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This paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the extent to which generative AI (GAI) tools and Large Language Models (LLMs) can design new creative and meaningful products in the luxury industry. To this end, the research involves three qualitative studies to understand the cognitive and emotional response towards the creative outcome. Results reveal that consumers perceived that the GAI-designed luxury products reflect and reinforce the essence and symbolic values of the brands, and that their perception is influenced by knowledge of GAI authorship of the product. Finally, our findings open new possible scenarios based on the high/low GAI creativity employment for product design vs. high/low quality of manufacturing and materials on product/brand essence (namely product/brand essence matrix). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines when and how the speed of video ads influences consumers' perceptions of luxuriousness and their subsequent behaviors toward products or brands featured in the ads. Across 12 experiments (total N = 27,227, five preregistered), the authors demonstrate that when a video ad depicts a product in slow motion (vs. regular speed), consumers perceive the featured product or brand as more luxurious. The effect emerges across various product categories (chocolate, shampoo, mineral water, wine) and in different countries (United States, United Kingdom, France). Tests of mediation and moderation suggest that the effect occurs because viewing a slow-motion ad increases feelings of immersion, which lead consumers to expect greater hedonic value from the featured product and thus view it as more luxurious. Consistent with this account, the effect weakens when video blurriness or buffering impairs the immersive viewing experience afforded by slow motion, and the effect attenuates among consumers who are very weakly or very strongly predisposed to experience immersion. Finally, by enhancing perceptions of luxuriousness, slow motion subsequently boosts consumers' desire for the featured product or brand (as manifested by higher willingness to pay, purchase intentions, and ad click rates), particularly when the goal to consume luxury is salient (vs. not). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractMass prestige (masstige) is the strategic blend of prestige and mass market appeal, targeting the aspirational middle class. Integrating extant literature on masstige consumption with extensive qualitative insights from both managers and actual users of masstige brands, this article presents a motivation-desire-outcome (MDO) framework to conceptualize masstige consumption, where luxury meets accessibility. We argue that a comprehensive understanding of masstige consumption extends beyond extrinsic social status motivations to include intrinsic self-fulfillment drivers. Through this framework, we unveil the psychological process of masstige consumption, encompassing motivation, desire, and outcome. Our framework also delineates how these dynamics are further influenced by variations such as acculturation, brand promise, need for uniqueness, and susceptibility to interpersonal influence. Importantly, the framework not only enriches the extant discourse on masstige consumption but also sets a forward-looking agenda for research and practical strategies in the masstige market. Through this lens, we invite masstige marketers and scholars to explore novel avenues that bridge the gap between aspiration and accessibility, thereby reshaping our understanding of luxury consumption in a mass-market context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Setting up a tourist attraction provides brands with the opportunity to offer visitors an experience that promotes their brand image. This paper explores how to design such an experience by focusing on the tourist attraction of a famous luxury brand, Hennessy Cognac. Through an in-depth case study, the paper contributes to the tourism literature by developing a framework for experience design in branded tourist attractions. This framework bridges the gap between abstract design principles and corresponding operational actions in practice to support the realization of visitor experiences that improve brand perceptions. Moreover, it suggests a requirement for congruency between the characteristics of the brand and the design of the visitor experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: What might lead a luxury consumer to signal with an inconspicuous product? Drawing upon luxury consumer maturity theory, which proposes that mature luxury consumers exhibit a greater preference for inconspicuous luxury goods, this papers aims to consider if consumer field-specific knowledge increases the preference for inconspicuous consumption. Design/methodology/approach: By measuring and manipulating consumer knowledge via correlational and experimental designs, respectively, the authors probe the association between consumer knowledge and preferences for inconspicuous luxury products. Findings: This study reports converging evidence suggesting that more knowledgeable (non-)luxury consumers prefer (non-)luxury goods that send inconspicuous signals. Research limitations/implications: The proposed luxury consumer knowledge effect provides insights into the rise of inconspicuous luxury consumption and offers counterintuitive managerial implications, particularly for marketing communications and advertising. Practical implications: Inconspicuous luxury brands should engage in an informational sharing approach to their marketing communications, as increasing knowledge may encourage inconspicuous consumption. Originality/value: While prior work on inconspicuous consumption has addressed the utility of subtle signals and presented a classification of different types of luxury consumers, for instance, the authors instead consider one potential driver of inconspicuous consumption: consumer knowledge. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is also the first to provide empirical support for luxury consumer maturity theory, in addition to examining the boundaries of this framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Luxury value perception is a well‐researched, yet fragmented domain. Extant research reports several dimensions of luxury value perception, where different investigations identify varying dimensions and their impact on several consumer‐related outcomes. However, such findings are inconsistent across studies, which are carried out across various contexts using disparate samples. In this research, we use the Theory of Consumption Value and Economic Theory to provide a comprehensive understanding of the dimensions, outcomes, and moderators of luxury value perception. This investigation synthesizes extant literature through a meta‐analysis to explain the inconsistent findings and offer new insights. The meta‐analysis integrates findings from 64 papers that report 74 separate studies with 32,587 participants/consumers. The impact of the dimensions of luxury value perception (functional, social, emotional, conditional, epistemic, and economic) on consumer outcomes (affective, cognitive, and behavior), and the moderating effects of several moderators (industry type, culture, gender, and publication year) are conceptualized and examined through meta‐analytic techniques. Some relationships are under‐researched in literature and cannot be tested, which provides scope for future investigations. This research is valuable for theory as we offer novel insights and identify boundary conditions that advance theoretical understanding of the domain. Managers will benefit from this holistic understanding as they may apply the insights obtained to formulate nuanced marketing and branding strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unplanned purchases, such as same-day bookings for hotel stays, are an emerging trend. However, few studies have examined unplanned purchases, particularly luxury hospitality and tourism purchases. This study compares consumers' unplanned purchases of luxury goods and experiences. Four studies of luxury consumers in Hong Kong and the United States show that unplanned purchases of luxury experiences (vs. luxury goods) increase positive emotions and that the underlying mechanism is escapism. This study also shows that the price of luxury experiences enhances escapism whereas the price of luxury goods does not. This study contributes to the literature by challenging the universally negative view of unplanned luxury purchases. Luxury marketers should appeal to consumers' sense of escapism to induce unplanned purchases of luxury experiences. Further, luxury marketers should maintain the monetary exclusivity of luxury experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extent of our duties to mitigate climate change is commonly conceptualized in terms of temperature goals like the 1.5°C and the 2°C target and corresponding emissions budgets. While I do acknowledge the political advantages of any framework that is relatively easy to understand, I argue that this particular framework does not capture the true extent of our mitigation duties. Instead I argue for a more differentiated approach that is based on the well-known distinction between subsistence and luxury emissions. At the heart of this approach lies the argument that we have no budget of substantial, net-positive luxury emissions left. In a world in which dangerous climate change has begun, we must expect all further substantial, net-positive luxury emissions to cause harm. Since they lack the kind of justification needed for them to be nevertheless permissible, I conclude that we must stop emitting them with immediate effect. I also briefly discuss the difficult case of subsistence emissions and offer some first thoughts on the morality of a third category of emissions, what I call 'transition emissions'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we study how a luxury fashion engineering company strategically introduced sustainability‐oriented innovations (SOIs) over time through an in‐depth longitudinal analysis of a leading Italian business‐to‐business (B2B) firm. We apply a strategic management perspective to this first‐tier engineering manufacturer to bring new insights into how upstream firms deploy SOIs and to what effect, thus determining long‐term technological choices in the industry. We observe that such innovations evolved dynamically from the process dimension to the supply chain and, lastly, to the product dimension, thereby spanning explorational, procedural and communicational practices. We find that the company sustained significant growth over a decade while implementing its sustainability transition, thanks to three elements: a broad and wide‐ranging experimentation in all areas of the company, a continuous dynamic process of learning‐by‐doing and a commitment of the top management to prioritize new sustainable practices. The propositions developed from this case study can inform future strategic analysis and management of SOIs in other firms/industrial sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a representative of China's fashion market, the second-hand luxury market in Shanghai is experiencing significant growth. To deepen the understanding of sustainable fashion consumption, this study adopts grounded theory methodology and utilizes semi-structured interviews with 40 interviewees who have purchased second-hand luxury goods. Through theoretical sampling and step-by-step coding using Nvivo12, a comprehensive model was developed, identifying five main categories of factors influencing consumer purchasing behavior in Shanghai: three external factors—store factors, product factors, and social environments—and two internal factors—benefit cognition and personal factors. Based on these factors, we propose the following managerial implications: managers should explore new digital channels to expand service chains, leveraging celebrity endorsements to promote sustainability initiatives. Additionally, broadening product sourcing channels and establishing a standardized recycling system, while enhancing the management and monitoring of high-risk products, are essential steps. Maintaining competitive pricing, high inventory turnover, and a diverse product range are also critical measures. Furthermore, the government should increase support for second-hand luxury sales in urban commerce, fostering a competitive and sustainable business ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although service robots have been extensively studied recently, few empirical investigations have focused on the luxury setting. Targeting the setting of luxury hotels, in this study, expectation-confirmation theory and dual-congruity theory are combined to examine the impact of robot anthropomorphism on consumers’ expectations of service robots. The findings obtained from a sample of 556 respondents indicated that robot anthropomorphism increased consumers’ perceived social capability, performance expectancy, and perceived importance. Furthermore, luxury-technology fit and task-technology fit mediated the effects of social capability, performance expectancy, and perceived importance on the intention to use robotic services. Furthermore, the moderating role of anxiety toward robots in strengthening the effect of luxury-technology fit on the intention to use robotic services was revealed. The findings contribute to an enhanced understanding of consumer psychology in the context of advanced service technologies, offering valuable insights for the strategic implementation of service robots at luxury hotels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We integrate short- (attitudes, norms), medium- (goals), and long-term cognitions (values) to explain car-sharing. • We extract "environmental consciousness" and the desire for "luxury" as goals relevant to car-sharing. • Values underlie both short and medium-term cognitions and are thus central to car-sharing. • Goals influence both intentions and actual car-sharing behaviour. • Car-sharing results from a complex web of long-term, medium-term, and short-term cognitions. Examinations into the psychological drivers of car-sharing have to date focused on short-term cognitions such as attitudes, norms, and intentions. In this paper, we integrate such short-term cognitions with medium-term cognitions (e.g., goals) and long-term cognitions (e.g., values), thereby providing a more comprehensive understanding of the psychological drivers of car-sharing. We surveyed a broadly representative sample of the UK population (N = 1,294) and found that values underlie medium-term cognitions (e.g., goals) and short-term cognitions, thereby ultimately influencing car-sharing intentions and behaviour. Moreover, our results show that environmental consciousness and the desire for luxury are important yet opposing goals that affect both intentions to engage in car-sharing and to actually use car-sharing. Overall, we demonstrate that car-sharing may be more complex than previously anticipated and should be understood as a behaviour that results from a complex web of long-, medium-, and short-term cognitions. We discuss practical and theoretical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet-of-Things technologies may help luxury companies deliver their offerings in a different way. However, their actual effects on consumers remain hazy. This paper sheds light on the impact that consumers' openness to technological innovations may have on perceived usefulness of Voice Assistants (VAs) in the context of luxury tourism. In two studies using luxury yachts and luxury hotels as research settings, we operationalised consumers' openness to technological innovations as risk propensity and openness to change, respectively, and examined their impact on consumers' perceived usefulness of VAs, considering the moderating role of status consumption orientation. Results showed that a greater level of openness to technological innovations leads consumers to perceive VAs as more useful, and this effect is mitigated when consumers exhibit greater status consumption orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: As a company's corporate social responsibility (CSR) image can protect from the backlash of a service failure, it is important to remind customers of the company's CSR commitment when a service failure occurs. One novel mechanism for doing so is through a prosocial service recovery. However, explorations of such service recovery strategies are relatively unknown. Thus, this paper aims to examine how recoveries including prosocial elements compare to those only utilizing monetary compensation strategies and to explore boundary conditions for such effects. Design/methodology/approach: This research utilizes an experimental design approach across three studies. Participants were recruited from Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Findings: This research demonstrates that a recovery including prosocial (vs only monetary) elements can positively impact purchase intent through the firms' CSR perceptions. The authors show that the benefits of prosocial compensation are contingent on the motivation for visiting a company (e.g. hedonic vs utilitarian) as well as the degree to which the company is perceived as luxurious. Originality/value: The series of studies provides important theoretical contributions to services marketers by advancing the understanding of novel recovery strategies and demonstrating when companies should initiate such strategies. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review presents a pioneering analysis of advanced technology applications in the luxury industry, proposing a structured framework for effective integration across various supply chain and consumer journey stages. The study ensured a refined and comprehensive literature review by employing unique keywords derived from a preliminary exploration of technologies in retail and marketing. Our framework categorizes technologies according to their supply chain roles and highlights their impact on consumer perceptions, preferences, and purchasing decisions. The findings reveal a growing trend of luxury brands adopting advanced technologies to enhance customer experiences, boost operational efficiency, foster sustainable practices, and reinforce market positioning. This research contributes to sustainable supply chain management and ethical consumerism in the luxury sector by aligning technological innovation with sustainability and core luxury values. It provides actionable insights for industry practitioners and identifies future research directions, marking this study as a first‐mover in advancing academic understanding and industry practice in luxury technology integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A positive correlation between wealth and biodiversity within cities is a commonly documented phenomenon in urban ecology that has come to be labeled as the "luxury effect." We contend that both this language and this framing restrict our understanding of how sociopolitical power dynamics influence biodiversity within and across cities. We describe how the term "luxury" is not appropriately applied to describe patterns of biodiversity and how the pattern depends on the form(s) of biodiversity investigated. While we recognize examples where there is a positive relationship between socioeconomic status and biodiversity, we describe numerous examples where either opposite patterns or no clear relationship between wealth and biodiversity is found. We propose an alternate framework, the POSE framework, that examines the Power, Objectives, mediating Socio‐ecological context, and Effort of specific actors and how those may influence biodiversity. The mediating socio‐ecological context includes everything from biophysical limitations to historical context and the actions of other actors. Further, it is important to understand how and to what degree we expect the actor's actions to influence biodiversity in order to design studies that are able to detect these shifts in biodiversity. We contend that complicating our analysis to focus more on power generally, rather than socioeconomic status specifically, as well as the specific objectives of actors of interest within their socio‐ecological context offers a more flexible approach that can be applied in a wider range of socio‐ecological contexts and allows for more directed policy interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature of luxury experiences has been evolving, with the focus shifting from objective criteria of luxury to understanding customers' perceptions of luxury experiences. Moreover, in the context of an emerging homesharing sector, there remains a gap in our understanding of what comprises the luxury accommodation experience. The present study develops a model to capture the components and dynamics of the evolving nature of luxury in the accommodations industry. Consistent with our hypotheses, we find that authenticity serves as the primary antecedent of extraordinary experiences in the luxury accommodations industry. It leads to memorable accommodation experiences via the secondary antecedents of Pine and Gilmore's dimensions of the experience economy and the dimensions of "new luxury," including digital disconnection and ethical consumerism. Our findings are validated in a second, independent sample of luxury consumers, and have important theoretical and practical implications in the fields of hospitality, luxury, branding, and services management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate how exclusivity and rarity (natural versus virtual) influence consumers' perceived value (functional, social and emotional) for luxury. Data were collected through an online panel. Luxury product categories including bags, wines, shoes and jewellery were selected as research stimuli. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses. Results showed that perceived natural rarity was a positive and significant predictor for all three types of consumers' perceived value and across all four product categories. Perceived virtual rarity was a positive and significant predictor only for perceived functional value. Perceived exclusivity did not show any significant effects on value across all categories. This study is the first to provide theoretical support that exclusivity and rarity may have different functions in luxury marketing implementations. It provides updated empirical evidence showing traditional marketing tactic, such as natural rarity, still receive positive social and emotional evaluations among contemporary consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blockchain is a technology that combines a set of properties to guarantee network security, transparency, and visibility, including a decentralized structure, distributed notes and storage mechanism, consensus algorithm, intelligent contracts, and asymmetric encryption. Supply chain management activities, including supply chain management provenance, business process reengineering, and security enhancement, have enormous potential to be transformed by blockchain. This research uses the integrated interpretive structural modeling–cross‐impact matrix multiplication applied to classification (ISM‐MICMAC) technique to ascertain the hierarchical relationships and to comprehend the severity of interrelationships among various components in tackling our research questions. In MICMAC analysis, the enablers were classified into four categories based on their dependence and driving powers. The combined ISM‐MICMAC methodology employed for this study relies on experts' individual evaluations and subjective assessments. Therefore, even with extreme caution, it is impossible to guarantee that the results are entirely devoid of personal biases. To further validate the linkages discovered in this study, we suggest employing more multiple‐criteria decision‐making (MCDM) methodologies and comparing the results with those of our research. Another method for confirming the results of the current study is to use an empirical research design based on survey methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to bridge the extended reality framework and the luxury hospitality literature by providing insights into how immersive technologies using artificial intelligence (AI) can shape luxury value and consumer differentiation. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted three experimental studies comparing immersive AI versus traditional hospitality across luxury contexts (hotels, restaurants and spas). Study 1 investigates the effect of immersive AI (vs traditional hospitality) on customers' behavioral intentions and the need for differentiation using virtual-assisted reality. Study 2 tests the underlying mechanism of the need for differentiation and luxury value in an augmented reality context. Study 3 provides additional support for the proposed underlying mechanism using virtual-assisted reality in luxury hospitality. Findings: The findings reveal that immersive AI (vs traditional) luxury hospitality reduces customers' behavioral intentions of using such services and perceived luxury value. Moreover, the findings indicate that the intention to use immersive AI (vs traditional) luxury hospitality services is contingent upon customers' need for differentiation. Originality/value: The findings have important theoretical and managerial implications for immersive technologies in luxury hospitality. They shed light on the dynamics between integrating immersive AI into luxury hospitality and its impact on customers' differentiation motives and perceived luxury value. The findings reveal the detrimental effect of using immersive AI (vs traditional hospitality) within this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to examine the role of travel-related motivations and preferences for activities (such as learning about local culture, relaxation and entertainment, status and social recognition, escape and curiosity, and experience) in the relationship between narcissistic personality traits and the preference for luxury tourism versus cultural tourism. A sample of 1342 Israeli community members was analyzed. The methodology utilized parallel mediation analyses to assess how different forms of narcissism (extraverted, antagonistic, neurotic, and communal) were associated with the desire for luxury tourism over cultural tourism, as mediated by various travel-related motivations. The results indicated that narcissistic personality traits were generally associated with a preference for luxury tourism, primarily through indirect associations via travel motivations such as relaxation and entertainment, status and social recognition, and experience. The conclusion highlights the implications for understanding how specific travel-related motivations influence tourism preferences among individuals with varying levels of narcissistic traits, suggesting that tourism management strategies could benefit from a nuanced approach to personality in marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoporous aerogel fibers enjoy the luxury of being one of the most attractive nanomaterials. However, the representative fabrication pathways have faced up with low production rates due to significant speed mismatch between slow sol–gel transition and as fast as possible spinning in the same period. Herein, a novel gas‐blows‐liquid spinning (GS) strategy with a spinning speed of 300–700 m s−1 is developed to get the high‐speed and high‐efficiency production of aerogel fibers/fabrics. The spinning speed of the GS strategy is 900 times higher than various techniques reported for aerogel fibers. The resulting aerogel fibers exhibit a high specific surface area (180 m2 g−1). In comparison, the aerogel fiber possesses the highest tensile strength (58.7±3.9 MPa) among its counterparts and aerogel fabric with surprising water‐absorption and microparticle‐blocking performances exhibits the application prospect for better hemostasis than that of commercial gauze and cotton ball. Besides, the GS aerogel fabrics with hierarchical aligned structures show better thermal insulation (≈0.035 Wm−1K−1) than wet spinning aerogel fabric and commercial insulation felts. This work has provided inspiration for fast fabricating more aerogel fibers/fabrics with this GS strategy, and the resulting aerogel fibers/fabrics may find significant application in the fields of 5G smart phones, wound hemostasis, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many urologic conditions in childhood require lifelong follow-up. However, the transition from paediatric to adult care is far from well managed. This can lead to adolescents becoming lost to follow-up and unnecessary complications occurring. We describe the key components of a transition programme from paediatric urology into adult urology, using the recommendations from the Dutch quality standard (2022). Preparation for independence and self-management of young people, a transition coordinator, a warm hand-over and reception in adult care are essential. Necessary preconditions are a motivated team consisting of professionals from both paediatric and adult care, in addition to management support, supporting ICT and financial reimbursement. Investing in a smooth transition from paediatric to adult care is not a luxury, but part of good, person-centred urological care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ecological condition and biodiversity of urban ecosystems is influenced by multiple factors. In addition to environmental, socioeconomic processes, such as wealth, determines pollution, thus biodiversity in cities. Wealthier neighborhoods tend to have better ecological condition with higher biodiversity than less affluent neighborhoods, which is referred to as the Luxury Effect. Most often, household income is the single indicator of wealth in studies on the Luxury Effect. However, other socioeconomic factors, such as distribution of green spaces, can also affect ecological condition and biodiversity in cities. Evidence for the Luxury Effect comes primarily from studies in terrestrial ecosystems, while urban aquatic ecosystems are often overlooked. Here, we assess the effect of different wealth indicators (i.e. income and impervious area, which are related to placement of green spaces) on the biotic integrity and biodiversity of two aquatic taxa (macroinvertebrates, fishes) in urban streams in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada. We found that the relationship between wealth and biotic integrity / biodiversity change based on the wealth indicator and taxa considered. The biotic integrity and biodiversity of macroinvertebrate are negatively and often more strongly related to impervious area than income, while the biotic integrity and biodiversity of fish are positively related to income only. Our results suggest different mechanisms can determine the effect of wealth on biotic integrity and biodiversity, thus shaping the expression of the Luxury Effect. Understanding the mechanisms through which wealth influences aquatic biodiversity can allow us to advance towards management and planning decisions that acknowledges multiple socioeconomic realities within cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cuteness is a feature of a variety of products and is common in marketing communications. Despite its popularity among mainstream brands, there is limited academic attention to cuteness in the context of luxury brands. While cuteness and luxury may appeal to different customers, luxury brands sometimes incorporate cuteness in their product design or brand communication. The potential impact of cuteness on luxury brand equity warrants investigation. Across four experiments with 662 participants, this research examines the effect of cuteness on luxury brand equity. Results show that cuteness enhances luxury brand equity through perceived uniqueness, as cuteness is less commonly associated with luxury brands. However, this positive effect only exists for traditional luxury brands, not for masstige or mass consumer brands. This research advances the literature on cuteness, particularly regarding its implications for luxury brands, and offers insights for luxury brand managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the recent emergence of traditional Korean houses and hanoks as markers of cultural capital in Seoul, South Korea. While the ownership of detached houses itself can be a symbol of wealth in Seoul, traditional-style houses have become increasingly associated with luxurious living, particularly after the successful remodeling of hanoks in metropolitan settings such as Bukchon in Seoul. This study employs the critical luxury studies method to analyze the recent rise in hanok construction/remodeling among elites, and illustrates how traditional architectural forms have become status markers. Although the regeneration of traditional houses in cities has been examined from the perspective of gentrification or touristic cultural consumption, less academic attention has been placed on the phenomenon from the perspective of the homeowners' taste. This study examines how traditional architecture has become a form of acceptable luxury through a media analysis of published articles and interviews with the residents of hanoks. This study argues that protecting endangered traditions and rich sensory experiences function as important moralizing factors in luxury housing, indicating that sociocultural valuation becomes as significant as market valuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the negotiation process underpinning the creation of authentic experiences in luxury lodges. The findings of this study highlight how this is a balancing act performed by the hosts through the provision of an authentic experiential platform connecting guests with unique places and genuine people and is of a luxurious nature. Staged experiences are authenticated by the guests through their bodies and minds, activating, in turn, experiences of existential authenticity. Contributing to service marketing and management literature, the study departs from purely abstract authenticity conceptualisations by applying an experience design and management lens to understanding authentic experiences. Practically, our findings demonstrate how authenticity is operationalised in luxury lodges and how these experiences are understood and valued by tourism and hospitality consumers and providers, providing crucial implications for luxury accommodation marketers and managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many companies such as Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors have had success selling both high-end luxury and middle-end 'masstige' brands, as consumers seek luxury labels at affordable prices. There have been studies into consumption of both luxury and masstige products, however, few inquiries have attempted to understand this phenomenon through interviews with luxury company executives. This study aimed to understand luxury executives' perceptions of 'pure luxury' versus masstige in order to update current literature and theoretical frameworks. Interviews were conducted with nine (n = 9) luxury executives. Major themes of balance and cohesion and value emerged; sub-themes and minor themes are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe practice of “flexing,” showing off one’s wealth and status, gradually penetrates daily life on various social media platforms, most notably Instagram. We investigated the extent to which exposure to conspicuous consumption by a stranger stimulated the viewers’ materialistic aspiration and whether this effect could be mediated by anticipated engagement and moderated by trait mindfulness. A large number of Instagram users in Indonesia (N = 2,296, 75.30% female; Mage = 31.14 years old, SDage = 7.09) completed the trait mindfulness scale, randomly received a single Instagram photo showcasing luxury material vs. experiential purchase, provided an estimate of the intensity of love and comment from other viewers (i.e., anticipated engagement), and filled out the materialistic aspiration scale. Participants exposed to material purchase reported higher aspiration than those exposed to experiential purchase, but lower anticipated engagements also reduced materialistic aspiration. Participants with higher trait mindfulness were better at distinguishing the effects of conspicuous consumption on anticipated engagement and materialistic aspiration. These findings indicate that the viewers’ anticipation of collective attention could reverse the impact of exposure to conspicuous consumption and the potential of trait mindfulness as an anti-mimetic quality for situational materialism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While airport shopping has garnered extensive attention in the literature, the significance of integrating luxury stores within airport environments remains an underexplored facet. In this qualitative study, grounded in established theories of luxury behavior and airport management, we delve into the perceptions of tourists regarding the presence of luxury stores in airports. Drawing on in-depth interviews, we demonstrate that tourists' favorable reception of luxury stores can be connected to the idea of making luxury more accessible. Our findings also suggest how luxury shopping enhances the overall passenger experience and contributes to the reinforcing of the airport's reputation. This study adds theoretical and empirical depth to the discourse on airport retail, shedding light on the nuanced interplay between luxury commerce, tourist perception, and airport management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractOwing to the mainstream interpretation of classical economics as being supply-side, studies examining the analytical role of demand and consumption have been scarce. In this paper, I bring together such passages in Cantillon, Steuart, Smith and Ricardo and forge an analytical link between social tastes and consumption—an attempt at reconstructing a classical theory of taste formation. A classical theory of taste formation has as its foundation methodological holism—viewing social classes as the fundamental unit of analysis. Through a discussion of necessaries and luxuries in the above classical economists, the social division of commodities is highlighted. By drawing on social classes and the social division of commodities, it is seen that taste plays a critical role in the determination of economic growth by influencing consumption expenditure. Finally, it is demonstrated that taste is both a cause and consequence of foreign trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mogao Cave 257 in Dunhuang, dating from the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534) established by the nomadic Xianbei people in North China, is renowned for its vivid illustrations of scenes from two legends of avadāna (Buddhist paragons) and a jataka story featuring a stunning, nine-colored stag. By examining the narrative paintings as an integrated whole, I demonstrate how a cohort of Xianbei noblewomen may have commissioned the cave chapel not only to express distinct aspects of their social, material, and cultural lives but also to assert their agency and power by portraying women as active viewers in the narrative scenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meeting the net zero emission targets set by many states after the Paris Agreement to help keep global warming well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels will require carbon dioxide removal technologies (CDRs). Several moral concerns arise if the contribution of CDRs to achieving net zero is not specified, but such concerns can be met by defining a permissible target for CDRs. This paper proposes a framework for defining the permissible contribution of CDRs to the net zero targets of individual states. The framework identifies three categories of emissions for which the permissibility of CDRs varies depending on the ethical costs of both emission abatement and CDRs. We argue that a) luxury emissions should be reduced without using CDRs; b) emissions for full membership in society should be abated by structural efforts, although using CDRs is permissible, given certain conditions; and c) CDRs are permissible for residual emissions because otherwise net zero targets cannot be reached. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quantitative approach has been promoted to understand the history of climate and society. Statistical research on luxurious expenses under climate change in past societies remains insufficient, however. Hence, this study statistically examined the association between climate change and the imperial court's luxury expenses on silk products in mid-Qing China (1735–1840 CE) by including major ecological–social–economic stresses. Results indicated that the Qing imperial court's silk consumption increased under favorable climatic conditions and a flourishing agrarian economy, and vice versa. Natural disasters and social crises hardly affected the Qing imperial court's silk consumption, however, suggesting its limited support and inactive attitude toward ecological–social–economic stresses. Such an institutional weakness might have increased social vulnerability, which could have led to Qing China's decline since the eighteenth century. The study serves as the first attempt to reveal a long-term historical climate–luxury linkage and further provides a supplementary explanation of the economic decline from the perspective of the history of climate and society. Based on past lessons, this study emphasizes institutional activeness to tackle upcoming climate change challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the global increase in online gaming with luxury fashion items, gamers' purchases of these items in virtual environments remain understudied. Utilizing the diffusion of innovation theory, the research analyzes data from 268 Fortnite gamers in Fiji to understand the influence of avatar identification, materialism, and status consumption on purchasing in-game luxury fashion items. The study confirms positive relationships between relative advantage, compatibility, trialability, observability, and in-game luxury avatar identification by employing covariance-based structural equation modeling. It also highlights how materialism and status consumption drive the intention to purchase luxury items in-game, with gamer competence reinforcing the association between avatar identification and purchase intention. The findings offer a deeper theoretical understanding of luxury fashion consumption within the context of online gaming, a rapidly growing global phenomenon. The study provides fresh insights into luxury fashion consumption in online gaming, highlighting the applicability of diffusion of innovation theory across cultures and the changing perception of luxury in virtual spaces. Its findings are valuable for game developers, marketers, and luxury brands in developing and marketing in-game luxury items to a worldwide audience. This study enriches international marketing and digital consumer behavior literature and offers strategic directions for global digital gaming marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Luxury consumption studies have largely focused on tangible products with less attention paid to experiential services. However, consumers are becoming increasingly interested in the luxury services. Taking a mental imagery perspective, this study delineates the role of sensory integration in luxury hotel experiences among Chinese with Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique (ZMET). We engaged Chinese informants in a multi-sensory exploration of their experiences, soliciting abundant verbal and non-verbal data, and analyzed how experiences emerge from their multisensory processing of hotel offerings. Findings conceptualize experiential luxury consumption from a multisensory perspective and recommend how luxury hotels should better leverage their market potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I look at the relationship between human olfaction, digital platforms, and everyday media practices in contemporary capitalist contexts. In the first section, I map what I describe as interfaced anosmia, or the absence of smell from mundane media devices. This absence is especially glaring given how olfaction uniquely lends itself to certain mediated forms of affective modulation. In the second section, I look at the platformization of the luxury fragrance industry, across three sites of analysis to reveal how, despite the conditions of interfaced anosmia, smell has already been shaped on and by platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]