ABSTRACT. This study proposes a strategic model that integrates AI-driven predictive advertising into Spanish aspirational and sustainable luxury fashion brands. It builds on the premise that personalization and need anticipation through artificial intelligence can improve commercial performance (sales, conversion, and loyalty), provided that narrative coherence and the brand’s sustainability values are preserved. The theoretical framework combines inbound advertising, content marketing, and storytelling—strategies that attract consumers through value-driven and non-intrusive brand communications—together with the emerging concept of algorithmic trust.

The methodology follows a sequential exploratory mixed-method design (DEXPLOR-S), beginning with in-depth interviews with executives from aspirational sustainable luxury brands, followed by a quantitative phase based on consumer surveys. The study expects to demonstrate that the strategic use of predictive AI in advertising enhances key performance indicators (conversion rate, average order value, and loyalty), particularly when combined with purpose-driven sustainability narratives and inbound strategies aligned with audience interests. The findings aim to offer practical insights for balancing algorithmic precision with aspirational brand experiences, while contributing to the theoretical literature by addressing a key gap at the intersection of artificial intelligence, advertising, and sustainable luxury. In addition, the study provides an ethical and actionable roadmap for industry practitioners.

ABSTRACT. INTRODUCTION

The luxury advertising ecosystem is being redefined by the rise of influencers as powerful agents of brand legitimacy, consumer engagement, and cultural translation (Pedroni, 2022). While traditional luxury communication emphasized exclusivity, timelessness, and controlled brand narratives (Heine & Berghaus, 2014; Anido Freire, 2014), the integration of influencers—both human and virtual—has introduced new tensions between aspiration and accessibility, craftsmanship and commerciality, and heritage and innovation (Chan, 2022). In this shifting landscape, one of the unresolved challenges lies in understanding how different types of influencers—especially those from divergent cultural backgrounds—impact consumer responses to luxury brand communications. Although the marketing literature has explored the effectiveness of celebrity or micro-influencers in general (Huang et al., 2018), little is known about how the influencer’s cultural origin affects perceived credibility, authenticity, and ultimately, consumer purchase intent, particularly in cross-cultural luxury contexts.

This study seeks to address this gap by comparing the impact of Asian versus Western influencers in luxury advertising campaigns targeting Asian audiences. The research is grounded in the evolving communication ecosystem of luxury brands (Heine & Berghaus, 2014; Arrigo, 2018; Creevey et al., 2021), where cultural relevance, symbolic value, and authenticity are increasingly mediated by influencer storytelling. Drawing on prior literature on source credibility, parasocial interaction, and brand identification (Chu et al., 2019; Chevalier & Mazzalovo, 2012; Beig & Khan, 2020; Bauer et al., 2011; Batat, 2019; Casais et al., 2025), the study develops and tests a serial multiple mediation model to explore how influencer type affects purchase intention through a set of interconnected psychological mechanisms.

THEORETICAL FOUNDATION AND RESEARCH PURPOSE

This study is conceptually grounded in three interrelated theories: source credibility, consumer–brand identification, and parasocial interaction.

Building on source credibility theory (Hovland & Weiss, 1951), the model proposes that influencer effectiveness is driven by perceived expertise and trustworthiness, which are enhanced through cultural congruence. This credibility acts as a first-stage mediator between influencer type and downstream outcomes. The study also draws on consumer–brand identification theory (Bhattacharya & Sen, 2003), where brand attachment emerges from shared symbolic values.

Finally, parasocial interaction theory (Horton & Wohl, 1956) explains how perceived authenticity and emotional closeness—central to influencer communication—deepen engagement. Perceived authenticity thus operates as a second-stage mediator, enabling parasocial bonds that reinforce brand alignment. Together, these frameworks support a serial mediation model in which influencer type → credibility → authenticity → identification → purchase intention. The structure captures the layered symbolic, emotional, and identity-based mechanisms shaping persuasion in digitally mediated luxury contexts.

METHODOLOGY

The study employed a between-subjects experimental design, with participants randomly exposed to a luxury brand advertisement featuring either an Asian or a Western influencer. The final sample consisted of 356 participants of diverse nationalities, allowing for broader generalizability and enabling analysis of cross-cultural responses to influencer origin. Participants viewed the stimulus (luxury ad) and subsequently completed a structured questionnaire measuring the key constructs in the model. All variables were assessed using validated multi-item Likert scales (1 to 5), and construct scores were computed as the mean of corresponding items.

Data analysis was conducted in Stata 18 using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with bootstrapping (1,000 replications) to estimate both direct and indirect effects and to assess serial mediation. The model fit indices confirmed the adequacy of the model: RMSEA = 0.038, CFI = 0.994, TLI = 0.990, SRMR = 0.028, and a non-significant χ² = 12.17 (p = 0.144), indicating excellent fit.

FINDINGS

The results provide robust support for the hypothesized model. The type of influencer had a significant direct effect on perceived credibility (β = .530, p < .001), with Asian influencers perceived as significantly more credible. Credibility, in turn, had a strong impact on perceived authenticity (β = .645, p < .001), which significantly influenced brand identification (β = .443, p < .001), ultimately predicting purchase intention (β = .434, p < .001). Bootstrapped indirect effects confirmed a significant serial mediation pathway: Influencer type → Source credibility → Influencer authenticity → Brand identification → Purchase intention β = .087, p < .001, 95% CI [.050 – .125]. No direct effect of influencer type on purchase intent was observed, supporting the fully mediated structure of the model. All paths were statistically significant in the expected directions.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

The findings offer relevant insights for luxury brand managers navigating culturally diverse digital environments. The results demonstrate that the origin of the influencer significantly shapes consumer responses through a cascade of psychological mechanisms. Specifically, the use of Asian influencers can enhance source credibility, perceived authenticity, and identification with the brand, ultimately increasing purchase intention. This suggests that influencer selection in luxury campaigns should not rely solely on reach or aesthetics, but also consider cultural resonance and symbolic alignment. Moreover, the sequential mediation model underscores the importance of building storytelling strategies that strengthen parasocial dynamics and emotional engagement, without undermining brand exclusivity.

ORIGINALITY AND THEORETICAL CONTRIBUTION

This study offers a novel theoretical contribution by proposing and empirically testing a chain mediation model that explains how influencer origin—Asian versus Western—affects luxury brand purchase intention through the sequential roles of source credibility, influencer authenticity, and brand identification. By integrating these constructs within a single framework, the research deepens understanding of how symbolic influence unfolds in luxury communication. The findings challenge simplistic notions of influencer effectiveness by emphasizing the importance of perceived legitimacy and emotional resonance, thus extending existing models of persuasion into the culturally nuanced and aspirational domain of luxury branding.

CONCLUSION

This study set out to examine how the cultural origin of influencers shapes consumer responses to luxury advertising. The findings reveal that influencer origin indirectly affects purchase intention through a sequential process involving source credibility, perceived authenticity, and brand identification. These results offer empirical support for a culturally grounded mediation model in luxury communication. By integrating theories of source credibility, parasocial interaction, and brand identification, the study provides a novel theoretical contribution to the influencer marketing literature, highlighting the symbolic and relational mechanisms that underpin consumer engagement in the luxury context.

ABSTRACT. Brands are increasingly taking an active stance on divisive socio-political issues such as racial justice, abortion rights, gun control, and racial inequalities. Due to its polarizing nature, brand activism can be a risky strategy and extant research largely recommends avoidance or silence as a strategic response. The authors adopt a social identity perspective to demonstrate that activism by luxury brands pertaining to racial inequalities (e.g., black lives matter) can lead to favorable brand evaluations among the racially affected group (e.g., black consumers). Four studies demonstrate the positive effect of different activism initiatives (persuasive and disruptive) on brand evaluations. Further, the findings elaborate that brand activism effect is contingent upon the racially affected consumer’s level of in-group identification. Specifically, the effect holds for consumers with high levels of in-group identification. Moreover, the authors validate the social identity perspective by showing that the effect is driven by consumer positive attitude towards the brand’s activism stance. Lastly, the findings elaborate the downstream consequences on consumer purchase intentions.

ABSTRACT. AI influencers have become a powerful tool in modern advertising, but their effectiveness remains ambiguous due to the coexistence of innovation cues and negative emotional reactions. This research uses two studies to examine when and how AI influencer endorsements work and how psychological resistance can be reduced. Drawing on the Approach–Avoidance Framework (Elliot, 2006) and Uncanny Valley Theory (Mori et al., 2012), Study 1 identifies a dual-motive tension in consumer responses to AI influencers, while perceived trendiness activates approach motivation, and uncanny discomfort triggers avoidance. A 2 (brand type: luxury vs. non-luxury) × 2 (product type: utilitarian vs. hedonic) between-subjects experiment showed that trendiness consistently boosts purchase intention, while uncanny feeling significantly reduces it only in luxury–hedonic contexts. Building on these findings, Study 2 applies the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) framework to test cognitive (AI disclosure) and affective (message framing) interventions aimed at mitigating uncanny-related aversion. Using a 2 (disclosure: AI disclosed vs. not disclosed) × 2 (framing: warmth vs. competence) between-subjects design, this study explores whether such message strategies can weaken the uncanny → purchase intention path while preserving trendiness.

ABSTRACT. This cross-cultural study examines how Personal Beauty Values (PBV) influence Material-Self and Minimalism orientations in the U.S. and Japan. Using CB-SEM, we found that self-consistent beauty values predict minimalist orientations, while self-discrepant beauty values drive material-self differently across cultures, revealing culturally constructed appearance-consumption relationships.

ABSTRACT. The global fashion industry continues to grapple with profound social and environmental sustainability challenges, intensified by fast and ultra-fast fashion models that promote overproduction, overconsumption, and the proliferation of lowquality, disposable garments (Garcia-Ortega et al., 2023; Al, 2025). While the circular economy is increasingly positioned as a just and transformative pathway toward sustainable fashion systems, existing research has predominantly emphasized the roles of firms and policymakers. The contribution of consumers, despite their centrality to circular systems, remains comparatively underexplored and is often reduced to the adoption of predefined circular services. Such perspectives overlook the diverse, situated, and culturally embedded ways in which consumers may actively shape circular consumption practices. This study conceptualizes consumers not merely as participants but as contributors who advance circular fashion consumption through social learning and the development of new capabilities. Integrating a Consumer Culture Theory approach (e.g. Cova and Cova, 2002) with Wenger’s communities of practice framework (Wenger, 1998), the research examines how consumption communities function as learning sites where knowledge, practices, and shared agendas around circularity are collectively negotiated and expanded. Learning is understood as an ongoing, socially embedded process that unfolds both within and beyond organized community activities, enabling consumers to extend their influence into broader societal contexts.

Empirical insights derive from a four-year European research project involving 50 households across Europe. Through collaborative workshops, digital community engagement, and locally adapted learning interventions, the project investigates how consumers build circular competencies and mobilize others toward more sustainable practices. Preliminary findings indicate that participants contribute to circular transitions in three interconnected ways: by developing their own knowledge and skills, by engaging or leading others in collective activities, and by aspiring to scale their impact to societal levels. Although local infrastructures shape learning opportunities differently across countries, participants consistently demonstrate a willingness to create new social spaces that support circular practices. Overall, the study highlights the central role of consumer collectives in driving just circular transitions. By foregrounding social learning as a mechanism through which consumers cocreate and transform circular fashion practices, the research underscores the need to recognize consumers as active agents in shaping the future of sustainable fashion systems.

ABSTRACT. Sustainability has become a defining priority for consumers worldwide, reshaping purchasing decisions and fashion market dynamics. Social media platforms, particularly Instagram, have emerged as influential spaces for sustainability discourse, where fashion influencers promote ethical sourcing, eco‑friendly materials, and conscious consumption. Despite the growing role of influencers, most prior research has focused on brand‑driven sustainability communication and consumer engagement strategies, with limited attention to how consumers respond to influencer‑led sustainability advocacy, particularly across cultural markets. This study investigates cross‑cultural consumer responses to sustainable fashion influencers on Instagram in the UK, France, and South Korea. Consumer responses to sustainability communication are inherently complex, shaped by cultural contexts and psychological mechanisms. While existing research has examined factors such as attitudes, scepticism, price sensitivity, knowledge, perceived quality, and product availability, these constructs have rarely been examined alongside parasocial interaction and cognitive dissonance, which may shape trust, engagement, and attitudinal responses to sustainability narratives. This study integrates these constructs to examine how they manifest within influencer discourse and follower commentary. A dataset of 121 sustainability‑focused influencers (41 UK, 40 France, 40 South Korea) was constructed, with the 30 most recent posts per influencer collected using Python. A custom trilingual text‑analysis system (English, French, Korean) was developed to detect parasocial interaction, cognitive dissonance, and consumer scepticism, alongside adoption‑related barriers such as price sensitivity, knowledge gaps, perceived quality, and availability. After normalisation across languages, the system applies LIWC‑based n‑gram lexicons and targeted keyword lists and optionally incorporates multilingual sentence embeddings, combining interpretability with semantic depth. Measures were generated at post and comment levels and aggregated at influencer and country levels. Influence was modelled as a diffusion process rather than direct persuasion. For each construct and country, a Net Diffusion Index was computed to capture amplification or attenuation between influencer posts and follower comments, alongside a Relative Impact Ratio to assess proportional influence intensity. Scores were standardised to enable cross‑country comparison. Influencer–follower alignment, divergence magnitude, and national diffusion profiles were analysed to distinguish amplification, mirroring, or resistance across constructs. Findings show that influencer impact is limited, selective, and construct‑dependent across all three countries. Followers do not replicate influencer discourse, and strong amplification is rare. In France, relational and informational constructs such as parasocial interaction and knowledge emerge primarily from follower discourse, while critique and scepticism are attenuated. In the UK, transactional and evaluative constructs expressed by influencers are consistently attenuated in follower comments. In South Korea, both influencer and follower discourse remains largely neutral, with minor follower‑side emergence of relational cues. Overall diffusion magnitudes are small, indicating incremental rather than transformational shifts. The findings demonstrate that influencer‑led sustainability discourse produces socially constrained and negotiated meaning diffusion. Influence circulates within follower communities, with some followers acting as secondary influencers, while scepticism, dissonance, and transactional concerns are selectively filtered. These results contribute to sustainability and influencer‑marketing research by reframing influence as bounded diffusion and highlighting the construct‑dependent nature of sustainability meaning‑making on Instagram.

ABSTRACT. Creative thinking has long been associated with exposure to unusual and unexpected experiences that disrupt existing cognitive schemas. Prior research in psychology demonstrates that such experiences—often referred to as diversifying experiences—push individuals outside the realm of what is considered normal, thereby breaking habitual patterns of thought and enhancing cognitive flexibility, a core cognitive component of creativity. While this logic has been extensively examined in life experiences and laboratory settings, little is known about whether and how similar mechanisms operate in digital consumption environments. The rapid advancement of immersive technologies has transformed virtual retail spaces into environments that need not conform to the physical constraints of the real world. Virtual stores can replicate real-world retail settings with high realism or adopt fantastical designs that violate everyday expectations. Environmental fidelity refers to the extent to which a virtual environment represents the structure and logic of the real world, ranging from highly realistic to fantasy-like designs. Despite the growing prevalence of low-fidelity, surreal virtual retail spaces, existing research largely assumes that higher realism improves consumer decision quality and engagement. This assumption leaves an important theoretical gap regarding whether deviations from realism may instead foster more generative cognitive processes that influence consumer choice. Building on the diversifying experience framework, the present research conceptualizes low environmental fidelity as a form of schema-violating experience within virtual retail contexts. We propose that environments that depart from real-world norms disrupt consumers’ existing cognitive patterns and activate internal cognitive processes associated with creativity. Specifically, we theorize that lower environmental fidelity enhances imagination, which subsequently increases cognitive flexibility, leading consumers to make more unique product choices. In this research, unique product choice is defined as the selection of an option that deviates from a conventional alternative, reflecting a willingness to move beyond normative preferences. Importantly, this research also identifies a key boundary condition for the effect of environmental fidelity. While internally generated cognitive processes such as imagination and cognitive flexibility guide decision making in ambiguous environments, consumers may rely less on these processes when explicit and objective information is available. Explicit information—such as popularity cues—provides external guidance that can substitute for internally generated cognition at the moment of choice. Accordingly, we propose that explicit information attenuates the effect of environmental fidelity on product choice by reducing consumers’ reliance on internally driven decision processes, without altering imagination or cognitive flexibility themselves. Across a series of experiments conducted in virtual retail settings, we test a moderated serial mediation model in which imagination and cognitive flexibility sequentially mediate the effect of environmental fidelity on product choice, while explicit information moderates the effect of environmental fidelity at the product choice stage. Product choice is operationalized as a binary decision between a unique and a conventional option, selected based on pretest validation. The results consistently support the proposed framework. Lower environmental fidelity increases imagination and cognitive flexibility, which sequentially mediate its positive effect on unique product choice. However, when explicit information is provided, the direct effect of environmental fidelity on product choice becomes non-significant, indicating that consumers rely less on internally generated cognitive processes when external cues are salient. This research makes several theoretical contributions. First, it extends the diversifying experience framework to digital consumption contexts, demonstrating that virtual environments can function as schema-violating experiences that promote creative cognition. Second, it advances research on immersive retail by showing that lower realism can, under certain conditions, facilitate more distinctive consumer choices rather than impair decision quality. Third, by identifying explicit information as a boundary condition operating at the choice stage, this research clarifies when and why the cognitive benefits of low-fidelity environments may diminish. From a practical perspective, the findings offer guidance for the strategic design of virtual retail environments. Rather than uniformly prioritizing realism, retailers may benefit from incorporating elements of fantasy to encourage exploratory and creative consumer behavior, particularly when the goal is to promote distinctive products. At the same time, providing explicit informational cues may be effective when the objective is to guide consumers toward normative or popular options. Together, this research highlights the importance of balancing environmental design and informational support to shape consumer decision making in virtual retail environments.

ABSTRACT. AI-driven personalization is increasingly adopted in fashion retail, yet its effectiveness remains contested. This preliminary study examines consumers’ willingness to adopt personalized fashion recommendations by comparing AI- and human-labeled sources across contexts. Preliminary findings highlight the importance of perceived human recommendations.

ABSTRACT. Despite AI chatbot’s growing adoption, consumers remain skeptical, particularly when chatbots fail to meet expectations, potentially triggering negative behaviors such as complaining or switching retailers. This study examines how anthropomorphic cues, specifically, perceived human-likeness and perceived friendliness, influence consumers’ emotional and relational responses, specifically enjoyment and engagement, and how these responses affect their propensity to complain or switch retailers. Guided by the Computers Are Social Actors paradigm and the Stimulus–Organism–Response framework, we hypothesize that anthropomorphic characteristics act as social stimuli, fostering positive emotional and relational reactions that mitigate negative behavioral responses. An online survey was conducted with 343 U.S. participants recruited from a crowdsourcing panel. Participants watched one of three 1-minute videos in which a chatbot assisted a consumer with product selection and completed measures assessing anthropomorphism, enjoyment, engagement, and complaint and switching intentions. Structural equation modeling using AMOS 28 showed that perceived human-likeness and friendliness positively influenced enjoyment and engagement. Enjoyment unexpectedly increased complaint intention but had no significant effect on switching intention, whereas engagement significantly reduced switching intention but did not affect complaint intention. Complaint intention strongly predicted switching intention. These findings demonstrate that anthropomorphic features serve as meaningful social cues that enhance emotional and relational experiences, potentially reducing negative behavioral outcomes. Designing chatbots with humanlike and friendly features can increase both enjoyment and engagement; notably, engagement plays a particularly critical role in mitigating negative consumer behaviors. This study contributes to understanding consumer–chatbot interactions and offers actionable insights for retailers leveraging AI-mediated service.

ABSTRACT. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the shutdown of vibrant retail environments, forcing brands to rethink how they could provide unique, memorable experiences. Customer experience (CX) is a key marketing construct that refers to the indirect responses and reactions customers have to stimuli encountered during their journey (Becker and Jaakkola, 2020). Digital transformation has brought about a major shift in these factors, accelerating the convergence of online and offline interaction points and raising the bar for seamless omnichannel experiences (Lemon and Verhoef, 2016; Verhoef et al., 2021). In the post-pandemic era, as digitalization intensified, consumers became increasingly accustomed to flexible, technology-enhanced journeys and consequently more demanding of retail environments capable of blending convenience, engagement, and experiential value (Shi et al., 2020). Within this evolving landscape, phygital retailing has emerged as a compelling approach to unify the physical and digital spheres. Phygital stores integrate interactive digital screens, augmented browsing tools, and virtual product exploration within physical retail settings, enabling customers to access detailed product information and complete purchases with minimal friction. Although the literature on phygital CX is relatively limited, research indicates that such environments facilitate real time connections between physical and digital domains, streamline retail processes, and reduce the perceptual divide between online and offline experiences (Batat, 2022; Belghiti et al., 2018; Mishra et al., 2021; Moravcikova and Kliestikova, 2017). These developments are especially relevant in high-traffic malls, where digital enhancements increasingly compensate for challenges associated with overcrowding. Mall crowding, often associated with stress, reduced exploration, and diminished enjoyment (Das and Varshneya, 2017), can prompt shoppers to seek psychological escape (Van Kerrebroeck et al., 2017), making phygital tools potentially beneficial in mitigating negative effects and restoring experiential value. Recent scholarship argues that phygital CX is not a uniform outcome of technological deployment but a multidimensional, actively constructed phenomenon. Pusceddu, Moi, and Cabiddu (2023) emphasize that phygital experience can range from ordinary to extraordinary depending on how digital and physical stimuli are orchestrated and how customers interpret such configurations. Strategic studies similarly highlight a sector-wide movement toward integrated phygital models where experiential value, rather than technology alone, is a primary driver of competitive advantage (Testa and Slaton, 2025). Despite these insights, empirical research focusing on how specific experiential dimensions influence consumer outcomes in phygital contexts remains limited. Responding to this gap, the present study investigates how entertainment, immersion, and escapism influence the overall consumer experience and online patronage intentions in a phygital retail setting within a crowded shopping mall in Dubai. The research seeks to answer: (i) To what extent do phygital shopping dimensions shape overall CX? (ii) How do these dimensions influence patronage and loyalty intentions? and (iii) To what extent has phygital CX altered the in-store journey and consumers’ propensity to remain loyal? A mixed-method approach was adopted, combining quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative phase involved an online survey targeting Dubai-based expatriates who frequent a mall featuring the first in-store phygital experience offered by 6thStreet.com. The survey assessed two pre-purchase mall experiences, crowding and entertainment, and two purchase stage experiential constructs, escapism and immersion, along with their effects on overall CX and online patronage intentions. A pilot test with 15 respondents preceded data collection. Between April and mid-June 2023, 203 responses were collected, with 180 retained after excluding incomplete submissions. Respondents received a 30 percent discount code. To complement these findings and enrich interpretive depth, a qualitative analysis of Trustpilot reviews posted in December 2025 was conducted to capture consumer perceptions based on naturally occurring user-generated content. The structural equation model yielded strong empirical support for the proposed framework, demonstrating solid explanatory power for immersion, escapism, overall CX, and patronage intentions. Entertainment emerged as the strongest antecedent, significantly predicting both escapism and immersion, with immersion registering the highest path coefficient. In contrast, perceived mall crowding did not significantly predict escapism, suggesting that contextual stressors become less relevant once consumers engage with phygital interfaces. Both escapism and immersion contributed positively to overall CX, which in turn exerted a powerful direct influence on loyalty-oriented intentions. Qualitative analysis helped contextualize these results. The Trustpilot reviews were predominantly negative and did not reflect the presence of entertainment, immersion, or escapism. Instead, customers highlighted frustration with customer support, delivery failures, communication inefficiencies, and unresolved complaints. These narratives suggested a consumption experience shaped more by operational shortcomings than by hedonic or experiential value, underscoring the importance of reliable service processes as a foundation for perceived CX. Taken together, the findings advance the phygital CX literature by demonstrating that entertainment-driven experiential depth most effectively enhances immersion, enables escapism, and strengthens loyalty intentions, while contextual factors, such as crowding, appear less influential in phygital settings. The results also reinforce that phygital success depends not only on integrating digital and physical elements but also on ensuring reliability, transparency, and operational consistency across touchpoints. This aligns with Pusceddu et al.’s (2023) contention that phygital CX is a dynamically constructed process and with Testa and Slaton’s (2025) argument that the future of retail lies in cohesive integration rather than technological replacement. Ultimately, this study underscores the value of phygital environments as potential psychological refuges in crowded settings, while emphasizing their limitations when post purchase service fails to meet expectations. It offers meaningful implications for scholars and practitioners seeking to design phygital retail strategies that deliver engaging, coherent, and loyalty-enhancing customer experiences.

ABSTRACT. The increasing integration of Artificial Intelligence (hereafter, AI) into luxury fashion marketing has generated a lively and still unsettled debate within the literature. On the one hand, technology is often conceptualized as a strategic enabler capable of enhancing luxury value through interactivity, personalization, and immersive brand experiences (Al‐Issa & Thanasi, 2024; Sestino et al., 2024), and thus as a strategic enabler that can enhance luxury value when coherently integrated with brand heritage and exclusivity. On the other hand, concerns persist regarding the risk that advanced technologies may dilute core luxury attributes, such as authenticity, human touch, and symbolic exclusivity (Beverland, 2006; Han et al., 2010; Okonkwo, 2010). Notwithstanding the continued relevance of physical retail spaces, recent years have seen a marked expansion of electronic commerce in the fashion industry and related interactions in online, and thus, non-physical spaces (Guercini et al., 2018). Within this debate, the use of AI-based influencers represents a particularly ambiguous and underexplored phenomenon (Kim & Huang, 2025). This is particulary crucial when dealing with virtual influencers, formally intended AI-driven digital personas designed to operate on social media platforms, engaging audiences and endorsing brands through scripted or algorithmically supported interactions that simulate human influence dynamics (Lim & Lee, 2023). Indeed, by considering such new forms of influencers the challenges related to their appearance is continuously challenging aligning with the Uncanny Valley theory (Mori, 1970). Coherently, Gutuleac et colleagues (2024) recently demonstrate that highly anthropomorphized virtual influencers may elicit a greater sense of uncanniness among consumers, because of their appearance and their ability to human-like interact. These interactions constitutes a fundamental mechanism for influencer marketing, as it enables the formation of a “relational bond”, as a connectdness with consumers that can meaningfully shape consumption choices and behavioral patterns (Sestino et al., 2024). Nontheless, in the luxury domain, given its symbolic, relational, and experiential specificities (Atwal & Williams, 2017; Kapferer, 1997; Vigneron & Johnson, 2017), interaction becomes particularly critical, as it strengthens perceived relationships and plays a decisive role in shaping meanings, desirability, and consumption behaviors (see Creevey et al., 2022 for a review). Thus, while influencer marketing is well established as a relational and trust-based practice, its intersection with AI in luxury contexts remains theoretically and empirically nebulous (Kim & Huang, 2025). To address this gap, this study adopts a process-oriented and human-centric perspective to investigate how AI-based influencers (vs. traditional human influencers), configurations affect consumers’ responses in luxury fashion. Thus, in this study we hypothesize that higher (vs. lower) level of AI embedded in luxury fashion influencers do not directly affect consumers’ willingness to buy (hereafter, WTB) or word of mouth (hereafter, WOM). Rather, their influence unfolds through a serial perceptual–relational mechanism, whereby higher AI levels reduce perceived anthropomorphism, which in turn weakens consumer–influencer connection, ultimately leading to lower behavioral and communicative responses (see Figure 1; Appendix).

Figure 1. The proposed conceptual framework: Effects of AI embodied influencer type on consumers’ responses

A single experimental study was conducted, among a sample of 506 participants, by using a fictitious luxury brand producing linen clothes and manipulating two conditions of influencer presentation: The hybrid configuration characterized by lower levels of AI and a fully virtual influencer characterized by higher levels of AI. The manipulation was carefully designed and pretested prior to the main study: In the low condition, a human influencer associated with the fictitious luxury brand “Dubois” presented the collection using exclusively AI-generated textual content. In the high AI condition, both the influencer (resulting as a virtual influencer), and the textual content were entirely AI-generated, featuring a virtual influencer communicating the same collection. Rather than focusing on direct effects, the study examines perceived anthropomorphism and consumer–influencer connection as serial mediators linking the AI-based stimulus to consumer responses. Two outcome variables were considered: Willingness to buy (WTB) and electronic word of mouth (eWOM), capturing both instrumental and communicative dimensions of consumer behavior. The results reveal a consistent pattern across both outcomes. Higher levels of AI (vs. lower) significantly reduce perceived anthropomorphism, indicating that fully virtual influencers are perceived as less human-like, e.g., coherently with the Uncanny Valley theory (Mori, 1970). This reduction in anthropomorphism, in turn, weakens consumer–influencer connection, which emerges as the sole proximal driver of both WTB and eWOM. Importantly, the AI-based stimulus does not exert any significant direct effect on either outcome, nor does anthropomorphism independently predict consumers’ responses when relational connection is accounted for, adding knowledge on the current stream of research on this domain (e.g., Gutuleac et al., 2024). Overall, the findings support an indirect-only process in which higher level of AI typical of virtual influencers (vs. low) affect consumers’ behaviors exclusively by disrupting the perceptual–relational chain that underpins influencer effectiveness. By showing that both purchase-related and communicative responses depend on the same relational mechanism, the study contributes to the ongoing debate on technology and luxury by demonstrating that AI does not inherently undermine luxury marketing outcomes. Rather, its impact depends on whether and how it interferes with the construction of perceived humanity and relational closeness between consumers and influencers.

ABSTRACT. This study examines the transformation of football club stores into phygital experiential spaces through technology integration, symbolic narratives, and community engagement. It addresses the growing academic interest in e-commerce and physical space interactions within lifestyle retail, particularly in emotionally charged sectors. Using a multi-method qualitative approach, this research employs the Fan Experience in Experiential Location (F.E.E.L.) model to explore the experiential dimensions of flagship football retailing. Data were collected through structured observations in Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, and Atlético de Madrid flagship stores and open-ended questionnaires from senior managers involved in retail and merchandising, focusing on functional design, emotional resonance, technology integration, and social connection. The results identified three experiential strategies: Real Madrid prioritizes immersive technological spectacle, FC Barcelona emphasizes cultural identity and aesthetic design, and Atlético de Madrid fosters community-based emotional loyalty. The findings show how football retail spaces function as phygital ecosystems that integrate symbolic brand performance with adaptive digital experiences, aligning with omnichannel dynamics in fashion retail. This study advances the theoretical discourse on experiential consumption and retail hybridization by employing a multidimensional model where fashion, fandom, and phygital technologies converge. This research presents evidence demonstrating the significance of physical stores, enhanced by technology, in enacting brand identity and fostering social belonging in post-digital retail. These findings offer practical insights for fashion and lifestyle brands that face challenges in integrating online and offline consumer experience.

ABSTRACT. This study examines the user acceptance of a new 3D design technology in a small textile firm using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as the theoretical framework. Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, intention of usage and acceptance are analysed across different functional roles involved in the product development and production process. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire using Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (FsQCA), which is suitable for small-sample, configuration-based causal analysis. Results indicate that usage intention plays a central role in explaining acceptance, while perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use contribute through multiple causal pathways. And also, younger employees and female users show higher levels of acceptance, suggesting greater openness and adaptability to digital technologies. The findings confirm the applicability of TAM in the context of digital design technologies for a small textile firm and highlight the importance of training, workflow integration, and managerial support in facilitating digital adoption.

ABSTRACT. In contemporary fashion-oriented societies, the body has become a central site through which social value, professional legitimacy, and market-oriented identities are produced and evaluated. Beyond garments and brands, fashion increasingly operates through practices that shape bodies and appearances in accordance with socially codified norms. This paper examines image consulting as one such practice, proposing it as a concrete and applied form of fashioning the body within highly regulated social and professional environments.

Drawing on sociological and cultural theories of fashion, distinction, and embodiment, this paper conceptualizes image consulting as a mediating space between individual identity and dominant fashion codes. Rather than understanding fashion solely as consumption or aesthetic expression, image consulting is approached as a structured set of techniques that translate abstract appearance norms into socially legible bodily strategies. These strategies enable individuals to navigate expectations related to professionalism, credibility, respectability, and belonging across different social fields.

A central contribution of the paper lies in its detailed examination of the practices that constitute image consulting as a process of bodily configuration. These practices include the development of a personalized or tailored core wardrobe aligned with the individual’s professional role, lifestyle, and social environment. Unlike standardized fashion consumption, this process involves curating garments that respond to specific life contexts and social expectations, allowing the body to be read as appropriate, competent, and coherent within a given setting.

Image consulting also involves the construction of a coherent personal style that goes beyond trend adoption. Style is treated as a long-term visual strategy linked to biographical trajectories, professional aspirations, and identity projects. Through this lens, clothing choices become tools for negotiating continuity and change across different stages of life and social positioning. Color analysis further contributes to this process by assigning chromatic harmony and visual coherence to the body, enhancing legibility and reinforcing aesthetic alignment with contextual norms.

In addition, body morphology analysis plays a key role in guiding silhouette construction and proportional balance, shaping how the body occupies space and communicates presence. Grooming and personal care routines are incorporated as essential components of image management, reinforcing credibility, authority, and self-presentation in professional and social interactions. Non-verbal communication strategies (including posture, gesture, and embodied comportment) extend the scope of image consulting beyond dress, emphasizing the body as a dynamic and performative interface.

Through the combination of these techniques, image consulting actively shapes how bodies are perceived, interpreted, and valued. Fashion codes function as implicit systems of classification that regulate access, recognition, and legitimacy within social fields such as corporate workplaces, service industries, creative sectors, and digitally mediated professional spaces. Image consulting makes these codes visible and actionable, enabling individuals to reduce symbolic misalignment between their embodied appearance and the expectations governing their environments.

The paper introduces the concept of social self-esteem to capture the relational and context-dependent dimension of confidence and social worth that emerges through visual recognition and normative alignment. Unlike individual self-esteem understood as an internal psychological trait, social self-esteem is produced through interaction and appearance-based evaluation. The paper argues that image consulting plays a significant role in managing this form of embodied value by facilitating alignment with dominant aesthetic and professional norms.

From a fashion management perspective, image consulting is situated within the expanding ecosystem of appearance-based services that extend fashion markets beyond products to include bodies, identities, and emotions. These services transform personal appearance into a strategic resource linked to employability, authority, and personal branding, contributing to the commodification and marketing of embodied identity. At the same time, they reflect broader cultural pressures toward self-optimization, visual coherence, and self-regulation.

Finally, the paper addresses the ambivalent nature of image consulting practices. While they can enhance agency, confidence, and social inclusion, they also risk reinforcing dominant ideals of beauty, professionalism, and respectability. Through this dual dynamic, image consulting both empowers and disciplines bodies, revealing the power relations embedded in contemporary fashion systems.

By framing image consulting as a practice of fashioning the body, this paper contributes to ongoing debates on commodification, modification, and marketing in fashion studies and fashion management. It offers a theoretically grounded and practice-oriented perspective on how fashion operates through bodies as much as through garments, making visible the social, emotional, and economic dimensions of contemporary image practices

ABSTRACT. The “naked dress” is the focus of this study, which seeks to conceptualize the recent popularity of garments that deliberately expose the body in public entertainment settings. The research objective is to analyze the normalization of this style of (un)dress, traditionally limited to risqué adult entertainment, within mainstream cultural venues. Central to this inquiry is the question of how the “naked dress” functions as a marketing tool that commodifies the female body and facilitates its objectification. Guided by this research question, the study treats media coverage of “baring it all” garments in the post-pandemic period as data for conceptual analysis.

ABSTRACT. Introduction The fashion industry is undergoing a significant transformation driven by technological advancements and changing consumer expectations. One of the most notable developments is the democratisation of garment fit customisation, which was historically reserved for a small, affluent segment of consumers. Today, digital tools and production platforms enable customisation and personalisation at scale, making these services accessible to a broader audience. Despite this trend, research on customisation and personalisation in fashion remains fragmented, with inconsistent definitions and conceptual frameworks. Previous studies, such as Nobile and Cantoni (2023), have attempted to define these concepts through a Delphi study, based on expert opinions with the aim to reach consensus, yet their findings fail to capture the diversity of practices observed in the industry. This study challenges the assumption that there is a unified definition of the concepts by developing a new typology of customisation and personalisation, grounded in empirical evidence from Swedish fashion retailers.

Research Aim and Questions The aim of this study is to map different types of garment customisation and personalisation to conceptualise how these types translate into distinct business models. The research is guided by the following questions: • What are the different types of garment customisation and personalisation in the fashion industry? • What characteristics define these types? • How do these types correspond to different business models? By answering these questions, the study contributes to more clarity in the definition of customisation and personalisation, and the characteristics of each concept.

Theoretical Background Customisation and personalisation are often used interchangeably in fashion literature, reflecting an ongoing lack of conceptual consensus within the field (Nobile & Cantoni, 2023). To address this ambiguity Nobile & Cantoni (2023) propose a definition based on expert panellists, resulting in five characteristics of personalisation. However, as the panellists used the terms interchangeably, no consensus on customisation was reached. While the list helps to identify aspects of personalisation, we argue that the study adds to the conceptual confusion. Moreover, the definition is based on broad and heterogenous uses of the concepts across fashion contexts, such as products and newsletters.

Kent (2017) nuances this picture by framing customisation and personalisation as part of a spectrum rather than as clearly divided concepts. Later, these concepts are discussed from a fashion marketing perspective, applying a broader interpretative frame (Kent, 2025). Despite repeated attempts to define customisation and personalisation in fashion, substantial ambiguity remains regarding their meaning and contextual applicability. Rather than testing existing definitions, this study adopts an approach grounded in empirical data. Four types of business models related to customisation and personalisation are identified, informing bottom-up conceptualisation of the terms. In the discussion, we relate back to existing literature to clarify their conceptual use.

Business model theory provides a useful analytical lens by foregrounding value propositions, customer segments, and revenue structures. Drawing on early work on customisation (Pine, 1993; Lampel & Mintzberg, 1996), alongside more recent contributions to business model innovation and value creation (Franke et al, 2009; Chesbrough, 2010; Zott and Amit, 2010; and Todeschini et al., 2017) we develop a practice-based conceptualisation grounded in the fashion industry. By explicitly linking customisation and personalisation to business models configurations, this study contributes to a more holistic understanding of their strategic implications.

Methodology The study is based on a qualitative study of 15 Swedish fashion companies offering customisation and personalisation solutions. Data were collected through interviews and document analysis, focusing on how these firms define and implement customisation and personalisation. The analysis employed a comparative approach to identify patterns and differences across cases, leading to the development of a two-by-two model that categorises customisation and personalisation practices.

Preliminary findings The analysis reveals four distinct types of customisation and personalisation solutions in the fashion industry: • Customisation – Customisation allows consumers to choose from a range of styles, sizes, and design options, often facilitated through online platforms. Examples include shirt companies offering design choices and brands providing extended size ranges. The value proposition focuses on enhancing individuality and style within a mid-market segment. • Alterations/Tailor Services – This type represents the lowest degree of personalisation, as it involves modifying already-produced garments. Services range from simple adjustments offered at the point of sale to dedicated after-sales tailoring. The value proposition centres on prolonging the garment’s lifespan and improving fit, appealing primarily to premium customers willing to pay for quality and longevity. • Made-to-Measure – Made-to-measure solutions simplify traditional tailoring by using fewer measurements or algorithm-based sizing tools. These services are offered both in physical stores and online, relying heavily on production platforms that manage supplier relationships and manufacturing processes. The value proposition emphasises improved fit and convenience for mid-segment customers. • Bespoke/Tailormade – Bespoke services represent the highest level of personalisation, characterised by craftsmanship, exclusivity, and relationship-building. These solutions cater to premium customers seeking unique garments and personalised experiences. The business model prioritises trust and quality, often involving direct interaction between the customer and the tailor.

Business Model Implications Each type of customisation corresponds to a distinct business model, differentiated by value propositions and target segments: • Alterations/Tailor Services: Premium service focused on garment longevity. • Customisation: Mid-market offering that enhances style and individuality. • Made-to-Measure: Technology-driven solution for better fit and convenience. • Bespoke/Tailormade: Exclusive, relationship-based model targeting high-end consumers.

Discussion and conclusion The findings challenge existing definitions of customisation and personalisation, which often overlook the nuances observed in practice. By introducing a typology grounded in empirical data, this study provides a more accurate representation of industry practices. Furthermore, linking these types to business models highlights the strategic dimensions of customisation, illustrating how firms can leverage these approaches to create value and differentiate themselves in a competitive market. This study aims to contribute to the literature by offering a new conceptual framework for understanding customisation and personalisation in fashion. The proposed typology and associated business models provide a foundation for future research and practical applications. As technological innovations continue to reshape the industry, further studies are needed to explore how these developments influence consumer behaviour and firm strategies.

ABSTRACT. Bonus packs are widely used promotional tools, yet prior research largely frames them as providing a straightforward economic gain and overlooks how packaging format shapes consumer perceptions. This research examines how integrated versus separated bonus packs influence perceived product efficacy. Across multiple studies, we show that integrated (vs. separated) bonus packs reduce perceived product efficacy. This effect is driven by perceived ingredient dilution, the belief that increasing quantity implies reduced concentration. Importantly, this effect is moderated by zero-sum beliefs: the negative impact is mitigated among consumers and cultural groups with low zero-sum beliefs. Together, these findings uncover an overlooked downside of quantity-based promotions and offer guidelines for global marketers seeking to adapt packaging strategies across international markets.

ABSTRACT. Wedding expenditures and appearance-focused consumption continue to rise in South Korea. This study examines S-D-M (studio photography, dress, and makeup) through the lens of ritualized luxury consumption, drawing on semi-structured interviews with 26 adults who were recently married or preparing for marriage. Integrating the sacred–profane distinction, mental accounting theory, and doing gender theory, we argue that S-D-M operates as a stratified luxury apparatus that incentivize trading up behavior and intensifies embodied self-work. Findings show that couples treat wedding preparation as sacred time, suspend ordinary price sensitivity via a wedding account, and pursue premium aesthetic perfection under heightened social scrutiny, status anxiety, and anticipated regret, amplified by social media. We conclude that Korean wedding consumption is a form of high-stakes aesthetic labor in which the bride’s body becomes a central site for performing class position and gender accountability through the consumption of tiered luxury services.

ABSTRACT. This research examines how upcycled luxury products enhance consumer brand evaluations through perceptions of the creator’s essence defined as the belief that a product embodies the identity, skill, and effort of its maker. Drawing on psychological essentialism and contagion theory, we propose that upcycling signals a deeper connection between creator and product, activating essentialist inferences that elevate brand attitudes. Across four experiments, we demonstrate that upcycling increases brand attitudes and purchase intentions through heightened perceptions of creator’s essence. Perceived effort emerges as a critical antecedent: consumers who perceive greater transformative effort view the product as more fully embodying the creator’s essence. Two boundary conditions are established: the effect depends on effort being attributed to the brand itself (not a third party) and is specific to luxury brand contexts. Effects hold when controlling for perceived sustainability, creativity, and brand familiarity. These findings extend research on psychological essentialism and contagion theory into the domain of sustainable luxury and offer actionable guidance for luxury brands on how to communicate upcycling initiatives to enhance consumer appeal and brand desirability.

ABSTRACT. Conceptual Framework and Prior Literature

Cultured meat, defined as tissue grown from animal cells in a nutrient-rich environment, is a promising solution to the environmental and ethical challenges of conventional meat production (de Olde and Valentinov 2019). Despite its potential, consumer acceptance remains a significant hurdle (Stout et al. 2022). To address this, many promotional strategies rely on “ethical messaging” that highlights animal welfare benefits. However, the success of these messages has been inconsistent (e.g., Bryant, van Nek, and Rolland 2020; Slade 2018). This research aims to explain this inconsistency through two opposing psychological mechanisms. First, we propose that ethical messaging triggers anticipatory guilt about conventional meat consumption (Loughnan and Davies 2019; Wang and Basso 2019), which should logically drive a preference for cultured meat. Second, we suggest that by contrasting the artificial nature of cultured meat with the animal origin of conventional meat, these messages inadvertently increase the "premiumness" and "authenticity" perceptions of conventional meat (Chriki and Hocquette 2020). Thus, we test: H1a: The ethical (vs. control) message will have a positive effect on willingness to pay for cultured (vs. conventional) meat via increased feelings of guilt towards conventional meat. H1b: The ethical (vs. control) message will have a negative effect on willingness to pay for cultured (vs. conventional) meat via increased premiumness perceptions of conventional meat. Drawing on moral mindset theory, we additionally propose that priming individuals to view themselves as moral agents, or activating their moral self-identity (Reed, Aquino, and Levy 2007), will mitigate this premiumness effect while leaving the guilt mechanism intact, thereby making ethical messaging effective. Formally, H2. A moral mindset is expected to moderate the indirect effect of message type (ethical vs. control) on willingness to pay for cultured versus conventional meat through premiumness perceptions (H1b), but not through guilt (H1a). Specifically, participants no longer perceive conventional meat as a premium product after receiving the ethical (vs. control) message when primed with a moral mindset. However, participants primed with a moral mindset are expected to still experience guilt after receiving the ethical (vs. control) message, then making them more willing to pay for cultured (vs. conventional) meat.

Methodology

The research employed two experimental studies with U.S. meat-eaters (online, Prolific). In both studies, participants were randomly assigned to one of two messaging conditions. A control condition, essentially a description of cultured meat (e.g., "lab-grown meat is produced using cell culture techniques to grow animal cells into meat identical to conventional meat"), and an ethical message condition, an animal-welfare-focused message (e.g., "cultured meat is a cruelty-free alternative that addresses major animal welfare concerns by bypassing the need for animal rearing and slaughter; current farming practices are often criticized as not being animal-friendly").

Study 1: Identifying the Dual Mechanism

Study 1 (N = 201) used a one-factor design (message type: control vs. ethical). Employing established scales, participants reported their willingness to pay (WTP), felt guilt, and premiumness perceptions toward conventional meat. Results (Study 1): While there was no significant direct difference in WTP between conditions (p = .50), the ethical message significantly increased both guilt regarding conventional meat (M = 3.81 vs. M = 3.10; p = .02) and perceptions of conventional meat as premium (M = 5.14 vs. M = 4.54; p = .03). A parallel mediation model confirmed that these two mechanisms worked in opposite directions: guilt increased WTP for cultured meat, while premiumness perceptions decreased it, effectively nullifying the message's impact. Then, H1a and H1b are supported.

Study 2: The Moderating Role of Moral Mindset

Study 2 (N = 402) utilized a 2 (message type) x 2 (mindset: control vs. moral) design. To manipulate mindset, participants were asked to think about a short list of words with either non-ethical (control) or ethical connotations and then prompted to write a short story (one or two sentences) employing (some) such words (Reed et al. 2007) Results (Study 2): The results revealed a marginally significant interaction between message type and mindset on WTP (p = .05). In the control mindset condition, there was no significant difference in WTP. However, when the moral mindset was primed, participants receiving the ethical message showed a significantly higher WTP for cultured meat compared to the control message group (M = 4.75 vs. M = 3.96; p = .02). Importantly, the moral mindset did not change the guilt response; participants in both mindset conditions felt more guilt after the ethical message. Instead, the moral mindset specifically moderated the premiumness effect: while the control mindset group viewed conventional meat as more premium after ethical messaging (p = .02), this effect was eliminated in the moral mindset group (p = .33). Thus, H2 is supported.

Conclusion and Implications

The findings provide a psychological explanation for why animal-welfare messaging often fails to promote cultured meat: it makes the original product (conventional meat) seem more "genuine" and premium in comparison. However, activating a consumer’s moral mindset serves as a powerful "moral pathway," filtering out these premiumness perceptions and allowing the ethical appeal to work effectively. Practically, marketers and policy-makers should pair ethical messaging with cues that reinforce the consumer’s identity as a moral individual.

ABSTRACT. Over the last decade, social media has transformed the way people communicate, consume information and make purchases. Online platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram have transformed consumer behavior through providing constant connectivity and creating a space in which consumers are influenced by their peers and the content they interact with daily (Varkaris & Neuhofer, 2017, cited in Jegham et al., 2022). While human influencers have long dominated this market, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) on social media has led to the emergence of AI influencers who are challenging the dominance of human influencers in digital marketing. In the rapidly evolving digital marketing landscape, the fashion industry relies heavily on influencer marketing on visual platforms such as Instagram to engage consumers and drive purchase intentions. While human influencers have been extensively studied and are known to build trust and relationships with followers, the emergence of AI influencers introduces new dynamics that are not yet fully understood. The effectiveness of AI influencers compared to human influencers remains underexplored. This lack of understanding creates a significant problem for fashion brands seeking to make informed decisions about collaborating with influencers to optimize their marketing strategies. This study examines how AI influencers on Instagram compare with human influencers in the fashion industry with respect to trust, authenticity, ability to build parasocial relationships, and influence consumer purchase behavior. It employed a mixed-methods approach, combining a quantitative survey of 199 participants with qualitative interviews of eight Instagram users. The quantitative study employed a between-subjects experimental design in which participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: exposure to a human or an AI influencer on Instagram, enabling investigation of how influencer type affects participants' perceptions of three main constructs identified in the literature: Source Credibility, Perceived Authenticity, and Parasocial Interaction. The qualitative study followed an exploratory approach and complemented the quantitative study by delving deeper into trust and purchase intentions. To gain more comprehensive insights, eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants who had been asked to follow the AI influencer for two weeks prior to the interview. This longer period of contact with the AI influencer enabled a more natural exploration of parasocial interactions and authenticity over time. The results showed that human fashion influencers are perceived to be above AI influencers in terms of perceived expertise, trustworthiness, and authenticity, leading to stronger parasocial interactions and higher purchase intentions. While AI influencers benefit from visually curated content and controlled brand messages, their lack of personal experience and emotional engagement limits their effectiveness in building trust and influencing consumer decisions. This study contributes to influencer marketing and digital consumer behavior literature by reinforcing and extending the Source Credibility Model, showing that although AI influencers may achieve high levels of visual attractiveness, human influencers continue to be perceived as more trustworthy and knowledgeable, indicating that aesthetic perfection alone does not translate into deeper consumer engagement. The findings also offer additional insight into authenticity research by suggesting that perceived authenticity functions as a foundational element shaping both trust and expertise, particularly through narrative sharing, spontaneity, and emotional relatability (areas in which AI agents still face limitations). Moreover, the results enrich parasocial interaction theory by demonstrating that anthropomorphic or human-like design features, while beneficial, are insufficient to reproduce the strength of relational bonds typically formed with human influencers; instead, ongoing personal disclosure and emotionally meaningful interaction remain decisive factors in building connection and purchase intention. Finally, by examining these mechanisms within the fashion context (an industry where visual representation and symbolic expression are central), the study questions assumptions that technological sophistication alone can replace human influence, underscoring the continuing importance of interpersonal and emotional cues in digitally mediated marketing environments. The study offers relevant managerial implications for marketers, particularly within the fashion industry, by clarifying how different influencer types can be strategically leveraged to enhance campaign effectiveness. The findings indicate that source credibility, authenticity, and parasocial interaction remain central drivers of consumer trust and engagement, suggesting that influencer selection should be closely aligned with campaign objectives. Human influencers appear more effective in initiatives that depend on perceived expertise, relatability, and long-term relationship building, as their personal narratives and spontaneous interactions foster stronger emotional connections. In contrast, AI influencers demonstrate value in visually driven or innovation-oriented campaigns, where consistency of messaging, aesthetic control, and technological novelty can capture attention and appeal to digitally oriented audiences. The results further suggest that transparency about the artificial nature of AI influencers, combined with interactive and immersive content strategies, may mitigate skepticism and strengthen audience engagement. Overall, a hybrid approach that combines the credibility and relational depth of human influencers with the visual precision and experimental potential of AI influencers emerges as a particularly effective strategy, enabling brands to balance short-term visibility with sustained consumer trust and loyalty.

ABSTRACT. This study examines sustainability in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as a governance, economic, and institutional coordination problem rather than a purely environmental or CSR concern. While the IPL increasingly promotes sustainability-related initiatives, the league operates within a public–private ecosystem where stadiums, energy use, water consumption, waste management, and event security are largely supported by public resources. The research analyses how environmental, social, and economic sustainability are defined, operationalized, and legitimized in the IPL, and whether the distribution of costs (carbon emissions, water use, public expenditure) aligns with the distribution of benefits (revenues, franchise valuations, employment). By placing the IPL within Global South conditions of fiscal constraint and limited regulatory enforcement, the study reframes sustainability as an issue of accountability, transparency, and long-term governance capacity. The study adopts a mixed-methods design combining primary interviews and advanced quantitative analysis. Primary data include semi-structured interviews with various stakeholders, representatives, and fans, capturing both institutional decision-making and lived spectator experiences related to environmental practices, accessibility, safety, and affordability. Secondary data include budgets, stadium financing records, urban land-use and housing indicators, franchise financials, and sustainability-related texts and media coverage. Quantitative analysis incorporates models to assess spatial and economic impacts around IPL stadiums, fiscal incidence and cost–benefit analysis to evaluate public versus private returns, and text-as-data methods to measure sustainability narratives across environmental, social and economic dimensions. Together, this design provides a rigorous, empirically grounded assessment of how sustainability functions in a commercially powerful sport league where symbolic initiatives or awareness campaigns coexist with significant structural environmental and fiscal pressures.

ABSTRACT. Brand activism has become a defining feature of contemporary corporate strategy, yet most research treats brands as a monolithic category. This study investigates how different types of sport-related brands—clubs, sponsors, and governing bodies—influence consumer perceptions when responding to athlete activism. Drawing on Social Influence Theory and the Integrative Sport Brand Ecosystem framework, a quasi-experimental design with 226 Brazilian sports consumers examined brand image responses across four conditions: neutral, oppositional, supportive, and co-created activism. Results reveal that brand type systematically moderates activism effectiveness. Clubs and sponsors, associated with internalization and identification-based influence, showed significant positive effects from supportive positioning, while the governing body showed negligible effects. Co-created activism produced differential benefits, with larger proportional gains for lower-salience brands. Contrary to expectations, brand-consumer value alignment showed minimal moderation, suggesting that when activism addresses clear moral urgency with factual grounding, individual value differences become less salient. This study advances understanding of brand activism by demonstrating that positioning effectiveness depends fundamentally on brand type and ecosystem dynamics.

ABSTRACT. This study investigates the unique mechanisms of relationship marketing within the professional sports industry, specifically focusing on the factors that drive fans to enter, maintain, or dissolve their relationships with sports teams (Fan-Team relationships). While traditional relationship marketing literature emphasizes functional benefits and relational resources as the primary drivers of customer-brand bonds, this research explores how sports fandom deviates from these conventional commercial models. Using a qualitative research design, the principal investigator conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with dedicated 16 sports fans to explore the socio-psychological anchors of their loyalty.

The findings reveal that the initiation of a Fan-Team relationship is rarely a calculated consumer decision based on utility. Instead, it is predominantly rooted in self-identity, hometown affiliation, and family socialization. A critical discovery of this research is the asymmetric functionality of trust and commitment within the relationship lifecycle. While commitment serves as the primary engine for the ongoing development and intensification of the fan-team bond, trust acts as a vital boundary condition. The interview data suggest that while trust may not be the primary motivator for entering a relationship, its violation through ethical scandals or criminal conduct is the most decisive factor in relationship termination or suspension.

Furthermore, this study identifies a significant resistance to brand switching that contradicts established service industry models. Participants reported that even in the face of severe dissatisfaction with team management or communication, they did not consider migrating to an alternative team. Instead, fans exhibited a tendency to preserve their self-identity by temporarily withdrawing or engaging in vocal protests, such as the display of protest banners (or geolgae-siwi), only returning to active support once the source of the grievance was addressed. These results suggest that in the context of sports, the mooring factor of identity is so profound that the relationship is often suspended rather than terminated.

The study offers significant academic implications by nuancing Commitment-Trust Theory and extending our understanding of identity-based loyalty. Managerially, the findings suggest that sports organizations should prioritize transparency and multi-generational engagement over traditional transactional marketing, as the fan's bond is an integral component of their self-concept rather than a mere consumer choice.

ABSTRACT. This study investigates consumer resistance towards sustainable fashion retail, with particular emphasis on second-hand retail formats and, most notably, charity stores. It aims to provide retailer recommendations for engaging mainstream consumers and, in doing so, advancing sustainability within the fashion sector. Employing a mono-method qualitative design, the research draws on consumer interviews conducted across European countries to uncover the sources of resistance that shape consumer attitudes towards charity shops. The findings identify key resistance factors that hinder consumer engagement, from which recommendations emerge to support greater acceptance of second-hand retail and to strengthen the role of charity stores in promoting sustainability. The study makes a theoretical contribution to sustainable retail research by foregrounding the charity shop as an underexplored yet critical retail format for clothing reuse. Although charity retail holds considerable potential to advance sustainability goals, it has to date received limited academic attention. To the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to explore charity stores explicitly from a consumer perspective, focusing on the mechanisms of resistance that restrict their wider adoption. By identifying barriers to engagement and proposing strategies for overcoming them, the research not only enriches understanding of consumer behaviour in sustainable fashion retail but also highlights avenues for future inquiry that reimagine the role and potential of charity shops in driving sustainable consumption.

ABSTRACT. Fashion sustainability research produces contradictory findings, with studies showing positive, negative, or null performance relationships. Rather than treating these inconsistencies as measurement error, we argue that heterogeneity itself requires explanation. Through a PRISMA 2020-compliant systematic review of 80 sources (the protocol registered with INPLASY), comprising 35 peer-reviewed studies and 45 grey literature sources, we develop a dual-channel capability framework. Sustainability operates through two competing mechanisms: a resource-investment channel that increases costs and a capability-leverage channel that generates competitive advantages. Performance outcomes depend on organizational capability thresholds—below minimum thresholds, firms incur costs without offsetting benefits; above thresholds, complementarity effects activate, producing superior performance. This framework resolves apparent contradictions by demonstrating that large established firms, small sustainable ventures, and challenger brands experience fundamentally different sustainability-performance relationships based on their specific capability endowments. This findings provide capability-contingent strategic guidance and implications.

ABSTRACT. Sustainability has become a strategic priority for the luxury fashion industry, where transparency and trust increasingly shape consumer perceptions. This study examines how digital transparency, trust, and social influence affect Generation Z’s intention to purchase sustainable luxury fashion products. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior and Signaling Theory, the research adopts a mixed-methods approach combining qualitative analysis of transparency practices in luxury fashion with a survey of 293 Gen Z consumers. The findings reveal that digital transparency mechanisms—such as product traceability and verifiable sustainability disclosures—significantly enhance consumer trust, which acts as a key mediator of sustainable purchase intention. Social norms and peer influence further reinforce ethical consumption behavior, while general awareness of sustainability initiatives alone does not significantly predict purchasing decisions. The study highlights the strategic role of transparency in fostering trust and encouraging responsible consumption in the luxury fashion market.

ABSTRACT. The fashion and textile industry is a major contributor to carbon emissions, water consumption and material waste. Circular economy initiatives, particularly industrial symbiosis (IS), are increasingly promoted as solutions through practices such as textile recycling, reuse of production off-cuts and shared resource infrastructures. Existing research, however, primarily frames these collaborations as environmentally motivated sustainability practices. This paper argues instead that industrial symbiosis in fashion supply networks can be understood as a strategic response to non-diversifiable operational and regulatory risk.

Fashion producers face growing uncertainty arising from volatile raw material prices, waste disposal costs, tightening environmental regulation and supply disruptions. Under such conditions, firm-level optimisation becomes insufficient, and collaboration emerges as a means to stabilise production processes. Industrial symbiosis arrangements allow firms to secure secondary inputs, manage waste liabilities and reduce exposure to external shocks.

The study employs a qualitative comparative embedded case study combined with process tracing. Data will be collected through approximately 10–12 semi-structured interviews with textile manufacturers, recycling firms, sustainability managers and organised industrial zone administrators involved in symbiotic exchange practices, complemented by project documents and industry reports. The analysis reconstructs decision processes leading to collaboration and identifies recurring mechanisms linking perceived risk exposure to inter-organisational coordination.

The paper contributes to strategic management and sustainable fashion research by showing that circular fashion practices function not only as environmental initiatives but as governance mechanisms through which firms collectively manage interdependence and supply-chain uncertainty.

ABSTRACT. Luxury fashion brands usually rely on storytelling to communicate sustainability (Di Leo et al., 2023; Woodside & Fine, 2019), and empathy has been identified as playing an important role in communicating sustainable messages (Rakib et al., 2022). Yet, little is known about how multimodal storytelling evokes consumer empathy for sustainability. This paper aims to compare how six luxury fashion brands construct sustainability stories and what empathy cues they potentially evoke. Specifically, this paper examines six sustainability campaign videos — Prada Re-Nylon, Stella McCartney, Gucci Equilibrium, Chloé, Max Mara and Coachtopia — to explore how sustainability stories are constructed and communicated through video-based campaigns. Using a multimodal analytical approach adapted from Tseng and Thiele (2022), the study examines how visual, auditory, and textual modes and narrative elements interact to shape empathy. The findings show that empathy might be cued at moments of multimodal elements interplayed rather than through sustainability information alone. Besides, storyteller position and narrative structure shape different forms of empathy, with process-centred narratives providing more messages of sustainability and thus greater potential for affective, cognitive and associative empathy than heritage-focused approaches. Further, this case study contributes to fashion marketing research by identifying how luxury fashion brands employ multimodal storytelling strategies to communicate sustainability across video-based campaigns.

ABSTRACT. This study explores the evolving conceptualization of prestige in the digital era, focusing on the tension between traditional luxury exclusivity and the democratization of masstige brands. While prestige has historically been rooted in Veblenian conspicuous consumption, this research utilizes a systematic literature review of 36 peer-reviewed studies (2000–2025) to reveal a shift toward 'digital prestige'—a relational construct co-produced through social media narratives and identity performance.

Findings indicate that while quantitative modeling (SEM) dominates the field, there is a critical need for context-sensitive methodologies to decode subtle prestige signaling. Consequently, this paper proposes a Qualitative Content Analysis to decode 'prestige signals' within brand-generated content, bridging the gap between 'loud' and 'quiet' luxury signaling. The study contributes a consolidated theoretical framework—integrating social identity, self-presentation, and hyperreality theories—to guide luxury brands in maintaining elite status while engaging broad digital audiences.

ABSTRACT. This study examines official e-commerce assortments of seven leading luxury brands in Japan and China. After outlining cross-market differences, we extract latent assortment dimensions using principal component analysis (PCA) and identify equivalent sufficient configurations leading to high brand value using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).

ABSTRACT. Counterfeiting has emerged as a significant economic threat, the global proportion of the transactions is becoming a real challenge prompting the development of a diverse range of countermeasures that draw upon legal, political, administrative, and business strategies. “The value of global trade in fakes in 2021 is estimated at 467 billion USD” (EUIPO, 2025) with China and Hong Kong being the main provenance economies of counterfeit goods.

Counterfeit luxury consumption has often been approached as a socially undesirable practice (Perez, M E., et al., 2010; Cesareo, L. & Belleza, S., 2025) in emerging economies where Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) are not regularly applied and governments are somehow permissive encouraging an illicit trade (Cesareo, L. et al., 2017), shaped by individual motives or barriers (Le Roux, A. et al., 2015) with consumers managing risks tied to social exposure (Wilcox, K. et al., 2009). In parallel, luxury-counterfeit research has emphasized perceived risks and the ways consumers navigate psychosocial and moral discomfort around counterfeit purchases (Pueschel, J. et al., 2017).

Yet discussions on social media and the press increasingly hint at a different cultural moment. Now, “dupe” and “superfake” talk circulates openly on social platforms, with some consumers treating imitation purchases as savvy, even shareable. Trade press has described this as a move away from discreet, hidden acquisition toward more public display and recommendation, particularly in digitally mediated spaces (e.g., TikTok, Instagram), where “dupe” becomes a category that can sound less stigmatizing than “counterfeit” , eroding the traditional social stigma associated with counterfeit goods (Theoharidis, 2025). This shift is not well explained by dominant academic counterfeit frameworks that foreground stable “motivations” and “barriers.” Hence in this paper we ask: “how do consumers make an illicit consumption practice feel acceptable, reasonable, and normal in everyday life?”

This study is set in Lebanon, a market where luxury orientation and strong appearance norms intersect with one of the most severe economic crises globally since the mid-nineteenth century, intensifying the tension between aspirational consumption and declining purchasing power (Worldbank, 2021). It has been proved that during economic crisis, consumers try to focus their purchases on products that don't impact their income (Durra M., 2010) but Lebanese consumer do believe that there is a need to meet the expectations of local social groups (Farah M., 2016) and their high sense of fashion is a subject of interest, Fashion items being the the most online purchased categorie of goods (IPSOS, 2024). Lebanon is also a setting where counterfeit trade is widely documented across physical and digital channels, while enforcement is described as weak and largely complaint-driven, which makes “legal legitimacy” difficult to attain even when social acceptance grows . We investigate how consumers in Lebanon, amid prolonged economic strain and intensified price sensitivity, participate in the reshaping of counterfeit luxury consumption. Rather than treating “legitimacy” as a legal status, since laws are outdated and the governmental organizations have more vital issues to solve, the paper approaches legitimation as an unfolding process, through which actors make a practice appear (a) normatively justifiable and (b) cognitively ordinary.

To address the research question, we draw on Vaara et al. (2024) integrative framework of “discursive legitimation”, which organizes legitimation work around five elements: “arenas” (where discourse circulates), “positions” (who can credibly speak), “foundations” (the moral, pragmatic, or taken-for-granted grounds invoked), “strategies” (the rhetorical and practical moves used), and “temporality” (how legitimation changes over time and in relation to field-level shifts).

This study employs an interpretive qualitative design combining semi-structured interviews with Lebanese consumers who have purchased counterfeit luxury items (including “dupes,” replicas, and high-grade copies) and a growing corpus of digital traces from selling infrastructures (for example, Instagram storefront posts and WhatsApp-based circulation). Interviews with sellers are planned as a subsequent phase. Recruitment follows purposive and snowball logic to capture variation in age, purchasing experience, product category (for example, bags and shoes), and buying channel (online, physical, and via intermediaries such as personal shoppers). Data collection and analysis are ongoing.

ABSTRACT. In an era where corporate environmental commitments are under intense scrutiny, the efficacy of green advertising is determined by a complex interplay of emotional resonance and cognitive evaluation. This study explores these dynamics by advancing an integrated framework that merges the Affect–Reason–Involvement (ARI) model with Construal Level Theory (CLT). Moving beyond traditional marketing metrics, the research frames sustainability communication as a catalyst for both brand-building and consumer education, positioning the industry’s environmental efforts as a driver of broader ecological awareness. The investigation employs a sophisticated, multi-methodological approach involving 220 participants. The methodology integrates traditional quantitative measures with biometric analysis: respondents completed a pre-exposure survey, followed by the viewing of a technical circular-economy stimulus—a video detailing the industrial recovery of cashmere waste—during which their emotional fluctuations were captured in real-time through automated face tracking technology. A post-exposure survey then measured the shift in attitudes and knowledge. This hybrid design allows for a precise mapping of how spontaneous emotional reactions, recorded during the vision, translate into lasting cognitive appraisals. Through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the findings identify Ad Credibility as the central pivot of the consumer experience. The study demonstrates that when a message is perceived as credible, the impact on brand-related outcomes is profound, significantly elevating both post-vision brand attitude and brand affection. A key contribution of this research is the evidence that emotions, captured via face tracking, are not merely fleeting reactions but are intrinsically linked to the rational processing of the message. In the complex context of the circular economy, positive emotional engagement—triggered by transparency and substantive content—serves to lower consumer defensive barriers and validates the brand’s claims. Furthermore, the research highlights the educational power of green advertising. The analysis shows that high levels of ad credibility and engagement have a strong positive influence on consumers' general environmental knowledge and their broader attitudes toward sustainability. This suggests that precise, technical communication about circular processes does more than just sell a product; it contributes to the consumer's ecological literacy and shifts their general orientation toward global environmental issues. By bridging technical transparency with emotional storytelling, brands can move from a paradigm of "blind trust" to one of "verifiable data," ensuring that circularity efforts foster both a lasting affective bond and a more informed, sustainably-engaged society.

ABSTRACT. Luxury fashion brands are increasingly expanding into experiential services such as cafés and restaurants, reflecting a broader shift in luxury consumption from product acquisition to immersive brand experiences. Located within or near flagship boutiques, these branded dining spaces aim to reinforce brand storytelling and translate the symbolic identity of the brand into multisensory experiences. Despite the growth of this phenomenon, limited research has explored how consumers evaluate fashion-branded dining experiences. This study examines the factors influencing customer evaluations of luxury fashion-branded restaurants and cafés, and investigates how the dining experience interacts with the symbolic meaning of the parent brand. Drawing on Expectation-Confirmation Theory and schema congruence perspectives, the research analyzes TripAdvisor reviews from six restaurants associated with luxury fashion brands in Milan and Paris. A qualitative thematic analysis, supported by semiotic interpretation, was conducted to identify recurring evaluation patterns. Preliminary findings show that customers are often motivated by curiosity and the desire to experience the brand beyond fashion retail. While the branded atmosphere and aesthetic coherence are generally appreciated, evaluations of food quality, service, and price fairness are more heterogeneous and sometimes fail to meet the high expectations associated with luxury brands. Overall, results suggest that symbolic brand transfer is effective, but operational performance plays a crucial role in shaping customer satisfaction.

ABSTRACT. This ongoing study empirically investigates the mirror neuron effect in the context of artistic paintings, focusing specifically on happiness and sadness, and examining whether facial expressions depicting these two emotions in classical artworks trigger congruent emotional responses in observers, as measured objectively through FaceReader technology.

ABSTRACT. This paper investigates the ways how superhero-inspired aesthetics, particularly those embodied in cosplay, influences consumer identity construction and perceptions of empowerment within the emerging phygital environment.

ABSTRACT. This research investigates how metaverse luxury experiences function as immersive advertising platforms that influence consumers’ emotional well-being by examining the psychological mechanisms underlying avatar-mediated interactions with luxury brands. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory, we propose that these experiences enhance emotional well-being through the fulfillment of three fundamental psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Using a multi-study design, Study 1 identifies key dimensions of metaverse luxury experience—including immersion, digital interaction, and self-expressiveness—through in-depth interviews with active metaverse users. Study 2 tests a quantitative mediation model to determine which dimensions most strongly drive emotional well-being via psychological need fulfillment, while Study 3 examines the moderating role of luxury value orientation, differentiating experiential-oriented and status-oriented consumers. The findings are expected to reveal that immersive, participatory metaverse experiences not only enhance affective and self-related outcomes but also serve as effective channels for engaging consumers in luxury brand communication, particularly for those who value experiential aspects of luxury. By integrating advertising, immersive media, and consumer well-being research, this study contributes theoretically by conceptualizing metaverse luxury experience as a psychologically meaningful advertising context and empirically uncovering its underlying mechanisms, and offers managerial guidance for designing metaverse-based advertising campaigns that maximize both consumer engagement and emotional well-being.

ABSTRACT. Virtual influencers (VIs) are rapidly becoming a core advertising asset in fashion, raising a key decision: should brands endorse through a brand-owned VI that is fully controllable, or partner with a non-brand-owned VI that appears more independent? Ownership cues are expected to activate a credibility-control trade-off, with the relative value of independence versus control varying across brand positioning. To examine how and when brand-owned VIs are expected to improve endorsement effectiveness, this research adopts a four-study mixed-methods design. Study 1 is expected to map how fashion brands disclose or imply VI ownership and how audiences discuss credibility, authenticity, and control, using automated social-media data collection and qualitative content analysis. Study 2 is expected to establish the causal effect of VI ownership (brand-owned vs. non-brand-owned) on endorsement effectiveness using standardized Instagram mock-ups. Study 3 will test brand positioning (luxury vs. mainstream) as a boundary condition, showing that brand-owned VIs should be more effective for luxury fashion brands. At the same time, non-brand-owned VIs may perform comparatively better for mainstream brands. Finally, Study 4 is designed to explain these effects by testing perceived VI-brand congruence as a mediating mechanism, with stronger indirect effects anticipated under luxury positioning. Overall, the findings should clarify VI governance decisions and provide actionable guidance for designing VI portfolios in an increasingly virtualized influencer economy.

ABSTRACT. The success of online influencer marketing (OIM) depends upon the fact that influencers social media platforms use storytelling to seem relatable and relevant to the audience while sharing information/narratives about their personal and professional life experiences. However, when such narratives are based on the lived experiences of people from stigmatized and often devalued groups, the persuasion process become extremely fragile and dependent on the credibility of storyteller. Particularly, when disability-focused narratives are communicated by AI-generated personas, often referred to as virtual influencers, the psychological process through which such narratives are evaluated might be affected due to the influencer’s non-human nature. Specifically, audiences may question the storyteller’s credibility that directly affects narrative and affective engagement. Across a pilot study and two main experimental studies, we examine how influencer type shapes narrative persuasion and brand outcomes in the context of disability-focused storytelling. Building on source credibility and narrative transportation theory, we show that human (vs. virtual) influencers lead to more favorable brand outcomes, including emotional attachment, brand attitudes, and willingness to buy. By examining a serial mediation mechanism, we demonstrate that, compared to virtual influencers, human influencers are perceived as more credible, which increases transportation into the narrative and subsequently enhances positive brand outcomes. Our findings contribute to influencer marketing and narrative persuasion research by positioning disability narratives as a critical boundary condition for AI-mediated persuasion, showing that persuasive failures arise not only from perceived brand inauthenticity but also from the absence of storyteller’s lived experience. For practitioners, our results suggest that brands should exercise caution when employing virtual influencers in disability focused storytelling and carefully attend to source credibility, narrative depth, and transparency to attenuate negative consumer evaluations.

ABSTRACT. This research examines whether, how, and under what circumstances consumers' socially responsible behaviors—aimed at environmental protection and reduction of carbon emissions—influence consumption quantities of conventional products. Three studies, including an online field study, show that socially responsible behavior is associated with larger consumption quantities of conventional products.

ABSTRACT. This study examines how consumers respond to green advertising with varying levels of information by integrating Social Exchange Theory (SET) and the Norm Activation Model (NAM). As firms increasingly rely on sustainability disclosures to signal environmental responsibility, such strategies may unintentionally trigger information overload and skepticism. Across three studies, this research investigates how Digital Product Passports (DPP) and moral norms jointly shape consumers’ interpretations of and reactions to green advertising. Studies 1 and 2 employ a 2 (information quantity: high vs. low) × 2 (DPP: present vs. absent) experimental design using U.S. consumer samples recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk. The results show that increasing information quantity alone does not directly enhance green behavior intention. However, the presence of DPP significantly mitigates perceived information overload under high-information conditions, indicating that standardized and credible sustainability disclosures reduce cognitive costs associated with information processing. Study 3, conducted with a separate sample recruited via ResearchCloud, applies the Norm Activation Model to examine moral mechanisms underlying information processing. The findings demonstrate that awareness of consequences, ascription of responsibility, anticipated guilt, and anticipated pride activate personal norms, which in turn reduce perceived information overload. Notably, perceived information overload positively influences green behavior intention, suggesting that, in sustainability contexts, information abundance can heighten moral engagement rather than impede decision-making. By jointly considering exchange-based and norm-based mechanisms, this study reconceptualizes information overload as a conditional and morally regulated phenomenon. The findings offer theoretical contributions to green advertising and ethical consumption research and provide practical implications for designing effective sustainability communication that balances transparency, cognitive manageability, and moral motivation.

ABSTRACT. INTRODUCTION The global luxury market faces a defining paradox: as counterfeit consumption reaches unprecedented scales—representing USD 467 billion or 2.3% of global commerce (OECD & EUIPO, 2025)—sustainable secondhand luxury markets simultaneously experience 12% annual growth across international platforms like Vinted, ThredUp, and Vestiaire Collective (McKinsey, 2019). This dual expansion creates complex strategic challenges for international luxury brands navigating divergent consumer pathways toward accessible prestige. The phenomenon transcends individual markets, manifesting as a truly global tension between status-driven counterfeit consumption and authenticity-oriented sustainable alternatives, yet cultural contexts profoundly shape how consumers resolve these competing motivations. This research examines international variations in consumer choices between counterfeit and secondhand luxury products, revealing how cultural values, institutional environments, and social norms create distinct patterns across global markets. The counterfeit trade particularly impacts European imports, accounting for nearly 5% of EU imports in 2021 (OECD & EUIPO, 2025), while simultaneously posing severe challenges in emerging markets where institutional enforcement remains weak. Understanding these cross-cultural dynamics is essential for luxury brands operating internationally and policymakers seeking globally coordinated anti-counterfeiting strategies. CROSS-CULTURAL CONSUMER MOTIVATIONS AND BARRIERS International research reveals striking cultural variations in how consumers perceive counterfeit and secondhand luxury alternatives. In emerging markets, particularly China, secondhand luxury consumption remains significantly constrained despite growing awareness of sustainability. Luo and Park (2024) identify five risk types inhibiting Chinese SHP adoption: functional risks regarding product quality, financial risks concerning value retention, sales source risks about platform reliability, physical risks related to hygiene, and particularly salient psychosocial-superstitious risks rooted in cultural beliefs about used goods carrying negative energy or misfortune. These culturally specific barriers create markedly different consumption landscapes than Western markets, where secondhand luxury increasingly signals sophisticated connoisseurship rather than economic constraint. Conversely, counterfeit consumption thrives in emerging markets through mechanisms extending beyond economic accessibility. Malik et al. (2020) demonstrate that interdependent self-construal—characteristic of collectivist cultures—combined with susceptibility to social influence, elevates risky counterfeit consumption. The concept of "face" in East Asian cultures creates particularly complex dynamics, as Shan et al. (2021) reveal through their double-edged sword framework: face concerns simultaneously motivate counterfeit luxury consumption (to avoid losing face through inability to afford authentic goods) and prevent it (to avoid losing face if counterfeits are detected). This cultural nuance explains why identical products may serve different symbolic functions across international markets. In Western markets, particularly Europe and North America, sustainability increasingly functions as a legitimate status signal, fundamentally altering the symbolic value of secondhand luxury. European Commission policies mandating extended producer responsibility for textiles by 2025 (European Commission, 2021) create institutional support for circular economy principles, lending governmental legitimacy to secondhand consumption. This regulatory context shapes consumer perceptions, positioning SHPs as ethically sophisticated choices rather than economically compromised alternatives. The institutional environment thus moderates how consumers interpret and respond to sustainable luxury options. GLOBAL SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE NORMALIZATION OF COUNTERFEITS The internationalization of counterfeit consumption has accelerated dramatically through global social media platforms, particularly TikTok and Instagram, where "dupe culture" transcends national boundaries. Marqvision (2025) documents how influencers worldwide glamorize counterfeits as trendy, accessible status symbols, fundamentally challenging traditional luxury brand control over symbolic meaning. Generation Z consumers across continents engage with "dupe hunting" content, creating globalized peer networks that normalize counterfeit consumption through social exposure and perceived legitimacy (Huang et al., 2004; Wang et al., 2024). This social media-driven phenomenon operates differently across cultural contexts, however. While dupe culture appears superficially homogeneous across international TikTok communities, underlying motivations and consequences vary. Wang et al. (2024) reveal that social exposure to counterfeits may paradoxically increase desire for authentic luxury as consumers seek to restore social standing—but this face restoration mechanism operates primarily in high-context cultures where social reputation carries paramount importance. In individualistic Western cultures, counterfeit exposure may instead strengthen anti-consumption values or redirect consumers toward secondhand alternatives that maintain authenticity while signaling ethical consciousness. INTERNATIONAL CONSUMER TYPOLOGIES AND STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS Our multi-method investigation identified six consumer typologies that transcend national boundaries while manifesting differently across cultural contexts. The largest segment, "Skeptical Young New Buyers" (26.2%), comprises younger consumers with negative expectancies toward both counterfeit and secondhand goods, preferring authentic new products. This segment exhibits particularly strong presence in developed markets where brand authenticity and quality assurance infrastructures are well-established, and where institutional trust enables consumers to prioritize authenticity over economic considerations. "Optimistic Value Seekers" (21.4%) maintain strong counterfeit preferences despite ethical messaging, reflecting status-driven consumption particularly prevalent in emerging markets where symbolic wealth signaling outweighs ethical concerns. This segment's resilience to negative framing suggests that in markets where luxury remains aspirational and economically distant, conspicuous consumption motivations override moral considerations—a pattern consistent with Malik et al.'s (2020) findings on interdependent self-construal and social influence in emerging markets. "Cautious but Open Traditionalists" (19.6%) show increased SHP receptivity when primed with ethical messaging, representing mature consumers in European and North American markets who value heritage but respond to sustainability narratives. This segment illustrates how cultural contexts favoring environmental consciousness—supported by institutional policies and social movements—create receptivity to secondhand luxury as ethically sophisticated consumption. The European regulatory environment promoting circular economy principles particularly cultivates this consumer orientation. "Enthusiastic Experimenters" (11.8%) represent younger, globally connected consumers who navigate social media influences while remaining morally responsive. This segment embodies the tension between dupe culture glamorization and growing sustainability consciousness characteristic of Gen Z worldwide. Their experimental openness and changing attitudes capture the dynamic interplay of hedonic appeal, social risk, and moral reflection emerging across international youth markets, suggesting that global connectivity creates hybrid consumer identities that blend cultural influences. THEORETICAL CONTRIBUTIONS This research extends signaling theory by demonstrating that signal effectiveness varies systematically across cultural contexts. The same luxury good—whether counterfeit or secondhand—communicates different meanings depending on cultural values, institutional environments, and social norms. This contextual signaling framework challenges assumptions of universal signal interpretation in cross-cultural consumer behavior, revealing that visibility, authenticity, and sustainability carry culturally specific symbolic weights.

ABSTRACT. This study examines how sustainability messages from global luxury fashion brands influence consumer responses across different cultural contexts. Drawing on balance theory, we investigate whether product-focused versus activity-focused sustainability communications shape ethical self-alignment, luxury deservingness, and purchase intentions among Korean and Spanish consumers. Despite luxury brands disseminating similar sustainability messages globally, empirical understanding of cross-cultural interpretations remains limited. Through an online experimental survey of over 200 luxury consumers via Prolific, this research explores the psychological mechanisms through which sustainability messages affect consumer responses and whether these mechanisms vary by national context. The study also considers moderating effects of individual differences, including fashion capital and sustainability orientation. Theoretically, the research extends sustainable consumption theory into international contexts, demonstrating that sustainability operates as a context-dependent construct. Practically, findings offer luxury brands actionable insights for designing culturally tailored sustainability communication strategies that enhance ethical resonance while minimizing greenwashing skepticism.

ABSTRACT. As the fashion industry pivots toward a data-driven "phygital" (physical + digital) paradigm, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become integral to trend forecasting. While AI algorithms analyze vast datasets from social media and runways to predict trends with high accuracy, consumers often exhibit "algorithm aversion" in subjective domains like fashion, questioning whether machines possess the aesthetic intuition and cultural context required for valid stylistic judgment. This study investigates how the nature of the information source—AI, Human Expert, or a Hybrid (AI + Human)—influences consumer trust and acceptance of trend forecasts. Using a randomized experiment with 236 US consumers, this research demonstrates that while AI is perceived as competent, it suffers from a significant deficit in "epistemic authority" compared to human experts. However, a "Hybrid Intelligence" approach—where human experts verify AI outputs—effectively restores this authority. Crucially, the study identifies a dual-pathway mechanism: while perceived expertise drives cognitive trust, it is perceived authority that drives "affective trust," which is the primary predictor of acceptance intention in the fashion context. These findings suggest that to succeed in the phygital era, fashion firms must adopt a "Human-in-the-loop" communication strategy that leverages AI for efficiency while anchoring trust in human authority.

ABSTRACT. The fashion industry is undergoing a significant paradigm shift toward "phygital" experiences, driven by the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in mobile applications. Despite its importance, research capturing the spontaneous and emotional nuances of AI-mediated fashion experiences remains limited. This study employs BERTopic, a transformer-based topic modeling technique, to analyze large-scale consumer reviews from major mobile platforms. By leveraging S-BERT embeddings and HDBSCAN clustering, the research identifies latent experiential dimensions—ranging from AI functionality and phygital realism to aesthetic satisfaction. Empirical models, including OLS and ordered logit regressions, are utilized to quantify how these topics influence overall consumer satisfaction. The findings are expected to reveal key drivers of satisfaction, such as personalization quality, and sources of frustration, such as inaccurate fit simulations. This study contributes to AI-driven marketing literature and provides actionable insights for practitioners aiming to balance technological sophistication with the unique emotional demands of fashion consumption.

ABSTRACT. Fashion brands increasingly rely on immersive spaces to communicate brand narratives, yet limited research has examined how immersive experiences are strategically designed and differentiated across brand tiers. Focusing on four fashion brands—Balenciaga and Gucci (luxury), and Nike and Tommy Hilfiger (masstige)—this study adopts a theory-guided comparative qualitative approach grounded in experience economy theory and narrative transportation theory to analyse how immersive brand experiences are configurationally designed. Through comparative mapping, the analysis shows that immersive branding value does not arise from immersion per se, but from how technological modalities are aligned with narrative mechanisms, participation structures, and brand–consumer relationship logics. Luxury brands configure immersive environments to foreground symbolic density, aesthetic control, and selectively participatory experiences, whereas masstige brands deploy more accessible, engagement-oriented configurations emphasising agency, embodiment, and relational inclusion. Across both tiers, immersive modalities operate as integrated narrative–experiential systems rather than isolated executions, and no technology is inherently luxury- or masstige-oriented. Instead, tier orientation emerges from how immersive experiences structure participation, identity roles, and value creation. This study advances immersive branding research by positioning brand tier as a structuring condition of immersive experience design and offers a qualitative foundation for future research.

ABSTRACT. This empirical study investigates the adoption and impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across the Spanish fashion retail value chain. Drawing on a dual conceptual framework—the six-stage fashion value chain and the triadic AI typology (Mechanical, Thinking, Feeling)—the research explores how AI transforms operational efficiency, creativity, and sustainability. Using a qualitative, interpretive methodology, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews with over 20 professionals, applying the Gioia method to derive inductive insights. Findings reveal an uneven distribution of AI maturity: Mechanical and Thinking AI are well-integrated in logistics and demand forecasting, while Feeling AI remains emergent. Key tensions include the persistence of human intuition in design processes and the dominance of economic over ecological incentives in AI-driven sustainability. The study offers a strategic roadmap for fashion retailers navigating ethical, technological, and organizational barriers, contributing to both theoretical advancement and managerial practice in the evolving landscape of AI in fashion.

ABSTRACT. GenAI studies have been studied in recent years regarding innovation and marketing and there have been calls for future research on the innovation of GenAI for marketing practices (Cilio and Rubera, 2024; Moharam and Tawalben, 2025; Musaiqer & Hamdan, 2023) but up to date there are no studies of how Spanish marketing and branding agencies apply GenAI for brand management and consultancy, using qualitative research. This paper addresses this gap in research (Grewal et al., 2024; Prasanna and Kushwaha, 2025). The main contribution is to explore the impact of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in brand management and study its deployment by Spanish decision-makers in marketing and branding agencies whose clients are from a wide array of sectors: media, fashion, consumer goods and service sectors. It studies what aspects of brand management are affected by GenAI usage and focuses on the current use of generative artificial intelligence in the marketing agency, impact in different areas of brand management consultancy and perception of risks and benefits. Qualitative methodology is used through 10 in-depth interviews with marketing agency managers and directors. Verbatim text is analyzed using interpretative, thematic analysis and Atlas-ti v.9 software. Insights attained reflect variations in use of GenAI depending on the type of agency and its clients and sectors. Common aspects are usage for workflow optimization, validation of strategic thinking and use of secure, in-company AI platforms, impact on productivity and key performance indicators with brand clients. This paper is innovative in addressing previous academic calls for research of GenAI deployment in marketing and branding agencies in Spain and useful for practitioners to learn how Spanish brand-agency decision-makers adopt it.

ABSTRACT. Digital technologies increasingly enable sustainable consumption by enhancing traceability, transparency, and credibility within production systems (Rejeb et al., 2020; Tan & Saraniemi, 2023), while strengthening the communication of sustainability attributes to consumers (Nguyen & Nguyen, 2025; Rapezzi et al., 2025) especially relevant dynamic in the context of premium Made in Italy products, where origin, authenticity, and production ethics constitute core components of value (Sestino et al., 2026). Through an experimental research design based on real production cases in Italy (high quality cashmered products), this study investigates how the integration of digital technologies into such consumption experiences, compared to the absence of technological mediation, affects consumers’ willingness to purchase premium sustainable Made in Italy products and their positive word-of-mouth toward digitally enabled sustainable consumption practices. Findings reveal that consumers’ perceived Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), conceptualised across its economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic dimensions, as a key mediating mechanism explaining these effects, and environmental concern as a significant moderator. Specifically, the positive impact of digital integration on purchase intentions and advocacy behaviours is systematically amplified among individuals exhibiting higher levels of environmental concern, by shedding light on the relevance of consumers’ green individual differences in the context of premium products as well. The study offers theoretical contributions to research on technology-enabled sustainable consumption and premium value construction, as well as managerial and policy implications for the governance, communication, and valorisation of sustainable Made in Italy production systems. From a theoretical perspective, the study advances research on ttechnology-enabled sustainable consumption grounded in the theory regarding CSR and consumers’ responses (e.g., Green & Peloza, 2011; Sen et al., 2016; Sen & Bhattacharya, 2001) digital traceability (Acciai & Pérez-Bou, 2025; Alves et al., 2023), and consumers’ green behaviour into a unified explanatory framework (Luchs et al., 2015; Young et al., 2010), contributing to the the stream of resereach related to of sustainability-oriented consumer behaviour. It also extends value-creation and consumer psychology and consumer behavour in digital environment literature (e.g., Islam et al., 2024), by conceptualising digital transparency as a relational and symbolic resource in premium product ecosystems. From a practical perspective, the findings inform firms and policymakers on how digital traceability systems can be strategically deployed to reinforce trust, authenticity, and sustainability legitimacy in premium Made in Italy value chains. Moreover, findings also suggest practical implciations at environmental policy and geopolitical level by offering insights on how employ digital technologies for sustain consumptions in certain area, and incentivize consumers’ positive reactions as well. Nonetheless, findings also provide suggest insights for re-design consumers’ empowerment, engagement, and advocacy in digitally mediated sustainable consumption contexts.

ABSTRACT. The metaverse offers clothing brands a unique opportunity to engage Gen Z consumers in brand-related content that captivates their interest and provides a memorable experience (Dewalska-Opitek & Szejniuk, 2024). Despite the growing popularity of this medium, limited research has explored metaverse-based clothing brand engagement within a South African context. This study investigated the influence of experiential factors on customer brand engagement (CBE) within a metaverse-based clothing brand context among Gen Z consumers in South Africa. The research is grounded in Pine and Gilmore’s (1999) experience economy framework, including experience values as outlined by Sadachar and Fiore (2018) and Pekovic and Rolland (2020) (social, emotional, sensory, cognitive, and technological) and Hollebeek’s (2011) CBE model. Using a survey research design, primary data were collected from a convenience sample (N = 299) of 18- to 24-year-olds via an online, self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire used immersive imagery and a 5-point Likert-type scale to measure experiential factors and CBE. An exploratory factor analysis retained a seven-factor solution. A confirmatory factor analysis validated the measurement model with acceptable fit (CFI = 0.931; RMSEA = 0.049), and Cronbach’s alpha values above 0.7 confirmed internal reliability. Factor loadings and AVE values further supported convergent validity. First-order structural equation modelling (SEM) with bootstrapping was used to test the interrelationships among these factors and their effect on CBE. The SEM contained 12 hypotheses, of which 10 were supported. These results confirmed that all retained experiential factors influence Gen Z, with the escapist realm, education realm, and emotional value being most impactful. The results also showed effects between the realms of experience as well as between the realms of experience and the experience values. The findings suggest that for Gen Z consumers, CBE in the metaverse is driven by experiential factors that fulfil specific benefits, providing a basis for competitive advantage in the digital clothing market. Retail clothing brands using the metaverse to engage customers should ensure the setting is not only immersive but also offers aesthetic design, brand education, and escapism. Retailers should also incorporate connections through emotional, social, and cognitive-technology elements to keep customers engaged in the metaverse space.

ABSTRACT. In an increasingly connected and digitalized world, fashion companies place great importance on digital communication. It has become essential for fashion brands to adopt web-based communication strategies in order to generate leads. Lead generation involves identifying and attracting qualified prospects. It is a key component of the modern sales process. Today, to reach potential leads, fashion companies leverage every available means to create relevant and personalized content through social media, websites, blogs, and email campaigns channels that are especially powerful in an industry driven by visual storytelling, trend awareness, and brand identity. Digital communication, in turn, encompasses all forms of communication conducted through online platforms. Fashion brands are increasingly aware that their digital presence is a critical aspect of their brand image, their e-reputation, and, consequently, their commercial success. Despite the growing importance of these two concepts, a lack of theoretical resources persists that would allow a thorough understanding and mastery of these key notions, particularly as they apply to the fashion sector. It is with this in mind that this research aims to shed light on this topic. The objective is to provide an overview of existing research and studies in the field of lead generation and digital communication, offering a deeper understanding of the subject.

ABSTRACT. This paper examines how “authenticity” has been defined and operationalized in cultural tourism research, organizing prior studies through the shared analytical framework of Wang’s (1999) typology—objective authenticity, constructive authenticity, and existential authenticity—and describing how each type has been employed across different contexts. The review targets peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2000 and 2025 in which the definition of authenticity and its treatment in measurement (or observation) are made explicit; in total, 18 articles were reviewed. The analysis shows that in heritage and museum studies, many works focus on references to, and evaluative criteria for, objects or places, most often treating authenticity as objective or constructive authenticity. By contrast, studies of rituals, festivals, and events tend to discuss existential authenticity in connection with modes of participation, communality, and affective experience. In research on creative tourism, authenticity is frequently framed within processes of co-creation and learning, with a tendency to combine constructive and existential authenticity. In digital tourism, some studies model authenticity as a perceptual or emotional process—such as presence or immersion—and in certain cases treat it not as a precondition but as an outcome. Based on these findings, this paper demonstrates that even when the same term “authenticity” is used, its focal points and indicators vary depending on the referent, forms of practice, and mediating technologies involved. It therefore offers organizing perspectives, grounded in Wang’s (1999) framework, for interpreting and systematizing cultural tourism research.

ABSTRACT. This study examines the psychological mechanism through which information overload leads to discontinuous usage intention in algorithm-driven social media environments. While prior research predominantly explains disengagement as a passive outcome of fatigue, this study adopts a motivation-based perspective by integrating the Stressor–Strain–Outcome (SSO) framework with Psychological Reactance Theory (PRT). It proposes that information overload triggers psychological reactance—a response to perceived threats to autonomy—which drives discontinuance. Additionally, the moderating role of algorithmic awareness is examined. Survey data from 316 users of X (formerly Twitter) were analyzed using Hayes’ PROCESS macro. Results show that information overload significantly increases reactance, which in turn predicts discontinuous usage. algorithmic awareness does not moderate the information overload–reactance relationship but significantly strengthens the information overload–discontinuance relationship. These findings highlight reactance as a core mechanism and reveal a stage-specific moderating role of algorithmic awareness. Notably, higher algorithmic awareness amplifies discontinuance, offering a counterintuitive insight into algorithmic transparency.

ABSTRACT. Online communities have become important platforms for knowledge sharing and social interactions. While prior research has extensively examined members’ participation and knowledge sharing behaviors within communities, relatively little attention has been paid to how community relationships influence members’ information dissemination outside the community, particularly across different types of community members. Drawing on social capital and social cognitive theory, this study investigates how social interaction ties drive propagation, which refers to the dissemination of community-acquired information outside the community, and examines the cognitive mechanisms underlying this process among active participants and lurkers. Specifically, this study examines how social interaction ties drive propagation and how this influence is mediated by the sequential cognitive processes of self-efficacy and outcome expectations.

Data collected via online surveys from 283 members of the RedNote platform and analyzed through moderated mediation analyses revealed that social interaction ties positively influenced propagation, both directly and indirectly. Self-efficacy and outcome expectations function as sequential cognitive mechanisms through which social interaction ties are transformed into propagation. Multigroup analyses further reveal that while the direct effect of social interaction ties on propagation is significantly stronger for active participants than for lurkers, the indirect cognitive pathways via self-efficacy and outcome expectations are consistent across both groups.

These findings extend participation research by shifting attention from within-community contributions to outside information diffusion and by conceptualizing propagation as a meaningful form of participation. Importantly, the results challenge the stereotype of lurkers as passive consumers by demonstrating their latent potential as information diffusers once appropriate cognitive conditions are activated. This study contributes to the literature on online communities by integrating social capital and social cognitive perspectives and offers practical implications for mobilizing both active participants and lurkers to enhance information diffusion outside the community.

ABSTRACT. Japan has experienced a rapid increase in inbound tourism in recent years; however, these visitors remain heavily concentrated in major destinations such as Greater Tokyo and Osaka, where issues of overtourism have become increasingly apparent. In contrast, regions outside these metropolitan areas, such as Fukui Prefecture, possess rich cultural and historical resources yet remain underrecognized by international tourists who seek culturally meaningful and authentic experiences. This discrepancy suggests that potential visitors with a strong interest in authenticity have not fully discovered the distinctive value that regional destinations like Fukui can offer. To address this issue, the present study focuses on Fukui and aims to identify the psychological and demographic profiles of international tourists who are inclined to pursue authentic experiences, thereby providing insights for more effective targeting strategies for culturally grounded regional destinations. Authenticity has long been identified as a central determinant of meaningful tourism experiences, influencing visitors’ satisfaction, spending, and intentions to visit culturally rooted places. For regions such as Fukui, where cultural and historical assets constitute key sources of attractiveness, understanding which travelers value authenticity is particularly important. Despite its theoretical significance, empirical research remains limited regarding the psychological foundations that lead individuals to perceive authenticity in lesser-known destinations. To fill this gap, this study investigates the psychological and demographic characteristics of international tourists predisposed to seeking authentic and culturally meaningful experiences. Using an online survey of 4,000 respondents across 12 countries and regions (Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the UK, and the USA), our findings revealed that existential quest—characterized by intellectual humility, perspective-taking, empathy, interreligious tolerance, and the search for meaning—along with a predisposition toward seeking the authentic self, consistently associated with the perception of objective and constructive authenticity across various sites in Fukui. Furthermore, to enhance practical applicability, these psychological factors are translated into demographic indicators that can support actionable targeting strategies.

ABSTRACT. In recent years, the pet-related market has expanded rapidly. According to Grand View Research (2025), the market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.1% from 2022 to 2030. Despite this growth, research on pet-related topics in marketing and consumer behavior remains limited, and existing studies have tended to examine these issues in a fragmented manner. As a result, the relationship between pets and consumers (owners), as well as the associated consumption behaviors, has not been systematically organized. Unlike conventional consumption of products and services, pet-related consumption is characterized by strong emotional bonds and long-term relationships and involves decision-making contexts that include separation through death rather than disposal. These features make pet-related consumption a complex phenomenon that is difficult to capture using existing theories and concepts. Accordingly, this study conducts a systematic literature review of prior research examining the relationship between pets and consumers (owners), following the SPAR-4-SLR methodology and covering studies published up to December 2025. The review includes not only studies from marketing and consumer behavior but also research from psychology, a field that has richly examined relationships between pets and their owners. By integrating insights from these domains, this study aims to organize existing research streams, identify key research gaps, and clarify future research directions, thereby contributing to the theoretical development of marketing and consumer behavior research. The results of the review reveal clear differences in research interests and theoretical approaches between the two domains. Psychological research has primarily focused on the relationship between pet ownership and owners’ mental and psychological well-being, examining a wide range of owner characteristics and outcome variables. In contrast, research in marketing and consumer behavior remains scarce and has not sufficiently examined consumer characteristics or the diverse decision-making processes that occur across the stages of pet ownership, from pre-ownership decisions to the ownership period and post-separation experiences. Moreover, theories commonly employed in marketing research, such as status consumption, self-identity, and self-extension, do not fully capture the unique nature of relationships between pets and consumers and appear insufficiently updated beyond traditional consumption contexts. Finally, based on the findings of the systematic review, this study proposes future research directions for pet-related studies and seeks to contribute to the advancement of marketing and consumer behavior research in this underdeveloped yet increasingly important domain.

ABSTRACT. Understanding the psychological drivers of SWB is essential for developing strategies to enhance consumer satisfaction and loyalty. This study examines the relationships among Consumer Independence (CI) (Mao et al., 2016), Consumer Need for Uniqueness (CNFU), and Self-Concept FoMO (Fear of Missing Out) in predicting SWB (Blackwell et al., 2017; Brailovskaia & Margraf, 2024). It also examines whether these effects differ between utilitarian and hedonic consumption contexts, offering insights into how product categories shape consumer experiences. A quantitative design was employed, using two separate questionnaires administered to 231 U.S. participants in each group. A pre-test ensured accurate classification of utilitarian and hedonic products. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was applied to assess direct and mediated associations among CI, CNFU, FoMO, and SWB across both consumption types. Findings challenge the traditional negative perception of FoMO. Both personal and social FoMO positively influence SWB, suggesting that FoMO can foster engagement and satisfaction rather than anxiety. Interestingly, only social FoMO mediates the link between consumer traits and SWB. CI negatively affects SWB, whereas CNFU enhances SWB, both partially mediated by FoMO. Although CI exerts a more substantial significant negative effect on FoMO in utilitarian contexts, other relationships remain consistent across product categories.

ABSTRACT. Romantic advertising refers to promotional content that embeds love-related stimuli into brand or product messaging in order to attract individuals involved in romantic relationships. This style of communication can tend to evoke stronger reactions among romantically engaged consumers, particularly those with higher attachment anxiety who are more responsive to relational cues and emotional reassurance. The present study conceptualizes consumer choice as an adaptive process constrained by mental effort and guided by emerging relational meaning. We propose a five-stage progression capturing how consumers move from initial exposure to psychological closure within a choice set. Rather than treating romantic messaging as merely affect-enhancing, we conceptualize it as a decision-structuring mechanism capable of reducing cognitive friction, increasing meaning salience, and stabilizing choice in contexts of option abundance. This perspective highlights how romantic cues in fashion campaigns may accelerate decision resolution without requiring preference change.

ABSTRACT. This paper examines Artificial Intelligence and its potential for innovative applications in Influencer Marketing. The world is constantly changing, either through the development of new social media platforms designed for new audiences and disrupting market standards, or through the needs of existing generations, which are more complex than they appear. More specifically, Generation Z is described as a generation known for its trend-setting capabilities, transparent values, and a pursuit of authenticity.

An empirical study of 220 responses found that, despite most respondents having a low current perception of what an AI Influencer is, there is a direct positive link between this digital persona and consumer brand engagement and, consequently, brand attachment. This means that such a tool can be highly effective for micro-communities that favor digital characters, or when the message focuses on explaining the benefits of using the sponsored brand. Additionally, gratifications such as the ones related to the behavior of the masses are also found to be more significant in the formulation of the mental perception about this virtual persona than others related to building social status. Consumer values linked to fun and enjoyment moderate the model, whereas TikTok immersion does not play a significant role.

ABSTRACT. The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into creative domains has challenged long-standing assumptions about authorship, authenticity, and artistic value. In industries such as design, fashion, and advertising, AI systems increasingly collaborate with humans, enabling novel forms of creative expression and accelerating innovation (Huang et al., 2023; Choi & Kim, 2022). As AI-generated art gains visibility, a central question emerges: How does awareness of AI authorship shape emotional responses and perceived value in artistic consumption? Grounded in Consumption Value Theory (Sheth et al., 1991), this study examines the emotional and perceptual mechanisms through which AI-generated art is evaluated. Specifically, it investigates the roles of involvement, awe, and aesthetics in shaping two dimensions of perceived value - hedonic value and social value – within the context of AI authorship. A quantitative within-subjects experimental design was employed, involving 200 participants who evaluated The Next Rembrandt in two stages: first without contextual information, and subsequently after learning that the artwork was generated by AI. The results reveal significant declines across all constructs following the disclosure of AI authorship, indicating that human agency remains a critical determinant of aesthetic and emotional engagement. Involvement exhibited strong direct effects on both hedonic value and social value, underscoring its central role in perceived value formation. Overall, the findings extend Consumption Value Theory by demonstrating how technological authorship alters the emotional and perceptual pathways through which consumers assign value to art.

ABSTRACT. Generative-AI (GenAI) conversational assistants are increasingly embedded in the pre-purchase phase of fashion customer journeys, supporting information search, product comparison, and evaluation in mass-market apparel contexts. Rather than assuming that AI contributes to sustainability mainly by nudging consumers toward greener options at the moment of choice, this study advances a fashion-specific, journey-based proposition: GenAI can function as an informational and interpretive agent by providing end-of-life (EoL) guidance for garments before purchase. Building on customer journey theory, information diagnosticity, and Goal Systems Theory, we develop a model in which pre-purchase GenAI EoL information increases perceived information diagnosticity, strengthens anticipated post-purchase recycling and take-back intentions for clothing, and, via a journey-coherence mechanism, shapes current sustainable purchase intentions in fashion. Specifically, anticipating a feasible and self-consistent post-purchase behavior reorganizes the perceived instrumentality of recyclability-enabling apparel attributes (e.g., mono-material composition, take-back eligibility, recyclability-related disclosures), making them more salient during present purchase evaluation. We also posit a direct effect of GenAI EoL information on purchase intentions, and we treat AI trust/credibility and perceived consumer agency as boundary conditions that amplify or attenuate these effects. Methodologically, we propose a scenario-based experiment combined with structural equation modeling (SEM) to test direct, indirect (mediation), and conditional (moderation) relationships using intention-based latent constructs. Expected results indicate that higher-quality GenAI EoL information enhances diagnosticity, increases anticipated recycling intentions, and promotes sustainable purchase intentions, particularly when the assistant is perceived as transparent and autonomy-supportive.

ABSTRACT. As artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly mediates consumer decision-making, understanding how to communicate AI recommendations effectively has become a pivotal marketing challenge. This study investigates the interaction between AI messaging frames (logic-centric, focusing on the algorithmic process vs. outcome-centric, focusing on final benefits) and the user’s goal orientation (learning-oriented vs. proven-oriented) in determining AI recommendation acceptance. Drawing on need for cognitive closure research, we propose that the fit between a user's goal and the messaging frame facilitates cognitive closure need satisfaction, which in turn enhances the acceptance of AI-driven suggestions. To test these propositions, we designed an experimental study in the context of a high-involvement AI service. We expect to find a significant interaction effect between the AI messaging frame and the user’s goal orientation. Specifically, learning-oriented users are anticipated to show higher acceptance when presented with logic-centric frames, as the detailed algorithmic explanations reduce epistemic uncertainty and fulfill their need for cognitive closure through causal understanding. In contrast, proven-oriented users are expected to prefer outcome-centric frames, as these users prioritize the attainment of final benefits; for them, clear goal-related outcomes eliminate the perceived need for further information processing, thereby accelerating cognitive closure. This research suggests that platforms should move toward dynamic AI messaging that tailors the depth of explanation based on the user's psychological state and decision-making goals to prevent customer churn and maximize conversion rates.

ABSTRACT. Generative AI (GAI) technology is beginning to significantly revolutionize the tourism and fashion industry. While these technologies offer marketers unprecedented efficiency and creativity, they also raise critical concerns about authenticity and transparency. This research aims to provide a deeper understanding of the role of GAI identity disclosure in promoting responsible and ethical AI use within the tourism sector. Through four studies, we demonstrate that for destinations with distant cultural distance, GAI identity disclosure can negatively impact tourists’ attitudes, such as their intentions to visit. Conversely, for destinations with close cultural distance, this negative effect diminishes. The interaction between GAI identity disclosure and cultural distance is mediated by advertising skepticism. Furthermore, the negative impact of disclosure can be alleviated when: 1) tourists have higher (vs. lower) familiarity with AI technology; and 2) they are informed that the advertisement is generated by AI using real destination images. Our research contributes to the marketing field both theoretically and practically. For example, we innovatively explore the disclosure effect within cross-cultural tourism domain by highlighting cultural distance as a new influencing factor in the effect of GAI identity disclosure on visit intentions. In terms of practical contributions, our finding provides insights for industry stakeholders seeking to use AI responsibly and encourages companies to make careful decisions before adopting GAI technology in marketing campaigns.

ABSTRACT. As artificial intelligence (AI) systems increasingly adopt humanlike communication styles, prior research has largely focused on anthropomorphism and its generally positive effects on user evaluations. However, little is known about whether AI agents are also expected to follow human social distance norms. The present research investigates how varying levels of social closeness in AI communication influence consumer responses, and whether these effects depend on cultural and linguistic contexts. Across three studies, we manipulated an AI chatbot’s social distance using different combinations of address terms and speech styles, ranging from formal and impersonal communication to highly familiar and casual interaction. Study 1, conducted with Korean participants using Korean-language scenarios, shows that as AI communication becomes more socially familiar, trust and usage intention systematically decrease. This negative effect is particularly pronounced among highly extraverted individuals, who exhibit the highest usage intention toward a fully impersonal AI and the lowest intention toward an overly familiar AI. These findings suggest that socially skilled individuals may be especially sensitive to violations of relational norms in human–AI interaction. Study 2, conducted with U.S. participants using English-language materials, reveals no significant differences across social distance conditions, indicating that variations in AI social closeness do not elicit strong evaluative responses in this context. To disentangle cultural versus linguistic explanations, Study 3 replicates the English-language manipulation with Korean participants. Results demonstrate that even when communication is conducted in English, Korean participants perceive highly familiar AI communication as more uncomfortable and less trustworthy, leading to lower usage intention. Unlike Study 1, individual differences in extraversion do not moderate these effects, suggesting that overfamiliar AI behavior functions as a broadly shared norm violation rather than a personality-contingent response. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that AI social closeness is not universally beneficial and that consumers apply human social distance norms to AI agents in culturally contingent ways. The research contributes to the human–AI interaction literature by shifting the focus from anthropomorphism to social distance regulation and highlights the importance of culturally sensitive AI communication design.

ABSTRACT. This study explores how interactions with Generative AI (GenAI) influence Generation Z (Gen-Z) consumers' interpretation of luxury second-hand fashion consumption. Using a qualitative approach based on a constructivist perspective, the study examines how GenAI tools are used in pre-purchase information seeking and how meanings of luxury emerge through human-AI interaction.

ABSTRACT. Visual imagery plays an important part in corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns; yet, the use of real images depicting vulnerable populations, such as African children in drought-hit areas, raises ethical concerns related to consent, dignity, and exploitation. Generative AI can now create realistic, high-quality images depicting and predicting real-life situations, enabling organizations to use AI-generated images without using identifiable individuals. The implications of replacing real images with AI-generated images remain unclear. This research develops a three-study approach to examine the feasibility, effectiveness, and ethical dilemmas of AI-generated imagery in CSR communication. Study 1 validates the realism and quality of AI-generated CSR images. Study 2 compares AI-generated and real images in prevention, hope, and environmental CSR. Study 3 examines the impact of AI disclosure, non-disclosure, and ethical explanations for using generative AI. Across the three studies, perceived ethical legitimacy is proposed as a main variable shaping CSR campaign effectiveness, while perceived urgency and credibility are proposed as potential costs of generative AI imagery. The findings of our study aim to advance CSR communication and responsible AI research by reframing AI imagery as an ethical substitution rather than merely a cheap, realistic, and high-quality substitute.

ABSTRACT. As the fashion industry has been criticized for unethical practices and environmental harm from the marketplace, a growing number of fashion brands are placing greater emphasis on CSR in their business practices. Fashion brands not only view their social commitment as a necessary action but also as a way to manage their brand images. CSR can serve as a signal of companies’ care for social issues. Extant studies have confirmed that informing the public about adopting responsible commitments in their business influences consumer attitudes toward the brand (Ramadina et al., 2025; Sen & Bhattacharya, 2001). However, the role of CSR commitment on consumer behavior in crisis situations is rather limited. This paper suggests that a socially friendly image through CSR brings spillover effects on negative news judgments; pre-formed social image buffers the impact of negative publicity on brand evaluation. Also, this paper considers improving the CSR role by examining how such CSR information needs to be advertised. The results showed that companies with CSR activities are less affected by negative publicity in brand evaluation than those without CSR. Furthermore, the results showed that emotional appeal was more effective than informational appeal in managing brand image. The results also highlight respondents’ CSR support as a key moderator. These findings provide valuable insights for fashion brands on emphasizing sustainable consumer behavior and how to use CSR to safeguard their brand image from negative publicity.

ABSTRACT. Two studies examine whether digital nudges embedded in e-commerce can drive sustainable purchase. Three types of nudge are compared with control. In Study 1, disclosure and feedback nudges increased purchase intention. In Study 2, all three nudges showed significant direct effects on priced purchase intention, with mediation of functional and symbolic perceptions.

ABSTRACT. Global climate change challenges and focus on sustainability have led to national and international debates on factors that create pollution and harm the ecological balance. The textile manufacturing industry, which represents fast fashion, pollutes water bodies using chemical dyes and non-biodegradable fibers such as polyester, acrylic, and lycra. In contrast to fast fashion, the traditional heritage and handloom textile sector represents slow fashion and sustainability due to use of natural dyes and handlooms (which do not require energy during the manufacturing process). Sustainability in slow fashion starts from the farm level and encompasses organically grown ecofriendly raw materials like cotton, silk, bamboo; use of handlooms that do not consume energy and represents pollution-free manufacturing processes, appropriate wages and ethical working conditions for the weaver community and employees involved in the allied sectors, and use of ethical management practices throughout the supply & value chain. There has been a rise in 'cultural entrepreneurs' ready to take on the challenges of building sustainable supply & value chains to drive slow fashion heritage textile sector that also embodies sustainable manufacturing practices. The slow fashion heritage textile market in India has been gaining momentum as more and more Indians discern the value of myriad traditional weaves, which also represent inherent sustainable manufacturing practices. This research investigates the challenges and drivers of growth opportunities in this market, which draws on Indian heritage textile traditions and adheres to sustainability principles.

ABSTRACT. Western luxury brands actively employ Spring Festival limited-edition product strategies targeting the Chinese market, which is one of their largest consumer markets. Spring Festival limited editions that visually incorporate Chinese cultural symbols function not only as seasonal marketing initiatives but also as cultural communications that reveal how Western luxury brands perceive and reproduce local cultural meanings. However, research that systematically analyzes the cultural meaning-making embedded in Spring Festival limited-edition designs and related consumer responses remains scarce. This research aims to conduct a content analysis of advertising content for Spring Festival limited-edition products released by luxury brands from 2022 to 2025. A total of 83 Spring Festival limited-edition product advertisements from 15 luxury brands between 2020 and 2025were analyzed, and an analytical framework consisting of 83 categories was developed were derived, including traditional color schemes, visual mood, zodiac imagery, artistic elements, and stylistic features. Based on the analytical framework, Spring Festival limited-edition advertisements were classified into four types: traditional auspicious symbolism, brand–culture integration, minimal abstract aesthetics, and character-based playful Spring Festival design. By re-examining Spring Festival limited editions from the perspectives of advertising content analysis and experimental consumer research design, this study provides theoretical and practical foundations for research on cultural localization and cross-cultural design in luxury brands.

ABSTRACT. This study examines how Formula 1 (F1) drivers function as cultural intermediaries in the contemporary hybridization of sport and luxury, analyzing their Instagram communication as a site of symbolic value production. While elite sport has historically been governed by a performance-centered institutional logic—where legitimacy derives from measurable achievement, discipline, and technical mastery—luxury operates through an aesthetic-symbolic logic grounded in cultural meaning, distinction, and aspirational narratives. The increasing convergence between these domains indicates a structural transformation in how luxury legitimacy is produced, circulated, and embodied within digitally mediated cultural environments.

Rather than interpreting this shift as an extension of sponsorship or celebrity endorsement, the paper conceptualizes it as a process of institutional and symbolic hybridization. F1 drivers are positioned as actors who translate performance-derived symbolic capital into luxury prestige, contributing to hybrid regimes of legitimacy where athletic authority and aesthetic value become structurally entangled. This perspective extends cultural intermediary theory beyond traditional figures such as designers, editors, and influencers to include elite athletes operating within hybrid cultural industries.

The conceptual framework integrates institutional logics theory, the sociology of cultural intermediaries, and meaning transfer theory to explain how attributes associated with elite sport—precision, discipline, technological excellence, and cosmopolitan mobility—are recontextualized as luxury-signifying values. Luxury legitimacy is thus approached as a relational outcome produced through symbolic translation across fields rather than as an intrinsic brand property.

Methodologically, the study employs a qualitative-comparative design with systematic operationalization. The dataset comprises 160 Instagram posts from eight F1 drivers representing different positions along the performance-to-lifestyle continuum. Posts are analyzed as composite cultural artifacts integrating visual composition, captions, hashtags, tagged brands, and contextual cues. A theoretically grounded coding model measures intensities across four dimensions: fashion–luxury aesthetics, lifestyle–cultural narratives, ambassadorial role practices, and sport–performance codes. From their relative configuration, a Hybrid Luxury Legitimacy Index (HLLI) is derived to operationalize the degree to which performance-derived authority is embedded within luxury-coded environments.

Findings indicate that hybrid luxury legitimacy emerges through cumulative layering rather than substitution: performance authority remains central but is increasingly embedded within aesthetic and lifestyle narratives, producing composite forms of prestige. This challenges linear endorsement models and demonstrates how legitimacy in luxury markets is co-produced through the interaction of performance capital, aestheticization, and digital mediation. The study contributes to luxury marketing, cultural sociology, and branding theory by reconceptualizing legitimacy as hybrid and relational, expanding intermediary theory to performance-based fields, and proposing a transferable analytical model for hybrid legitimacy dynamics across cultural industries.

ABSTRACT. Body inclusivity has gained visibility in fashion discourse, yet its adoption in the luxury sector remains uneven. While luxury brands promote inclusive narratives through communication and casting, product assortments still reflect narrow sizing standards. Grounded in Social Identity Theory and Identity Theory, this study examines how size inclusivity affects consumer identification with luxury brands and perceptions of access and belonging. Using a qualitative design, the research combines interviews with luxury fashion managers and consumers, focusing on brands positioned at different levels of accessibility within Heine’s pyramid. The study advances luxury branding and retailing research by framing size inclusivity as an identity-related dimension of luxury access.

ABSTRACT. Luxury brands are increasingly expanding into experiential hospitality venues such as cafés, restaurants, and branded destinations. This paper argues that these environments should be conceptualized not merely as brand extensions but as owned media infrastructure deliberately designed to generate earned media through consumer participation and social sharing. We develop a conceptual model in which owned media infrastructure drives earned media outcomes via the mediating mechanism of shareability, defined as the extent to which an experience motivates consumers to document and distribute content across networks. Integrating literature on paid-owned-earned media, servicescapes, the experience economy, and luxury signaling, we propose that luxury experiential arenas are engineered to optimize three dimensions of shareability—visual, emotional, and social-currency—thereby transforming physical brand spaces into repeatable systems for producing consumer-generated visibility. This framework reconceptualizes the relationship between owned and earned media as causally linked rather than parallel, extends servicescape theory to include post-encounter digital circulation, and offers managerial guidance for evaluating and designing experiential hospitality investments in luxury fashion market.

ABSTRACT. The fashion sector is increasingly experiencing a shift marked by the growing visibility of “older faces”, exemplified by figures such as Axelle Doué on international catwalks. This trend indicates that fashion is progressively moving away from being an exclusive domain of youth (The Guardian, 2021).This trend is likewise observable on social media, where a new category of influencers—referred to as granfluencers, a term derived from the combination of grandparent and influencer—has recently emerged (Wang and Taylor, 2025). This phenomenon suggests that the online influencer ecosystem is no longer the exclusive domain of younger generations. While social media influencer marketing has historically been dominated by younger creators (Djafarova and Rushworth, 2017; Lou and Yuan 2019), older content creators are increasingly attaining visibility and popularity across digital platforms (Kottl et al., 2022; Leung et al., 2025). Despite this growing phenomenon, the existing influencer marketing literature has primarily focused on general influencer attributes, such as attractiveness and trustworthiness (Leung et al., 2022; Vrontis et al., 2021). As a result, there remains limited understanding of how specific cues—particularly an influencer’s age—shape engagement intentions, even though age constitutes a salient cue in social judgment processes (Levy and Banaji, 2002). Importantly, older individuals are often subject to ageism and stereotype threat, which may influence audience perceptions and consumption responses in ways that differ from those elicited by younger individuals (Amatulli et al., 2018; Levy and Banaji, 2002). Within social media contexts, such age-related stereotypes may foster the belief that content creation is more appropriately undertaken by younger influencers rather than granfluencers. At the same time, granfluencer content frequently highlights vibrant, authentic, active, and meaningful lifestyles, with the aim of inspiring societal change and challenging dominant stereotypes surrounding aging (Ghosh, 2023). Consequently, granfluencers may enhance users’ engagement intentions by increasing perceived authenticity, driven by a heightened sense of “realness” (Duffy, 2017). However, these effects are unlikely to be uniform and may vary depending on the degree of influencer–brand fit (Belanche et al., 2021; Kim and Kim, 2021), which plays a critical role in shaping endorsement effectiveness. To address these gaps, this study investigates how influencer age, as a salient social cue, influences consumer engagement on social media. Employing a quantitative research design based on a series of experiments, the study examines the effect of influencer age on engagement likelihood and tests the moderating role of influencer–brand fit. The research contributes theoretically to the influencer marketing literature by extending existing knowledge on age-related perceptions in digital environments. Specifically, it enhances understanding of how non-traditional influencers, such as granfluencers, shape engagement outcomes and elucidates the underlying mechanisms driving these effects. From a managerial perspective, the findings offer actionable insights for brands aiming to optimize their influencer strategies by clarifying when and how granfluencers can effectively enhance engagement on social media platforms.

ABSTRACT. The role of influencers in consumers’ purchasing decisions has become increasingly significant as they act as key intermediaries between brands and their followers. Among the different sectors adopting influencer marketing, fashion and beauty is the most popular one. From an international perspective, collaborating with influencers allows beauty firms to improve trust and local relevance; however, it also poses risks related to reputation damage. The aim of this paper is to understand the role of influencer marketing in achieving the communications objectives of beauty brands in international markets. A qualitative study was conducted by collecting 14 semi-structured interviews with professionals operating in the beauty sector. This ongoing research attempts to contribute to the recent marketing literature on influencers through an empirical investigation of the beauty industry in an international context.

ABSTRACT. Building on Framing Theory and Source Credibility Theory, this study investigates how message source type (AI vs. human) and message framing (objective vs. subjective; emotional vs. rational) jointly shape perceived authenticity in sustainable luxury advertising. It identifies perceived incompatibility as a mediating mechanism explaining how mismatched configurations reduce authenticity perceptions. This study employed a 2 (Message Appeal: Emotional vs. Rational) × 2 (Message Style: Subjective vs. Objective) × 2 (Influencer Type: Human vs. Virtual) between-subjects experimental design. The aim was to investigate how combinations of message framing (emotional/rational and subjective/objective) and influencer type (human vs. AI-generated virtual influencers) influence consumers’ perceived authenticity of luxury fashion sustainability messages. The results find that human influencers elicit higher perceived authenticity than virtual influencers, and perceived incompatibility negatively affects perceived authenticity. Moreover, among virtual influencers, rational and objective message framing leads to higher perceived authenticity than rational and subjective message framing, and among human influencers, rational and objective message framing leads to higher perceived authenticity than emotional and objective message framing. Theoretically, this study introduces perceived incompatibility as a key psychological mechanism linking source type and message framing, extending both framing and source credibility theories through the lens of message–source congruence. Managerially, it provides strategic guidance for luxury brands on aligning influencer type and message framing to enhance authenticity, reduce green skepticism, and strengthen trust in sustainable brand communications.

ABSTRACT. Social networks have revolutionized how people communicate, interact and access information and brands are increasingly seeking to connect with consumers and engage younger audiences. In this vein, influencers emerged as key figures through which companies promote products and shape consumer trends, particularly in the fashion industry. This study explores the impact of influencer marketing on Generation Z (Gen Z), focusing on the relationship between social media usage and purchase behavior among these digital natives. Five key hypotheses were examined: (1) the influence of social media influencers on online purchase decisions for fashion and accessories, (2) the motivations driving Gen Z online purchases, (3) the effect of influencer marketing on consumer purchase motivations, (4) the impact of these motivations on shopping experiences, and (5) the role of exposure to influencer promotions on in-store shopping behavior in the fashion sector. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining a theoretical framework with empirical data collected through a survey of Gen Z participants. The interrelationships among variables were analyzed using SMART-PLS. This paper contributes to understanding how influencer marketing on Instagram shapes the consumption habits of Gen Z, particularly in fashion and accessories. Interestingly, our findings reveal that while influencer marketing positively impacts shopping experiences, there remains a strong preference for in-store fashion shopping, even among a generation highly engaged with digital technology. Accordingly, marketers should invest in the physical retail environment to attract Gen Z while maintaining influencers who align with the brand’s core values and ethics.

ABSTRACT. In recent years, Asian beauty and skin culture influencers have gained significant visibility in mainstream fashion and beauty marketing, influencing global trends in skincare, aesthetics, and brand communication. As fashion brands increasingly collaborate with culturally specific influencers to reach diverse audiences, questions emerge regarding how such representation shapes consumer trust and brand perception. This study conceptually examines the role of Asian beauty and skin culture influencers in building consumer trust within global fashion marketing contexts. Drawing on literature from influencer marketing, cultural representation, and consumer trust theory, the paper explores key factors influencing trust, including perceived authenticity, cultural credibility, expertise in beauty and skincare practices, and brand–influencer congruence. The study also considers how cultural representation may enhance or complicate trust across different consumer segments in global markets. By synthesizing existing research, this paper contributes to fashion marketing scholarship by highlighting the strategic importance of culturally grounded influencer representation in an increasingly globalized industry. Managerial implications are discussed for fashion and beauty brands seeking to engage diverse audiences while maintaining authenticity and trust in cross-cultural marketing strategies.

ABSTRACT. The luxury products and experiences market has been increasing and indicating notable resilience. In the context of luxury brand advertising, this study aims to investigate how mental time travel (MTT), ad contexts, and luxury product types influence perceived groundness and luxury purchase intention. The study employs an experiment in which participants viewed luxury brand ads, manipulating MTT (past vs. future), ad contexts (physical vs. virtual), and product types (bag vs. watch). In the relationship between groundness and purchase intention, considering MTT, ad contexts, and types of luxury products, the findings overall highlight grounded experience as a key lever for luxury brand advertising that offers theoretical and practical implications for luxury brand advertising.

ABSTRACT. In the current digital age, the use of social media and other advanced technology such as virtual influencers (VIs) has become indispensable for growth. Evidence shows that the human likeness of VIs, especially visual and behavioral (communicability) aspects that are supported by generative -AI and natural language processing, has allowed VIs to be accepted as social actors in interaction (Diwanji, 2026). In addition, VIs are designed with traits and qualities that are intended to resonate with the target audience, which is effective in brand storytelling and engagement. For example, some research indicates that VIs are effective in fostering emotional connection with followers through emotional expression, playfulness and perceived similarity (Kim et al., 2025; Stein et al., 2024). Lee et al., (2026) highlight that VIs satisfy consumers’ various needs such as entertainment, social interaction, novelty and intellectual, and are transferred positively to brand identification as well as purchase intention.

Research into VIs is still emerging. Some research indicates issues of authenticity as an emergent aspect in relation to evaluating the effectiveness of deploying VIs for communicating and engaging with consumers which arise because VIs are of an artificial nature (e.g., Li et al., 2023; Franke et al., 2023). While some research shows that VIs are more effective than humans (e.g. Lee et al., 2025), there is a dearth of research on consumers perception on VIs’ authenticity in an interaction context on social media. Therefore, this can be considered a timely study on how VIs’ characteristics as source cues drives liking (or disliking) of VIs. We will explore if source cues such as credibility, positive affection and likability, positively influence consumer attitudes toward VIs as well as investigate if VIs can transfer consumers’ positive evaluation toward its endorsed brand that leads to purchase intention. Also, we will investigate how perceived transparency authenticity impacts on boundary conditions of the transfer process.

Methodological approach: 1st: We will deploy a qualitative study, focus group/small group interview, to explore consumer attitudes toward VIs. Data will be analyzed using thematic analysis. 2nd: Survey. Data will be analyzed using SEM. 3rd Experimental study to test moderation. For the analysis - SEM will be used.

Expected Outcomes: 1st study: The outcome of the focus group interview relating to perceived authenticity of VIs will provide insight and understanding as to how consumers view VIs as well as their motivation of why they interact with VIs. This will help to categorize authenticity into different groups and consolidate conceptualization on perceived VI authenticity.

2nd study: survey-based data collection will be analyzed using structural equation modeling, and test attitudes such as positive affection, credibility and likability toward VIs, and how these transfer to referent brand and its effect on behavioral intention (e.g. purchase intention). Consistent with meaning transfer theory (McCracken, 1989; Till and Busler, 2000), positive attitudes toward VIs expected to expand to purchase intention through brand attitudes to the VI endorsed brand.

3rd study: Further building on the result of the 2nd study, through experimental study, we also will test the moderating effect of perceived transparency authenticity, as a boundary condition of attitude transfer. Transparency authenticity is expected to moderate the relationship between attitudes toward VIs and brand attitude. As a result, it is expected to show the indirect effect of VIs characteristics as source cues on endorsed brand attitude via attitudes toward VIs, such that a positive relationship is stronger when perceived authenticity higher than lower.

Implications for theory: The result of the study is expected to contribute to developing our understanding of how VIs, non-human entities, can transfer meaning to a referent brand (endorsed brand) and its effect on purchase intention. In doing so, we explain the mechanism of meaning transfer and its effect, thereby we extend the meaning transfer theory (McCracken, 1989) within a non-human interaction context.

Also, by integrating authenticity theory with VI interaction, this study will show how perceived authenticity facilitates consumers’ acceptance of VIs as social actors, a legitimate entity, which activates the correspondent mechanism that transfers the evaluation of VIs to endorse brands.

ABSTRACT. Disability-inclusive advertising is widely promoted as a socially responsible strategy and is often assumed to enhance advertising effectiveness. However, empirical evidence on whether social approval of disability inclusion translates into consumer action remains mixed. Drawing on dual-attitude theory, this research investigates when and why disability-inclusive luxury fashion advertising elicits social endorsement without generating behavioral engagement. Across two experiments, we examine the joint role of implicit and explicit disability attitudes in shaping responses to disability-inclusive advertising. Study 1, using a real fashion brand, shows that disability-inclusive advertising elicits favorable explicit brand evaluations and purchase-related intentions driven by explicit disability attitudes, while implicit attitudes remain unrelated to reflective judgments. Study 2, employing AI-generated advertising stimuli and a fictitious brand, demonstrates that disability-inclusive advertising reduces behavior-proximal engagement, measured via resource allocation, despite neutral explicit brand attitudes. Together, the findings reveal a systematic dissociation between evaluative endorsement and consumer action and identify behavioral limits of disability-inclusive advertising in appearance-based categories. The results refine theories of advertising effectiveness by distinguishing social endorsement from behavioral impact and offer guidance for designing inclusive campaigns that move beyond normative approval toward meaningful engagement.

ABSTRACT. In recent years, digital innovation has been reshaping luxury retail. In the era of digital transformation in the luxury market, this study aims to examine the impact of fashion model types (AI vs. human) on consumer perceptions, brand attitude, and electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) intention. Our findings highlight that although AI models and human models are perceived differently, both types of models ultimately enhance the effectiveness of luxury brand social media advertising by increasing brand attitude and e-WOM intention. Overall, this study offers valuable insights into how luxury brands can strategically leverage AI models in social media advertising, contributing to the literature on AI-generated advertising and digital transformation in the luxury sector.

ABSTRACT. This structured review examines how fashion and lifestyle social media influencers shape destination meanings through relational, symbolic, and identity‑based mechanisms. It integrates fragmented research into a multi‑stage model, showing how engagement, aesthetic production, and self‑congruence jointly influence destination image, travel inspiration, and behavioral intention within digital luxury ecosystems.

ABSTRACT. The landscape of luxury marketing is undergoing a profound transformation driven by the rapid proliferation of generative artificial intelligence (AI). While AI-powered advertising enables highly novel and visually distinctive outputs, consumer responses remain ambivalent. Luxury consumption has long been associated with craftsmanship and human effort, leading consumers to question the authenticity of AI-generated content. Although Human–AI collaboration has been proposed as a solution, it remains unclear whether human involvement is always beneficial or whether the effectiveness of creative agents depends on the aesthetic context.

This research proposes that the effectiveness of the creative agent in luxury advertising is contingent on the level of visual abstraction. Drawing on construal level theory, we argue that surrealistic and realistic visual expressions activate distinct psychological mechanisms that shape consumer evaluations. Specifically, AI-generated advertising is more effective under surrealistic conditions because it aligns with imagination-driven representations, thereby eliciting awe. In contrast, human-created advertising is more effective under realistic conditions, where concrete representations highlight effort and craftsmanship, thereby reinforcing authenticity.

Across experimental studies, the results reveal a significant interaction between creator type and visual expression. AI-generated advertising elicits more favorable responses under surrealistic conditions, whereas human-created advertising performs better under realistic conditions. Moderated mediation analyses show that awe mediates the effectiveness of AI under surrealistic conditions, while authenticity mediates the effectiveness of human creators under realistic conditions. However, when the collaboration condition is introduced, these distinct mechanisms become attenuated, resulting in less differentiated evaluation patterns.

This research contributes to the luxury marketing literature by demonstrating that the effectiveness of creative agents is context-dependent and by introducing aesthetic–agent alignment as a key explanatory mechanism. It also provides managerial implications by suggesting that luxury brands should strategically deploy AI in abstract contexts while emphasizing human involvement in realistic contexts.

ABSTRACT. Sustainability, defined as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development, WCED, 1987, p. 16), has become a central concern for businesses, academics, and regulators, particularly with regard to its economic, social, and environmental dimensions (Guandalini, 2022). These priorities are reflected in the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs, 2015).

In business and management research, sustainability has been examined from both strategic and consumer-oriented perspectives. However, scholars adopting a holistic view of sustainability continue to debate which dimensions constitute the concept and how specific corporate activities relate to environmental, economic, social, and governance-related aspects (Gong et al., 2023). From a strategic perspective, much of the literature focuses on the drivers of corporate sustainability initiatives, firms’ approaches to the UN SDGs, and the implications of these efforts for corporate strategy and performance (Haritas & Das, 2023).

The context of emerging economies further complicates this discussion. In countries such as China and India, corporate responsibility is often primarily associated with philanthropy and charitable activities, while environmental sustainability, ethical business practices, and governance-related concerns receive comparatively less attention (Kolk et al., 2015; Sardana et al., 2020). Moreover, international dimensions of corporate sustainability have remained relatively marginal within international business research, with only a limited number of studies explicitly addressing corporate environmental responsibility in multinational context (Holtbrügge & Dögl, 2012).

At the same time, researchers emphasize the ongoing evolution of consumer behavior, particularly the growing role of corporate social responsibility and sustainability considerations in purchasing decisions. Consumers are increasingly informed and more likely to incorporate ethical, social, and environmental criteria into their evaluations of brands and products (Yeung & Coe, 2015). Prior consumer-focused research has examined attitudes toward sustainability, perceptions of corporate responsibility, and their influence on behavioral outcomes such as purchase intentions and loyalty toward sustainable brands (Aziz et al., 2021; Rathore et al., 2023). These studies often address multiple dimensions of sustainability, including the environmental dimension, which encompasses corporate environmental management and the responsible use of natural resources (Kim et al., 2015).

The fashion industry represents a particularly relevant context for examining these issues. It is widely recognized as one of the most environmentally intensive global sectors and ranks as the fourth-largest source of environmental pressure in Europe, after food, housing, and transport. In 2017 alone, the industry consumed approximately 1.3 tons of raw materials and 104 cubic meters of water per European Union resident (European Environment Agency, 2020). As a result, fashion brands face growing criticism for their environmental footprint as well as for the marketing practices used to communicate sustainability claims (Thorisdottir & Johannsdottir, 2020).

Despite this attention, empirical findings on the impact of fashion brands’ sustainability on consumer responses remain inconclusive. Some studies suggest that consumers show limited interest in eco-friendly apparel due to perceived shortcomings in design or product appeal (Jin Gam, 2011), while others demonstrate that positive attitudes toward sustainable fashion and green apparel translate into stronger purchase intentions (Hasbullah et al., 2022). Furthermore, relatively few studies have examined sustainability-related consumer behavior using international samples or focusing explicitly on global brands owned by multinational enterprises, rather than on green products in general (Salnikova et al., 2022).

Addressing these gaps, this study investigates the influence of consumers’ perceptions of multinational fashion brands’ sustainability on four key outcomes: purchase intentions, brand reputation and loyalty, and willingness to pay a price premium. Sustainability perception is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct reflecting consumers’ evaluations of brands’ environmental, social, and economic sustainability practices, including environmental responsibility and resource efficiency, ethical and social engagement, and the perceived economic value and fairness of brands’ market behavior (Dyllick & Hockerts, 2002; Gong et al., 2023; Kim et al., 2015; Moon et al., 2015). By adopting an outcome-oriented perspective, the model positions sustainability perception as a strategic driver of consumer-based brand value rather than merely an antecedent of behavioral intentions.

Empirical data was collected through a large-scale online survey administered via a global crowdsourcing platform. The final sample consists of 551 consumers from three institutionally and culturally diverse markets: the European Union, the United States, and India. Respondents were screened to ensure recent purchasing experience with international fashion brands owned by multinational enterprises. This cross-regional design responds to calls in international business research to better capture the global and heterogeneous nature of sustainability perceptions and consumer responses (Ghauri et al., 2021; Pisani et al., 2017).

The conceptual model was estimated using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), following established guidelines for assessing measurement reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity (Hair, 2014). Environmental, social and economic sustainability perception was specified as a higher-order construct, while purchase intentions, brand reputation and loyalty, and willingness to pay a price premium were modeled as reflective outcome constructs.

The findings provide empirical support for the central role of sustainability perception in shaping consumer-based brand performance. Positive perceptions of fashion brands’ sustainability enhance consumers’ purchase intentions, confirming that sustainability information and evaluations influence market demand (Vu et al., 2022). Moreover, sustainability perception functions as a powerful reputational signal, strengthening brand reputation and fostering consumer loyalty, consistent with research linking corporate sustainability to relational consumer outcomes (Jung et al., 2020). The results also reveal a positive relationship between sustainability perception and consumers’ willingness to pay a price premium, highlighting the economic relevance of responsibility for multinational fashion brands (Blazquez et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2021).

This study contributes to the sustainability and global fashion management literature in three main ways. First, it extends consumer-based sustainability research by empirically linking sustainability perception to both behavioral and value-based outcomes in an international context. Second, it advances the measurement of sustainability perception through a multidimensional and hierarchical conceptualization, responding to calls for more nuanced operationalizations of corporate sustainability in consumer research (Gong et al., 2023). Third, it reinforces the strategic importance of sustainability for multinational fashion brands by demonstrating its role in building reputational capital, consumer loyalty, and price premium potential across diverse markets.

ABSTRACT. As fashion brands increasingly use the metaverse as a global platform for sustainability-oriented engagement, understanding how virtual self-representation translates into real-world consumer outcomes across markets is critical. The purpose of this study was to examine how personal and social avatar identification mechanisms influence sustainable apparel consumption intentions and brand equity, and how these effects are moderated by individualism and collectivism. Drawing on the Proteus Effect (Yee & Bailenson, 2007), self-congruity theory (Sirgy, 1982), and social identity theory (Tajfel, 1981), this study proposes a dual-path model in which avatar identification shapes outcomes through a personal identification pathway via self-image congruence and a social identification pathway via group inclusiveness. Results showed that avatar identification in the metaverse influenced real-world sustainable apparel consumption intentions and brand equity through both pathways. Specifically, similar identification indirectly increased sustainable consumption via self-image congruence, whereas wishful identification enhanced brand equity through group inclusiveness. These indirect effects were selectively moderated by cultural orientation, with individualism strengthening the personal pathway and collectivism amplifying the social pathway. This study extends identity-based and Proteus Effect theories into sustainable international marketing by demonstrating how virtual self-representation translates into offline consumer behavior under distinct cultural boundary conditions. The findings suggest the metaverse as a culturally contingent mechanism through which global brand experiences can be strategically adapted to enhance sustainable consumption and brand equity in international contexts.

ABSTRACT. Sustainable luxury brings together two sets of meanings that are not easily reconciled: prestige and ethical responsibility. While prior research shows that sustainability cues can either enhance or undermine luxury value, consumer responses are known to vary across national and cultural contexts. However, existing studies rely largely on quantitative designs and offer limited insight into how consumers in different markets interpret sustainability communication in luxury branding. The sustainability efforts of luxury brands are adopted not only to reduce their environmental impacts but also to gain a competitive advantage in line with consumers' increasing environmental awareness and demands. For this reason, sustainability has begun to play an important role in the strategies of luxury brands. Luxury brands utilize sustainable materials in their products, improve processes such as waste management and energy efficiency in production processes, and focus on the traceability of the supply chain and social responsibility projects. However, it is unclear to what extent these sustainability efforts are communicated to consumers through effective communication strategies and how well consumers are informed and perceived. In this framework, the research question of the study is to examine whether cultural differences arise in the communication of luxury brands' sustainability efforts to consumers. This study examines how consumers in developed and emerging markets make sense of sustainability in luxury communication, focusing on a comparative analysis between Italy and Turkey. It investigates how sustainability-related cues are interpreted in relation to core luxury meanings such as quality, exclusivity, and social status, and whether these cues are read as compatible with or contradictory to luxury consumption in different market settings. The study adopts a qualitative research design based on in-depth interviews with luxury market consumers in Italy and Turkey. This approach enables an exploration of how consumers decode both explicit and implicit sustainability signals and how these interpretations are shaped by cultural orientation, market maturity, and social motivations. Preliminary findings suggest that Italian consumers tend to associate sustainability with craftsmanship, durability, and long-term value, making it more easily integrated into luxury meanings. By contrast, Turkish consumers place stronger emphasis on visibility and status signalling, which may reduce the perceived relevance of sustainability attributes for luxury consumption. These differences indicate that identical sustainability messages may be interpreted in markedly different ways across market contexts. The study contributes to international marketing research by highlighting how consumers is reacted global sustainability communication. In this context, the study attempts to understand how sustainability communication is perceived in the luxury market from a cultural perspective. The findings emphasize the importance of adapting sustainability strategies to local cultural and market logics rather than relying on standardized global approaches.

ABSTRACT. Despite the rapid emergence of digital product passports as a key tool for enhancing sustainability transparency in global markets, little is known about how consumers interpret such disclosures across different international contexts. Digital product passports are often assumed to function as credible signals that reduce skepticism by providing detailed and verifiable sustainability information, yet this assumption has rarely been examined from a consumer perspective. Drawing on attribution theory and signaling theory, this research investigates how consumers infer firms’ motives behind digital product passport disclosures and whether these inferences depend on the institutional trust associated with a firm’s home country. Using an experimental design, we manipulate home-country institutional trust (low vs. high) and sustainability information provision (digital product passport versus conventional sustainability claims) to examine their effects on consumer skepticism and brand trust. Additionally, the moderating effect of third-party verification is confirmed. The results demonstrate that the effectiveness of digital product passports is highly context dependent and highlight the critical role of attributional and signaling processes in international sustainability communication.

ABSTRACT. Sustainability has become a central theme in global marketing communication, yet consumer responses to sustainability initiatives depend on both how such initiatives are framed and who communicates them. As brands increasingly deploy artificial intelligence (AI) influencers alongside human influencers, questions remain regarding the appropriateness of these agents in conveying sustainability messages that emphasize global impact or local relevance. This study examines how influencer type (human versus AI) and sustainability scope (global versus local) jointly shape consumer responses to sustainability communication. Drawing on signaling and legitimacy perspectives, the study proposes that the effectiveness of sustainability messages depends on the perceived alignment between the communicator and the spatial framing of sustainability impact. A 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment exposed participants to a mock Instagram advertisement promoting a sustainability initiative, manipulating influencer type and sustainability scope. The results reveal significant interaction effects. Human influencers generate higher trust, perceived appropriateness, and legitimacy when sustainability initiatives are locally framed. In contrast, when sustainability initiatives emphasize global impact, AI influencers perform comparably—and in some cases more appropriately—than human influencers. These findings demonstrate that AI influencers are neither inherently effective nor ineffective in sustainability communication, but contingent on global–local fit.

ABSTRACT. This study explores how Zara’s app-initiated in-store technologies influence omnichannel purchase intention within the fashion sector. As physical and digital retail environments increasingly converge, technologies such as mobile self-checkout, real-time inventory access, and automated returns have transformed the customer journey. Employing a scenario-based survey with 300 Zara customers, the research evaluates three technology clusters aligned with distinct journey phases: Explore, Buy, and Use. Guided by UTAUT2 and the S-O-R framework, the study assesses the mediating roles of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and perceived friction. Results are expected to reveal that phase-specific technologies positively impact purchase intention by enhancing perceived ease, usefulness, and reducing friction. This research contributes to both theory and practice by offering empirical insights into consumer responses to phygital strategies and providing actionable guidance for optimizing app-to-store experiences in fashion retail.

ABSTRACT. Nowadays, the customer journey is highly digital as consumers continuously interact with brands on online touchpoints. At the same time, physical channels maintain their relevance across industries worldwide, including in China, which represents the world’s largest online market. In particular, while the fashion sector has been affected by digital transformation, physical stores continue to play a primary role for experiential purposes. The aim of this study is to explore how international fashion firms manage their marketing strategies amid phygital transformations in culturally different markets, i.e. Italy and China. A qualitative study was employed collecting semi-structured interviews with marketing managers of international fashion firms and professionals. Preliminary results highlight the main touchpoints adopted by fashion firms, showing some differences between the two markets considered.

ABSTRACT. Despite the widespread use of multimedia messaging service (MMS) in retail practice, academic research has paid surprisingly little attention to MMS advertising and how they shape consumer responses. Drawing on Construal Level Theory, this research examines whether and how the concreteness of MMS influences consumers’ purchase intention, and through which mechanisms and boundary conditions these effects emerge. We conceptualize message concreteness as the degree of informational specificity embedded in an MMS promotion and propose that more concrete messages enhance perceived information diagnosticity and, in turn, perceived personalization, thereby increasing purchase intention. Across two online experiments, we test this framework in an MMS-based fashion retail context. Study 1 employs a two-condition (MMS concreteness: low vs. high) between-subjects design. MMS concreteness shows a direct main effect on purchase intention and exerts a significant serial indirect effect through information diagnosticity and perceived personalization, which fully mediate this relationship. Study 2 adopts a 2 (MMS concreteness: low vs. high) × 2 (prior purchase experience: no vs. yes) design using a real sneaker brand. Replicating and extending Study 1, we find a significant direct effect of MMS concreteness on purchase intention, a robust serial mediation via information diagnosticity and perceived personalization, and a moderated mediation such that the indirect effect is stronger and significant only for consumers with prior purchase experience. The findings advance theory on mobile message design and offer actionable guidance for retailers seeking to optimize MMS campaigns under privacy-constrained data environments.

ABSTRACT. This study examines how OMO (Online Merge Offline) strategies influence consumer behavior through the frameworks of assemblage theory and self-determination theory. Results from 200 participants demonstrate that high-level OMO implementation significantly enhances self-extension and self-expansion, with competence and relatedness mediating relationships between self-extension/self-expansion and positive outcomes.

ABSTRACT. Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is shaking up how consumers approach and engage with luxury fashion brands. Magazine editors, social media influencers and content creators translated their own knowledge and experience to legitimize and prescribe appropriate brands to readers or followers. GenAI creates content to recommend products or brands in ways that still remain mostly unclear to the general public, marketers and academics. This paper dives into a prior question: Why does an AI system recommend one luxury brand and neglect another? We established a measurement framework, the AI Brand Value Score (AIBVS), aimed at capturing and quantifying these algorithmic preferences lying behind the content of the answers to consumers’ questions. Our study looked at 17 luxury brands and tested 6 different factors that might influence the answers of 4 Generative search engines. Although both had some points in common, AI prescriptions presented different traits to those offered by editors and opinion leaders. Approaching the indicators of this new AI influence system constitutes a great opportunity to luxury brand communication eager to leverage the customers’ increasing attention to AI apps.

ABSTRACT. AI technology is increasingly integrated into the fashion industry, a multifaceted sector characterized by complex architectures and cross-industry collaborations. While AI enhances operational efficiency across various segments, establishing a distinct brand identity remains essential for market differentiation. This research aims to develop a strategic framework for constructing fashion brand identity within the context of AI applications. The proposed framework outlines a comprehensive lifecycle: originating from the definition of core brand identity, expanding through AI-driven generative design, and concluding with a strategic convergence toward market-driven decisions. To validate this framework from both academic and practical perspectives, the study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative research. The resulting model, grounded in professional practice, further evaluates the strategic benefits and potential risks of AI integration. By bridging the gap between computational creativity and commercial viability, this research provides a structured roadmap for designers and brand managers to leverage AI effectively while maintaining a coherent brand essence. This synthesis ensures that technological expansion aligns seamlessly with long-term brand equity and market demands.

ABSTRACT. Artificial intelligence is increasingly used in fashion product design. Existing research often assumes that consumers react negatively to AI-generated fashion products. AI is often seen as reducing creativity and authenticity. However, this assumption treats resistance as a stable reaction and overlooks how particular design features can shape consumers’ perceptions. This study examines how AI- generated design features influence consumer responses to digital fashion products by shaping consumers’ responses rather than by the presence of AI itself. A scenario-based experiment was conducted in which the level of AI involvement in product design was manipulated, and participants evaluated the products in terms of perceived uniqueness, perceived authenticity, and purchase intention. The results show that consumers do not respond to AI-generated fashion products in the same way. When AI- generated design features are seen as helping create unique and more personalized products, consumers report higher perceptions of uniqueness and authenticity, which has stronger purchase intentions. By contrast, when AI involvement does not add to these perceptions, it does not reduce consumer resistance. This study helps explain how consumers respond to AI- generated fashion products. It shows that consumer acceptance depends less on whether AI is used and more on how AI influences consumers’ perceptions of product uniqueness and authenticity. The findings also show that design choices and communication are important in influencing how consumers respond when AI is used in fashion product development.

ABSTRACT. As artificial intelligence agents become widely used in e-commerce and service settings, their role has shifted from supportive tools to decision-making actors with considerable autonomy. However, existing research has mainly focused on the functional outcomes of AI service failures, paying limited attention to how users respond from a relational perspective. When highly autonomous AI agents make errors in their recommendations, users may experience a sense of betrayal and damaged trust that goes beyond simple dissatisfaction. Drawing on psychological contract theory, this study builds a moderated mediation model to explain how psychological contract violation (PCV) forms and affects user behavior in AI recommendation failures. We focus on two key factors: agentic autonomy and user involvement. We propose that highly autonomous AI agents are more likely to be held responsible when failures occur, while high user involvement strengthens users' implicit expectations of mutual commitment and shared responsibility. The interaction between these two factors amplifies the perceptions of unmet expectations, which intensifies PCV. As a mediator, PCV then leads to increased avoidance and revenge behaviors, while diminishing the intent for value co-creation. We further consider the roles of transparency and anthropomorphism in shaping these effects. Transparency buffers the impact of autonomy and involvement on PCV by offering users clearer explanations. Anthropomorphism, in contrast, heightens users' expectations and amplifies the link between PCV and negative behavioral responses. This study contributes to theory by extending psychological contract theory to human-AI interaction and AI service failure contexts, revealing the mechanism that connects relational breach, perceived betrayal, and behavioral outcomes. For practice, our findings provide guidance for companies on how to balance autonomy, transparency, and anthropomorphism in AI agent design and service recovery.

ABSTRACT. As population ageing accelerates, mobility-support products that people will actually wear in daily life are becoming a critical part of preventive health and aging-in-place ecosystems. This study presents the design and evaluation of a lower-limb adaptive apparel product for older women with knee osteoarthritis (KOA), developed to reduce pain escalation, perceived instability, and everyday fall risk without creating a “medical device” appearance. The product combines human-factor-informed pattern engineering, adjustable textile-based support zones around the knee and lower limb, refined aesthetics for stigma-free wear, and circular material considerations to improve long-term acceptance and sustainability. The design was realized through participatory co-design with older women, iterative prototyping, and parametric patterning to accommodate body-shape diversity and KOA-related movement constraints. A mixed-methods evaluation was conducted, integrating biomechanical and kinematic assessments, standardized comfort/usability measures, and semi-structured interviews on daily-life experiences. Results indicate improved perceived stability and higher willingness to wear the garment consistently, alongside reduced “medicalized” signaling that often limits adoption of supportive products. This work contributes (1) product-level design principles and measurable performance/comfort indicators for preventative lower-limb apparel, (2) an implementation pathway linking clinical requirements to fashion product development, and (3) implications for industry translation—positioning adaptive apparel as a lightweight, acceptable modality for early-stage prevention and long-term self-management in the growing silver economy.

ABSTRACT. This study investigates the dynamic formation and transformation of consumer affinity in intercultural contexts, focusing on Chinese students’experiences during a three-year stay in Japan. Prior research has largely conceptualized affinity as a static emotional predisposition toward a foreign country or its products (Serrano‐Arcos et al., 2022), overlooking the temporal and experiential complexity of intercultural adaptation (Miao, Terasaki, & Lee, 2025). To address this gap, the study adopts a process-oriented perspective, examining how affinity evolves from identity-based attachment to a more relational, sympathy-driven orientation over time. It draws on theoretical perspectives of consumer affinity (Oberecker et al., 2008), collective memory (Asseraf & Shoham, 2017), intercultural adaptation (Berry, 2007), and social bonding mechanisms (Ren et al., 2012). Empirically, the research employs a qualitative longitudinal design, based on 61 in-depth interviews with 15 Chinese students across three waves: prior to arrival, first year, and second/third years. Using grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1990) and cross-case analysis (Miles & Huberman, 1994), the study identifies five determinants shaping affinity trajectories: cultural familiarity, social contact, service encounters, consumption experience value, and institutional adaptation. Findings reveal a non-linear, multi-layered process. Before arrival, affinity is anchored in cultural proximity through media and entertainment such as Japanese anime and popular culture reflecting identity-based attachment with high affective intensity. Upon arrival, product and service experiences and interpersonal encounters reinforce perceptions of quality and hospitality, sustaining high-arousal attachment. As students acclimate, these influences attenuate, and affinity recalibrates toward low-arousal sympathy, mediated by sustained social contact through friendships, community participation, and workplace interactions. Institutional factors exert a dual influence: positive evaluations of hygiene, safety, and welfare enhance affinity, while structural frictions—such as housing complexity, congestion, and rigid procedures—persist as latent constraints. These findings underscore that affinity is not merely a function of cultural similarity but a negotiated outcome shaped by interactions and systemic conditions. The study contributes to international marketing theory by reconceptualizing consumer affinity as a dynamic construct evolving through temporal phases and experiential layers. It proposes a model of affinity reconstruction, illustrating the transition from attachment to sympathy and the interplay between identity-based and bond-based mechanisms (Ren et al., 2012). From a managerial perspective, strategies should move beyond leveraging pre-arrival cultural familiarity and prioritize initiatives that foster long-term relational engagement, social integration, and institutional support which are critical for sustaining affinity in intercultural markets and enhancing international consumer experience.

ABSTRACT. Last-mile delivery (LMD) is a critical component of logistics, and its importance has rapidly increased with e-commerce expansion. Simultaneously, LMD presents various environmental and social challenges, including CO₂ and greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, redelivery, and societal issues related to labor conditions and urban congestion. Consumers are increasingly concerned about environmental and social issues, and their engagement is crucial for achieving a more sustainable LMD. However, although consumers often report positive attitudes toward sustainable practices, these attitudes do not necessarily translate into actual behavior. This gap raises the question of whether providing sustainability related information can meaningfully influence consumer decision making, and whether such influences differ across consumer heterogeneity. To address this gap, this study aims to elucidate consumers’ preferences for last-mile delivery options and to identify the key factors shaping these preferences. It specifically examines how sustainability information (environmental and social) disclosures influence consumer delivery choices in combination with other delivery attributes. Furthermore, this study investigates whether consumer preference structures vary across consumers and distinguishes different consumer segments. A discrete choice experiment was conducted among urban consumers in Japan with online shopping experience. Attended home delivery served as the comparison option, and respondents were asked to choose among alternative delivery scenarios with different smart parcel locker attributes. Five attributes were designed to reflect the key elements of self-collection: access distance, parcel weight, parcel size, monetary incentive, and sustainability information. The analysis employed a multinomial logit model to examine consumer choice behavior and identify preference patterns. Subsequently, a latent class analysis was used to capture the variations in consumer preferences. In addition to demographic characteristics, this study collected information on shopping-related behaviors and factors related to the individual self, including online shopping frequency, experience with smart parcel lockers, attitudes toward smart parcel lockers, sustainability knowledge, and sustainability awareness. These variables were used to explore how differences in experience, attitude, and sustainability awareness relate to consumer heterogeneity in delivery preferences. This study clarifies how consumers evaluate delivery options and provides practical insights for designing delivery systems and sustainability information disclosure in LMD.

ABSTRACT. This study examines how differences in dispute resolution methods across countries affect the growth of cross-border e-commerce. It also explores how dispute resolution mechanisms promote a virtuous cycle of transactions. SHEIN, a leading Chinese cross-border e-commerce company, operates in 220 countries outside of China, including Japan. Leveraging industrial clusters in Guangzhou, China, SHEIN completes the entire apparel product design and manufacturing process in approximately one week, with additional production completed within five days. The company then sells these products through its own cross-border e-commerce site and delivers them to consumers worldwide (Sun, 2025). Chinese cross-border e-commerce platform companies like SHEIN act as intermediaries in transactions between sellers (often manufacturers) and consumer buyers. They provide marketplaces, handle payment processing, and manage logistics. However, since these are online transactions, buyers do not see the actual product before making a purchase. Furthermore, while production bases are located in China, buyers are scattered overseas. This leads to frequent disputes over discrepancies between product descriptions and actual items, defective goods, and intellectual property rights infringements. To address these issues, Chinese cross-border e-commerce sites have introduced their own dispute resolution systems (ODR: Online Dispute Resolution). Under this system, the E-Commerce site acts as a neutral arbitrator and issues a ruling within two to four weeks based on evidence submitted by both parties. Kaneko and Inoue (2024) note that, in terms of speed, cost, and satisfaction, international arbitration has advantages over litigation in China and ASEAN countries. Arbitration awards have the same legal force as domestic court judgments in countries that are signatories to the New York Convention, allowing for enforcement actions such as asset seizure. Chinese and Japanese companies have different approaches to dispute resolution. Japanese companies typically avoid using international arbitration, which results in low case numbers. For instance, in 2024, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) received 98 disputes from China and just 18 from Japan. This difference remains statistically significant even when accounting for the two countries' GDPs (ICC, 2025). The use of rapid and effective dispute resolution methods contributes to building trust among cross-border e-commerce site users and influences their choice of platform. Consequently, Japanese companies are increasingly utilizing Chinese cross-border e-commerce sites. This study aims to clarify how Chinese cross-border e-commerce sites gain trust in the Japanese market. Specifically, the study combines qualitative methods, such as interview surveys, with quantitative analyses of metrics, such as arbitration case numbers and average processing times, to comprehensively examine dispute resolution practices in cross-border transactions spanning China, Asia, and Japan. The study then elucidates the impact of rapid dispute resolution processes on the entire transaction cycle, theoretically and empirically demonstrating the mechanisms of trust building in the cross-border e-commerce market.

ABSTRACT. Price display formats are a key element of visual merchandising in retail settings. Previous research indicates that partitioned pricing, which shows a base price separately from surcharges (e.g., tax-exclusive pricing), is often used to signal value. However, whether this strategy is truly effective remains unclear. Adopting a visual merchandising perspective, this research examines how partitioned pricing influences consumer purchase behavior and decision-making by looking at the trade-off between visual salience and information processing fluency. We conducted three studies using both online behavioral experiments and an eye-tracking experiment. Study 1 (N=260) used a simulated shopping task to test the impact of price displays on purchase quantity and unplanned spending. The results show that partitioned pricing is a strong driver of volume. Consumers exposed to partitioned prices purchased significantly more items and made more unplanned purchases compared to those seeing all-inclusive prices. Study 2 (Eye-tracking experiment) explored the visual mechanism behind this effect by measuring fixation patterns. The eye-tracking data reveal that partitioned pricing changes the visual hierarchy of the price tag. Shoppers looked significantly longer at the separate price components. Paradoxically, this lower processing fluency inhibits critical evaluation, allowing the lower base price to act as a dominant visual anchor that triggers impulse behavior. Finally, Study 3 investigated the boundary conditions, specifically how price levels (high/mid/low) and promotional cues (e.g., discounts) moderate the effect. The findings show that the success of partitioned pricing depends on the context. For high-priced items, the lack of fluency triggers avoidance and reduces purchase intention. However, when combined with discounts or applied to lower-priced goods, the visual signal of "deal value" overcomes the cognitive difficulty, maximizing sales effectiveness. These findings offer practical implications for retailers to optimize price displays based on product category and promotional context. For instance, retailers should treat price display as a strategic tool; partitioned pricing works best for driving basket size in discount or low-stakes contexts but should be avoided for high-end merchandise where clarity is essential.

ABSTRACT. How electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) reviews are presented to consumers prior to purchase is an important strategic consideration for companies operating review platforms or e-commerce websites. Previous studies have examined effective ways to sequence positive and negative eWOM in order to influence consumer purchasing behavior, suggesting that the effective sequence depends on how consumers process information. However, these studies have largely focused on eWOM content itself, and little attention has been paid to the environment in which eWOM is displayed — such as the design characteristics of the platform or website.

Therefore, this study focuses on website colors (e.g., background and header colors) and aims to identify an effective sequence for displaying eWOM to encourage consumer purchasing decisions. Prior research suggests that warm colors trigger positive emotions and promote emotional evaluation, while cool colors are associated with competence and calmness, promoting cognitive evaluation. Based on this, the present study examines whether an effective eWOM sequence differs depending on the colors used on a website.

Data were collected through experiments and empirically analyszed. The study employed a 2 (eWOM sequence: positive-negative vs. negative-positive) × 2 (website colors: red vs. blue) between-subjects factorial design. The results showed that eWOM sequence and website color interact in their effect on the ease of processing eWOM, and that this ease of processing, in turn, increases consumers’ purchase intention. These findings offer practical guidance for marketers operating review platforms or e-commerce websites on how to arrange the sequence of eWOM based on the colors used on their platforms or websites.

ABSTRACT. This research explores how brand coolness and charity shocking advertising (CSA) function as drivers of compassionate responses in the humanitarian aid (HA) and animal welfare (AW) sectors. Specifically, drawing on cognitive appraisal theory (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984), brand coolness and CSA are conceptualized as the primary appraisal, and compassion reflects the secondary appraisal as the coping mechanism in response to the stimuli. Brand coolness is an emotional perception of a brand, often associated with hedonic and socially conscious values (Mohiuddin et al., 2016; Warren et al., 2019), and can elicit positive emotional responses. Similarly, shocking advertising violates social norms by employing controversial, fear-inducing content to capture attention and create a strong affective impact on audiences (Cockrill & Parsonage, 2016; Dahl et al., 2003). Thus, both brand coolness (H1) and CSA (H2) are expected to positively influence compassion towards human (children) and non-human (animals) victims. The study employed a between-subjects experimental design. Initially, a pre-test (n = 60) was conducted to select the stimuli. The main questionnaire was published on Prolific and acquired a final valid sample of 390 participants, with respondents’ age and gender being balanced. Data were analyzed with SmartPLS4. Following the assessment of the measurement model, the structural model was tested. In both charity sectors, H1 was supported (HA: β = 0.29; AW: β = 0.45; p < 0.001), suggesting that brand coolness contributes to charities’ admiration and endorsement (Warren et al., 2019) because of its prosocial practices (Mohiuddin et al., 2016). Similarly, H2 was statistically significant in both models, implying that CSA positively affects compassion (p < 0.001), especially in the HA sector (HA: β = 0.30; AW: β = 0.24). Therefore, this study shows that a negative advertising appeal can effectively evoke a positive emotion, specifically, of compassion. Overall, the research advances theory and practice by showing, through cognitive appraisal theory, that shocking appeals and cool nonprofits can effectively evoke compassion toward both human and non-human victims. Indeed, the findings corroborate that these drivers act as the primary appraisal that cognitively influence the emotion of compassion, highlighting the impact of niche cool brands and emotionally-based campaigns in social marketing communications.

References Cockrill, A., & Parsonage, I. (2016). Shocking People into Action: Does it still work?: An Empirical Analysis of Emotional Appeals in Charity Advertising. Journal of Advertising Research, 56(4), 401– 413. https://doi.org/10.2501/jar-2016-045 Dahl, D. W., Frankenberger, K. D., & Manchanda, R. V. (2003). Does It Pay to Shock? Reactions to Shocking and Nonshocking Advertising Content among University Students. Journal of Advertising Research, 43(03), 268–280. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0021849903030332 Lazarus, R., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. New York: Springer. Mohiuddin, K. G. B., Gordon, R., Magee, C., & Lee, J. K. (2016). A conceptual framework of cool for social marketing. Journal of Social Marketing, 6(2), 121-143. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSOCM-07-2015-0046 Warren, C., Batra, R., Loureiro, S. M. C., & Bagozzi, R. P. (2019). Brand coolness. Journal of Marketing, 83(5), 36–56. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242919857698

ABSTRACT. Fashion and beauty are two interrelated lifestyle industries that influence each other. Several fashion brands are present in the beauty market, with beauty lines contributing to the overall business. The goal of this study is to shed light on the relationship between perceived sustainability and other related constructs, namely, brand coolness, brand love, brand trust and behavioral intentions in the beauty industry, more specifically, in hair care.Perceived sustainability is measured based on the scale of Kim et al. (2015) including three main dimensions- economic, social and environmental. Concerning brand coolness, Warren et al. (2019) present a conceptualization of the term. Brand coolness is explored in the fashion context through numerous studies. Thus, based on the interconnection between beauty and fashion, the beauty industry provides a relevant context to study the topic. Data were collected through an online survey, resulting in 210 valid responses. The hypothesized relationships among constructs were tested using PLS-SEM. Structural model results show that all path coefficients are significant, supporting the proposed hypotheses. In the beauty context, the findings indicate that the more a brand is perceived as sustainable, the stronger its positive influence on brand coolness. This perception of coolness, in turn, fosters brand love, strengthens brand trust, and increases behavioral intentions. This study has implications for theory, addressing an identified knowledge gap as the literature about the relationship between sustainability and brand coolness is still scarce. For managers, AR, VR and AI can be used to show relevant product characteristics and can help to translate sustainability into personalized narratives and experiences, highlighting the role of sustainability as a driver of brand coolness.

ABSTRACT. Technology is deeply integrated into consumers’ daily lives, regarding smartphone interactions, artificial intelligence applications, and gamified experiences. These technologies represent a significant and growing trend, influencing both consumer behavior and retail companies. For example, retail companies are increasingly prioritizing mobile commerce by developing applications that incorporate interactive games, personalized experiences, and artificial intelligence–driven product recommendations. In an era of gamification and artificial intelligence, retail brands such as Sephora, Springfield, Nike, Starbucks, Walmart, and Gucci are adapting their customer experiences to these changes. They have launched multiple games in which customers interact with brand elements through gamified applications to earn points and redeem rewards, thereby enhancing customer–brand engagement. Consumer research emphasizes that gamification plays a fundamental role in creating a positive experience for customer engagement with the brand (Huotari & Hamari, 2012; Hollebeek et al., 2014; Hammedi et al., 2017). As a result, retail brands need to consider how to create a more differentiated customer brand experience through gamification. Retail brands should identify and leverage gamification to improve customer engagement and increase purchase intent. This research aims to provide empirical evidence on how gamification and artificial intelligence, as game elements, can influence the customer experience and enhance customer brand engagement, thereby increasing the likelihood of continued purchase. Further, the study intends to determine the effectiveness of gamification and gamification with artificial intelligence for the desire to purchase.

ABSTRACT. In the rapidly evolving landscape of the global fashion industry, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the textile manufacturing sector face a critical strategic pivot. The traditional “supply-push” model, selling manufacturing capacity and low labor costs, is being rendered obsolete by demands for speed, sustainability, and personalization. Drawing on Collaborative Intelligence theory and the Human-AI Co-Creative Design Process (HAI-CDP) model, this conceptual paper argues that B2B manufacturers must utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) not merely for operational efficiency, but as a primary selling strategy. By integrating AI into the sales and service interface, manufacturers can transition from passive product vendors to “Intelligent Service Partners.” This transition rests on three value propositions: (1) Co-Creative Innovation (leveraging Generative AI for virtual prototyping), (2) Trust-as-a-Service (utilizing Blockchain for irrefutable transparency), and (3) Strategic Accountability (using Marketing Automation to prove financial ROI to B2B clients). The paper synthesizes literature on AI adoption in SMEs, B2B marketing transformation, and Industry 4.0 in fashion to address the “Digital Paradox,” in which firms implement digital tools but fail to leverage them strategically.

ABSTRACT. Despite the rapid growth of the sustainable beauty market, the determinants of consumer decision-making remain unclear. Prior research highlights the role of sustainability concerns, brand image, and price perception in shaping consumer behaviour, yet evidence remains inconclusive regarding their relative influence (Joshi & Rahman, 2015; Konuk, 2020). Moreover, the well-documented attitude–behaviour gap suggests that positive environmental attitudes do not always translate into actual purchase decisions (Wiederhold & Martinez, 2018). This study examines the role of perceived quality in shaping purchase intention within the context of green skincare. Building on prior research that identifies perceived quality as a central determinant of consumer evaluation (Zeithaml, 1988; Konuk, 2020), this research investigates both its direct effect and its mediating role between brand image, price perception, and purchase intention. A quantitative approach was employed using data collected from 160 respondents through an online survey. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to assess direct and indirect relationships between variables. The results show that perceived quality is the only variable with a statistically significant direct effect on purchase intention. In contrast, brand image and price perception do not directly influence purchase intention but significantly affect perceived quality, indicating an indirect effect on consumer decision-making. These findings suggest that consumers prioritise performance-related attributes over symbolic or economic cues when evaluating sustainable skincare products. This study challenges assumptions in sustainable marketing that emphasise brand positioning and pricing as primary drivers (Nguyen et al., 2019), highlighting instead the central role of perceived quality in bridging the intention–behaviour gap (Testa et al., 2021). Managerially, the findings underscore the importance of delivering and communicating credible product quality in increasingly competitive and information-rich markets.

ABSTRACT. The need for rapid advances in shifting consumer behaviour towards more circular consumption of fashion and textiles (F&T) remains a key global challenge. Despite having garnered attention for more than two decades (Faludi, 2025), there has been little progress in making the change required, indeed consumption of F&T is reported to be at an all-time high.

Much of the academic literature on the subject of F&T circularity in relation to consumers and consumption has tended to focus on specific circular business models and behaviours including repair, rental, reuse, resale, recycle (Neerattiparambil & Belli, 2020; Shrivastava et al., 2021; Mukendi et al., 2020; Wagner & Heinzel, 2020) etc. Whilst providing useful insights into enablers and barriers of behaviour change in relation to each of these circular behaviours, the shortcoming of research to date lies in that circular consumption behaviours will only be demonstrated by certain segments of consumers, specifically those who are motivated and minded to behave and consume ‘sustainably’. Furthermore, the authors argue there is often an assumption that consumers are all minded to consume and behave, and/or are increasingly concerned about the impact of F&T on the environment and it is also suggested in the literature that ‘younger’ generations are more likely to be concerned with issues relating to circularity in F&T (Gazzola et al., 2020). However, there is limited academic research to support the notion that all consumers are increasingly motivated to adopt circular behaviours, and industry/sector research is often carried out by commercial organisations and hidden behind ‘paywalls’ limiting its use to affect change.

This research posits that in order to support rapid progress to circularity of F&T a robust, contemporary, data-evidenced and publicly available segmentation of F&T consumers is needed. The research will present findings from a complete quantitative segmentation of UK F&T adult consumers, in collaboration with WRAP, based on survey data with a sample of 4000 respondents administered by ICARO, with emphasis on attitudes and behaviours in relation to F&T consumption and circularity. Whilst limited to a UK context, both the model for conducting the research and the findings could be applied in a global context. Furthermore, the findings can also support identification as to the potential market for possible circular business model solutions to accelerate progress towards a more circular sector.

ABSTRACT. Fashion has been intensely criticized for its damaging impact on the environment and the diverse pollution that it causes (Clube & Tennant, 2020). Although there have been several attempts to explore ways to minimize these negative consequences, there is a need to investigate further the role consumers can play towards this end, by adopting a more mindful and sustainable mindset. When consumers consciously shift their purchasing habits, they send strong market signals to brands (Horváth & Birgelen, 2015) and contribute to cultural and societal shifts which benefit the environment and the society at large. Although sustainability has been introduced in multiple business operations primarily due to the proliferation of SDGs, luxury fashion brands, continue to face several challenges (Franco et al, 2020), with strong contradictions between their marketing strategies and EU principles of sustainability. Many attempts have already been made to guide fashion brands in their marketing strategies, with some highlighting the important role social media marketing activities play (Fetais et al., 2023), whilst others emphasize the power of online co-creation (Kokkinopoulou et al., 2025). Others, emphasize brand-building activities (Tarnanidis et al., 2025) or enhancing loyalty through artificial intelligence (Khamoushi Sahne and Kalantari Daronkola, 2025). The purpose of this paper is first, to shed light on the findings that emerged from a systematic literature review (SLR) by investigating the existent literature on sustainable luxury marketing practices, relying on top tier academic journals and specifically ABS3, ABS4 and ABS4*. Secondly, this study aimed to detect gaps and suggest avenues for future researchers on sustainable luxury fashion.

ABSTRACT. Inclusive marketing has gained increasing attention in marketing research and fashion industry discourse where brands are expected to demonstrate social responsibility while operating under competitive market conditions. Yet research suggest that its implementation in practice remain uneven. This study examines how marketing professionals understand inclusive marketing, and how these understandings shape advertising practices. Drawing on 23 semi-structured interviews with marketing professionals, the study adopts a social constructionist perspective to analyse how inclusive marketing are interpreted, justified, and made workable in advertising. The findings show that inclusive marketing is enacted as a selective and conditional practice shaped by professional judgement, brand identity, and organisational constraints. Visual inclusion is more easily integrated into advertising imagery, while functional inclusion is constrained by product development and logistical conditions. Inclusive ambitions are further filtered through assessments of brand fit, credibility, and perceived commercial risk, resulting in strategically bounded and episodic deployments of inclusion, often concentrated in selected campaigns. The study contributes a practice-oriented understanding of inclusive marketing by showing how inclusion is enacted through everyday advertising practices. While empirically situated in the Swedish fashion industry, the findings offer broader insights into how organisational practices shape the scope of inclusion in fashion advertising.

ABSTRACT. Sustainability within fashion is often communicated through visible, branded elements of products—materials, packaging, and production narratives—while smaller components remain largely unexamined. This paper focuses on shoelaces as a case study of such invisibility, revealing how overlooked components disrupt claims of circularity and sustainability within global footwear systems. The research emerged through a collaboration between a textile artist, a fashion marketing academic, and a UK-based sustainable footwear retailer, Sole Responsibility, whose business diverts pre-consumer “seconds” and returned footwear from landfill. During this collaboration, it became apparent that shoelaces—despite being mass-produced, petrochemical-based textiles—have no established recycling pathway, are frequently unused, and currently lack digital product passports. Their absence from sustainability narratives renders them materially and systemically invisible within both industry practice and consumer-facing communication. Through practice-based artistic research, shoelaces were subjected to processes of melting and fusing, revealing their plastic origins and transforming them into root-like and geological forms. These visual and material transformations functioned as provocations, prompting reflection within the partner organisation and its wider industry networks, including discussions with footwear industry stakeholders. The work exposed a disconnect between sustainability messaging and the full material lifecycle of fashion products. This paper argues that artistic practice can act as a critical research tool within sustainability and marketing discourse, not by offering solutions, but by making hidden material realities visible and emotionally resonant. By foregrounding shoelaces as an overlooked component, the research highlights the need for more granular approaches to sustainability communication—ones that acknowledge minor materials and their afterlives. The study contributes to debates on consumer perception, circular fashion, and sustainability marketing by demonstrating how interdisciplinary, practice-led methods can reveal blind spots within established sustainability frameworks

ABSTRACT. This study examines how perceived psychological ownership mitigates adoption barriers in fashion rental and how effects vary by usage context. A 2×2 experiment shows ownership cues reduce financial, functional, psychological, and hygienic barriers, particularly for everyday use, while social barriers remain relatively unaffected. Findings demonstrate the contextual boundary conditions of psychological ownership in access-based consumption.

ABSTRACT. In recent years, the fashion industry has witnessed growing interest in personalized offerings such as made-to-measure and tailor-made garments. These options promise a better fit, uniqueness, and individualized service, appealing to consumers seeking greater alignment between product and self-image. Beyond individual benefits, personalized fashion holds significant sustainability potential by producing garments on demand, minimizing overproduction and unsold inventory. However, an underlying assumption that personalized fashion is inherently more sustainable remains largely unexplored. This study challenges this assumption through an empirical investigation of consumer expectations for personalized fashion. Drawing on Expectation-Disconfirmation Theory, we examine whether consumers form different expectations for personalized versus ready-to-wear garments across twenty attribute dimensions organized into five need categories: hedonic, functional, sustainability, social, and psychological. Based on a survey of 203 Swedish consumers with experience purchasing personalized fashion, our results reveal that while consumers hold higher expectations for hedonic and psychological needs in terms of personalized garments regarding fit, appearance, and service quality, they do not differentiate sustainability-related expectations between personalized and ready-to-wear clothing. These findings suggest that the sustainability benefits of personalized fashion must derive from production-side improvements rather than consumer demand drivers.

See full paper attached.

ABSTRACT. Over the past decade, retail brands have increasingly expanded beyond product offerings toward ecosystem-based strategies that integrate services, experiences, and digital platforms (Adner, 2017). In this context, physical stores have transitioned from transactional spaces toward experiential hubs, playing a pivotal role in orchestrating multiple touchpoints along the customer journey (Verhoef et al., 2009; Alexander & Cano, 2020). In the sportswear industry, this transformation is particularly relevant, as brands increasingly position themselves as part of the broader health and wellness economy, seeking to build long-term relationships and foster deeper consumer engagement within a global market that reached USD 6.3 trillion in 2023, with Brazil accounting for USD 111.09 billion (Global Wellness Institute, 2025). This study examines the case of Track&Field, a Brazilian premium sportswear brand that has repositioned itself as a wellness ecosystem encompassing fashion, sports experiences, healthy food services, and digital marketplaces. Following the success of its “Experience Stores”—concept stores designed to integrate these business units—the company faces the strategic challenge of scaling this model across a predominantly franchised retail network without compromising brand consistency, experiential quality, or financial sustainability within an emerging market context.

This research draws on technical visits to six stores, in-depth interviews with store managers, and secondary data analysis. The findings reveal that Experience Stores function as key hubs for ecosystem integration, connecting business units such as TFSports, TFC Food & Market, and TFMall while enhancing customer engagement and omnichannel connectivity (Verhoef, Kannan & Inman, 2015). However, financial constraints, operational complexity, and communication misalignments across different store formats limit the full realization of ecosystem synergies. This study contributes to the literature on experiential retail and ecosystem-based branding by highlighting the strategic role of physical stores in orchestrating multiple business units. Furthermore, it offers managerial insights into how retail formats can be adapted to balance experiential differentiation, scalability, and profitability.

ABSTRACT. The growing emphasis on sustainability in the global fashion industry has heightened the strategic importance of sustainability-oriented marketing communications in shaping consumer perceptions and behavioural responses. This study investigates the influence of Sustainable Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) on Sustainable Brand Image (SBI) in the fashion retail sector, examining the mediating role of Responsible Sustainable Consumer Behavior (RSCB). Using survey data from 385 fashion consumers and employing partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), the results demonstrate that Sustainable IMC has a positive effect on both RSCB and SBI, while RSCB positively contributes to SBI. Moreover, RSCB partially mediates the relationship between Sustainable IMC and SBI. The findings contribute to sustainability communication research in fashion retail by identifying a behavioural pathway through which sustainability-oriented communication enhances sustainable brand image. Unlike prior studies that primarily focus on attitudinal outcomes, this study conceptualises responsible sustainable consumer behavior as a behavioural transmission mechanism linking sustainability-oriented communication to sustainable brand image. From a managerial perspective, the results underscore the strategic value of consistent and credible sustainability messaging in cultivating favourable sustainability-related brand perceptions among increasingly environmentally conscious consumer segments.

ABSTRACT. The online fashion industry is being transformed by two competing approaches to visual content creation: generative artificial intelligence (AI) for the scalable production of personalized lookbooks and user-generated content (UGC), which has demonstrated superiority in building consumer trust. Despite a growing body of research, a systematic comparison of these approaches in the context of fashion e-commerce remains a critical gap. This study analyses the comparative effectiveness of both approaches, focusing on the mechanisms by which trust is built. The methodology is based on a mixed two-stage approach: 12 in-depth interviews and a quantitative survey of 386 respondents from a Russian fashion marketplace. Structural modeling (PLS-SEM) revealed that trust is explained by 65.1% by four factors: perceived seller honesty (β=0.345, p<0.01) and platform reputation (β=0.298, p<0.01). The conceptual model integrates Mayer’s theory of trust, postulating two mechanisms: UGC operates through social proof, reinforcing integrity and goodwill, while AI personalization enhances the perceived platform's ability through the relevance of recommendations. This study shows that UGC achieves a 161% increase in conversions and a 9.8 times higher impact on purchase decisions due to its authenticity, while AI-powered content demonstrates a 350% increase in engagement at the awareness stage. Practical implications: fashion brands should build hybrid content strategies, distributing roles – personalized AI lookbooks for scaling at the top of the funnel, and UGC for social proof and risk mitigation at the consideration and decision stages.

ABSTRACT. This study explores kiosks and carts as emerging luxury pop-up formats through a netnographic analysis of 55 global brand activations. Findings show how mobility, temporality, and proximity reconfigure luxury retail codes, introducing “luxury mobility” as a strategic shift in premium fashion retail, extending experiential and spatial theories of luxury consumption.

ABSTRACT. Digital fashion products are emerging in digital societies, such as games, metaverse and social media. The correlation of fashion and immersive environments is long acknowledged and established. The two industries have been collaborating under several circumstances and opportunities, especially after the pandemic period, where e-commerce, social media, immersive and gaming environments were the only possible channels for fashion to achieve the reach to its audience and continue its activities. The research of such collaborations has already picked the academia’s interest with the latter to seek ways to educate students, or train current workers – from both industries – into preparing them for a better integration in cross-sector collaborations. Cross- sector collaborations are potential fields were industries from different backgrounds, collaborate with each other for a common goal or technological advancement. With already some examples of fashion and immersive environments, like games and the metaverse, having come to life, the two industries have converged in bringing new in game experiences, educating users/ gamers in specific fields, and creating new channels of communication and consumption. The Interline is an all fashion and retail technology news publication. The editorials form a sense of community with a dataset written by the fashion industry experts and stakeholders who created WhichPLM. The Interline is an independent initiative targeted at fashion industry professionals. The reports and articles are solely focused on fashion and retail technology news, innovations in the form of analysis and opinionated editorials. From Digital Product Creation (DPC), sustainability, sourcing and AI, the reports span from 2016 to 2025 and offer a rich dataset for investigating fashion’s digital transformation in accordance with its market. By analysing the full corpus of these reports and aritcles the current proposal will track down technological innovations, perception of these innovations from the market and the emergence of key technological paradigms. All these key factors will be analysed through the span of years 2016 to 2025. This research proposes a critical text mining analysis of the published reports, sourced from The Interline’s community databases. The themes that this research is focused on are Artificial Intelligence (AI), the metaverse, digital product creation and its presence on gaming environments. This paper aims to map how these concepts are represented, prioritized, and framed in professional dialogue. Methodology: The methodology applied on this paper is a Natural Language Process with text mining analysis to the reports from 2016 to 2025. The reports include Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) reports (2016-2021), Digital Product Creation (DPC) reports (2022-2024), Sustainability reports (2024 and 2025), the AI report (2024 and 2025) as well as thematic issues such as Future Fashion Disruptors report and State of the Art. The choice of this methodology is based on the research from Jang and Kim (2020) where text mining was used to trace the role of ‘material’, in shaping fashion trends. This research from Jang and Kim (2020) adapts similar data-driven approach to investigate how emerging digital concepts are represented and prioritized over the course of time. To guide the analysis, the following research questions are addressed: 1. Which content areas attract the most attention from professional readers and stakeholders? 2. What topics are considered influential in the current fashion-tech discourse? 3. In which direction are consumers evolving, and how is their behaviour anticipated or framed? 4. What is the evolution of digital fashion products through this span of years, and which part of the industry’s market assisted in having its current form? 5. How is the consumer behaviour depicted in the editorials of this fashion-tech community?

These questions are examined through the strategic language used in the reports, treating them not only as informational texts but as curated narratives that both reflect and shape industry priorities. The literature review of the topics analysed and used in the paper, is based on publications from the same year span, allowing to cross – check and align the respective states of art in the both the industries and academia.

Objective: The outcomes are expected to represent how the fashion industry constructs technological relevance and how it anticipates consumer behaviour in a rapidly transforming landscape. By analysing these reports as curated, strategic narratives, this study seeks to contribute to existing literature on the convergence of fashion and technology targeting the group of stakeholders who have access to knowledge and techniques that shape the specific part of the fashion industry.

ABSTRACT. Immersive technologies are transforming the retail sector, yet evidence of sustainable fashion in the metaverse remains limited. Our study examines digital, experiential, informational determinants of sustainable fashion purchasing in the metaverse through online survey data analyzed using PLS-SEM. Results identified several key drivers of sustainable fashion purchasing in the metaverse.

ABSTRACT. In contemporary society, mobile devices have evolved from simple communication tools into essential platforms for AI-integrated shopping. Driven by continuous technological advancements, the shift from PC to mobile platforms has allowed AI-driven algorithmic recommendations to significantly enhance consumer satisfaction. Modern marketing is increasingly data-driven and automated, where this "New Age Marketing" leverages Industry 4.0 technologies—such as big data, blockchain, and IoT—to revolutionize interactions between companies and customers while fundamentally transforming market structures (Kumar et al., 2019; Paschen et al., 2019; Hughes et al., 2020). AI improves the customer experience by precisely analyzing consumer preferences and purchasing patterns, thereby providing personalized solutions across major customer touchpoints (Evans, 2019; Ameen et al., 2021). Particularly in the service sector, AI-based automation and robotic systems address rising labor costs while offering tailored services adapted to specific consumption contexts (Li et al., 2019; Laura M. Aguiar-Costa et al., 2022). As these functions become deeply embedded in daily life, AI-driven mobile shopping is becoming an inevitable necessity, making features like chatbots and personalized recommendations indispensable to the modern consumer experience (Van Doorn et al., 2017; Bock et al., 2020). Based on these developments, this study analyzed consumer behavior in AI-based mobile shopping through a survey of domestic users. The research identified how key AI functions—including ubiquity, perceived anthropomorphism, personalization, interactivity, and convenience—influence customer satisfaction and the multi-dimensional customer experience. The results demonstrate that ubiquity and convenience have a direct impact on customer satisfaction. Furthermore, it was found that interactivity and perceived anthropomorphism influence satisfaction specifically through emotional and behavioral customer experiences. These findings provide meaningful strategic insights for the rapidly expanding online and mobile market industries.

ABSTRACT. This research explores Chinese consumers’ perceptions of Artificial Intelligence (AI) streamers and how they affect the clothing shopping experience. Livestreaming e-commerce combines live video streaming with e-commerce to enable real-time interactions between livestreamers and consumers, promoting purchases, providing product information, and answering questions (Yao et al., 2024). Its market size in China is expected to reach 8.16 trillion yuan by 2026 (Ma, 2024). Advanced digital technologies, such as AI and computer-generated imagery (CGI) technology, have promoted the development of AI streamers (Wan & Jiang, 2023), particularly in China. AI streamers are AI-powered, computer-generated virtual livestreamers with human-like attributes that interact with consumers in livestreaming e-commerce (Yao et al., 2024). They are used by fashion brands to provide reliable, efficient and immersive shopping experiences, as they can livestream 24/7 and provide high-quality services consistently in real-time (Yao et al., 2024). Silicon Intelligence, the leading AI-generated avatar creator in China, announced plans to create 100 million AI streamers by 2025 (Medium, 2023), suggesting a huge potential growth in AI streamer marketing. Research has explored how AI streamers' characteristics affect consumer behaviour and attitudes in the fashion context (Sun & Tang, 2024; Hu & Ma, 2024; Wang et al., 2025). However, existing studies primarily focus on consumer responses towards virtual streamers or influencers when the relationship is already established. This creates a gap in understanding of consumers’ perceptions when they first encounter AI streamers in the clothing shopping context. The interpersonal relationships with AI streamers are crucial factors in the customer shopping experience, determining customer satisfaction and loyalty, which can create competitive advantages for brands in the marketplace (Roozen & Katidis, 2019; Verhoef et al., 2009). It is necessary to understand the early-stage development of consumer-AI streamer parasocial relationships (PSRs). Therefore, this study aims to explore consumers’ initial perceptions of AI streamers as these relationships begin to form through conducting qualitative semi-structured interviews. The findings will contribute new insights to PSR theory and AI streamer marketing, thereby understanding how AI streamers can affect the fashion shopping experience within the livestreaming e-commerce context.

ABSTRACT. INTRODUCTION Lab-created diamonds have rapidly emerged as a technologically sophisticated alternative to natural diamonds in the luxury jewelry market. Despite being physically and chemically identical to natural diamonds, lab-created diamonds continue to face resistance in symbolic consumption contexts such as engagement rings and meaningful gifts. This resistance suggests that consumer evaluations of diamonds are driven not solely by objective quality, but by subjective interpretations of meaning, emotion, and symbolism attached to product origin. Luxury consumption is fundamentally rooted in hedonic consumption, which emphasizes experiential pleasure, emotional gratification, and symbolic meaning rather than functional utility (Hirschman & Holbrook, 1982). In this tradition, luxury products are valued for what they represent and how they make consumers feel, rather than for what they objectively do. Diamonds, in particular, have long been associated with romance, commitment, and permanence, serving as powerful relational symbols that extend beyond individual consumption to interpersonal signaling (Belk, 1988). As a result, consumers’ responses to diamonds are likely to be especially sensitive to cues that shape emotional and symbolic interpretations. At the same time, prior research on technology and affect suggests that technological cues can evoke perceptions of precision, control, and efficiency, but may also introduce psychological distance and emotional coolness (Mende et al., 2019; Waytz et al., 2014). In product evaluations, this distinction is often captured by the warmth–competence framework, which posits that warmth-related traits (e.g., emotionality, care, human connection) and competence-related traits (e.g., capability, precision, reliability) represent two fundamental dimensions of social and product perception (Fiske et al., 2002; Cuddy et al., 2008). While competence perceptions are advantageous in functional or performance-driven categories, warmth perceptions play a more critical role in relational and symbolic contexts (Aaker et al., 2010). Applying this framework to diamonds suggests that lab-created diamonds may be perceived as competent and technologically advanced, yet deficient in warmth and emotional resonance—particularly when evaluated as symbols of love or commitment.

METHODOLOGY Study 1 establishes a baseline test by examining whether lab-created diamonds attenuate hedonic consumption value relative to natural diamonds when all other attributes are held constant. Using identical product images that differ only in diamond origin, the study isolates the psychological impact of technological versus natural origin cues. Results indicate that lab-created diamonds generate lower hedonic value than natural diamonds. Although the effect is marginal, its direction aligns with research suggesting that technologically mediated products can dampen emotional engagement even when functional equivalence is assured (Huang & Rust, 2018). This pattern suggests that technological origin cues may subtly undermine the emotional rewards associated with luxury consumption. Building on this baseline, Study 2 examines when diamond origin matters by introducing consumption context as a situational moderator. Prior research shows that gift-giving heightens concerns about symbolism, emotional meaning, and relational signaling, whereas self-purchase emphasizes functionality and personal utility (Belk & Coon, 1993; Sherry, 1983). Accordingly, Study 2 proposes that hedonic value is more diagnostic in gift contexts, while perceived functionality is more diagnostic in self-purchase contexts. The hedonic disadvantage of lab-created diamonds is therefore expected to be amplified when purchased as a gift but attenuated or neutralized when purchased for oneself. This study demonstrates that the impact of diamond origin is contingent on the situational meaning of the consumption act. Study 3 investigates for whom lab-created diamonds are most strongly penalized by incorporating individual differences in affect-based consumption orientation. Consumers who rely heavily on emotions and experiential rewards place greater weight on hedonic and symbolic cues (Babin et al., 1994; Dhar & Wertenbroch, 2000). Extending the 2 × 2 design of Study 2, Study 3 predicts that the hedonic disadvantage of lab-created diamonds will be amplified among consumers high in affect-based consumption orientation. This identifies an important individual-level boundary condition. Together, the three studies provide an integrated account of how, when, and for whom technological origin cues shape luxury evaluations, highlighting limits to technological equivalence in emotionally symbolic product categories.

THEORETICAL AND MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS This research contributes to the literature on hedonic consumption and luxury branding by demonstrating that technological equivalence does not guarantee symbolic or emotional equivalence in consumer evaluations. While prior research has emphasized the functional comparability of lab-created and natural diamonds, the present findings show that diamond origin systematically shapes hedonic value, even when all objective attributes are held constant. By integrating hedonic consumption theory with the warmth–competence framework, this research highlights how technological origin cues can attenuate perceived warmth and emotional reward, thereby undermining preference in symbolic consumption contexts. Moreover, by identifying consumption context and affect-based consumption orientation as key boundary conditions, this research advances a more nuanced understanding of heterogeneity in consumer responses to technological innovation in luxury markets. Rather than treating resistance to lab-created diamonds as a uniform phenomenon, the present work shows that such resistance is contingent on both situational meaning and individual-level consumption orientations, thereby extending existing theories of luxury consumption, gift-giving, and innovation acceptance. From a managerial perspective, this research suggests that the positioning of lab-created diamonds should move beyond claims of technological sophistication and objective quality alone. While such attributes may resonate in self-purchase contexts or among consumers with a lower affect-based consumption orientation, they are insufficient—and potentially counterproductive—in gift-giving situations where emotional and symbolic value dominates. For marketers of lab-created diamonds, this implies the need for differentiated communication strategies that emphasize emotional meaning, experiential pleasure, and relational symbolism, particularly for engagement and celebration-related purchases. Conversely, natural diamond brands may benefit from reinforcing narratives of timelessness, romance, and emotional heritage to sustain their hedonic advantage in symbolic contexts. More broadly, the findings caution managers in luxury and high-tech categories that technological innovation must be carefully aligned with consumers’ emotional expectations, as advances that enhance functional competence may simultaneously erode the very symbolic meanings that drive value in hedonic consumption.

ABSTRACT. This research examines how influencers’ photo types shape consumer responses in luxury branding. Drawing on parasocial relationship and regulatory fit theories, three studies show that individual photos are more effective for promotion-focused consumers. In contrast, group photos enhance evaluations among prevention-focused consumers, mediated by internal versus external evaluative thoughts.

ABSTRACT. As social media increasingly shifts branding from brand-led communication to consumer-driven engagement, Brand-related User-Generated Content (Br-UGC) has become a central mechanism through which luxury brand meaning is co-created. This study examines how Br-UGC on Instagram shapes consumer-brand engagement (CBE) by analysing the online behavioural activities through which consumers interact with luxury brands. Using a qualitative netnographic approach based on 125 Br-UGC units (74 stories and 51 posts), the study explores how engagement unfolds across different content formats and levels of participation. The findings reveal that stories primarily stimulate consumption-level engagement, while posts are more strongly associated with contribution behaviours. Visual storytelling, subtle brand cues, and platform affordances emerge as key drivers of deeper engagement, highlighting the role of visibility in shaping interaction. The study contributes to engagement theory by positioning Br-UGC as a platform-mediated, consumer-driven process and offers practical insights for luxury brands seeking authentic and participatory digital engagement strategies.

ABSTRACT. Recent advances in generative artificial intelligence have fostered the emergence of AI personal shoppers that are capable of engaging in socially expressive and relational interactions with consumers. Drawing on the Computers as Social Actors paradigm and the Stereotype Content Model, this research investigates how the interaction type of an AI personal shopper (task-oriented vs. social-oriented) shapes consumers’ perceived AI-service quality through two fundamental social perception dimensions—perceived warmth and perceived competence—and whether these effects are contingent on consumers’ need for human touch (NFHT). Across an experimental study conducted in a luxury fashion retail context, results show that social-oriented interaction increases perceived warmth, whereas task-oriented interaction increases perceived competence, and both dimensions independently mediate the effect of interaction type on perceived AI-service quality. Moreover, the indirect effects through warmth and competence are weaker for consumers with higher NFHT, indicating a boundary condition for the effectiveness of AI-mediated personal services. A second study is planned to replicate these findings and examine whether the proposed effects generalize to a mass-market fashion retail context. The findings advance understanding of how consumers form social judgments toward AI personal shoppers and demonstrate that strategically designed interaction styles enable AI-mediated personal services to deliver both relational and functional value in online retail environments.

ABSTRACT. Two experiments examine how design features of AI styling agents in fashion shopping platforms drive consumer-AI relationships through Self-extension and Self-expansion. Among design features, mutual knowledge demonstrates a substantially stronger effect on Self-extension than control; diverse resources induce Self-expansion while novel perspectives show no effect. Both mechanisms mediate the effects of AI design features on consumer attitudes, yielding actionable AI design principles.

ABSTRACT. As destinations increasingly compete through unique experiences and cultural differences, luxury hospitality has become a key player in how we communicate a place's identity. While research on destination branding has traditionally focused on marketing campaigns, events, and flagship attractions, there has been limited attention given to retail spaces within hotels as communicative interfaces. This study aims to fill that gap by conceptualizing luxury hotel boutiques as place media—curated environments where the identity of a destination is selected, narrated, and legitimized through fashion, craftsmanship, beauty, and lifestyle consumption. Building on the literature surrounding place branding, experiential retail, and hospitality communication, this paper introduces the concept of "place-coded retail curation". This refers to how retail assortments and narratives embed specific cultural codes of the destination. Four dimensions are proposed: local brand representation, narratives about craftsmanship and provenance, explicit references to the place, and experiential retail practices. Empirically, the study adopts a two-phase design focused on the luxury hospitality sector in Madrid. Five five-star hotels were selected based on the presence of an on-site boutique highlighted on their official websites. The methodological approach combines a qualitative audit of the hotel boutique sections on their websites and a year-long analysis of social media content, specifically Instagram posts and user interactions, conducted using Fanpage Karma, covering the period from March 2025 to March 2026. This mixed digital audit allows for the examination of both strategic and audience-driven narratives of place.

ABSTRACT. Cruise tourism has traditionally been examined through the perspectives of leisure, hospitality, and destination experiences. Nonetheless, there is an underexplored aspect of cruise travel related to fashion retail and the broader consumption ecosystem. Modern cruise ships function as “floating luxury malls,” featuring high-end fashion brands, luxury watches, jewelry, fragrances, and accessories, often combined by tax-free purchasing advantages, onboard boutiques, and dedicated shopping guides. For a segment of passengers, especially those who tend to sail in short itineraries of three to five days departing from U.S. ports such as Miami, Fort Lauderdale, or Los Angeles—fashion shopping emerges as a significant value proposition. In certain instances, it serves as a primary motivation for cruise travel, as the appeal of “duty-free” conditions and the enhancement of perceived value (Zeithaml, 1988) play a crucial role. Drawing upon experiential consumption theory (Holbrook & Hirschman, 1982) and the existing literature on luxury tourism (e.g., Ku et al., 2025; Li et al., 2025), this conceptual paper delineates cruise ships as mobile fashion retail venues that redefine the relationship between fashion consumption and travel decision-making processes. Additionally, it examines how onboard luxury shopping environments, combined with tax-free incentives, curated brand assortments, and expert-led shopping presentations, have developed into a distinguished fashion tourism paradigm. Furthermore, ports of call serve as extended retail platforms, enabling cruise lines to act as intermediaries and providing passengers with access to countless shopping destinations that offer similar advantages. The paper argues that fashion consumption onboard cruise ships play a pivotal role in influencing itinerary selection, perceived cruise value, and overall travel satisfaction, especially among hedonic and experience-focused consumers. By reconceptualizing cruise travel as a form of fashion-driven tourism, this research emphasizes the significance of onboard retail and shopping communications as main elements of cruise branding and differentiation. Grounded in industry reports and consumer reviews from cruise-related online platforms such as cruisecritic.com and cruiseline.com (Lahey, 2020), this study highlights the significant influence of duty-free luxury shopping in shaping contemporary cruise experiences, an area that remains relatively understudied, based on digital content analysis of online passenger discourse. This study advances the existing literature on fashion tourism and marketing within the context of cruise tourism by conceptualizing cruise ships as hybrid spaces for fashion consumption that amalgamate luxury retail, tourism motivations, and experiential marketing strategies. Practical implications are delineated for cruise operators, destination marketers, and luxury fashion brands. Additionally, directions for future research are proposed, emphasizing the underlying motivations for fashion-oriented cruise travel.

ABSTRACT. Despite the growing convergence of fashion and tourism, little research has examined how fashion e-commerce platforms influence tourism-related outcomes beyond their intended commercial purposes. Fashion platform content, such as editorial-style product presentations and styling pages, often incorporates destination-themed narratives without explicitly promoting travel. Drawing on the mere exposure effect and mental imagery theory, this study investigates how such content shapes unintentional visit consideration through incidental exposure to destination cues. This study focus on three content attributes, destination referencing richness, aesthetic storytelling vividness, and commercial transparency, and examine their indirect effects through destination mental imagery and perceived authenticity. Using a structural equation modeling approach, survey data are collected from online consumers who have recently experienced fashion platform content. This study contributes to tourism communication and marketing literature by identifying fashion e-commerce platforms as influential yet unintended communicators in destination image formation.

ABSTRACT. Purpose Fashion events have emerged as effective platforms for destination communication, extending their impact beyond the fashion industry to tourism branding and urban image formation. This study examines how Mumbai Fashion Week 2025 (MFW 2025) communicates Mumbai’s identity as the commercial capital of India and analyses the tourism implications of fashion events in shaping destination image, visibility, and experiential appeal. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a mixed-methods research design. Qualitative content analysis was conducted on official event communications, media coverage, digital campaigns, and social media narratives related to Mumbai Fashion Week 2025 to identify dominant tourism-related themes. These insights informed the development of a structured survey instrument. Quantitative analysis involved exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, followed by structural equation modelling (SEM), to examine relationships between fashion event attributes, destination image, destination visibility, and experiential appeal. Findings The findings indicate that Mumbai Fashion Week operates as a hybrid fashion tourism communication platform that significantly influences destination image and experiential appeal. Fashion-event attributes i.e. curated urban spaces, designer storytelling, celebrity presence, and digital amplification positively affect destination visibility, which in turn strengthens perceptions of Mumbai as a global commercial and creative city. SEM results confirm destination visibility as a key mediating variable linking fashion events to tourism outcomes. Originality/value This study empirically validates fashion events as strategic destination communication tools and offers evidence-based insights for DMO’s, event organizers, and policymakers.

ABSTRACT. This study examines how different levels of motion cues in online apparel product presentations influence consumers’ mental simulation processes and subsequent evaluative and behavioral responses from an embodied cognition perspective. An experiment using three mock online shopping websites compared a static image, a pseudo-dynamic static image implying movement, and a 3D video depicting actual movement of women’s flare dresses worn by mannequins. Grounded in embodied cognition and mental simulation theories, motion cues are conceptualized as embodied stimuli that facilitate mental simulation through object imagery and imagination imagery. Study 1 compares the effects of the three stimulus types on imagery generation ease, product evaluation, product preference, and purchase intention. Study 2 tests a process-based mediation model using dummy-coded structural equation modeling to examine whether imagery generation mediates the effects of motion cues on consumer outcomes. By distinguishing implied motion from actual motion, this study clarifies the cognitive mechanisms through which visual presentation formats shape consumer evaluation and decision making in online apparel retailing.

ABSTRACT. Consumer wellbeing in retail environments extends beyond functional satisfaction and includes emotional comfort, psychological safety, and the absence of distress during consumption experiences. Hedonic wellbeing is driven by emotion, momentary, and typified by short stints of positive affect, alleviation of distress and boredom (Diener et al., 1985) and typically linked to shopping experiences.

In retail contexts involving sensitive, intimate, or socially stigmatized products (i.e lingerie or sexual health products) consumers experience embarrassment from anticipated social evaluation and heightened self-awareness (Krishna et al., 2019) Such embarrassment represents a threat to consumers’ wellbeing and often leads to avoidance behaviours, reduced engagement, and an overall negative shopping experience.

This research investigates whether AI robot assistants can reduce consumers’ feelings of embarrassment in retail shopping contexts and, in doing so, enhance consumers’ hedonic wellbeing during the interaction. We propose that AI robot assistants improve consumer wellbeing by reducing perceived social exposure and alleviating self-conscious emotional distress. Unlike human sales assistants, AI robots are not perceived as social evaluators: consumers do not believe that robots judge, remember, or socially evaluate their behavior. As a result, interactions with AI robot assistants are experienced as psychologically safer (Akalin et al., 2022) and less threatening to consumers’ social self.

This research aims to contributes to knowledge in different areas. First, extending consumer wellbeing research by demonstrating how AI-enabled service agents can contribute to hedonic wellbeing in consumption contexts. Second, advancing human–robot interaction research by identifying psychological safety and wellbeing as critical outcomes of robot-mediated service encounters. Third, enriching research on consumer embarrassment by introducing AI robot assistants as a means of alleviating self-conscious emotions without eliminating social interaction altogether. In terms of its contribution to practice, building on the results of this research, retailers could strategically implement AI robot assistants not just to improve efficiency, but to support consumer emotional wellbeing in sensitive shopping situations creating more inclusive retail environments.

ABSTRACT. With the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence, the application of deepfake technology in the advertising field is becoming increasingly widespread. Deepfake videos have gradually evolved into a way of product promotion. However, the mechanism by which deepfake video advertisements affect consumers' purchase decisions remains unclear at present. Based on the successful model of information systems, this paper explores the internal mechanism and boundary conditions of the characteristics of deepfake videos on consumers' purchase decisions through an online survey method. The research results show that the perceived realism, perceived informativeness, and perceived entertainment of deepfake videos can improve consumers' processing fluency, thereby increasing purchase intention. At the same time, the perceived informativeness of deepfake videos can reduce consumers' perception of the seller's insincerity, thereby increasing purchase intention. In addition, this paper also verifies the moderating role of paradoxical mindset. This paper not only enriches the related research on deepfake video advertisements, expands the application scenarios of the successful model of information systems, but also provides theoretical basis and practical reference for advertising practitioners to reasonably apply deepfake technology and formulate effective marketing strategies.

ABSTRACT. This research examines AI stylists in phygital fashion retail through a cognitive offloading lens. We propose that advice mode shapes consumers’ offloading, producing short-term decision benefits but potential long-term costs. These effects are moderated by metacognitive confidence, highlighting temporal trade-offs in AI-assisted consumer decision making.

ABSTRACT. This study examines the critical role of algorithmic fairness in AI recommendation systems within the context of consumer behavior. As service providers increasingly leverage algorithms to drive engagement, maintaining ethical standards through fairness has become essential for user trust. The objective of this research is to examine the influence of interactions between recommendation model types (fairness-based vs. preference-based) and platform usage contexts (hedonic vs. utilitarian) on consumers' usage intentions, specifically focusing on the mediating role of perceived algorithmic bias. The process of topic modeling was employed to extract relevant keywords pertaining to the presence of fairness and bias in AI driven consumer services. Subsequently, a series of 2x2 experimental designs were undertaken in order to test hypotheses. Guided by algorithmic fairness theory, this research provides context specific guidelines to balance personalization and equity, contributing to the development of context aware AI systems that align with consumer expectations and platform dynamics.

ABSTRACT. Artificial intelligence is a transformative force in optimizing industrial service efficiency and resolving traditional operational pain points (Agwulonu, 2025). In the booming secondhand consumption market, traditional human authentication is hindered by high labor costs, subjective judgment biases, and slow response speeds, failing to meet the demand for efficient authentication in online secondhand transactions. Against this backdrop, AI-powered virtual authenticators have emerged as a novel professional endorsement entity, combining algorithmic precision and virtual digital presentation to deliver objective, standardized authentication reports and endorsements for secondhand goods via technologies like image recognition and big data comparison. Extant research highlights perceived professionalism and risk reduction as pivotal to positive decision-making in the high-risk, information-asymmetric secondhand consumption market (Ganeshram & Rahini, 2025). This study examines the impact of AI-powered virtual authenticator endorsement on consumers’ secondhand consumption decisions, in comparison with human authenticator endorsement and no professional authentication. It further verifies the serial mediating role of perceived professionalism and risk reduction in this relationship and explores the moderating effect of product value on the causal chain, with the aim of revealing the effectiveness of AI virtual authenticator endorsement in secondhand consumption.

ABSTRACT. As artificial intelligence-generated avatars replace human models in online advertising, fashion brands face a critical question: In brand advertising, do AI-generated avatars outperform human models in shaping customer responses? Despite the growing adoption of AI-generated avatars across multiple advertising formats, limited research has examined and compared the psychological mechanisms through which customers perceive AI versus human advertising models. Hence, to address this gap, this research draws on mind perception and anthropomorphism theories to investigate and compare how the use of AI-generated versus human models in advertising shapes customers’ perceptions of authenticity, trust, and purchase intention. Accordingly, an experimental between-subjects design was conducted with 493 participants. The research model was evaluated using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The present study offers theoretical contributions that extend the AI marketing literature and inform fashion brands’ managers regarding the strategic use of AI avatars versus human models in advertising strategies.

ABSTRACT. The rapid integration of generative artificial intelligence into search and recommendation systems is transforming how consumers discover and evaluate fashion brands, challenging traditional search engine optimization (SEO) paradigms. This study compares brand visibility across SEO and generative engine optimization (GEO) environments within the Spanish fashion retail market. Using a two-study design, the research first examines the relationships between SEO performance, GEO visibility, and web traffic for the 20 most-visited fashion retail brands in Spain based on secondary data from Semrush. Second, an experimental comparison is conducted using parallel queries in Google Search and ChatGPT to assess brand prominence under generic, trend-oriented, and value-for-money positioning tasks. By integrating traffic metrics with generative AI visibility indicators, the study advances theoretical understanding of digital visibility in AI-mediated search ecosystems and offers practical insights for fashion retailers navigating the shift from keyword-based rankings to generative brand exposure.

ABSTRACT. The fashion retail sector is undergoing profound transformation driven by digital technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), omnichannel strategies, and growing sustainability concerns. Although an expanding body of research addresses these developments, existing studies remain fragmented across marketing, operations, information systems, and sustainability domains, limiting a comprehensive understanding of the field’s intellectual structure and evolution. This study addresses this gap by conducting a systematic bibliometric analysis of fashion retail research published between 1999 and 2025. A total of 1,115 documents indexed in the Scopus database were analyzed using Biblioshiny, the graphical interface of the Bibliometrix R package. The analysis examines publication trends, source and country productivity, citation structures, keyword co-occurrence networks, thematic evolution, and factorial analysis to uncover the conceptual foundations and emerging research streams within fashion retail scholarship. The findings identify four dominant and interrelated research clusters: (1) retail performance and market dynamics, (2) consumer behaviour and retail experience, (3) digital transformation and retail technologies, and (4) sustainable fashion and supply chain management. Results reveal a clear temporal shift from operationally focused research toward digitally enabled, consumer-centric, and sustainability-oriented perspectives. However, sustainability and operational themes remain only partially integrated with mainstream marketing and digital retail frameworks. This study contributes by offering an integrative overview of fashion retail research and by outlining a future research agenda that emphasizes theoretical integration, interdisciplinary collaboration, and practice-relevant insights in an increasingly complex retail environment.

ABSTRACT. Abstract Title: From Biological Charisma to Algorithmic Authority: Redefining Luxury Brand Leadership in the Age of Generative Heritage and Digital Resurrection

Purpose: The global luxury fashion sector is undergoing a paradigmatic shift as "Charismatic Authority"—traditionally embodied by a visionary human Creative Director—is challenged by the emergence of Artificial Intelligence. This study investigates the transition from biological to "Algorithmic Charisma," questioning whether AI agents can assume the symbolic authority of a brand leader without eroding consumer trust. It specifically explores the concept of "Generative Heritage," where AI models trained on digitized archives function as "Immortal Creative Directors" to preserve brand DNA.

Design/Methodology/Approach: Utilizing a comparative case study methodology (Yin, 2018), this research contrasts two distinct models of AI integration. The Closed-Loop Model is analyzed through Norma Kamali, whose use of a proprietary AI system trained on five decades of archival data exemplifies the preservation of stylistic continuity. Conversely, the Synthetic Agent Model is examined through virtual influencers like Lil Miquela, who operate as autonomous social entities. The study applies Heider’s Balance Theory (P-O-X triad) and the Computers Are Social Actors (CASA) paradigm to evaluate how consumers reconcile the "AI Triad" of Consumer (P), AI Director (O), and Brand (X).

Findings: The analysis reveals that a purely autonomous AI Director risks "Social Mitosis," leading to consumer alienation due to a perceived lack of "soul." To maintain Heiderian balance, the study proposes a Hybrid Authority Model. In this framework, AI acts as the "Ghost" (ensuring data continuity and archival fidelity), while the human Creative Director serves as the "Priest" (providing curation and formal sanction). This "Ghost-and-Priest" dynamic fosters a positive transitive trust relationship, allowing brands to leverage "Generative Heritage" as a valuable asset class while maintaining the emotional resonance of human authorship.

Practical Implications: For luxury practitioners, the research outlines three strategic imperatives: (1) the necessity of digital archiving to create comprehensive training sets for Generative Heritage; (2) the adoption of a "Glass Box" transparency strategy that positions AI as a "co-pilot" rather than a replacement; and (3) the evolution of the Creative Director’s role from primary creator to curatorial gatekeeper of algorithmic output.

Originality/Value: This paper introduces the novel theoretical concepts of "Algorithmic Charisma" and "Generative Heritage" to the luxury fashion management discourse. By extending Heider’s Balance Theory to human-AI leadership dynamics, it offers a robust framework for understanding the psychological mechanisms of trust in the age of digital resurrection.

ABSTRACT. The Collective Wardrobe (CW) project explores how an AI based Fashion Recommender System (FRS) can support sustainable fashion consumption within shared digital ecosystems. The paper introduces the CW as a socio technical framework that combines circular economy principles, collaborative consumption, and AI mediated decision support. A comprehensive literature review establishes the theoretical foundations for the system and identifies key challenges in second hand and shared fashion contexts. Building on these insights, the CW App is designed with a user centred architecture that enables digital wardrobe management and community based garment exchange. The system incorporates intelligent recommendation capabilities to guide users toward more sustainable choices. The methodology includes the design and implementation of the CW App, followed by planned validation and evaluation experiments. These experiments aim to assess usability, system performance, and user perceptions of AI supported sharing. The paper positions the CW as a model for understanding how digital platforms can facilitate circular fashion practices. It also outlines the potential of AI to enhance trust, engagement, and participation in shared wardrobe systems. Overall, the study contributes to emerging research on digital ecosystems of exchange and sustainable fashion innovation.

ABSTRACT. In the context of the algorithmic transformation of the fashion industry, digital platforms and their recommendation systems play a central role in mediating visibility, reach, and legitimacy for fashion brands and cultural media. This environment generates specific tensions for editorial initiatives that prioritize intellectual curation, cultural coherence, and the construction of symbolic authority, as opposed to logics dominated by engagement metrics, automation, and algorithmic optimization.

This paper examines Asmoda & Culture Journal as a qualitative case study to explore how an editorial curation strategy can contribute to the construction of cultural authority and brand coherence within algorithmically governed digital environments. The analysis investigates how editorial decision-making shapes relationships between cultural brands, audiences, and digital platforms beyond conventional quantitative performance indicators.

The study adopts a qualitative approach that combines content analysis, observation of editorial practices, and a review of key digital metrics, alongside a conceptual reflection grounded in fashion marketing, cultural branding, and algorithmic transformation. Rather than framing algorithms solely as external constraints, the findings suggest that editorial strategies rooted in explicit cultural criteria can generate alternative forms of value, strengthening credibility, differentiation, and brand coherence within the digital fashion ecosystem.

This research contributes to the fashion marketing and consumer research literature by positioning editorial curation as a strategic asset in the age of algorithmic mediation. It extends current understandings of how editorial management decisions influence the creation of value, legitimacy, and trust in digitally mediated fashion contexts. The paper also offers practical implications for the management of cultural media and fashion brands operating within algorithmically driven digital environments.

ABSTRACT. In a marketplace increasingly shaped by Social Media Influencers (SMIs), consumers are not passive recipients but active decision-makers who selectively select information sources. However, the mechanisms underlying consumers’ selection of specific SMIs remain unclear. This study addresses this gap by integrating theories of consumer involvement and thinking styles. We propose that consumers’ choices of SMIs are shaped by the thinking styles they employ when seeking information about a product category, which are in turn influenced by their level of involvement with that category. Focusing on skincare and using a U.S. sample of 750 women, we empirically tested the proposed model. Results indicate that high-rational thinking consumers—the dominant style in our sample—tend to follow dermatologists and condition-affected peers, prioritizing information-quality traits in SMIs such as qualification, sincerity, honesty, expertise, informativeness, clarity, and credibility. In contrast, high-experiential thinking consumers—a less prevalent style—prefer peer consumers and celebrities and are drawn to affective traits, including creativity, emotional expressiveness, energy, attractiveness, pleasantness, warmth, and relatability. Overall, these findings demonstrate that SMI selection is guided by consumers’ thinking styles, highlighting the interplay between cognitive involvement and preferred SMI types and traits. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine how consumers’ thinking styles shape preferences for SMI types and traits. The study provides empirical evidence that consumers’ thinking styles—shaped by their involvement profile (motives)—play a central role in determining how they evaluate and select SMIs as information sources. Rational and experiential thinking emerge as distinct yet complementary orientations guiding information searching in social media contexts. Because consumers view skincare as important, enjoyable, and potentially risky, their involvement is high. As a result, decision-making tends to be more rational, leading them to prefer expert SMIs and influencer traits that signal strong information quality. Experiential thinking, stimulated by the hedonic aspects of skincare consumption, co-occurs but remains secondary. Previous studies often frame skincare as an hedonic category emphasizing pleasure, sensory appeal, and symbolic value. However, our results indicate that consumers today evaluate skincare through a more functional, diagnostic lens.

ABSTRACT. This study applied the uncanny valley framework to examine consumers’ evaluations of (1) AI-generated fashion models created as digital “twins” or AI clones based on a specific human muse and (2) AI-generated fashion models that resemble human fashion models but are not derived from any particular individual, compared with human models, in terms of perceived eeriness and humanness. The effects of perceived humanness and eeriness on perceived ad novelty and attitudes toward the ad were tested. An online between-subjects experiment was conducted with 298 U.S. female participants (Mage = 42.14). Results showed that human models were perceived as significantly more human than both AI-based models, while AI-based models were perceived as more eerie than human models; differences between the two AI conditions were not statistically significant. Perceived humanness positively predicted ad attitude, whereas perceived eeriness increased perceived ad novelty, which in turn enhanced ad attitude. These findings suggest that AI-generated fashion models represent a double-edged sword, offering both opportunities and challenges for brands. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. At the time of submission, Study 2 is underway to cross-validate these findings in the context of luxury fashion brands.

ABSTRACT. The emergence of Generative Artificial Intelligence is fundamentally restructuring creative hierarchies within the fashion industry, positioning the Art Director as the central orchestrator of an increasingly automated visual production ecosys- tem. This paper introduces the concept of the Omnipower Art Director, a new creative archetype who commands AI systems through sophisticated prompt engineering, visual direction, and curatorial judgment rather than traditional technical execution. Drawing on historical analyses of art direction’s evolution from print advertising to digital media, and examining contemporary case studies of AI-integrated fashion campaigns, this research argues that the democrati- sation of image generation paradoxically elevates the importance of creative vision, taste, and conceptual thinking. The paper proposes a framework for understanding how AI transforms art direction workflows, collapsing traditional production pipelines while demanding new competencies in machine communica- tion, aesthetic curation, and ethical navigation. Through analysis of campaigns by luxury houses, emerging brands, and independent creators leveraging tools such as Midjourney, DALL-E, and Runway, this research maps the contours of a profession in transformation. The implications extend beyond workflow efficiency to fundamental questions about authorship, creativity, and the future of visual culture in fashion. The Omnipower Art Director emerges not as a replacement for human creativity but as its amplification, where the quality of output becomes entirely dependent on the quality of creative direction, making conceptual vision the scarcest and most valuable resource in fashion’s visual economy.

ABSTRACT. The present study is an exploratory project aiming to understand the extent to which Australian apparel retailers utilise Generative-AI (GAI) agents in creating green marketing content, as well as consumers’ attitudes toward such content. It focuses on the intersection of GAI, green marketing content, and consumer attitudes. The goal of this research is to develop a strategic framework for effective GenAI usage in fashion green marketing in the Australian context. To achieve this aim, this ethnographic research incorporates interviews with 10 content marketers and an eye-tracking experiment with 10 fashion consumers. Including the perspective of consumer attitudes can inform the design of marketing strategies that stimulate sustainability consciousness and green consumption intentions. Social media post creation is selected as the specific marketing field due to its high creation frequency within the Australian fashion brand market and organic demand for customer engagement.

ABSTRACT. This research examines how consumers evaluate chatbots in real retail service encounters and how these evaluations shape brand perception. Using 610,000 Trustpilot reviews from seven global brands, and applying NLP methods including RoBERTa sentiment analysis, results show that only 3.7% of reviews mention chatbots, yet 66–85% express dissatisfaction. Negative sentiment has intensified over time, particularly in refund and problem‑resolution contexts. Simpler rule‑based chatbots outperform AI‑driven or hybrid systems. Chatbot‑related reviews exhibit lower competence, warmth, empathy, and satisfaction, revealing a negative spillover effect on brand image. Findings highlight the need for more reliable, resolution‑oriented AI service design.

ABSTRACT. Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated, multisensory experience that immerses users at a specific point along the Reality–Virtuality continuum (Loureiro et al., 2019), ranging from experiences that closely resemble reality to fully virtual environments. The consumer VR market is growing rapidly, from under USD 16 billion in 2024 to over USD 18 billion by 2025, driven by technological advances, increased investment in digital experiences, rising adoption, and wider accessibility of VR devices (Statista, 2025). Businesses are therefore increasingly using VR to enhance customer experience, remote collaboration, and training (Slotta, 2025).

Based on a systematic literature review using Scopus and Web of Science databases, we identified three dominant calls for future research. First, most studies emphasize the need to explore emerging technologies and formats. Second, prior research calls for a deeper investigation of psychological and emotional mechanisms, including the identification of new mediators and moderators. Third, existing findings focus on short-term effects, revealing a lack of research on the persistence of advertising effects.

Framed by the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) Model, our study examines consumers’ responses to VR advertising, focusing on engagement with the advertisement and the emotional states that mediate approach-avoidance behaviors. We integrate emotions into the conceptual model as mediators of consumer responses, in line with established advertising research. In addition, technology anxiety is expected to moderate the relationship between VR advertising exposure and consumer responses.

We produce advertising stimuli in two formats: a 360 ° video viewed on a mobile phone and a VR experience on dedicated hardware. We use self-reported responses and psychophysiological measures to assess emotional states, following recommendations from prior research. The research design comprises multiple experiments, culminating in a longitudinal study that examines the duration of advertising effects on brand attitude and purchase intention. We re-interview participants three weeks after exposure to assess post-exposure effects over time.

Investigating immediate and delayed consumer responses to multisensory VR advertising, this study aims to enhance understanding of VR effects. We expect that our findings will help managers to anticipate the impact of VR advertising and make informed investment decisions, while contributing to the literature on immersive technologies in marketing.

References upon request

ABSTRACT. The COVID-19 pandemic changed how consumers shop (Kannan & Kulkarni, 2022), leading to a surge in online purchases. As e-commerce grows, retailers must create seamless online experiences (J. H. Kim et al., 2023). Interactive technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) now help luxury brands deliver unique shopping experiences (Grewal et al., 2017). The pandemic increased demand for these technologies in virtual retail spaces (Luna-Nevarez & McGovern, 2021). But as con-sumers get used to AR, their curiosity and engagement with these ads may decline (S. Yang et al., 2020). The gap between physical and virtual environments is closing, mak-ing online worlds key for luxury brand growth (Joy et al., 2022). The main aim is to clarify the impact of interactive technologies, such as AR and VR, on consumers’ brand experience and brand love for Gucci in Gucci's marketing campaigns, with particular focus on how these technologies enhance or shape consumer perceptions and emotional connections.

ABSTRACT. This study examines how source credibility, parasocial interaction, and trust influence purchase intention in influencer marketing, and whether sponsorship disclosure moderates these relationships. Using an experimental design structural equation modeling, findings reveal that parasocial interaction and trust drive purchase intention, while disclosure selectively reweights persuasive cues.

ABSTRACT. Quiet luxury is one of the latest trends emerging in the luxury industry. It has been gaining momentum in recent years as a response to the economic uncertainty which followed the pandemic. The current global scenario brought back a preference for understated pieces, which hold great value thanks to their craftmanship, quality and subtlety, but do not overtly display it through prominent branding. As consumers increasingly seek uniqueness and exclusivity in today’s world where even conspicuous luxury is no longer a marker of social status, their needs are met by a trend which is all about inconspicuousness, elegance and subtlety. Consequently, many fashion houses have begun to embrace and integrate this aesthetic and lifestyle in their collections. The aim of this paper is to investigate the phenomenon of quiet luxury by analyzing the values it embodies and the motivations behind its growing appeal. Moreover, an investigation on the silent marketing and communication strategies adopted is performed to better understand how they influence product perception and brand desirability, and how they can restore the perception of exclusivity which conspicuous luxury brands might have lost. To answer these questions, the research covers two quiet luxury brands case studies in different cultural contexts, providing a qualitative analysis on the strategies adopted to craft the brand’s identity.

ABSTRACT. In response to evolving cultural, social, and individual value systems, consumer engagement with luxury fashion is undergoing notable transformation driven by a range of environmental and market forces. Shifts in consumer preferences, combined with an increasing demand for adaptable and sophisticated retail strategies, are prompting luxury brands to reassess and reformulate the experiential dimensions of their physical retail environments.

This study aims to investigate how specific components of retail design can be strategically employed to appeal to distinct categories of luxury consumers: those who acquire luxury goods primarily as a means of signalling wealth, achievement, and social status (wealth-based consumers), and those who favour a more experiential and cognitively enriching form of luxury consumption, characterised by opportunities for learning and social interaction (competence-based consumers).

Building on Wang’s (2022) conceptual framework through a retail-oriented analytical lens, this research adopts a qualitative methodological approach comprising expert interviews with luxury industry professionals and observation conducted across 50 luxury fashion stores located in two major European fashion capitals, London and Milan.

This study represents the first scholarly attempt to examine luxury retail environments through the premise that luxury consumption exists along a continuum. As luxury product propositions increasingly reflect this continuum-based perspective, corresponding service practices and spatial design must evolve to address the divergent needs of distinct consumer groups.

Findings offer managers empirically grounded guidance on how luxury retail environments should evolve to enhance brand equity, strengthen consumer–brand relationships, and ensure continued relevance within an increasingly complex and heterogeneous luxury market.

ABSTRACT. In recent years, luxury brands have increasingly integrated digital and Web3 (d&W3) technologies into their strategies, positioning technological innovation as a core component of the contemporary luxury value proposition. This shift has intensified collaborations between luxury brands and specialised d&W3 agencies, generating new organisational dynamics, power asymmetries, and challenges related to the transfer of technological knowledge. This paper investigates how d&W3 agencies manage the communication and transmission of tech-knowledge within collaborative projects with luxury clients. Drawing on first- and second-hand accounts from senior d&W3 professionals, the study adopts an inductive–abductive analytical approach. The analysis is informed by Hannerz’s (1993) concept of cultural flows, enabling an interpretation of tech-knowledge transfer as a cultural process shaped by structural asymmetries. The findings identify three interrelated thematic clusters: (1) the strategic maintenance of baseline tech-knowledge asymmetry as a market unique selling proposition; (2) the modulation of the mode and quantity of technological input as a form of client education aligned with luxury values such as creativity, exclusivity, and experience; and (3) the negotiation of corporate asymmetries related to scale, power, and resource control. The study demonstrates that d&W3 agencies operate not merely as technical service providers but as cultural intermediaries, facilitating the circulation of ideas and meanings around technology and contributing to the reconfiguration of luxury culture in the digital era.

ABSTRACT. Luxury research has traditionally conceptualized luxury as a relatively stable and hierarchically superior market category, defined through exclusivity, high price, symbolic distinction, and restricted accessibility. Positioning has therefore been understood as movement within predefined strata of prestige, assuming durable symbolic and institutional boundaries between luxury, premium, and mass markets. However, contemporary market conditions increasingly challenge this categorical model. Aesthetic, experiential, cultural, and value-bearing attributes historically associated with luxury now circulate across price tiers, sectors, and brand types. Under conditions of accelerated symbolic exchange and boundary permeability, luxury appears less as a fixed segment than as a dynamic structural condition.

This paper argues that contemporary luxury markets represent a turning point in how luxury should be theorized and analytically approached. Rather than treating luxury as a categorical label, the study reconceptualizes it as a structural market state emerging from the configuration, density, and mutual reinforcement of value-bearing attributes within brand structures. Market differentiation is thus understood not as segment membership, but as the degree of structural alignment among multiple dimensions of value production and recognition.

Building on configurational theory and on the concept of structural fluidity in late modernity, the study proposes a vector-based positioning model designed to operationalize this reconceptualization. Brands are modeled as multidimensional structural configurations composed of thirteen recurrent attributes that function as carriers of value in cultural and luxury markets: design authorship, cultural relevance, innovation, technology integration, material and technical quality, service and relational care, sustainability, experiential richness, emotional engagement, recognition and social legitimacy, symbolic price, exclusivity practices, and craftsmanship or heritage continuity. Luxury does not reside in any single dimension; it emerges from the coherence and consolidation of these attributes within a structure.

Positioning is examined through two complementary structural vectors. An organizational embedding vector captures the degree to which each attribute is institutionally integrated within the firm, while a perception vector reflects how the same attributes are socially decoded and recognized by consumers. The distance between both vectors constitutes the Positioning GAP, an indicator of structural misalignment between production and recognition. Small gaps suggest structural coupling and positioning stability, whereas large gaps indicate fragility, where internal embedding fails to translate into market recognition or where perceived signals lack organizational grounding.

To interpret differences in structural consolidation, the model introduces three regimes of stabilization—gaseous, liquid, and solid—representing varying degrees of attribute density and coherence. Gaseous configurations display dispersed and weakly consolidated attributes. Liquid configurations exhibit circulating experiential and cultural attributes with partial stabilization. Solid configurations correspond to dense structural alignments in which recognition, exclusivity, symbolic price, quality, and heritage reinforce one another, producing higher positioning stability. These regimes allow positioning to be understood as a dynamic structural condition and as a process of transition rather than a fixed categorical status.

Methodologically, the study follows a theory-building and instrument-development approach. The objective is not statistical generalization but the construction of a transferable analytical framework capable of operationalizing structural positioning under conditions of market fluidity. The model is exploratorily applied to La Veste, an independent premium fashion brand, as a methodological demonstration of how vectors are constructed, how the Positioning GAP is calculated, and how structural regimes are interpreted. The framework thus serves as an analytical instrument rather than as a hypothesis-testing empirical model.

The paper contributes to luxury research in three ways. First, it advances a theoretical reframing that treats luxury as a structural state rather than as a categorical segment, aligning luxury studies with broader shifts toward configurational and relational approaches to markets. Second, it introduces a formalizable analytical instrument that integrates organizational embedding and consumer perception within a multidimensional vector model. Third, it offers a way to diagnose positioning stability, structural coherence, and transition potential in fluid market contexts, supporting future empirical research across sectors and levels of market stratification.

By proposing a structural and configurational understanding of luxury, the study addresses a key turning point in luxury theory: the need to move beyond hierarchical segmentation toward models capable of capturing dynamic, multidimensional, and fluid forms of value formation.

ABSTRACT. The fashion industry, characterised by fragmented and globalised supply chains, faces growing challenges in transparency, traceability, and ethical accountability. Recent EU policies—such as the Green Deal, the CSRD, and the ESPR—promote a transition towards more durable, transparent, and responsible production models. Within this context, the Digital Product Passport (DPP) emerges as a key instrument for collecting and disclosing standardised, verifiable data throughout the product lifecycle. However, the effectiveness of such tools depends not only on their technical implementation but also on consumers’ ability to understand their value and integrate them into purchasing behaviour. Against this backdrop, this research addresses two main questions: (1) What factors determine Italian consumers’ propensity to use the DPP when purchasing fashion products? and (2) To what extent can the DPP help overcome the informational and economic barriers that hinder sustainable fashion consumption, thereby reducing the risk of greenwashing? The study investigates Italian consumers’ perceptions of sustainable fashion and their willingness to adopt the DPP through a quantitative online survey (n = 250). Data were analysed using Jamovi, applying descriptive statistics and multiple linear regressions to assess the influence of cognitive, value-based, and sociodemographic factors. Findings reveal a strong gap between awareness and willingness to use the DPP: although 59% of respondents had never heard of it, over half expressed high interest in consulting it. Supply chain transparency and attention to low-impact production processes positively influence DPP adoption, while age has a negative effect. Economic (price) and informational (lack of clarity and certification awareness) barriers remain the main obstacles to sustainable purchasing. Overall, the DPP emerges not only as a technical traceability tool but also as a cultural and educational enabler that can enhance consumer trust, mitigate greenwashing, and foster more responsible fashion consumption.

ABSTRACT. This study explores Generation Z's perceptions and interactions with the recently introduced physical second-hand corners in fast fashion stores in Germany, using 15 qualitative in-depth interviews. By focusing on this specific in-store sustainability initiative, the study seeks to uncover the nuances of Generation Z's attitudes, behaviors, and overall experiences with this in-store sustainability initiative. The results offer practical guidance for fast fashion retailers by providing valuable insights into how Generation Z, a key demographic for both fast fashion and second-hand markets, perceives and responds to in-store sustainability initiatives. The findings can guide retailers in tailoring and improving their sustainability strategies, especially regarding the integration of second-hand offerings.

ABSTRACT. This study examined Ghana’s secondhand clothing ecosystem through the lens of Resource Dependency Theory. Ethnographic research was conducted through in-depth interviews and observation, collected during two visits to three different cities in Ghana. Results revealed the following themes: resource dependence and asymmetric power; institutional failure and infrastructure constraints; limits of upcycling and the centrality of market access; resource transformation and circular innovation; justice-led circularity; and narrative control and institutional vulnerability. Building on the findings, this study proposes a conceptual shift from a linear supply chain to a Multi-Generational Circular Value Web. Rather than ending up in disposal, garments move through cascading cycles of value of resale, upcycling, and industrial material recovery.

ABSTRACT. Sustainability represents one of the most pressing challenges facing the fashion industry. Despite increasing regulatory pressure and corporate commitments, managing sustainability remains difficult due to the structural complexity of fashion production. The industry relies on fragmented and multi-tier global supply chains involving numerous actors, including raw material suppliers, manufacturers, subcontractors, logistics providers, and brand owners. This multiplicity of actors makes sustainability difficult to coordinate, monitor, and govern, creating persistent problems of traceability and control. Most sustainability practices are implemented within production and sourcing activities and therefore remain largely invisible to consumers. In contrast, fashion is primarily experienced and interpreted through its visible layer, including products, branding, retail environments, and media communication. Consumers tend to construct meanings of fashion based on what is displayed and marketed, rather than on how garments are produced. This creates a structural gap between where sustainability is enacted and where fashion value is communicated. This paper introduces a conceptual framework that conceptualizes sustainability in the fashion industry as an iceberg composed of three interrelated layers. The visible layer includes consumer-facing symbols and communication. The intermediate layer captures managerial and organizational processes, such as strategic decision-making, internal coordination, and governance. The invisible layer consists of supply chain activities and inter-firm practices where most sustainability-related actions occur. The framework further incorporates the notion of green-concealing, referring to the tendency of fashion and luxury brands to limit or withhold sustainability communication. Due to the perceived contradiction between sustainability and fashion’s symbolic logic of desirability, aspiration, and trend-based consumption, brands often avoid foregrounding sustainability in their messaging. This is not only a reputational strategy but also a consequence of weak coordination across layers: information generated in the invisible layer is filtered through managerial processes and only partially translated into the visible layer. By conceptualizing sustainability as an iceberg structure, this study argues that sustainability in fashion is not primarily a communication failure, but an organizational and relational challenge rooted in the industry’s multi-actor configuration and in the tension between symbolic value and industrial practices. The framework offers a basis for analyzing why sustainability remains largely hidden, how green-concealing emerges, and how stronger alignment between supply chain actors, managerial coordination, and communication strategies is required to make sustainability both operationally effective and meaningfully visible.

ABSTRACT. ‘Weaver’ – the hero of this story earns approximately US $4 a day and 67 percent of the weavers in India fall under extreme poverty line, yet they are upholding the legacy of the age-old art of weaving. Handlooms in India have a rich cultural heritage and have been renowned worldwide for their craftsmanship since ancient times. It was not until Alexander the Great invaded India in 327 BCE that cotton as a clothing option was introduced to the Western world. From producing 25 percent of the world's textiles, plummeting to just 2 percent by the end of British colonial rule in 1947, India has been trying to revive its textile industry.

The case’s investigation journey unfolded multi-layered challenges of the weaver community intermediaries, social entrepreneurs, and the art facilitators' network. The case provides multiple opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate management students to discuss business strategies and the role of various independent business entities, not-for-profit organisations, educational institutes, contradicting and ambiguous Government initiatives for the weaver community. This case discusses challenges in scaling up a social enterprise, the plight of weavers, the ethical dilemma of sustainable fashion, counterfeiting of handloom products, allegiance to one stakeholder over another, and a paradigm shift in the ecosystem. The case highlights the strain on the handloom sector and how each entity within this ecosystem competes with others to survive while simultaneously collaborating to sustain the business.

ABSTRACT. This study explores how fashion consumers link sustainable luxury with intrinsic luxury values. We examine how global warming beliefs, organic fashion motivations, and intrinsic luxury values shape consumer adoption of new luxury practices on digital platforms such as shopping from flash sales, online luxury rentals, and secondhand websites.

ABSTRACT. Growing concerns around environmental degradation and fast-fashion waste have intensified the need to understand the psychological drivers of sustainable clothing consumption, particularly within emerging markets. This study develops and validates a South African consumer value typology grounded in Holbrook’s value framework and adapted for local socio-cultural conditions. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), the study assesses the psychometric properties of a newly developed reflective value scale and examines how value types shape purchase intention, willingness to pay, and sustainable clothing purchase behaviour. Data from South African consumers show that ethical value, astute value, and prestige value significantly predict purchase intention, while pleasure and transcendence do not. Purchase intention strongly predicts willingness to pay, which in turn predicts actual purchase behaviour, illustrating a robust value-intention-behaviour pathway. The validated scale offers a contextually relevant framework for segmenting South African consumers and provides strategic insights for sustainable fashion marketing. Findings highlight the primacy of ethics, rational value-for-money judgements, and prestige motives in motivating sustainable clothing choices. Implications for theory development, measurement, and marketing practice are discussed.

ABSTRACT. This paper examines the impact of platform slowdowns on lifestyle and fashion influencers, particularly focusing on user engagement with their content on YouTube. The primary objective is to address the literature gap by investigating how government-induced throttling of internet speeds disrupts audience participation and influencer marketing effectiveness, using the 2024 Russian YouTube slowdown as a natural experiment. It hypothesizes that such slowdowns negatively affect engagement metrics like views, likes, and comments by increasing viewing friction and reducing algorithmic visibility. The methodology employs a difference-in-differences model to compare engagement data from 100 Russian-language YouTube channels (treatment group, ≥100,000 subscribers) against 100 matched foreign channels (control group). Data collection spans eight weeks before (pre-July 15, 2024) and after (post-August 15, 2024) the slowdown event, sourced from Social Blade analytics with manual verification for categorization. Channels were selected for high activity in lifestyle and fashion niches, emphasizing visual, high-frequency content reliant on social relationships. Key points highlight slowdowns as "soft deplatforming," degrading content discoverability and feedback loops critical for influencers' business models. Lifestyle and fashion influencers are especially vulnerable due to their dependence on seamless audiovisual performance for identity construction and monetization. The study anticipates revealing adaptive strategies by influencers amid infrastructural constraints, informing platform governance and digital regulation debates.

ABSTRACT. Tackling the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has increasingly become a central strategic marketing objective for fashion brands, and ESG-applied advertising serves as both a profit driver and a branding tool that strengthens relationships with consumers in the fashion industry. However, luxury brands do not readily incorporate ESG principles into their business practices due to luxury fashion’s traditional emphasis on hedonism and rarity. Existing research examining the ESG–CFP relationship in the global luxury fashion industry particularly in the context of emerging markets such as China, India, Vietnam, and Turkey etc, remains largely inconclusive. That indicates there is a need to examine the effects of ESG advertising in luxury fashion industry. This research used firm-level data collected, which explores the ESG-CFP relationship, and how the market cultural and product type, and brand resilience can moderate it. By doing so, the study addresses the limited empirical research on the influence of ESG advertising on luxury fashion brands’ financial performance. The results indicate that luxury fashion brands’ ESG advertising positively influences financial performance, and this relationship is moderated by business background (i.e., collectivism vs. individualism), product type (traditional vs. new luxury), and brand resilience (i.e., response to ESG incidents). These findings provide valuable insights for practitioners in the luxury fashion industry.

ABSTRACT. Introduction & Justification The global luxury goods market has demonstrated extraordinary resilience, reaching a valuation of USD 347 billion in 2022. While traditional powerhouses like the United States and China dominate the discourse, the Ibero-American region—comprising Latin America, Spain, and Portugal—represents a burgeoning frontier. South America alone is projected to reach USD 5.36 billion by 2024, fueled by an emerging middle class that utilizes luxury consumption as a primary vehicle for signaling social mobility and economic success. Despite this relevance, academic production has historically marginalized this region. This research addresses this gap by synthesizing a decade of literature to decode the specific drivers of the Ibero-American luxury consumer.

Methodology: This study employs a semi-systematic literature review methodology, strictly adhering to the framework proposed by Snyder (2019). This approach is particularly effective for topics studied across various disciplines with diverse conceptualizations, where a strict systematic meta-analysis is not feasible. The methodology focuses on identifying themes, theoretical perspectives, and the historical evolution of the topic to provide a narrative synthesis of the state of the art.

Data Collection: The search was conducted across high-impact academic databases, specifically Web of Science (WoS), Scopus, and Google Scholar, ensuring a comprehensive capture of peer-reviewed journals. A total of 74 peer-reviewed articles published between 2013 and 2024 were analyzed.

Categorization: Following the macro-theoretical framework of Determinants of Luxury Buying Behavior proposed by Dhaliwal et al. (2020), the findings were classified into four dimensions: Product-associated factors, Social/Cultural factors, Psychological factors, and Personal factors.

Core Findings and Analysis The study identifies a concentrated academic interest in specific hubs. Out of the 74 papers analyzed, the geographical distribution reveals that Spain leads the production with 18 papers (25.71%), followed closely by Brazil with 15 papers (21.43%). Other significant contributors include Chile with 8 papers (11.43%) and Portugal with 7 papers (10%). Notably, 60% of Latin American countries still lack localized luxury consumer research. Product-Associated Factors: Quality and price remain the most influential variables. Aesthetics and country-of-origin (COO) significantly impact the perceived value and authenticity of luxury goods in the region. While craftsmanship and authenticity—viewed as the originality of local brands—emerge as relevant attributes specifically in Mexico, they remain secondary factors when compared to quality Social and Cultural Factors: Consumption is heavily driven by status signaling, social image, and normative influence. In Ibero-America, luxury serves as a tool for social differentiation and public recognition. Psychological Factors: Hedonism emerges as a critical driver, where the consumer seeks emotional satisfaction, escapism, and sensory pleasure. Personal Factors: Income levels and materialism are the primary individual predictors, with a notable shift toward "accessible luxury" among younger demographics.

Discussion and Conclusions The Ibero-American luxury consumer is motivated by a complex interplay of functional excellence and symbolic prestige. The findings suggest that luxury in this region is a subjective construct deeply rooted in the search for authenticity and social validation. For global brands, the "one-size-fits-all" strategy is ineffective; marketing efforts must pivot toward localized narratives that emphasize both the technical superior quality of the product and its capacity to satisfy hedonic and status-driven aspirations. This review provides a strategic roadmap for future research, highlighting the need to explore underserved markets within the region to fully grasp the Ibero-American luxury phenomenon.

ABSTRACT. Fashion trends function not only as aesthetic changes but also as social processes through which meanings and symbols are constructed and diffused across markets. In a digital environment, however, the global spread of fashion trends does not occur simultaneously, raising questions about cross-national lead–lag structures and temporal gaps in trend adoption. This study investigates the diffusion process of the ‘bag decoration’ fashion trend across Asian markets by analyzing consumers’ online search behavior captured through Google Trends data. Focusing on South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and Indonesia, the study examines whether cross-national time lags exist in online search interest, identifies leading and lagging markets, and compares diffusion speed and interest duration across countries with different levels of market maturity and digital consumption contexts. Using longitudinal time-series data, the analysis applies STL decomposition, ARIMA, ETS, and Prophet models to identify key diffusion phases, followed by cross-correlation analysis and Granger causality tests to verify temporal precedence relationships. The results reveal a clear lead–lag diffusion structure, with South Korea and Japan functioning as leading markets and Thailand and Indonesia exhibiting delayed adoption patterns. Significant temporal gaps of several weeks were observed between leading and lagging countries, and diffusion speed and interest duration varied according to market characteristics. These findings demonstrate that online search behavior serves as an effective early signal of cross-national fashion trend diffusion, while also reflecting culturally and structurally moderated diffusion dynamics. By empirically verifying temporal precedence and cultural lag in a digital context, this study contributes to fashion diffusion theory and offers practical implications for global fashion brands seeking to anticipate trend adoption timing and optimize market-specific strategies.

ABSTRACT. This study investigates consumer value perceptions of wearable devices by analyzing more than 3,000 real user reviews across smartwatches, fitness bands, smart rings, and smart apparel. Using LDA topic modeling, TF-IDF, and sentiment-based keyword analysis, five core value dimensions were inductively identified: Health & Wellness Functionality, User Experience: App Usability & Connectivity, Emotional & Aesthetic Value, Wearer Experience & Lifestyle Integration, and Technical Performance & Reliability. These dimensions capture consumers’ multifaceted expectations related to health tracking, digital connectivity, comfort, aesthetics, and device accuracy, offering a more integrated and consumer-driven framework than existing single-device or function-focused studies. Practically, the findings reveal that consumers value seamless connectivity, reliable technical performance, appealing design, and comfortable wearability, while negative sentiment centers on battery life, app instability, and connection issues. Differences across product categories—such as stronger emphasis on aesthetics for smart rings and accuracy for fitness devices—underscore the need for tailored positioning strategies. The minimal emphasis on price suggests that value differentiation is more influential than discount-based competition. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive framework that advances theoretical understanding of wearable value creation and offers actionable guidance for developing devices that align more closely with real consumer expectations and usage experiences.

ABSTRACT. This study applies Basic Psychological Needs Theory to clothing fit performance. Survey results (n=283) reveal that fit performance significantly enhances autonomy, competence, and relatedness satisfaction. Competence and relatedness, moderated by self-schema and FOMO, subsequently impact psychological well-being and purchase confidence. Findings extend BPNT to fashion consumption contexts.

ABSTRACT. The consumption of vintage products has captured the attention of global consumers and has been observed across various product categories, such as home decor and furniture (Schibik, 2022), clothing (Cervellon, et al., 2012), antiques (Belk, 1990, 1991), and luxury vintage (Amatulli, 2018). Many brands like Rolex, Coca-Cola, Levi’s, and Harley-Davidson use their history and nostalgic themes to attract and connect with customers. This strategy strengthens their image and often makes their products and even nostalgic music more appealing than new options (C. Dam et al., 2024). Vintage products play a significant role in bridging the gap between past and present consumption experiences (Schibik, Strutton, & Thompson, 2022), allowing consumers to connect with earlier times in a unique way (Sarial-Abi et al., 2017, p. 184). In this study the proposed framework linking Nostalgia Proneness to purchase intention for vintage products is grounded in Construal Level Theory (CLT), which highlights the role of different types of psychological distance, such as social, spatial, and temporal (Heinberg et al., 2019; Stephan et al., 2012). Building on this theoretical premise, we propose that brand reputation and brand authenticity correspond to spatial, social, and temporal dimensions of distance, respectively. Consequently, nostalgically positioned brands may shape consumers’ purchase intentions for vintage products through brand reputation (reflecting spatial distance) and brand authenticity (representing temporal distance). Data is collected through questionnaires from vintage product consumers. The model is validated through factor analysis, structural equation modeling. The findings will contribute to the literature on vintage consumption by identifying critical drivers of vintage purchase intention, while also offering practical insights for marketers seeking to leverage heritage, authenticity, and experiential value in vintage branding strategies.

ABSTRACT. ABSTRACT Apparel sizing systems have diversified over time, yet their psychological consequences for consumers remain poorly understood, even as industry practices such as vanity sizing reflect a pervasive belief that labels shape self-perceptions and purchasing behavior. Historically, sizing shifted from individualized tailoring with high maker-to-maker variability to mass-manufacturing approaches that encouraged numerical standardization, but contemporary systems remain inconsistent across countries and even within stores, partly because early U.S. standards relied on outdated anthropometric data and many brands still adjust sizes informally without clearly specifying which consumers their sizes fit, contributing to consumer frustration. Although recent innovations such as Digital Human Modeling and virtual garment simulation improve accommodation of diverse bodies, and size-inclusive model photography can reduce perceived fit risk in online shopping, these advances primarily address physical fit rather than the symbolic meaning conveyed by sizing labels. Against this backdrop, the “One Size” label represents a critical and under-researched mass-manufacturing iteration that may function as an exclusion cue by implying that only a narrow range of bodies is sufficiently normative to be accommodated, which is particularly consequential given the links between fashion consumption, self-concept, and emotional engagement. The present study addresses this gap by empirically comparing One Size, letter-based, and numerical sizing labels among U.S. consumers to examine their effects on body satisfaction, perceived brand inclusivity, brand attitude, and purchase intention, with a specific focus on whether One Size weakens consumer–brand connection by signaling exclusion and whether structured formats enhance inclusivity perceptions. The findings are expected to clarify how label formats shape self-evaluations and brand responses beyond objective fit, offering implications for sizing communication strategies and for designing more inclusive branding practices that align brand image with consumers’ self-concept.

ABSTRACT. Food-inspired visual cues, such as dessert-like colors, textures or imagery have become increasingly common in beauty and fashion marketing to evoke indulgence and sensory richness. Although widely used, little is known about how these cues shape consumer evaluations in non-food contexts, particularly among younger generations. Drawing on sensory marketing and symbolic consumptions perspectives, this study examines how Generation Z evaluates products featuring food-inspired elements compared to neutral designs, focusing on emotional appeal, perceived quality, and purchase intention. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines qualitative in-depth interviews and a quantitative online survey, the study provides both exploratory and causal insights. The qualitative phase consisted of 15 in-depth interviews with Generation Z consumers, and aimed to explore the meaning and emotional responses elicited by food-inspired cues in beauty and fashion contexts. Building on these insights, the quantitative phase employed a 2 × 2 experimental design manipulating cue type (food-inspired vs. neutral) and product category (beauty vs. fashion), administered through an online survey to a Generation Z sample (N = 175). The results show that food-inspired cues significantly enhance emotional appeal, perceived quality, and purchase intention. These effects are especially pronounced in beauty products, where sensorial and textural expectations render food associations more congruent. Overall, the findings highlight the transferability of food-based meanings to non-food categories and reveal the persuasive power of sensory symbolism among younger consumers. The study offers relevant implications for brands seeking to differentiate through playful, sensory-driven visual strategies.

ABSTRACT. This research examines when virtual versus human endorsers are more effective by considering luxury brand characteristics and consumer's AI literacy. Across three experiments conducted in China, we show that endorser effectiveness depends on brand type. Virtual endorsers generate more favorable brand attitudes for contemporary and functional-value luxury brands, whereas human endorsers are more effective for heritage and emotional-value luxury brands. Integrating these brand classifications, an additional study demonstrates that consumer's AI literacy further moderates these effects: virtual endorsers outperform human endorsers for functional contemporary luxury brands among consumers high in AI literacy, while human endorsers remain more persuasive for emotional heritage luxury brands among consumers low in AI literacy.

ABSTRACT. This study examines how the source of AI-generated luxury content shapes consumer responses across cultural contexts. Drawing on Construal Level Theory, we investigate whether brand-sourced versus fan-sourced AI content evokes divergent psychological distance mechanisms, thereby triggering either abstract, identity-based evaluations—such as brand fit and authenticity—or concrete, experiential responses—such as hedonic pleasure and inspiration. Despite the rapid diffusion of AI-generated luxury visuals on social media, prior research has largely assumed brand-controlled dissemination, overlooking the role of fans and consumer communities in circulating such content across national borders. Through a controlled online cross-cultural experiment with European and Asian consumers, this research explores how content source influences brand attitudes and whether these mechanisms vary by national context. The study also considers moderating effects of individual differences, including fashion capital. Theoretically, the research shifts the focus from whether AI is used in luxury advertising to who disseminates it. Practically, findings offer global luxury brands actionable insights for managing AI-driven communication strategies across markets.

ABSTRACT. As AI technology advances, fashion retailers are increasingly adopting generative AI to create realistic fashion model images, potentially replacing time- and cost-intensive human model photoshoots and offering practical solutions for producing visual content in fast-moving retail environments. Despite these benefits, the growing use of AI-generated model has raised concerns regarding how consumers perceive brands. In particular, for luxury fashion brands, little is known about the impact of using AI-generated fitting models instead of human models on consumer perceptions and brand performance. Therefore, we examine the effects of AI-generated fitting model on brand perception and brand performance. Furthermore, we investigate whether this effect differs between high-involvement categories (e.g., luxury and professional clothing) and low-involvement categories (e.g., casual clothing). Across experimental studies, we find that using AI-generated fitting models is negatively associated with brand perception compared to using human models. This deterioration in brand perception such as brand trust mediates the negative effect of AI-generated fitting model images on consumers’ purchase intentions. Furthermore, the negative effect of AI-generated fitting model images becomes more pronounced for low-involvement products, where consumers may rely more on peripheral cues. These findings contribute to the growing marketing literature on consumer responses to AI-generated content and offer actionable insights for fashion retailers seeking to strategically integrate generative AI into their advertising or online product display content.

ABSTRACT. The relationship between sustainability and luxury is widely described as paradoxical, as ethical responsibility may conflict with core luxury meanings such as exclusivity, rarity, and emotional appeal. Prior research offers contrasting views: some studies argue that sustainability can strengthen luxury by reinforcing values of quality and longevity, while others show that explicit sustainability communication risks weakening brand desirability and triggering consumer skepticism. Despite this debate, empirical insight into how luxury brands themselves handle this tension in communication remains limited.

This study examines how Italian luxury heritage brands manage sustainability communication in practice and addresses the question of how luxury brands communicate sustainability while preserving symbolic value and desirability. Focusing on managerial decision-making, it explores how brands balance the implementation of sustainability initiatives with the need to maintain aspirational brand positioning. The study adopts a qualitative research design based on in-depth interviews with senior managers in Italian luxury firms.

Preliminary evidence from an interview with a manager of an Italian luxury heritage brand indicates that sustainability is treated primarily as an operational and strategic responsibility rather than as a core advertising message. Although sustainability practices are embedded in sourcing, production, and internal processes, they are communicated selectively and indirectly. Sustainability is not positioned as a key recruitment or persuasion lever; instead, brands prioritize heritage, craftsmanship, and emotional value in their outward communication. This controlled disclosure reflects a deliberate effort to avoid diluting symbolic value while maintaining legitimacy.

To account for this pattern, the study introduces the Fashion Iceberg framework, which conceptualizes sustainability as distributed across three interconnected layers: visible communication, managerial translation processes, and largely invisible practices embedded in production and sourcing activities. The framework helps explain why most sustainability efforts remain below the surface of brand communication and how greenconcealment operates as a strategic response to the sustainability–luxury paradox.

By showing how luxury brands actively limit and shape sustainability communication, this research contributes to debates on sustainable luxury and luxury advertising by shifting attention from consumer reactions to organizational strategy. It offers implications for how sustainability can be integrated into luxury communication without becoming its dominant message. Interviews are currently ongoing, and further insights will be available at the time of presentation.

ABSTRACT. Virtual K-pop avatars (i.e., virtual personas presented through music and performance content) are increasingly shaping how global audiences encounter Korean popular culture, with potential implications for Hallyu-driven tourism. From a destination-marketing perspective, avatar-based music content may operate as a scalable promotional interface that stimulates interest in Korea, fosters parasocial bonds, and encourages tourism-relevant actions beyond the platform. However, tourism and destination-marketing scholarship has limited evidence on how tourism-relevant constructs and mechanism candidates can be derived from naturally occurring audience discourse in emerging avatar-based contexts where explanatory models are not yet theoretically stabilized. Addressing this gap, the present study adopts a sequential mixed-methods design to develop a discourse-grounded construct system and to evaluate theory-consistent mechanism configurations linking avatar engagement to tourism outcomes. In Phase 1, we compile a large corpus of cross-lingual user-generated comments from major video platforms (e.g., YouTube) associated with virtual K-pop avatar music content. After rigorous preprocessing (noise removal, de-duplication, and multilingual normalization), we employ keyword extraction and topic modeling to identify recurring experiential, cultural, and Korea-referential themes embedded in authentic audience discourse. These themes will be iteratively theorized into candidate constructs and organized into a tourism-oriented taxonomy using the stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) framework as a sensitizing structure, without prespecifying a single causal model. Particular attention is given to emergent themes that indicate (a) content cues likely to function as tourism-relevant stimuli (e.g., immersive event-like qualities and Korea-linked cultural symbolism), (b) psychological processes that plausibly translate engagement into place-based meaning—especially parasocial interaction (PSI) and related affective/relational mechanisms—and (c) tourism-related responses expressed in discourse (e.g., travel information search, visit intention, and eWOM). In Phase 2, the refined construct system will be translated into a survey instrument for measurement validation and for comparing theoretically plausible mechanism configurations derived from Phase 1 using structural equation modeling. Conceptually, this study provides a destination-marketing perspective on virtual K-pop avatars by linking platform engagement to Korea-related destination perceptions and tourism responses via parasocial attachment. Methodologically, the study provides a transparent pipeline from cross-lingual audience discourse to construct specification and subsequent model evaluation, offering a rigorous template for tourism research on fast-evolving digital cultural content. Practically, the resulting construct taxonomy and validated mechanism candidate(s) can inform destination marketing organizations and platforms on how to design and promote avatar-based content to better convert online cultural engagement into offline tourism interest.

ABSTRACT. The luxury private event industry has become an increasingly relevant market, largely driven by the rise of exclusive weddings and corporate events. Leveraging Social Network Theory and Dynamic Capabilities in digital context, this paper explores a polycentric system characterised by heterogeneous actors to understand the determinants of firms’ competitive advantage. To this end, the analysis focuses on firms’ network orientation, conceptualised through a novel matrix, together with business model configurations and the role of digital platform. Using a multi-step quantitative approach, the study shows how, in a heterogeneous context such as this, multiple successful configurations can coexist, and how digital platforms contribute to competitive advantage only when embedded within appropriate local network structures.

ABSTRACT. Travel often creates a liminal context in which individuals experience temporary shifts in identity, emotions, and self-expression (Turner, 1969; Graburn, 1983). Within this context, apparel purchasing becomes a salient form of symbolic consumption, yet existing research has largely examined impulse buying, souvenir consumption, and tourism experiences in isolation (Rook & Gardner, 1993; Kim & Littrell, 2001; Pung et al., 2020). This conceptual paper integrates fashion and tourism consumer behavior literature to develop a framework explaining how apparel purchased during travel reflects liminal identity enactment and how the meaning of these items evolves after travelers return home. Drawing on Belk’s Extended Self Theory (Belk, 1988) and theories of liminality (Turner, 1969), the framework proposes that apparel purchased during travel may become incorporated into the extended self when it aligns with temporary travel identities, while post-travel reintegration may result in either identity continuity or identity dissonance. Two propositions outline how liminal identity shifts influence apparel purchasing during travel and how post-travel meaning-making shapes continued use or rejection of these items. This paper contributes to consumer behavior and fashion scholarship by offering a theoretically grounded explanation of travel-related apparel consumption and by identifying directions for future empirical research on identity, consumption, and tourism.

ABSTRACT. This research examines how cosplayers at anime pilgrimage sites influence other fans’ visit intention. Focusing on authenticity and parasocial relationships, two studies reveal that cosplay accuracy and communication intimacy affect site evaluation. Findings highlight cosplayers’ roles in enhancing or diminishing other fans’ intentions to visit the pilgrimage sites.

ABSTRACT. South Korea is experiencing sustained economic growth driven by key manufacturing and technology sectors such as semiconductors, automobile production, shipbuilding, and petrochemicals. Alongside these industries, cultural and creative sectors—namely K-pop, K-drama, K-food, and K-beauty, collectively referred to as the K-lifestyle—have significantly expanded Korea’s global influence and contributed increasingly to national GDP growth. Previous studies have examined the relationship between tourism and individual K-lifestyle components, including K-pop (Kim et al., 2023), K-drama (Ordoyo et al., 2021), K-food (Chang, 2021), and K-beauty (Sandor, 2024), as well as the synergetic effects of these industries on the development of Korean fashion and retail. The K-fashion market was valued at approximately USD 24.4 billion in 2023 (Statista, 2023), with several domestic fashion retailers achieving both local and global recognition. In parallel, international luxury brands increasingly appoint Korean global ambassadors, reinforcing Seoul’s emergence as a recognized fashion capital (Jeong et al., 2021). Madrid (Spain), by contrast, is a mature tourist destination grounded in rich cultural heritage, historical assets, and Mediterranean culinary traditions. In 2024, Madrid welcomed 16.5 million tourists, generating USD 23.5 billion in tourism expenditure (Comunidad de Madrid, 2026). As the capital of a country hosting numerous mass-market fashion brands, Madrid is now seeking to reposition itself as a fashion capital through targeted local policies that support the fashion and creative industries. This study aims to compare Seoul and Madrid as emerging and established fashion-tourism capitals. Using a netnographic approach, the research examines urban policies related to tourism and retail development, the structure and maturity of the fashion industries in both cities, and the ways in which cultural narratives—such as the contemporary K-lifestyle versus traditional Spanish culture—influence tourism appeal. The propsosed research questions are: RQ1 How do urban fashion and tourism policies in Seoul and Madrid differ in their objectives, implementation strategies, and institutional frameworks? RQ2 In what ways do cultural narratives (K-lifestyle in Seoul and traditional Spanish culture in Madrid) shape the relationship between fashion development and tourism attractiveness? RQ3 How does the level of fashion industry maturity in each city influence their positioning and performance as fashion-tourism capitals? This international comparative study contributes to a deeper understanding of fashion-related urban policies by analyzing their institutional meanings and policy performance. The findings provide insights that may enhance the rationality and effectiveness of fashion and tourism strategies, supporting fashion capitals in identifying actions necessary to advance to their next stage of development.

ABSTRACT. This study investigates how the interplay between conversational artificial intelligence capability and response delay influences user intention to adopt and use the system. Drawing upon the effort heuristic and labor illusion concepts, we examine how user perceptions shift when advanced artificial intelligence systems utilize visible thinking time rather than providing instantaneous feedback. Crucially, this study controls for task complexity by restricting all experimental scenarios strictly to highly complex tasks. We propose a moderated mediation model suggesting that an intentional and appropriate response delay in high capability systems enhances the perceived effort attributed to the cognitive labor of the artificial intelligence. This elevated perception of effort acts as a crucial mediating variable that ultimately drives higher user satisfaction and a stronger intention to use the technology. To empirically test this conceptual framework, we outline two distinct scenario based experimental designs that manipulate response delays across three continuous levels of fast, medium, and slow. Simultaneously, the study moderates for different levels of artificial intelligence capability across hypothetical brands and single platform tiers. Participants will engage with simulated video scenarios to measure how these manipulated variables dictate their trust and adoption intentions.

ABSTRACT. Participatory sustainability campaigns increasingly operate through platform-based digital environments in which consumers encounter visible interface cues such as participation volume, collective goals, and current progress. In these digital engagement environments, campaigns generate impact only when participation accumulates, while also strengthening consumer bonding and brand trust. Compared with traditional CSR communication, such platform-based campaigns offer more interactive pathways to engagement and connect digital participation with real-world prosocial outcomes. Yet, despite growing empathy for sustainability-oriented values, actual participation has been declining. This gap between empathy and action reflects a broader challenge in contemporary sustainability marketing across digital platforms. Prior research has emphasized social influence as a key driver of participation, particularly through normative signals formed by observable participation and group size. However, platform-based sustainability campaigns often require consumers to invest time, attention, and personal information while offering limited immediate rewards. As a result, social cues may fail to accumulate in early-stage engagement contexts, creating a cycle of weak participation. This issue becomes especially important in digital engagement environments, where consumers interpret visible interface cues to evaluate whether their own participation is necessary, meaningful, or reasonably avoidable. Against this backdrop, this study examines how the effect of group-size-based social influence on participation intention varies depending on goal framing in early-stage platform-based sustainability campaigns. Because campaign outcomes accrue to the collective rather than to the individual, consumers assess their potential contribution based on digitally presented information about campaign goals and current progress. Even when participation is framed as important, however, consumers may still regard non-participation as an acceptable option. Accordingly, the study proposes perceived justifiability as a key mechanism explaining inaction beyond indifference or weak attitudes. Overall, this study contributes to understanding consumer responses to digitally mediated sustainability campaigns by showing how goal framing and visible platform cues jointly shape social influence effects in early-stage participation contexts. The findings offer implications for designing more effective digital engagement strategies in platform-based sustainability campaigns.

ABSTRACT. As extended reality (XR) commerce evolves beyond immersive visualization, artificial intelligence (AI) assistants are becoming increasingly important in shaping how consumers search, evaluate, and purchase fashion products. In luxury fashion, where shopping is traditionally associated with personalized guidance, curation, and high-touch service, AI-supported XR environments may transform the consumer experience from product search to service-oriented assistance. This study examines the role of AI concierge support in luxury XR commerce, with a particular focus on how AI-assisted guidance influences consumers’ shopping confidence, perceived control, and perceptions of luxury service quality. Moving beyond a device-centered perspective, the study conceptualizes XR as an immersive retail environment in which AI support can function as a digital extension of concierge-like service. The research addresses an important gap by investigating whether AI assistance in XR enhances luxury shopping through more confident and efficient decision making, or instead weakens the experience by reducing consumers’ sense of control. By clarifying the service value of AI-supported XR shopping, this study contributes to emerging research on AI, immersive commerce, and luxury fashion marketing, while offering timely implications for the design of future AI-enabled luxury retail experiences.

ABSTRACT. Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming retail and marketing. This is particularly evident in the fashion context where consumer experience, emotion, and symbolic meaning play an instrumental (Blazquez, 2014). While an important part of the existing literature on AI in retail focuses on efficiency, automation, and predictive analytics, recent technological advances increasingly enable AI systems to infer, interpret, and act upon consumers’ emotional states. AI represents an opportunity to embrace multimodal AI to drive accuracy and elevate the shopping experience (Birch, 2025).

Emotion recognition is “the ability to precisely infer human emotions from numerous sources and modalities using questionnaires, physical signals, and physiological signals” (Khare et al., 2024, p.1) through techniques such as facial expression analysis, voice emotion recognition, sentiment analysis, and multimodal affective inference. Despite growing industry developments, there remains limited understanding of how Emotional AI is being used in retail practice, what types of value it creates, and what ethical, privacy, and governance challenges it introduces. This paper explores, through a use-case perspective, how advances in Emotional AI are transforming retail and proposes a framework that integrates tools, value creation, risks, and governance requirements. Emotional AI is conceptualised as a set of socio-technical systems designed to interpret and influence human affective states in retail contexts. Drawing on use cases across fashion retail environments, the paper argues that Emotional AI represents a qualitatively distinct layer of personalization—one that moves beyond behavioural signals toward emotional inference as an input for decision-making and customer interaction. Across these use cases, Emotional AI is associated with several proposed value creation mechanisms, including enhanced customer experience personalization, improved responsiveness in service encounters, deeper insight into emotional customer journeys, and increased effectiveness of marketing communications. However, the analysis also reveals significant tensions and risks. Emotional inference technologies raise concerns about the validity and cultural bias of emotion recognition, the potential for emotional manipulation, the erosion of consumer autonomy, and heightened privacy risks due to the sensitive and often biometric nature of emotional data. Ethical and regulatory issues are included in this analysis. Building on the use-case analysis, the paper proposes an exploratory framework for Emotional AI in retail, structured around four interrelated layers: (1) fashion retail interaction contexts; (2) Emotional AI tools and affective inference capabilities; (3) value creation and consumer experience outcomes; and (4) governance mechanisms encompassing ethics, privacy, and regulation. The framework highlights how different Emotional AI applications vary in their degree of intrusiveness, transparency, and consumer agency, and how these characteristics determine both commercial value and consumer acceptance. This framework emphasizes governance as an integral component of responsible Emotional AI development. The paper contributes to research on AI in retail and fashion marketing in three ways. First, it advances conceptual clarity by distinguishing Emotional AI from broader AI and personalization technologies. Second, it offers a use-case analysis that connects different Emotional AI tools and applications within a single integrative framework. Third, it develops a research agenda in consumer responses, ethical boundaries, regulatory implications, and managerial decision-making in the context of affective technologies. Consequently, this paper aims to support both scholars and practitioners in navigating the opportunities and challenges associated with Emotional AI.

ABSTRACT. Generative AI (Gen AI) chatbots equipped with emotional intelligence (EI) are increasingly used as frontline support in online fashion customer service. Yet, UK consumers often report discomfort or dissatisfaction when chatbots display emotions. This study addresses the gap between system emotional output and users’ emotional expectations by extending Expectancy Violations Theory (EVT) to the emotional expression dimension within customer service contexts. The research explores how consumers form expectations about chatbot tone, how they appraise tones that exceed or fall short of those expectations, and how these appraisals shape emotional responses， satisfaction, trust and intention to use. Adopting an interpretivist, abductive approach, the study focuses on three tones that are theoretically distinct and operationally controllable in customer service: encouraging, reassuring and neutral. Data will be generated through an online Wizard-of-Oz (WOz) simulation followed immediately by semi-structured interviews. Each participant will experience three short chats with a tone-manipulated “chatbot” within a realistic shopping scenario (selecting a casual T-shirt), with brief in-session checks to capture momentary feelings and perceived tone. The target sample comprises UK-based residents aged 18 to 43 who have lived in the UK for the last twelve months and have experienced online fashion shopping and text-based customer service during this period. Analysis will use theory-informed thematic analysis with iterative movement between data and EVT to develop a process account linking expectation formation, appraisal (exceed/fall short), discrete emotional responses, and stated intentions (satisfaction, trust, continued use). The study contributes by extending EVT at the emotional level in human–AI service interactions; differentiating the roles and perceived appropriateness of encouraging, reassuring, and often overlooked neutral tones in emotional expression; and providing actionable guidance for designing emotion-equipped Gen AI chatbots in the fashion sector, that align with user expectations and minimise user discomfort associated with overly human-like emotional displays.

ABSTRACT. As Generation Z consumers increasingly use brands as tools for self-expression, understanding how logo design shapes brand evaluations has become critical. This research investigates how brand logo explicitness and logo location influence brand attitudes, with self-presentation proposed as the underlying mechanism, across masstige and luxury contexts. A preliminary study is conducted to identify the most representative logo format and inform stimulus development. Subsequent experiments examine how Generation Z responds to different combinations of logo explicitness and location in masstige settings across cultural contexts, as well as the mediating role of self-presentation. The research further extends to luxury brands to explore whether these effects differ across brand tiers. By comparing masstige and luxury contexts, this study aims to identify boundary conditions of self-presentation in logo design preferences and offers implications for tailoring branding strategies to Generation Z consumers.

ABSTRACT. This study examines how AI-enabled in-store technologies in experiential offline retail formats (e.g., pop-up and flagship stores) shape consumer experiences and marketing outcomes. As fashion retailers increasingly deploy AI-based touchpoints—such as smart mirrors, AI-supported virtual try-on, interactive content generation, and in-store personalization—offline spaces are shifting from transactional venues to experience destinations. Third-place theory is adopted to explain how retail spaces can function as socially and emotionally meaningful “places to stay,” beyond home and work, making it well suited for understanding AI-enhanced in-store experiences. Data was collected via an online survey of 300+ consumers who have used AI-enabled in-store technologies in pop-up or flagship settings. The study extends research on technology-enabled retail experiences by linking AI touchpoints to third-place perceptions and offers practical guidance for designing AI-enhanced in-store experiences with measurable marketing impact.

ABSTRACT. This study develops a novel content-attribution framework and examines its effects on customer engagement across varying influencer-generated content and influencer tiers. Using AI-enabled content analysis and regression estimation, results reveal differentiated engagement outcomes, a strong advantage of video formats, and a clear hierarchical pattern associated with influencer tier.

ABSTRACT. Classical fashion diffusion theories conceptualize trends as socially stratified and institutionally mediated processes driven by elite taste leadership, symbolic authority, and hierarchical transmission. However, platformized digital environments are transforming the infrastructures through which trends circulate. Rather than merely accelerating diffusion, platforms reorganize the conditions of visibility, replication, and legitimacy. Under these conditions, diffusion increasingly operates through participatory aesthetic production, platform-native formats, and algorithmically mediated visibility regimes. This shift challenges models centered on stable intermediaries and calls for a reconceptualization of diffusion as a sociotechnical process structured by infrastructural mediation.

This study addresses this theoretical transition through the case of the Y2K aesthetic revival on Instagram. Contemporary Y2K does not circulate as a seasonally anchored style legitimized by institutional fashion centers, but as a modular and hybrid visual repertoire constructed through distributed replication, microtrend recombination, and semantic network embedding. The research does not seek to explain why Y2K is culturally appealing; instead, it investigates how Y2K becomes a trend under platform conditions.

To account for this transformation, the paper proposes a Platform Diffusion Framework that shifts the analytical focus from “who leads diffusion” to “what infrastructural conditions enable circulation.” Diffusion is conceptualized as a multidimensional process structured by four interrelated properties observable in platform content:

Aesthetic Intensity – the degree to which posts are organized around recognizable Y2K visual codes;

Micro-fragmentation – the extent to which Y2K appears as hybridized microtrend nodes (e.g., McBling, Cyber Y2K) rather than a unified stylistic block;

Platform Mediation – the alignment of content with platform-native and format-optimized conventions (Reels, GRWM/OOTD formats, carousel transformations);

Semantic Connectivity – the density and diversity of hashtag relations linking Y2K to adjacent aesthetic clusters, indicating relational embedding within a broader platform aesthetic ecosystem.

Together, these properties conceptualize diffusion as replicable visual production, format-driven circulation, and networked association rather than linear adoption from hierarchical taste centers. The framework is designed as a transferable analytical model for examining other platform-born aesthetics.

Methodologically, the study employs a qualitative-comparative design with systematic operationalization. A sample of 180 Instagram posts (2021–2025) is collected through a hashtag-guided strategy combining core Y2K tags and satellite microtrend labels. Posts are distributed across ordinary users, influencers, and brands, and across different engagement levels. Each post is coded using a three-point ordinal intensity scale across the four dimensions. Three normalized indices—Fragmentation, Platform Mediation, and Connectivity—are derived to assess diffusion structurally rather than through engagement metrics alone. In addition, a hashtag co-occurrence network is constructed to map Y2K’s relational position within the broader aesthetic ecosystem, identifying clusters, bridge nodes, and microtrend subcommunities.

Preliminary analysis suggests that Y2K diffusion exhibits four structural characteristics: high micro-fragmentation through modular substyles; strong alignment with platform-native formats; dense relational embedding with adjacent aesthetics; and decentralized authorship, where ordinary users play a substantial role alongside influencers and brands. Network analysis indicates that Y2K functions as a reticular node within an ecosystem of interlinked aesthetics rather than as a discrete trend spreading sequentially. Rather than replacing hierarchical diffusion, platform-mediated diffusion overlays classical mechanisms with distributed visibility systems and algorithmically structured circulation.

The study contributes to fashion sociology and digital culture studies in three ways. Theoretically, it reframes diffusion from hierarchical transmission to infrastructural mediation. Conceptually, it introduces a transferable Platform Diffusion Framework for analyzing platform-conditioned trend circulation. Methodologically, it demonstrates how visual analysis, intensity coding, and hashtag network analysis can be integrated to operationalize diffusion as a structural process. Overall, the paper argues that contemporary trend diffusion operates as an infrastructural relational condition shaped by distributed aesthetic labor, standardized platform formats, and semantic connectivity networks. Understanding platformized fashion therefore requires shifting analytical attention from leaders and institutions toward the sociotechnical infrastructures that organize visibility and circulation.

ABSTRACT. China’s secondhand luxury fashion market is projected to reach 34.8 billion RMB by 2025, with live-streaming emerging as a dominant sales channel. Despite its growth, consumer distrust toward product authenticity and retailers remains a major barrier, largely due to the absence of standardised, real-time authentication during live-streaming sessions. Responding to calls from scholars and policymakers for more efficient, data-driven authentication solutions, this study compares consumer perceptions of AI-based and third-party authentication and examines how these perceptions shape trust and reciprocal behavioural intentions. Drawing on Social Exchange Theory, the research conceptualises authentication as an intangible, technology-mediated exchange resource evaluated through perceived benefits and costs, with trust acting as a central mediating mechanism. A qualitative research design was adopted, involving 33 semi-structured interviews with Chinese consumers who viewed simulated live-streaming scenarios featuring different authentication methods. Thematic analysis is currently underway. This study contributes theoretically by extending Social Exchange Theory to explain trust formation and continued behaviour in uncertain, technology-mediated exchanges, with implications for digital marketplaces beyond secondhand luxury.

ABSTRACT. With the rise of e-commerce, chatbots have become essential tools in strategies aimed at improving the customer experience. However, their integration raises questions about their actual impact and how to leverage them effectively. The interest of this research lies in providing practical recommendations for e-retailers wishing to use chatbots to enhance customer experience. The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of chatbot use on customer experience in the context of e-commerce, while examining the mediating role of customer engagement to better understand how this technology shapes the overall user journey. A qualitative methodology was adopted, based on semi-structured interviews conducted with consumers who have already interacted with chatbots during their online shopping experiences. The findings reveal that the use of chatbots contributes positively to the improvement of customer experience, particularly when these tools foster affective and relational engagement with the brand. Customer engagement plays a key mediating role in this dynamic. From a managerial perspective, the results suggest that e-retailers should develop chatbots that strike a balance between assistance and user autonomy, enhance customer trust (especially regarding data handling), and create emotionally engaging interactions.

ABSTRACT. Color forecasting relies on diverse sources that often encode similar chromatic ideas in different palettes and representations. We present an exploratory, clustering-only framework to uncover hidden relationships in color palettes by analyzing two forecasting sources (Promostyl and WGSN). Using Ward hierarchical clustering on standardized features, we report structural diagnostics (cophenetic correlation, early merges, and merge-distance curves) and extract four interpretable chromatic families. A merged analysis (N=84) reveals early cross-source merges, indicating overlap between sources in some chromatic regions, alongside source-specific branches that emerge later in the hierarchy. We complement the dendrogram view with k-means elbow selection for k and PCA visualization, and we use Hungarian matching to align cluster identities across sources. The results offer a practical way to audit the agreement and divergence between forecasting providers and identify structurally stable versus volatile chromatic regions under uncertain market conditions.

ABSTRACT. Purpose This study examines the cultural significance of fashion as a narrative and experiential element within Buddhist cave tourism in Maharashtra. While existing research on Buddhist heritage tourism has largely emphasized architecture, iconography, and spirituality, the role of dress, drapery, and material culture embedded in cave sculptures, murals, and lived tourist practices remains underexplored. The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize fashion not merely as aesthetic representation, but as a cultural language that communicates Buddhist values such as renunciation, hierarchy, discipline, and devotion, and shapes tourists’ embodied engagement with sacred heritage spaces. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts an interpretive qualitative case study approach, focusing on selected Buddhist cave temples in Maharashtra, including Ajanta Caves, Ellora Caves, and Karla Caves. Data were generated through a combination of visual–semiotic analysis of murals and sculptural reliefs, on-site participant observation, and semi-structured interviews with tourists and heritage guides. Particular attention was given to representations of monastic robes, donor attire, textile detailing, and contemporary visitor dress practices. The data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify recurring cultural meanings associated with fashion as material culture and embodied practice within the tourism experience. Findings The findings reveal that fashion functions as a multi-layered cultural narrative in Buddhist cave tourism. First, sculpted and painted robes act as visual markers of spiritual hierarchy, distinguishing ascetic discipline from lay patronage and royal devotion. Second, fashion operates as an embodied interpretive medium, where tourists and pilgrims negotiate sacredness through modest dress, behavioural compliance, and performative respect. Third, visual elements of drapery and textiles significantly influence tourists’ memory-making processes, often becoming focal points in photography and digital storytelling. Finally, Buddhist aesthetics of simplicity and minimalism resonate with contemporary discourses on mindful, slow, and sustainable tourism, extending the relevance of heritage fashion beyond historical representation. Originality/value This study offers one of the few qualitative explorations of fashion as cultural infrastructure in Buddhist heritage tourism, moving beyond conventional architectural and ritual-centric analyses. By integrating material culture, visual heritage, and embodied tourist experience, the paper introduces a novel interdisciplinary lens at the intersection of tourism studies, cultural geography, and Buddhist studies. The findings contribute to heritage interpretation practice by highlighting fashion as a powerful yet underutilized narrative tool, with implications for guide storytelling, experiential design, and sustainable tourism branding at sacred sites.

ABSTRACT. Incorporating bio-based material in the global fashion industry with a phenomenal entrepreneurship strategy, Helena Elston Studio is bringing a ground-breaking revolution. This study identifies how Helena Elston has incorporated the circular process innovation, regenerative material strategy, and brand collaboration to establish a competitive position in the field of fashion design.

ABSTRACT. This study aims to analyze how the ‘Art Infusion’ theory is expanding into brand-generated aesthetic experiences within contemporary fashion retail spaces. While past artistic applications were limited to auxiliary means of transferring the aura of external artworks to products, recent fashion brands have become producers of artistic content themselves, reconstructing entire spaces into sensory experiential venues that project the brand’s direction and philosophy. This phenomenon represents a sophisticated marketing strategy combining strategic brand experience. In these offline spaces, consumers prioritize enjoying aesthetic content and reproducing it through digital media over direct product purchases, thereby internalizing the brand identity. Focusing on these functional shifts in retail space, this research selects IICOMBINED, ADER error, and SONGZIO as subjects of study. It contrasts the way SONGZIO’s ‘Gallery Noir’ builds a high-end image by transplanting the ‘White Cube’ grammar of traditional art into retail, with the disruptive and kitsch artistic approaches of IICOMBINED and ADER error. Utilizing big data-based text mining and social network analysis (SNA), consumer review data from the past two years were crawled to comparatively analyze the perceptual frames derived from each space. The analysis reveals that each brand delivers a differentiated aesthetic experience through distinct artistic frames: ‘Experimental Shock’, ‘ Narrative Immersion,’ and ‘Essential Integration.’ This study empirically identifies the evolution of offline stores into cultural platforms that simulate a brand’s philosophical values, offering strategic implications for future spatial branding and cultural content planning in the fashion industry.

ABSTRACT. This paper explores the intersection of art, technology, marketing, and fashion through pedagogical strategies that integrate real-world branding and client-based projects into design education. Focusing on coursework from DES 3600 and a Digital Illustration class, the study demonstrates how experiential learning environments enable students to engage critically and creatively with contemporary fashion systems.

In DES 3600, students develop motion graphics for established footwear brands such as Nike, Adidas, Reebok, and Crocs. By selecting a specific product line, students analyze and emulate brand identity through visual storytelling. Projects include rendering footwear from multiple angles for digital platforms, animating walk cycles to convey movement and realism, and incorporating accent animations that highlight logos and product features. Variations in colorways and styles are integrated to emphasize customization and market appeal. This process situates motion design as both an artistic and marketing tool, bridging aesthetic production with brand communication.

A complementary case study from a Digital Illustration course involves collaboration with the apparel company Hayden Los Angeles. Students created promotional graphics using company-provided taglines and product imagery, simulating professional design workflows. Selected works were published on Hayden LA’s official social media channels, offering students tangible industry exposure and portfolio development. Together, these pedagogical models demonstrate how integrating real-world brands and clients into the classroom fosters interdisciplinary skill-building. Students not only refine their artistic and technical abilities but also gain insight into marketing strategies, brand positioning, and the operational dynamics of the fashion industry. This approach positions design education as a critical site where creative practice, technological fluency, and commercial awareness converge, preparing students for evolving roles within contemporary visual culture and fashion marketing.

ABSTRACT. Interest in organizational purpose is growing among consumers, scholars, and policymakers (Chua et al., 2024; Jasinenko and Steuber, 2023; Mayer, 2021). Within branding research, brand purpose has become an increasingly important concept for articulating the broader societal role of brands (Fernandes et al., 2024; Mirzaei et al., 2021). This development reflects rising expectations that brands should contribute to society in ways that go beyond commercial performance (Vredenburg et al., 2020). Prior research suggests that brand purpose can strengthen consumer responses and firm performance, which underlines its strategic relevance for brand management (Kwong et al., 2023; Stengel, 2011; Zürn et al., 2023). Thus, the key question is not whether brand purpose can be effective, but how brands can develop a purpose that is both credible and strategically meaningful (Calder et al., 2023).

This question is particularly relevant in the context of luxury branding. As luxury brands are increasingly expected to demonstrate cultural and societal relevance, purpose may provide a way to redefine their role beyond traditional associations with exclusivity, heritage, and craftsmanship. However, the development of brand purpose in luxury remains insufficiently understood. Despite this momentum, there is considerable ambiguity and confusion about what brand purpose entails (Fernandes et al., 2024; Hajdas and Kłeczek, 2021; Keller, 2023), with several definitions currently co-existing (France et al., 2024; Williams et al., 2022). Moreover, brand purpose is often weakly distinguished from related concepts such as mission, CSR, brand activism, or cause marketing, which limits both conceptual clarity and practical application in luxury contexts. Accordingly, the objective of this paper is to examine how luxury brands can develop a strong brand purpose. Specifically, the study addresses the following research questions: 1. Which strategies do luxury brands use to develop a brand purpose? 2. Which types of purpose domains are most relevant for luxury brands? 3. Which criteria characterize a strong luxury brand purpose, and which factors contribute to its effectiveness?

Drawing on a grounded theory-informed comparative qualitative document analysis and case studies of purpose-driven luxury brands, the paper identifies key strategies and success factors in the development of luxury brand purpose. Although prior research has advanced important conceptualizations of brand purpose (e.g., Williams et al., 2022), there is still limited clarity about the criteria that distinguish brand purpose from related branding concepts. Building on prior work on brand purpose and related research on organizational and corporate purpose (e.g., Jasinenko and Steuber, 2023), this paper adopts four defining criteria of brand purpose: higher-order collective orientation, focus, centrality, and long-term commitment. In addition, the paper distinguishes brand purpose from related concepts, including brand vision and mission, as well as CSR, brand activism, and cause marketing.

On this basis, the paper presents case studies of luxury brands that developed a higher-order reason for being and derives key strategies for purpose development. In doing so, the study contributes to branding research by showing how the concept of brand purpose can be applied to luxury and by identifying practical pathways through which luxury brands can develop and anchor purpose in their brand identity.

ABSTRACT. Luxury brands grow organically over centuries (Kapferer & Bastien, 2012), yet Saudi Vision 2030 deploys state capital to engineer a national luxury aura from scratch. We introduce Sovereign Luxury Brand Architecture, a purpose-driven portfolio of AlUla (heritage anchor), Diriyah (dynastic identity), Red Sea (wellness) and NEOM (future innovation), catalyzed by FIFA World Cup 2034. Merging Anholt’s (2007) nation branding, Mazzucato’s (2013) entrepreneurial state and Kapferer-Michaut-Denizeau’s (2020) meaningful luxury, this framework reveals how authentic heritage overcomes 'manufactured aura' risks while embedding social purpose. AlUla’s UNESCO revival proves state entrepreneurship can yield genuine luxury coherence. Theoretical and managerial implications guide emerging markets toward purpose-led branding innovation.

ABSTRACT. Despite being traditionally associated with stability, heritage, and continuity, luxury brands are increasingly confronted with pressures to innovate. Among the many forces in that regard, societal demands around sustainability concerns, technological developments, and global production have become increasingly relevant (Fionda & Moore, 2009; Heine, 2012; Lee Park & Fracarolli Nunes, 2024). While adaptations may be necessary, they also risk undermining what makes luxury valuable in the first place (Chandon et al., 2016). The complex dynamic between the need for change and the search to defend tradition and brand identity raises the question of whether innovation is perceived as meaningful or rejected entirely. Aiming to produce empirical evidence in this sense, this research investigates consumer responses to different forms of innovation in luxury branding. Focusing on changes related to the use of new materials, technology adoption on design processes, and shift on production locations, our findings shed light on the distinct impact of these developments. At the same time that some changes can enhance brand evaluations, others trigger resistance and even penalisation. We further investigate how the motives argued by the brand. Specifically, we examine whether innovation framed as driven by ethical, economic, or market-oriented considerations can shape its perceived meaningfulness. We argue that consumer acceptance depends not only on the nature of the change itself, but also on whether it is seen as aligned with the core values traditionally associated with luxury. By showing that innovation in luxury can both enhance and damage brand perceptions, this research contributes to ongoing discussions on meaningful luxury and sustainability. It also highlights the importance for firms of carefully framing innovation initiatives as they balance heritage with emerging expectations and pursue new forms of entrepreneurial innovation.

ABSTRACT. China has emerged as one of the most influential markets shaping the future of global luxury fashion, yet it remains comparatively underexplored with regard to sustainability-driven consumption. While sustainability has become a central concern in Western luxury markets, its meanings, motivations, and mechanisms cannot be assumed to translate directly to China. Two structural tensions characterise the contemporary Chinese luxury context: the growing incorporation of sustainable materials and practices across global luxury strategy, and the persistence of culturally specific consumption logics rooted in collectivism, social hierarchy, and face-consciousness. How these tensions intersect in China remains insufficiently understood, despite their increasing relevance for luxury brand management and entrepreneurial innovation. This study examines how sustainable materials influence Chinese millennial consumers’ perceptions of aesthetic value in luxury fashion, and how these perceptions translate into purchase intentions for sustainable luxury fashion products (SLFPs). Rather than treating sustainability as a purely ethical or moral driver, the study adopts an aesthetics-centred perspective, recognising that aesthetic judgement remains the primary gateway to luxury consumption. Drawing on Hofstede’s individualism–collectivism framework, the study investigates how collectivist cultural dynamics reshape the relationship between aesthetic values and purchase intentions through three mediating mechanisms: peer pressure, conspicuous values, and sustainability awareness. By positioning China as a primary site of theoretical inquiry rather than a comparator market, the study seeks to generate culturally grounded insights into meaningful luxury consumption. The conceptual framework treats aesthetic value as a multidimensional construct encompassing product design, colour, texture and touch, beauty, and shape. In luxury fashion, these sensory and symbolic attributes are central to value perception, as luxury is experienced and communicated through material form. In the Chinese context, however, aesthetic evaluation is not purely individual. Consumption choices are assessed in relation to social recognition, peer approval, and family expectations. Concepts such as Mianzi (face) link luxury consumption directly to social legitimacy, rendering aesthetic value a socially negotiated rather than solely personal judgement. Four hypotheses guide the analysis. First, aesthetic value is expected to positively influence purchase intention for SLFPs. Second, peer pressure is hypothesised to mediate this relationship, reflecting the importance of social endorsement in collectivist cultures. Third, conspicuous values are proposed as a mediator, recognising luxury’s continued role as a marker of social status and distinction in China. Finally, sustainability awareness is examined as a mediator, acknowledging that awareness of sustainable materials, while emerging, may shape how aesthetic appreciation translates into purchasing behaviour. A mixed-methods research design was employed. In the quantitative phase, an online survey was administered to Chinese millennial consumers aged 18–35 residing in China. Data were collected via Qualtrics and distributed through WeChat and other social platforms. After pilot testing, 412 valid responses were retained. Established measurement scales were adapted to assess aesthetic values, peer pressure, conspicuous values, sustainability awareness, and purchase intention. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to evaluate the measurement and structural models and to test mediation effects. In the qualitative phase, ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with millennial and Gen Z Chinese luxury consumers who had participated in the survey and reported prior luxury purchase experience. Interviews explored perceptions of sustainable materials, aesthetic quality, social influence, and sustainability in luxury consumption. Thematic analysis was used to contextualise and deepen interpretation of the quantitative results. The findings show that aesthetic value is the strongest driver of purchase intention for SLFPs in China. The direct effect of aesthetics on purchase intention is significant and substantial, and the total effect increases once mediators are included. This confirms that sustainability does not substitute for aesthetic value in luxury fashion; rather, it must be embedded within it. Sustainable materials are acceptable—and sometimes desirable—only when they preserve or enhance luxury’s sensory and visual qualities. All three mediators exert significant positive indirect effects. Peer pressure operates as an amplifying rather than constraining mechanism: social endorsement from family and close peers strengthens the translation of aesthetic appreciation into purchase behaviour. This contrasts with findings from more individualist markets, where peer influence can reduce perceived uniqueness. In China, aesthetic judgement is socially validated, reinforcing luxury desirability. Conspicuous values also mediate the relationship between aesthetics and purchase intention. Despite younger consumers reporting lower explicit emphasis on status motives, SLFPs function as socially legible indicators of refinement and access, particularly given their scarcity and high price points. Ownership signals not only wealth but social positioning within peer networks. Sustainability awareness, while the weakest mediator, remains significant. Qualitative findings suggest that sustainability engagement in China is often passive and socially mediated, shaped by peer behaviour, media discourse, and government regulation rather than proactive individual conviction. This indicates a growing, but differently structured, sustainability consciousness compared to Western markets. Overall, the findings demonstrate that collectivist cultural dynamics fundamentally reshape sustainable luxury consumption in China. Aesthetic value remains central, but it is interpreted and legitimised through social processes rather than individual taste alone. Sustainability functions less as a moral imperative and more as a contextual attribute validated through collective norms and institutional legitimacy. The study contributes to the literature on meaningful luxury by showing that sustainability-oriented luxury consumption in China cannot be understood through Western individualist frameworks. It highlights the need for culturally sensitive product design and brand communication strategies that emphasise aesthetic excellence, social validation, and collective relevance. For luxury brand managers and entrepreneurs, the findings suggest that effective sustainable luxury strategies in China should integrate sustainable materials seamlessly into aesthetically compelling designs, leverage peer networks and social platforms, and align sustainability narratives with broader social and regulatory contexts.

ABSTRACT. This exploratory paper investigates emerging fashion ecosystems in Africa, focusing on the role of institutional and cultural mediation in shaping global visibility and fashion narratives. Drawing on preliminary observations from ongoing collaborations, the study adopts a qualitative, work-in-progress approach to examine implications for global fashion management, sustainability, and brand positioning. The paper conceptualizes African fashion as a relational and institutionally mediated ecosystem rather than a peripheral or homogeneous field. It also discusses the potential role of digital technologies—such as remote virtual reality (VR) environments and AI-enabled tools—in facilitating knowledge transfer, collaboration, and managerial training across geographically distant contexts, enabling inclusive and engaging forms of transnational cooperation.

ABSTRACT. Cross-border acquisition (CBA) has become a common strategy in the luxury sector. However, consumers’ evaluation of an acquired brand may decline when the acquiring firm’s cultural background feels incongruent. This research examines the relationships among country-of-origin (COO) fit, brand authenticity, and consumers’ brand attitude. In addition, it discusses the roles of brand luxury and construal level in the CBA context. Two studies found that the greater COO-fit enhanced perceived brand authenticity, leading to consumers’ brand attitude. Second-order moderation tests further showed that brand luxury amplified the moderating effect of construal level on the COO-fit impacts. Additionally, the extended conceptual brand evaluation model, including consumers’ pre-CBA perception of “dream” towards luxury brands, is proposed. Compared to Western investors, these analytic results and the proposed model imply a latent disadvantage for Asian investors acquiring Western luxury brands. The psychological insights among consumers are insufficient, while the literature on CBA has often discussed the financial and business dimensions. Thus, the contribution of this research is also expected in the theoretical perspective.

ABSTRACT. Cross-border business relationships are key drivers of firm survival in international markets. Previous studies suggest that channel investments help develop strong business relationships, but most focus on domestic settings. In international markets, business relationships often face various challenges that may affect the outcomes of such investments. Using survey data from UK firms involved in exporter–importer exchanges, this study examines how channel investments relate to performance outcomes. The results show that the performance benefits of channel investments are not uniform and depend on relational conditions. This study contributes to a better understanding of international channel management and offers useful insights into how firms can more effectively manage cross-border channel relationships.

ABSTRACT. This conceptual paper develops a framework explaining how consumer ethnocentrism shapes the effectiveness of sustainability message framing. Drawing on social identity theory, it proposes a cross-cultural framework and outlines future empirical research to advance understanding of identity-based sustainability communication.

ABSTRACT. As e‑commerce platforms increasingly integrate social and interactive features, online consumer reviews have become more diverse in form and function, particularly in the context of negative consumption experiences. Although prior research recognizes that consumers are motivated by multiple factors when posting negative reviews, limited attention has been paid to how these motivations co‑occur within individual reviews and how platform contexts shape such motivational patterns. Drawing on Self‑Determination Theory (SDT), this study conceptualizes negative online reviews as responses to threatened psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Using a hybrid AI‑driven methodology, this study analyzes 91,297 negative reviews collected from seven major Chinese fashion e‑commerce platforms between June 2024 and June 2025. Expression strategies are first identified through unsupervised thematic discovery using the BERTopic model, followed by SDT‑guided coding of latent motivational drivers with a large language model. Comparative analyses are then conducted to examine differences in motivational combinations across transaction‑oriented and social‑integrated platform types. By integrating SDT with large‑scale text analytics and platform ecosystem research, this study contributes to the literature on negative electronic word‑of‑mouth by offering a structured approach to examining motivational complexity and highlighting the role of platform context in shaping negative review behavior.

ABSTRACT. We study fine-grained classification of six Miao piled-embroidery technique categories under a relatively limited data scale, and examine its potential for AI-Bridged Fashion Heritage applications that support scalable digitization, technique-centric indexing, and retrieval of traditional craft archives. Since discriminative technique cues are often localized, we compare two input settings: full-view images and manually curated ROI (Region of Interest) crops. We build a metadata-driven pipeline that parses artifact IDs from filenames to group multiple views of the same physical artifact, and we adopt artifact-level stratified 5-fold cross-validation to avoid near-duplicate leakage across splits. Our model is an ResNet-18 trained with standard augmentation and class-weighted cross-entropy, with minimal tuning over learning rate {10−4, 3 × 10−4, 10−3} and fine-tuning strategy (full fine-tuning vs. freeze-then-unfreeze) selected by validation Macro-F1. On ROI images, the model achieves 0.602 ± 0.231 accuracy and 0.477 ± 0.298 Macro-F1 (mean±SD). On full-view images, performance is 0.482 ± 0.132 accuracy and 0.346 ± 0.123 Macro-F1. These results indicate that a compact CNN can capture localized texture and structural cues of piled-embroidery techniques under small-sample constraints, and that ROI cropping consistently improves technique-focused learning over full-view inputs. Overall, this work provides a reproducible CNN baseline and evaluation protocol for AI-bridged fashion heritage digitization and technique-centric retrieval.

ABSTRACT. This study explores the differential psychological mechanisms through which Agentic AI and human agents influence user value co-creation in consumer-driven tasks. Using a mixed-methods approach comprising social media text analysis and controlled scenario experiments, we demonstrate that while human agents drive co-creation through outward "self-expansion," Agentic AI fosters co-creation via inward "inclusion of other in self" (IOS). The findings offer strategic insights into the optimal deployment of AI tools to enhance consumer co-creation efficacy.

ABSTRACT. As service robots are increasingly incorporated into everyday service environments, particularly in retail settings, understanding how users evaluate different robot–task combinations becomes critical. This study investigates how robot type and task characteristics jointly influence users’ behavioral intentions through perceived role–task fit. Drawing on an experimental approach, we examine how different configurations of robot form and task nature shape perceived congruity, which subsequently drives user responses. The findings highlight the importance of aligning robot design with task expectations in retail contexts and provide both theoretical and managerial implications for effective service robot deployment.

ABSTRACT. Fast-fashion retailers continuously introduce trend-driven assortments to achieve rapid inventory turnover. Given that cross-selling increases share of wallet and loyalty, retailers are shifting focus from mere transaction volume to maximizing profitability through cross-category buying behavior. They want customers to move between departments, both physically and psychologically, within the same store. The fact that a customer purchases a product for their kids, also shops for themselves at the same store, is one of these examples. Despite its importance in practice, previous research has paid less attention to cross-category buying. Building on role theory and self-congruity theory, this study examines how self-congruity translates into adult purchase intention under role activation. Specifically, we test (1) the mediating role of perceived value dimensions for self and kids' shopping in the relationship between self-congruity and intention to purchase from the adult section, (2) the moderating role of parental involvement in this mediated relationship. Accordingly, this study proposes that high parental involvement can serve as a psychological barrier, limiting parents’ attention and cognitive capacity to evaluate products for personal use. One of Turkiye's largest fast-fashion chains sent the survey link to its customers after they completed their shopping. Data were collected from parents who purchased apparel for their kids and left the store without buying anything for themselves. The adult section was in a separate area in the same store. We tested our proposed moderated mediation model using structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that only functional and hedonic value for self-shopping play a positive mediating role in the relationship between self-congruity and adult purchase intention. However, the value perceptions related to children’s shopping are not significantly associated with adult purchasing. Moreover, results also reveal that as parental involvement increases, the indirect effect of self-congruity on value for self-shopping decreases. This shows that increased parental involvement makes it more difficult for consumers to transition from the children’s section to the adult section. The findings can guide fast-fashion retailers by indicating that store layouts that include adult products within or near the children’s area can help reduce physical boundaries, as well as in-store cues that focus on the positive attributes and pleasure associated with adult products for parents.

ABSTRACT. Consumers expect deeper discounts for shorter-duration promotions, a belief central to flash sales in fashion retail. This research tests whether marketplace structure validates these expectations. We analyze over 19,000 promotions to examine whether they exhibit the anticipated negative time-discount relationship, particularly across fashion-relevant price points.

ABSTRACT. Social media use has become a way of life. This paper discusses the effect of using social media on millennials and Generation Z. Past research has suggested that boredom and loneliness are the drive for social media use, creating a vicious cycle of anxiety and depression among millennials. This study examines two generational groups-Millennials (n = 184) and Gen-Z (n = 205) to determine generational differences in understanding errands. The hypotheses and conceptual framework are tested through covariance based structural equation modelling. The study uses a temporal motivation theory (Steel & König, 2006) to understand the impact of social media usage on procrastination and errand paralysis. Gen-Z perceives digital consumption differently and their errands differ from that of millennials. The paper claims that there is an observed difference in procrastination and errand paralysis by these two generations.

ABSTRACT. In a competitive talent market, organizations increasingly rely on employer branding as a strategic tool to differentiate themselves and attract, engage, and retain top talent. Employer branding extends traditional corporate branding principles by positioning the organization as an employer of choice, shaping how potential and current employees perceive its culture, values, and professional opportunities. This paper addresses the central question: How does employer branding influence talent perception, engagement in organizations? Adopting a narrative and interpretive approach, this study examines the construction, communication, and perception of employer brands, emphasizing the subjective meanings and emotional responses they evoke among talent. Drawing on a synthesis of academic literature, corporate communication strategies, and illustrative case examples, the paper highlights how authenticity, consistency, and alignment between communicated values and lived experiences enhance perceived attractiveness and foster long-term engagement. The findings suggest that employer branding not only strengthens recruitment effectiveness but also contributes to organizational identity and culture by creating emotional and cognitive connections with talent. This study contributes to branding literature by demonstrating that the principles of brand management extend beyond consumers to human capital, offering managerial insights for developing compelling and sustainable employer brands.

ABSTRACT. Although firms across industries are increasingly demonstrating greater commitment to social sustainability, the drivers of firm-level commitment to social sustainability remain largely unknown. It is, however, essential to understand the drivers of social sustainability commitment, as such commitment necessitates significant investment of resources and requires a reconstitution of structural and strategic orientation. Adopting a product-market perspective and integrating rational choice theory with organizational legitimacy theory, we propose that the parity of a firm’s product offerings compared to competitors’ offerings (i.e., product offerings’ parity) either promotes or deters engagement in social sustainability initiatives. Specifically, we posit that a firm’s product offerings' parity has a U-shaped relationship with social sustainability. Furthermore, a firm’s remit of market operations (viz., market scope) and the product-related innovation agility of competing firms (viz., product-market fluidity) moderate the U-shaped relationship between product offerings' parity and social sustainability, such that the curvature flattens. This comprehensive yet parsimonious conceptual model is rigorously tested using a multi-year (2004–2023), multi-industry sample and employing multi-level mixed-effects modeling. Several sensitivity analyses were also conducted, including various panel regressions and endogeneity-robust instrumental variable regression to reaffirm the robustness of the findings. Additionally, we examined the relationship between product offerings' parity and the four underlying subcategories of social sustainability.