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© 2020 Elsevier Inc. There is a general lack of clarity regarding measurement of the self-brand congruity construct, which also calls for cross-national validation. Although previous evidence suggests a positive relationship between self-brand congruity and consumer brand associations (brand attachment), this relationship requires a deeper investigation. This study tests and validates a personality congruence scale in the luxury sector on an international level. Based on a survey of nearly 1500 international luxury customers, it also measures the effect of congruence on brand attachment. The findings confirm that the personality congruence structure is based on five dimensions: prestige, emotion, trust, anxiety, and order. The results highlight the personality congruence effect and its influence on brand attachment. Finally, similarities and differences across countries are detected in the personality congruence and brand attachment relationship. Theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed. This study contributes to the literature on brand personality congruence and its impact on brand attachment in the luxury context.

The technology acceptance model has greatly evolved since its first appearance in the literature around 30 years ago. One of the most important changes has been the increasing influence of social activities on the adoption of technology in everyday life. Technologies allow customer to create communities that can exert a strong influence in the process of technology acceptance, especially in retailing where the relations between companies and consumers are a fundamental part of the everyday activity. In our study, we have analyzed how groups of consumers create value during the shopping process and help one other to manage relations with technologies and overcome the perceived threats of the shopping and user experience.

International audience; Scant evidence is available on of how social media marketing activities influence brand equity creation and consumers' behavior towards a brand. This research explores these relationships by analyzing pioneering brands in the luxury sector (Burberry, Dior, Gucci, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton). Based on a survey of 845 luxury brand consumers (Chinese, French, Indian, and Italian), who follow the five brands studied on social media, the study develops a structural equation model that helps to address gaps in prior social media branding literature. Specifically, the study demonstrates the links between social media marketing efforts and their consequences (brand preference, price premium, and loyalty). The study measures brands' social media marketing efforts as a holistic concept that incorporates five aspects (entertainment, interaction, trendiness, customization, and word of mouth). Another contribution of the study is that it finds that SMMEs have a significant positive effect on brand equity and on the two main dimensions of brand equity: brand awareness and brand image.

Despite the fact that social networking sites (SNSs) provide new opportunities for firms and brands, there is still a little understanding of how user-generated contents (UGC) and shopping-related research via Facebook (FB) affects brand loyalty intention in the luxury fashion context. The present work develops a conceptual model to empirically analyze how brand loyalty intention is affected by customers’ trust in a brand’s FB page, by their willingness to utilize brand’s FB page for shopping-related searches, and by three different types of UGC: peer recommendations, informational support and emotional support. In order to fulfill this aim, the study examines 277 Millennials and the Victoria’s Secret FB page. Structural equation model results reveal that online shopping-related searches, peer recommendations and social support have significant positive effects on customers’ trust. Moreover, the research points out a significant positive effect between customers’ trust and their brand loyalty intention, supporting marketers to better understand the role played by trusted UGC. The research provides interesting insights, for both academic and practitioners, because it contributes to the existing body of knowledge in the field of brand and social media marketing. Moreover, UGC, especially informational support, could enable firms to influence consumers’ behavior positively and to transform their brands’ FB pages into trusted ones.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to challenge earlier recommendations and explanations regarding companies’ behaviour after an economic shock and analyses worldwide retail companies’ internationalization processes before and after the 2008 crisis. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on information published between 2003 and 2012, the authors focus on the 2008 crisis and analyse 1,500 different internationalization moves by 109 companies from 26 countries. Findings – The analyses confirm that the pace of retail internationalization increased after the 2008 crisis, that these companies had mainly moved into countries with newly developing economies, and that the entry modes ranged from high-cost entry modes and low-cost strategies. Originality/value – This paper provides an initial indication of retailers’ actual internationalization behaviour in the period considered. Such material has not been available previously as international retailing research has primarily focused on theoretical assumptions. By focusing on the current financial crisis, the authors highlight the problem that researchers investigating various company behaviours face when comparing these to the theoretical expectations. By using a worldwide, multisectorial, and longitudinal retailing sample to illustrate the internationalization process, the authors not only generalize companies’ internationalization behaviour, but also challenge earlier recommendations and explanations regarding their behaviour after an economic shock.

The aim of this paper is to analyze how Made in Italy products are retailed in the international markets. The research investigates the level of coherence between Italy country image and the image of the stores where Italian brands are sold abroad; the focus is about the internationalization process of Italian firms producing and distributing high value goods in the fashion, furniture, food sectors with an explicit Italian Country-of-Origin (COO). The existent literature has considered and analyzed the relationships between Brand and COO and its effect on consumers' perceptions and behavior. However, less attention has been devoted in the understanding of the interaction between COO and point of sales. On the empirical side, using an observational methodology, the research investigates nine mono-brand and multi-brand retail stores in three international markets (France, Russia and The United Kingdom). Main findings show various degrees of the coherence level between the point of sales and Italian country ...

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

International luxury businesses are challenged by the identification and satisfaction of the common needs and desires of global market segments. Although luxury goods have become available to a wider range of consumers, the traditional conspicuous consumption model has been transformed into a new experiential luxury sensibility that is marked by a change in the way that consumers define luxury. Based on an empirical study in collaboration with American, European, and Asian researchers, the results provide evidence that consumers in various parts of the world purchase or wish to purchase luxury products for varied reasons but that such consumers generally possess similar values. Regardless of their countries of origin, the basic motivational drivers of luxury consumers are similar among the financial, functional, personal, and social dimensions of luxury value perceptions, although the relative importance of these dimensions varies.

The present study contributes to the international literature on brand personality and congruence. There is still a general lack of clarity regarding the measurement of the self-brand congruity construct. Moreover, in the light of international branding research cross-national validation of this measurement is needed. Previous empirical evidence also suggests a positive relationship between brand-self congruity and consumer-brand relationships (i.e. brand attachment) across nations and cultures, but the strength of these relationships requires deeper investigation. The present study therefore aims to test and validate a personality congruence scale at an international level and to measure the effect of congruence on brand attachment with specific reference to the luxury sector. A survey of nearly 1,500 international luxury customers has been conducted. Results confirm that personality congruence is based upon five dimensions (Prestige/Emotion/Trust/Anxiety/Order). In addition, the results highlight the existence and relative importance of the link between “personality congruence” and “brand attachment”. Finally, findings suggest similarities and differences across countries regarding specific dimensions of congruence scale and the personality congruence and attachment relationship. Both theoretical and managerial implications are provided.

International audience; The effects of the country-of-origin (COO) upon consumer perceptions and purchase intentions remain of interest to marketing researchers. Our paper analyses the perception of the COO and of brands, and their influence on consumer perception and purchasing intention. A cross-national sample was set up in order to obtain a more complex understanding of how the COO concept operates in various countries across different product categories (convenience products, shopping goods and specialty/luxury products).

International audience; Research concerning retail internationalisation has almost always studied integrated companies or franchises. In many countries there are independent groups of retailers that control an important share of the market and are able to balance their market power between large multiples and independents. Some voluntary groups have also acquired relevant international dimensions, especially in the grocery sector. In this article, we concentrate our attention on three French non-food groups that have developed international operations; we study their international value chain activities to verify similarities and differences with other types of organization. Our results show that the international arena is not the preserve of multiples or franchises, but that particularities still exist concerning the internationalisation of independent retailers.

The paper analyses the phenomena of congruence between consumer, brand and store personality and its effect on attachment to brands in luxury sector at an international level. From a theoretical point of view, human personality, brand personality, store personality, congruence and attachment constructs are considered. From an empirical point of view, the paper presents the results of a quantitative primary research run on a sample young people “luxury experienced” from 10 countries. The empirical research considers specifically 6 luxury brands. In term of results this paper presents the validation of the personality congruence measurement scale proposed by the authors; furthermore the research highlights the existence of a correlation between personality congruence and brand attachment.

International audience; This article proposes a model of international strategy of retail companies. It has been developed and tested by studying the international activities, both successful and unsuccessful, of 37 international companies for more than a decade. It defines the most important components of a successful strategy and, for each component, it evaluates the importance of this variable in connection with the others. The model proposed is able not only to explain the internationalization process of many important companies during the 1990s and at the beginning of the 2000s, but also puts forward to the managerial sector the strategic variables for both the companies that have already started an internationalization process and those that wish to begin it.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the international retailers' strategic responses to the institutional environment in emerging markets.Design/methodology/approachBased on in‐depth interviews with top managers from a grounded‐theory perspective, the research provides a comprehensive analysis of the implications of the institutional environment for the strategic choices of international retailers in an emerging market, especially in China.FindingsThe international retailer's strategic choices are often identified as pragmatism, dynamism, public policy‐orientation, seeking lead position in the market and decentralization if the institutional distance between the home country and host country is high. Moreover, when international retailers can commit to cultivating local markets and creating shared added value, they are better able to respond proactively to an institutional environment that is geared to a collective social network and still in a phase of transition.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper focuses on only one country, China.Originality/valueThe major value of this paper is to highlight the specificities of international retailers' strategic responses to the institutional environment of an emerging market. Attention to these specificities would enable researchers to analyze better the reality of retail internationalization process in an emerging market.

Recently, has there been a change in the perception of luxury: from an elitist concept to a consideration of luxury as a many-faceted issue [3], [10]. In the last few years, it has become clear that luxury consumption is open to different kinds of consumers, and that it therefore contributes to defining differentiated identities.

International audience; This research aims to update the factors influencing consumer purchase of luxury goods and, more specifically, to consider the combined effect of brand and country of origin (CoO) on the purchasing decision. This article extends an exploratory phase constructed from qualitative data previously gathered on this topic. The study includes administering a questionnaire online in seven countries (China, France, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the USA) to a total sample of 1102 respondents. The richness of this research relates to the possibility of an intercultural analysis of the results from seven countries. These results concern the differences in the relative importance of components of the consumer decision-making process in respect of the purchase of luxury and non-luxury goods; the relative importance of CoO for consumers making purchasing decisions relating to luxury goods; and the variation in consumers' decision-making criteria depending on the maturity of the luxury market. This research allows the authors to confirm, develop, and generalize results previously obtained in the exploratory phase of their work. They are interesting in terms of management recommendations for a company that wishes to expand internationally in a geographic area covered by the study, since the research found significant differences. The results of the research contribute also to the theoretical controversy concerning the importance of CoO in the consumer decision-making process.

This paper investigates the corporate social and environmental reporting (CSER) practices of companies in the large retail distribution sector. This industry appears to have been relatively reticent in developing its CSER practices. Hence, the focus of our paper is on an investigation of the reasons for the apparently slow development of CSER practices in the retail industry. Because CSER reports remain voluntary in many countries, we believe that it would be useful to investigate the extent and nature of these reporting practices in a specific industry and to inquire into the institutional forces either internal or external to the industry that may have prompted a greater response to CSER.

Oxylane Group is a network of companies created in 2008 which brings together two different activities: design and manufacturing of international sport products and local and on line retail. The main and best-known retail brand of Oxylane Group is Decathlon, a company created in 1976 near Lille, in Northern France. Until 2008, all the activities of the company were under the Decathlon umbrella brand.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to address the recent evolution of the luxury goods sector as well as the distribution strategy of some major companies. The distribution strategy must consider two different issues: first, the need to control the value chain in order to gain a competitive advantage in a sector that is becoming concentrated; second, the need to meet a desire for emotions and for aesthetic experience, as expressed by the customers of luxury goods.Design/methodology/approachFor this exploratory phase, the paper chooses to draw the data from a convenience sample made of undergraduate students from the Rouen School of Management. Slides presenting a varied selection of luxury goods stores are exposed. On the basis of this sample, a principal component factor analysis with Varimax rotation is performed. This enabled us to find a three‐factor structure. As a preliminary, tests are carried out on the suitability of the data sample for factor analysis. The paper also testes the internal reliability of this scale.FindingsThe paper introduces and validates a scale measuring the aesthetic style of consumers of luxury goods and an extension of this scale to the outlets selling these papers.Originality/valueAs for the academic aspect, it is the first application of a measurement scale of aesthetic perception to retail. Concerning the managerial aspect, the three dimensions of the scale could bring important indications to luxury goods firms as well as to shop designers concerning the elements which influence consumer perception.