Luxury designer handbag or counterfeit? An investigation into the antecedents influencing women’s purchasing behaviour of luxury designer and counterfeit brands

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.The drive and appeal of luxury designer products has fuelled consumer desire for luxury designer brands and their counterfeit versions. Some women value luxury designer handbags just the way men value their cars. The luxury designer handbag market has witnessed a surge of counterfeit handbag versions. The study focused on women in London, which has been ranked at number one in relation to demand levels of fashion handbags. Several antecedents were investigated for the purpose of this research, which are as follows: •Social consumption factors which incorporates an investigation into brand meaning and social meaning; •Attitudinal factors; •Individual factors which looks at the BLI (brand luxury index) and materialism; and •Post consumption emotions; Several research gaps were identified: firstly, there are no studies available on investigating identical antecedents in both luxury designer and counterfeit commodities, or even to a specific product category. Secondly, a number of researchers have examined consumers’ evaluative criteria in clothing, yet few have focused on the mentioned antecedents as part of the evaluative criteria of luxury designer handbags and counterfeit handbag versions. The investigation was carried out via quantitative data collection and was cross-analysed. The highlighted antecedents are important domains in the discipline of consumer choice behaviour. The research included two phases; a pilot survey study which pre-tested the acknowledged scales and a main survey incorporating the most important adapted constructs influencing consumer choice behaviours. The main analysis was based on data collected from a sample of 353 respondents in London. The conceptual model is unique in its specifications presenting a new behaviour orientated model which highlights integral factors in consumer behaviour. The research identified contemporary associations and discrepancies among women in London. The result of this research provides general support in understanding consumer decision-making and offers a comprehensive understanding of the effect of consumer evaluation and attitudes towards luxury designer handbags and counterfeit handbag versions. The differences and similarities across the antecedents are used to propose strategies to luxury designer companies thereby improving their marketing activities and achieving a competitive edge

Exemplar Based Deep Discriminative and Shareable Feature Learning for Scene Image Classification

In order to encode the class correlation and class specific information in image representation, we propose a new local feature learning approach named Deep Discriminative and Shareable Feature Learning (DDSFL). DDSFL aims to hierarchically learn feature transformation filter banks to transform raw pixel image patches to features. The learned filter banks are expected to: (1) encode common visual patterns of a flexible number of categories; (2) encode discriminative information; and (3) hierarchically extract patterns at different visual levels. Particularly, in each single layer of DDSFL, shareable filters are jointly learned for classes which share the similar patterns. Discriminative power of the filters is achieved by enforcing the features from the same category to be close, while features from different categories to be far away from each other. Furthermore, we also propose two exemplar selection methods to iteratively select training data for more efficient and effective learning. Based on the experimental results, DDSFL can achieve very promising performance, and it also shows great complementary effect to the state-of-the-art Caffe features.Comment: Pattern Recognition, Elsevier, 201

Luxury designer handbag or counterfeit? An investigation into the antecedents influencing women’s purchasing behaviour of luxury designer and counterfeit brands

The drive and appeal of luxury designer products has fuelled consumer desire for luxury designer brands and their counterfeit versions. Some women value luxury designer handbags just the way men value their cars. The luxury designer handbag market has witnessed a surge of counterfeit handbag versions. The study focused on women in London, which has been ranked at number one in relation to demand levels of fashion handbags. Several antecedents were investigated for the purpose of this research, which are as follows: •Social consumption factors which incorporates an investigation into brand meaning and social meaning; •Attitudinal factors; •Individual factors which looks at the BLI (brand luxury index) and materialism; and •Post consumption emotions; Several research gaps were identified: firstly, there are no studies available on investigating identical antecedents in both luxury designer and counterfeit commodities, or even to a specific product category. Secondly, a number of researchers have examined consumers’ evaluative criteria in clothing, yet few have focused on the mentioned antecedents as part of the evaluative criteria of luxury designer handbags and counterfeit handbag versions. The investigation was carried out via quantitative data collection and was cross-analysed. The highlighted antecedents are important domains in the discipline of consumer choice behaviour. The research included two phases; a pilot survey study which pre-tested the acknowledged scales and a main survey incorporating the most important adapted constructs influencing consumer choice behaviours. The main analysis was based on data collected from a sample of 353 respondents in London. The conceptual model is unique in its specifications presenting a new behaviour orientated model which highlights integral factors in consumer behaviour. The research identified contemporary associations and discrepancies among women in London. The result of this research provides general support in understanding consumer decision-making and offers a comprehensive understanding of the effect of consumer evaluation and attitudes towards luxury designer handbags and counterfeit handbag versions. The differences and similarities across the antecedents are used to propose strategies to luxury designer companies thereby improving their marketing activities and achieving a competitive edge.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Consumers’ Experiences of Luxury – Interpreting the Luxuriousness of a Brand

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Consumer-citizens of China: the role of foreign brands in the imagined future China

This book presents a comprehensive examination of Chinese consumer behaviour and challenges the previously dichotomous interpretation of the consumption of Western and non-Western brands in China. The dominant position is that Chinese consumers are driven by a desire to imitate the lifestyles of Westerners and thereby advance their social standing locally. The alternative is that consumers reject Western brands as a symbolic gesture of loyalty to their nation-state. Drawing from survey responses and in depth interviews with Chinese consumers in both rural and urban areas, Kelly Tian and Lily Dong find that consumers situate Western brands within select historical moments. This embellishment attaches historical meanings to Western brands in ways that render them useful in asserting preferred visions of the future China. By highlighting how Western brands are used in contests for national identity, Consumer-Citizens of China challenges the notion of the "patriot's paradox" and answers scholars questions as to whether Chinese nationalists today allow for a Sino-Western space where the Chinese can love China without hating the West. Consumer-Citizens of China will be of interest to students and scholars of business studies, Chinese and Asian Studies and Political Science. Kelly Tian is Professor of Marketing and holds the Anderson Chair of Business at New Mexico State University. Lily Dong is Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. Chapter One IMAGINING CHINA, IMAGINING BRANDS: Foreign Brands as Global Brands from the Imagined West; Western and Domestic Brands As Materials for Realizing an Imagined Future China; Obscured State Influence and Consumer Autonomy; Organization of the Book Chapter Two RETHINKING POPULAR NOTIONS OF CHINESE CONSUMERS MOTIVES FOR RESPONDING TO WESTERN BRANDS: The Emulative Motive For Western Brand Consumption; The Patriotic Motive for Rejecting Western Brands; Rethinking the Primacy of the Emulative Motive for Consuming Western Brands; Rethinking "Consumer Nationalism" as Synonymous with Western Brand Boycotting; Chinese Consumers as Active Meaning Makers Chapter Three HIGHLIGHTED MOMENTS IN THE HISTORY OF BRANDED GOODS IN CHINA: The Emergence of Branded Goods in Late Imperial China; Branded Goods in Semi-colonial China of the Early 20 th Century; Branded Goods Since Gaige Kaifang- China's Economic Reform; Relevance of These Past Moments to Present-Day Brand Meanings Chapter Four FOREIGN BRANDS IN CHINA AS GLOBAL BRANDS FROM THE IMAGINED WEST: Overview of Research Method; Data Collection Sites; Our Data Collection Methods; Foreign Brands as Western Brands With Distinguishing Characteristics Chapter Five CHINESE NATIONAL NARRATIVES AND THE MEANINGS OF WESTERN BRANDS: The West as Experiential Venue, Western Brands as Instruments of Freedom; The West as Imperialist Oppressor, Western Brands as Instruments of Domination; The West as Subjugated, Conquered Western Brands as Redemption; The West as Economic Partner, Western Brands as Instruments of Economic Progress Chapter Six NATIONAL NARRATIVES IN IMAGINATIVE PROCESSING OF WESTERN BRAND PROMOTIONS: Imagined Consumption; Western Brand Producers Efforts to Evoke Consumption Fantasies; Individual Psychological Processes of Enlivening Consumption Fantasies; Narratives and Imagined Identity Transformations From Western Brand Consumption; The Influence of East-West Narratives On the Processing of Western Brands Promotions; Discussion Chapter Seven CITIZEN-CONSUMERS IN AN AGE OF GLOBALIZATIO

An exploration of member involvement with online brand communities (OBCs)

Despite growth in research investigating online consumer behaviour there appears to be a lack of study focusing specifically on how consumers are involved within online settings. Involvement is defined as the perceived relevance of a stimulus object such as a product to the individual consumer (Zaichkowsky, 1984). The study of consumer involvement is valuable as it is believed to be important mediator of consumer behaviour (e.g. Slater and Armstrong, 2010; Knox, Walker and Marshall, 1994). This study explores member involvement with Online Brand Communities (OBCs) focusing specifically on two questions: (1) What is involving about OBCs? (2) How are members involved with OBCs? The study employs a netnographic methodology consisting of participant observation of two OBCs over a nine month period. Based on the findings from the observation data two conceptual models relating to the characteristics and development of member involvement with the OBC are presented. The ‘Typology of Online Community Involvement’ model identifies four distinct types of member involvement with the OBC: (1) utilitarian involvement, (2) social involvement, (3) ego-related involvement, and (4) affective involvement. The ‘Journey of Member Involvement with the OBC’ model charts the different pathways that members who are involved with the OBC may undertake during their membership. The findings provide deeper insights into online consumer behaviour such as triggers that prompt members’ initial and continued involvement with OBCs. Recommendations for management focus on developing tools and strategies that help cultivate and sustain member involvement with the OBC

Consumer-Citizens of China

This book presents a comprehensive examination of Chinese consumer behaviour and challenges the previously dichotomous interpretation of the consumption of Western and non-Western brands in China. The dominant position is that Chinese consumers are driven by a desire to imitate the lifestyles of Westerners and thereby advance their social standing locally. The alternative is that consumers reject Western brands as a symbolic gesture of loyalty to their nation-state. Drawing from survey responses and in depth interviews with Chinese consumers in both rural and urban areas, Kelly Tian and Lily Dong find that consumers situate Western brands within select historical moments. This embellishment attaches historical meanings to Western brands in ways that render them useful in asserting preferred visions of the future China. By highlighting how Western brands are used in contests for national identity, Consumer-Citizens of China challenges the notion of the "patriot’s paradox" and answers scholars’ questions as to whether Chinese nationalists today allow for a Sino-Western space where the Chinese can love China without hating the West. Consumer-Citizens of China will be of interest to students and scholars of business studies, Chinese and Asian Studies and Political Science. Kelly Tian is Professor of Marketing and holds the Anderson Chair of Business at New Mexico State University. Lily Dong is Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. Chapter One IMAGINING CHINA, IMAGINING BRANDS: Foreign Brands as Global Brands from the Imagined West; Western and Domestic Brands As Materials for Realizing an Imagined Future China; Obscured State Influence and Consumer Autonomy; Organization of the Book Chapter Two RETHINKING POPULAR NOTIONS OF CHINESE CONSUMERS’ MOTIVES FOR RESPONDING TO WESTERN BRANDS: The Emulative Motive For Western Brand Consumption; The Patriotic Motive for Rejecting Western Brands; Rethinking the Primacy of the Emulative Motive for Consuming Western Brands; Rethinking "Consumer Nationalism" as Synonymous with Western Brand Boycotting; Chinese Consumers as Active Meaning Makers Chapter Three HIGHLIGHTED MOMENTS IN THE HISTORY OF BRANDED GOODS IN CHINA: The Emergence of Branded Goods in Late Imperial China; Branded Goods in Semi-colonial China of the Early 20 th Century; Branded Goods Since Gaige Kaifang- China’s Economic Reform; Relevance of These Past Moments to Present-Day Brand Meanings Chapter Four FOREIGN BRANDS IN CHINA AS GLOBAL BRANDS FROM THE IMAGINED WEST: Overview of Research Method; Data Collection Sites; Our Data Collection Methods; Foreign Brands as Western Brands With Distinguishing Characteristics Chapter Five CHINESE NATIONAL NARRATIVES AND THE MEANINGS OF WESTERN BRANDS: The West as Experiential Venue, Western Brands as Instruments of Freedom; The West as Imperialist Oppressor, Western Brands as Instruments of Domination; The West as Subjugated, Conquered Western Brands as Redemption; The West as Economic Partner, Western Brands as Instruments of Economic Progress Chapter Six NATIONAL NARRATIVES IN IMAGINATIVE PROCESSING OF WESTERN BRAND PROMOTIONS: Imagined Consumption; Western Brand Producers’ Efforts to Evoke Consumption Fantasies; Individual Psychological Processes of Enlivening Consumption Fantasies; Narratives and Imagined Identity Transformations From Western Brand Consumption; The Influence of East-West Narratives On the Processing of Western Brands Promotions; Discussion Chapter Seven CITIZEN-CONSUMERS IN AN AGE OF GLOBALIZATIO

Trademark\u27s Grip over Sustainability

Entrepreneurs and larger firms are waking up to the fact that there is a viable market for recycled, repaired, and even upcycled goods. There is also an increasing desire on the consumer end for more sustainable products as well as measures to reduce landfill and other product disposal harms to the environment. Although some legal barriers to this new market are being actively debated, other barriers have taken a back seat and seem primed to surge only when increased business activity exposes the liability. This is the case with trademark law, which has the potential to substantially deter the small-firm and nonprofit actors that will likely lead this aspect of used-good evergreening. This Article investigates emergent trademark barriers that have been substantially overlooked in the current discussion regarding product renewal, which has largely been concerned with the right to repair. It considers the surprising power that the doctrines of post-sale confusion, dilution, and repair-orreconstruction possess to thwart legitimate and sustainable business activity. After reviewing the literature demonstrating that most confusion based on such legal theories is not harmful, this Article proposes some simple modifications to the current rules that would reduce uncertainty. It concludes that sustainable product lifecycles can be better supported when trademark barriers are reduced. Such a change would provide consumers with a more robust path to counter our disposable world

Taking a “Deep Dive”: What Only a Top Leader Can Do

Unlike most historical accounts of strategic change inside large firms, empirical research on strategic management rarely uses the day-to-day behaviors of top executives as the unit of analysis. By examining the resource allocation process closely, we introduce the concept of a deep dive, an intervention when top management seizes hold of the substantive content of a strategic initiative and its operational implementation at the project level, as a way to drive new behaviors that enable an organization to shift its performance trajectory into new dimensions unreachable with any of the previously described forms of intervention. We illustrate the power of this previously underexplored change mechanism with a case study, in which a well-established firm overcame barriers to change that were manifest in a wide range of organizational routines and behavioral norms that had been fostered by the pre-existing structural context of the firm.Strategic Change, Resource Allocation Process, Top-down Intervention

Programme content is king: how spaced product presentation influences advert reminding and advert memory

The rise of digital streaming services and online advertising has put strain on the linear TV advertising model; yet, TV advertising has maintained its crown as the best medium for long-term brand building activities. The present thesis supports the linear advertising offering by evidencing ways to improve advert memory via proximal placement to related programme products. The reminding theory of learning was applied to understand how non-branded category related programme products can increase advert memory. Chapter Two demonstrated memory effects relating to product repetition were contingent upon the advert retrieval activity during programme viewing, with the advert detail recalled in-programme determining the memory enhancement at test. In Chapter Three, the effects of product repetition information availability at test after more passive viewing conditions and a day long delay were assessed. It was found that those who could recollect the repetition had better memory for the advert product, while those who remembered repetitions demonstrated improvements to product and brand memory. Chapter Four used a full episode of a programme and interspersed unfamiliar US adverts, some of which created product repetition; when adverts did create repetition, they were better recalled than those without an associated programme product. The thesis’ paradigm also offered a method for evidencing the mechanisms behind a guerrilla marketing phenomenon; ambush marketing. In Chapter Five, participants’ ability to determine programme brands after viewing repeated product adverts was assessed, finding that when evaluating brand information using heuristic evidence, brand misattributions were more likely. However, when assessing the same information using recollective details, this misattribution effect was removed; meaning brand suggestion can be overcome via cognitive effort, which has implications for how to counter ambushing. Taken together, the investigations demonstrate the utility, and at times danger, of the programme to advertisers in designing, presenting, and scheduling advertising