A cross-cultural study of the proximity of clothing to self between millennial women in South Korea and Mongolia

Abstract As a part of material culture, clothing embodies the cultural specificity based on the influence of that culture on individuals. The cultural value model of Hofstede broadly describes the dimensional characteristics of each country. At the same time, the proximity of clothing to a self-scale represents the level of psychological closeness of clothing to identity. Even though it is theoretically correct that these two concepts—culture and clothing that expresses ones self—are related, few studies have highlighted this connection. In this study, we investigated the effect of cultural values on how the individuals involve their clothing with their social identity by focussing on the differences between two culturally different countries: South Korea and Mongolia. Quantitative surveys from 179 in South Korea and 262 in Mongolia and t-tests showed cultural differences in both countries individualism and indulgence vs their restrained disposition. The multiple regression analysis results revealed that uncertainty avoidance and indulgence correlate with three dimensions in the proximity of clothing to self: clothing to self as structure, clothing as a response to others judgements, and clothing-related to self-esteem. The moderating effect of each country was not found. This result implies that knowing the cultural values of a particular group can infer their clothing consciousness. Thus, when fashion companies target millennial women in South Korea and Mongolia and establish a more significant presence abroad, examining a countrys or a groups culture helps identify the target market's clothing perceptions

Customer equity drivers and emotions on algarve 5-star hotel clients´ satisfaction and loyalty

The tourism and hotel industry are critical drivers for Portugal, particularly for Algarve’s economy. The hotel industry’s demand depends not only on macroeconomic variables of countries of the tourists but also on other customer behavior issues, such as Satisfaction, Loyalty, Emotions, and Customer Equity drivers, which are significantly related. All these items are essential for customer decision making. Therefore, understanding their relations can be useful for academia and, by knowledge transfer, to the industry. This research aimed to clarify the relationships between Customer Equity Drivers and Emotions with Satisfaction and Loyalty of five-star hotel clients from Algarve’s predominant tourist nationalities, contributing to a more integrative conceptual model. For this purpose, the perspectives of two leading hotel brands in Algarve were compared with the perspective of their clients. Questionnaires were administrated amongst five-star hotel clients from the two famous brands, who stayed overnight during July, August, and September of 2019 in the Algarve region. A sample of 133 respondents from the predominant tourist nationalities with valid answers was achieved. The five-star hotels’ management answered the questionnaires based on their data and perception to compare their clients’ perspectives. Complementary, the emotions of tourists about the Algarve region were also studied. The analysis was done in an exploratory approach, using three-way data analysis supported by Multiple Factor Analysis (MFA) developed by Escofier and Pagès (1985). The MFA results confirmed stability between the dimensions constructed with the two hotel brands and clients’ data. It was identified, as expected, an opposition between negative emotions and all other model items. Nonetheless, there was a more evident linkage between positive emotions, joy, and happiness, with overall satisfaction and perception of brand ethics. Another highlighted linkage was between positive emotion enthusiasm, service/product quality, and attitudinal loyalties. The results showed that hotel brand one is a variance with the other two perspectives. This difference was mostly related to Portuguese nationality clients. The presupposes of the proposed conceptual model were aligned with the research results.O turismo é uma das principais formas de desenvolvimento de cada região. O turismo e a hotelaria em particular são fatores críticos para Portugal e em particular para a economia do Algarve. Neste contexto, o alojamento é uma parte importante da indústria do turismo e é significativo para o desenvolvimento dos destinos turísticos. Entre os diferentes tipos de alojamento, os hotéis são o setor mais tipificado e posicionam-se como o principal segmento na maioria dos destinos. Os hotéis têm que competir globalmente para atrair turistas e, numa realidade que é naturalmente dinâmica, as mudanças de preferências, requisitos e expectativas dos clientes tornam evidente a necessidade de investigação constante sobre a realidade ou realidades dos clientes. A procura da indústria hoteleira depende não apenas de variáveis macroeconómicas dos países de origem dos turistas, mas também de outras questões e conceitos associados a aspetos comportamentais do cliente, como a satisfação, a lealdade, as emoções e o valor do cliente, que estão significativamente relacionados. Todos estes itens são essenciais para o processo de tomada de decisão do cliente e entendimento das suas relações é um contributo de interesse para a academia e, por transferência de conhecimento, para a indústria, pois pode fornecer informações relevantes para apoiar os hotéis nas suas atividades relacionadas aos clientes. Investigações anteriores mostraram que a satisfação dos clientes é um fator-chave para o sucesso de todos os negócios, e essa satisfação leva ao suporte e à fidelidade por parte dos clientes, à passa-palavra ou marketing de boca-a-boca positivos, à retenção de clientes, à sua lealdade e traduz-se na diminuição do custo da captação de novos clientes. O reconhecimento da qualidade pelos clientes, intimamente relacionada com os níveis de satisfação, é possível não só em serviços de luxo, mas também em todos serviços que respondam ao que o cliente procura. No entanto, importa referir que, as próprias classificações dos alojamentos normalmente associadas à atribuição de mais estrelas em função da sua categoria, podem ser consideradas indicadores de qualidade. Neste sentido, e também de acordo com resultados de investigações anteriores, os clientes dos hotéis de categoria mais alta são mais exigentes. Particularmente os clientes ocidentais são mais exigentes, menos leais e mais recetivos a iniciativas de marketing. Assim, Portugal, como destino turístico predominantemente de turistas ocidentais, deve envidar esforços para atrair e reter mais visitantes. Para esse efeito, a apresentação de produtos ou serviços adequados para a satisfação dos clientes, a monitorização e controlo do valor e lealdade dos clientes são as melhores formas de o concretizar. A revisão da história e da literatura teórica mostram que o valor do cliente é um estímulo para a satisfação do cliente. A abordagem pelo valor do cliente é uma estratégia competitiva de marketing assente numa lógica de valores dos recursos investidos por clientes, em organizações específicas. Por outro lado, as emoções desempenham um papel importante no processo de compra dos clientes e sentimentos positivos podem levar a melhores níveis de satisfação e consequentemente à fidelidade ao destino. Neste contexto, os investigadores defendem que os sentimentos positivos podem influenciar positivamente as perceções do consumidor sobre a qualidade do serviço e como toma as suas decisões. Estudos anteriores revelaram diferenças significativas nas características comportamentais com base na nacionalidade e nas especificidades de conceito de produtos de luxo em diferentes culturas. O principal propósito da presente investigação foi esclarecer as relações entre os drivers de valor do cliente, as emoções, a satisfação e lealdade de clientes de hotéis de cinco estrelas, tendo em conta as nacionalidades turísticas predominantes na região do Algarve, contribuindo para um modelo conceptual mais integrador. Para o efeito, foram comparadas as perspetivas de duas marcas hoteleiras famosas na região do Algarve, na categoria de cinco estrelas, com a perspetiva dos seus próprios clientes, no que se refere a Valor do Cliente (10 itens), Emoções (9 itens), Satisfação (4 itens) e Lealdade (4 itens). A gestão dos hotéis de cinco estrelas respondeu aos questionários com base nos seus dados e perceção para comparação com a perspetiva dos seus clientes, também para diferentes nacionalidades turísticas. Complementarmente, foram estudadas as emoções dos turistas sobre a região do Algarve com recurso a 20 itens de Emoções Negativas e Positivas. Os questionários foram aplicados aos clientes de hotéis de cinco estrelas das duas marcas famosas, nos meses de julho, agosto e setembro de 2019 na região do Algarve. Foram obtidas respostas válidas de 133 inquiridos das nacionalidades turísticas predominantes. A gestão dos dois hotéis de cinco estrelas respondeu aos questionários com base nos seus dados e na sua perceção sobre os clientes das várias nacionalidades. A configuração dos dados recolhidos levou à construção de estruturas de dados tridimensionais que exigiram análises multivariadas de três vias. A investigação assentou numa abordagem predominantemente exploratória, utilizando a análise de dados de três vias suportada pela análise fatorial múltipla (AFM) desenvolvida por Escofier e Pagès (1985). Os resultados da AFM confirmaram a estabilidade entre as dimensões construídas com as duas marcas de hotel e dados dos clientes. Identificou-se, como esperado, uma oposição entre as emoções negativas e todos os demais itens do modelo. No entanto, houve uma ligação mais evidente entre as emoções positivas, alegria e felicidade, com a satisfação geral e a perceção da ética da marca. Outra ligação destacada foi entre o entusiasmo nas emoções positivas, com a qualidade do serviço/produto e a lealdade atitudinal. Os resultados mostraram que uma das marcas de hotel encontra-se em divergência com as outras duas perspetivas. Esta diferença está principalmente relacionada com a avaliação de clientes de nacionalidade portuguesa. Os pressupostos do modelo concetual proposto encontram-se alinhados aos resultados da pesquisa. Verificou-se complementarmente, que a região do Algarve se encontra numa situação ideal para os turistas no que se refere ao seu posicionamento no espetro de emoções negativas e positivas. Os itens positivos Simpatia / Interesse / Compaixão, e principalmente os itens relacionados às emoções Admiração / Maravilha / Espanto são menos relevantes para os outros itens positivos, e foram menos experienciados por comparação com as outras emoções positivas. A abordagem metodológica utilizada mostrou-se adequada para compreender relações menos evidentes, ao avaliar as mesmas observações, entre diferentes conjuntos de variáveis por diferentes perspetivas. Por fim, a investigação facilitou sugestões para os processos de decisão da gestão dos hotéis para melhoria seu desempenho e perceção pelos clientes

Sustainability and Consumer Behaviour

This book highlights the latest research findings on sustainability within the context of consumer behaviour. It brings together the collaborative work of researchers from Finland, Denmark, USA, the Netherland, Mexico, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan and China to improve our understanding on consumer behaviour and its relationship with sustainable resource consumption. The thirteen chapters in this book focus on different aspects of consumer behaviour and sustainability, including purchase intentions towards recycled products, environment fit hospitality experiences, purchase intentions of recycling items, consumer loyalty, electric vehicle market consumption, consumption of the educational products, revisit intention, online complaint behaviour, consumer and CSR, eco-friendly behaviour, brand trust and social media consumer communication

Tourism in contemporary cities. Proceedings of the International Tourism Studies Association Conference: University of Greenwich, London, UK 17–19 August 2016 Conference Proceedings

The 6th International Tourism Studies Association (ITSA) Biennial conference was held at the University of Greenwich, London, England from 17‐19 August 2016. This was the first time that the conference had been held in Europe and it provided a unique opportunity to meet, hear from and network with tourism scholars and professionals from across Europe, Asia, Australasia, and North and South America. ITSA has a mission to encourage interaction and cooperation between developing and developed countries and the conference was successful in attracting 130 delegates from 29 countries. The main theme of the conference was 'Tourism in Contemporary Cities' with four conference sub‐themes of ‘Tourism Cities and Urban Tourism’, ‘The Chinese Market for European Tourism’, ‘River, Cruise and Maritime Tourism’, and ‘Heritage Tourism in Cities’, The subthemes were chosen to reflect the unique location of the conference on the UNESCO Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, and London which is Europe’s most visited tourist destination. The conference also presented ‘Dark Tourism and Cities’ and ‘Tourism and Communist Heritage’ as special sessions

Effect of industry changes on quality and sustainability in the luxury apparel value chains : the case of cashmere industry in India : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering, School of Food and Advanced Technology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Listed in 2022 Dean's List of Exceptional ThesesFigures are re-used with permission.Cashmere is an extremely fine and expensive natural fibre used to make a variety of luxury apparel products. The Kashmir region of India has been the traditional hub for manufacturing cashmere products for centuries and a source of livelihood to many artisan communities. However, changes in the cashmere industry such as the advent of mechanisation, use of blended fibres, exposure to wider markets and lack of quality standards is leading to social, economic, environmental, and quality issues in the craft industry. The aim of this interdisciplinary research was to determine and analyse the effect of these industry changes through the lenses of quality and sustainability. This study was carried out as an ethnographic case study in the context of an industry making transition to the global consumer age. To this end, a single case study was conducted in Kashmir, India using qualitative methodological approaches. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, observations and from secondary sources such as retailer websites and documents. A thematic analysis-based approach was adopted in this research. Findings indicate that there are three distinct cashmere value chains functioning simultaneously in India: a traditional chain, a modern chain and a Geographical Indication-based chain. Among other implications of the industry changes, the two major aspects observed were the marginalization of cashmere artisanal communities and the lack of recognition of distinct product labelling options. This has economic, social and environmental ramifications and leads to quality issues. Therefore, for multiple cashmere value chains which produce a range of products, a product labelling mechanism distinguishing the place of fibre origin, type of the fibre used, and practices adopted during the manufacture is developed. Also, the adoption of Geographical Indications (GI) as a quality and sustainable development tool is considered, and a conceptual model (QASHMIR) is developed to model the sustainable development of the cashmere industry in India. A policy mechanism to implement and monitor the proposed model using the sustainability indicator system is suggested. Through this, a contribution to the body of knowledge surrounding luxury apparel value chains is made for academics, policy makers and industry practitioners

Corporate social responsibility and brand value in luxury

With a combined annual revenue of approximately $250 billion dollars, the luxury industry is highly significant, from a financial and commercial point of view. Within luxury, an area that is becoming increasingly important due to the visibility of this industry is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). While consumers are still not actively demanding CSR in luxury products and services, and there is evidence that CSR is not a key area of interest for the luxury industry; the luxury industry is becoming the target of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other stakeholders interested in environmental and ethical practices. Thus, it is essential that luxury companies explore CSR implementation, as neglecting to do so, is likely to affect their brands and their brand value. One of the most important assets that luxury firms have is brand value, an intangible asset influenced by consumer and company-led actions. CSR is a company-led action, which depending on how it is managed, can either increase or decrease brand value. It is important to note that to understand the role of CSR within luxury and how it can influence brand value, it is not possible to study CSR in isolation, as this would not fully reveal its importance in the wider context of brand value overall. Thus, CSR needs to be studied alongside other factors affecting brand value. Despite the fact that CSR can influence brand value in luxury, CSR is still overlooked by the industry. Due to the increasing relevance of CSR within luxury, this research explores the role of CSR within luxury and how it, together with other factors, contributes to brand value in luxury. An additional consideration is that despite the importance of brand value in luxury, the industry does not normally measure, manage and leverage brand value. As a result, it is also necessary to examine how brand value is perceived within luxury. To meet these research goals, a mixed methods approach was selected. More specifically, a theoretical framework was built with input from the literature and interviews with key interviewees from the luxury industry. Then, the theoretical framework was tested quantitatively. The quantitative analysis was conducted with a dataset based on consumer panels, and additional secondary data including Bloomberg, CSRHub, Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), Interbrand, and company reports. The results were subject to ‘credibility checks’ with interviewees from the industry. It is noteworthy to highlight that for the statistical analysis, one of the largest datasets with US consumer data was used. Similarly, for the qualitative interviews, representatives from some of the largest luxury companies in the world in terms of brand value, and luxury stakeholders were recruited. The results from this research suggest that despite the importance of brand value within luxury; brand value is not widely understood by the industry and it is not measured, managed or leveraged. This research also suggests that CSR, company size, having controlled distribution, country of origin, marketing and research and development (R&D)/design, energized differentiation, esteem, and relevance; are critical factors to brand value. Consequently, luxury brands need to manage all these determinants to be able to create and preserve brand value. Nevertheless, while all these determinants are important, their importance can vary by brand; depending on brand size, brand category, target market, and whether the brand is heritage or non-heritage. With regard to CSR, an outcome from this research is that CSR is becoming an increasingly important contributor to brand value in luxury. Still, the luxury industry is not fully aware that CSR implementation is consistent with key luxury values such as high-quality and service and luxury’s long-term vision; and that stringent CSR policies and practices constitute a potential strategy to anticipate future regulatory and social constraints. Furthermore, CSR implementation within luxury is generally limited to discrete actions, such as collaboration with the arts, compliance, local production, philanthropy/voluntarism, and use of environmentally friendlier materials. It is crucial that luxury companies incorporate CSR into the DNA of their brands and choose a CSR strategy aligned with their brand vision. Luxury brands may be able to positively change consumer perceptions of CSR and, thus, drive consumer demand. Also, engagement with CSR may result in a competitive advantage to them and in a potential increase in their brand value. Moreover, the results suggest that brand knowledge is overemphasized by the luxury industry, although it does not appear to be essential for brand value in luxury. Additionally, with respect to brand relevance, this research makes a case to consider brand desirability as a potentially more appropriate determinant of brand value within a luxury context

Chinese Knitwear Brands: The need for creative design to result in global business success

Chinese cashmere knitwear companies have become suppliers of international fashion brands because of their technological excellence, advantages of raw materials and competitive prices. However, their in-house brands are steadily declining. In the past 15 years, Chinese cashmere brands have progressively lost their market share to Chinese and Western fashion brands, with a few notable exceptions. Their brands lack differentiation from other Chinese competitors, causing low price competition, which contributes to sustainability issues such as unsold stock and material/manpower waste. The decline is likely to continue as the brands serve only an ageing market, rather than attracting younger generations to their products. Chinese cashmere companies invest little in design, which is a significant limitation for improving the brands’ opportunity to become successful and sustainable businesses. This study looks for solutions from the design perspective. The research aimed to investigate what design can do to help deal with the current problems of the Chinese knitwear brands to improve their prospects for future business success. The objectives of the study were to enquire into the challenges and opportunities facing the Chinese knitwear sector, to evaluate current design practice in knitwear brands, to understand how design and brand management can be integrated to generate a sustainable brand. Research questions were developed to explore the brand and design problems, the role of design and organisational structure, what the barriers and enablers for a thriving design culture were alongside possible solutions for design improvement. A pragmatic philosophy underpinned research design, guiding the adoption of methods in response to research questions. Interviews with stakeholders from both the knitwear industry and design education were undertaken. In addition, a case study using design action research with immersive field research was developed for investigating the knitwear brand issues; furthermore, a knitwear collection was created using western design approaches to demonstrate an exemplar design process for the sector and to illustrate the differences to current Chinese design methods. The study argues the obstacles to design culture enrichment in Chinese knitwear brands was caused by their design context, lack of brand positioning, limited understanding of their consumers and business models that are not fit for purpose. An absence of experienced leadership creates unclear design direction, instead of collections centred around a theme; Chinese brands sell unconnected designs. Brands lack the distinct brand characteristics that distinguish them from their competitors. The contribution to knowledge made by this study includes the identification of the reasons for the decline in Chinese cashmere brands, an understanding of their barriers to design culture to developing good designs and it also highlights the lack of awareness of sustainability issues in the sector. The study sheds new light on the rarely acknowledged issue of how to upgrade these brands as modern business for younger consumers, and how to enrich the design culture for brand business growth within sustainable contexts. The thesis analyses in depth the causes for the decline in these brands and makes recommendations for how design can make a contribution to reversing the brands’ decline and increasing their sustainability

LOCALISM AS FLOURISHING: A VISION FOR THE FUTURES OF THE FASHION SECTOR

Fashion is an age-old method of reflecting who we are as individuals, while connecting us to wider social groups and providing a sense of both individuality and belonging. Fashion is a connector, linking people across demographics, socio-economic groups and nationalities; and an attractor, drawing people into a system of commerce. Yet, fashion also has a complex relationship with the larger system structures of economics, ecology and society within which it exists. It is into this stirring space at the intersection of fashion, persistent global challenges and a growing awareness of costs and benefits, that I offer this exploration of localism as an alternative vision for the future of the fashion sector. While in the field of fashion, there has been, and continues to be, a reluctance to confront consumerism in the sustainability discourse, this exploration aims to address explicitly, the social and ecological costs of consumerism, materialism and the ‘growth logic’ that govern production and consumption practices in the contemporary fashion sector today. It puts forth localism as an alternative vision for the futures while exploring how this paradigm might enable human and ecological flourishing in the fashion sector. Lastly, it offers pathways to bridge the gap between prevailing models in the sector and localism as a vision for the futures. This project invites change-minded fashion makers and takers along this journey, with the hope that it fosters a desire for a sector that prioritises human and ecological well-being over economic gain

Three Papers on the Role of Information in Online Consumer Reviews

This dissertation is comprised of three papers. The first two papers investigate how the various informational elements of online reviews, including their textual portion, impact the perceived helpfulness of those reviews. The third paper proposes a methodological refinement to improve the process by which reviews and reviewers are ranked with respect to their helpfulness and has potential applicability in fake review detection. These three papers utilize natural language processing methods, including Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA), which allows for the automatic analysis of large amounts of text with minimal human intervention.Ph.D., Business Administration -- Drexel University, 201