with visual stimuli (n = 555) show that PSI with fashion designers increases
opinion leadership and content sharing. Specifically, opinion leadership mediates the impact of PSI on
user-generated content (UGC) creation, but not electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). Luxury consumers
only produce UGC when their leadership abilities are emboldened through PSI with fashion designers.
Overall, these findings contribute to a growing body of digital luxury studies while helping luxury
firms to counterbalance their legacies and brand awareness through social media.

Keyphrases: digital luxury, opinion leadership, parasocial interaction, social media

@booklet{EasyChair:4573,
  author    = {Charles Lawry and Laee Choi},
  title     = {Click to impress: The power of fashion designers in the digital luxury space},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 4573},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2020}}