Slow fashion or self-signaling? Sustainability in the fashion industry

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Marketing IntelligenceOver the years, the awareness about the consequences of consumption and the concerns for sustainability have been increasing, shifting consumers’ behavior towards such causes. However, the motivation to adopt such behaviors are unclear, making it relevant to consider whether sustainable behaviors are used to strengthen their sense of self, as a self-signal. This research investigates how self-signaling influences consumers’ willingness to adopt sustainable behaviors in the fashion industry, extending prior research on the motivations to adopt sustainable consumption behaviors that are not entirely altruistic and might also reflect self-interest motives (i.e., ownership and status). Findings from 2 studies are used to test the proposed model and suggest that individuals are more inclined to engage in positive word of mouth (WOM) about sustainable fashion practices when they have stronger symbolic signaling feelings for such practices. Additionally, these feelings induced by Slow Fashion elevate strong status motives. By doing so, this research addresses the gap between consumers’ actual attitudes towards fashion sustainability and the reasons why they are acquiring such behaviors in respect to self-signaling. This research has key implications for researchers and fashion industry practitioners, on how Slow Fashion is associated with self-signaling, ownership and status motives

Improving Consumer Wellbeing with Subtle Interventions to Decision Context

I investigate ways to utilize decision context to influence decision making and behavior, particularly in domains concerning personal or societal wellbeing. In my dissertation, I explore two distinct, novel contextual manipulations that can 1) improve consumers’ tendency to precommit to beneficial behaviors and 2) increase consumers’ likelihood of behaving prosocially. In my first essay, I empirically explore the impact of a perceived time lag on consumers’ decisions to precommit to making goal progress in the future. Past research shows that persistence toward a goal is greater near its completion than its initiation (the goal gradient effect). I find that the goal gradient effect is reduced in precommitment contexts because a time lag between precommitment and progress dates reduces affect associated with goal progress (e.g., the pain of failing goal completion). I show that contracting the perceived length of a lag restores the goal gradient effect for precommitment. In my second essay, I investigate how contextual information about reference groups influences conformity to the group’s prosocial norms. To the extent that norms are derived from culture, normative influences on persuasion would vary for message recipients depending on their cultural orientation. I find that consumers with interdependent self-construal are more likely to follow norms of social reference groups (e.g., citizens). On the other hand, consumers with independent self-construal are more likely to follow norms of situational reference groups (e.g., strangers in this room). Underlying psychological processes, theoretical contribution, and managerial implications are discussed.PHDBusiness AdministrationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163067/1/rebchae_1.pd