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The potential of social media for

luxury brand management

Luxury brand
management

Seung-A Annie Jin

Communication Department, Boston College, Chestnut Hill,
Massachusetts, USA
Abstract
Purpose Driven by functional theories of attitude and addressing the emerging themes of luxury
brands and social media, the purpose of this paper is to explore the marketing potential of social media
for luxury brand management.
Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted to prompt participants to explore Louis
Vuittons Facebook page and complete a questionnaire designed to measure their satisfaction with the
luxury brands Facebook page and various endogenous variables.
Findings Structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses uncovered dynamic relationships among
consumers perceptions of value-expressive and social-adjustive functions of luxury brands,
satisfaction with a luxury brands (Louis Vuitton) Facebook page, attitudes toward the brand,
intentions to utilize the brands social media (Facebook and Twitter) for online shopping, and
intentions to research online and purchase offline (ROPO).
Originality/value This paper marks an exploratory step toward our understanding of the dynamic
roles user-generated content and social media play in the formation and maintenance of the emerging
consumer-brand-consumer triad culture. Theoretical and managerial implications of this exploratory
research are discussed.
Keywords Consumer behaviour, Social media, Social networking sites, Brand management,
User-generated content, Facebook, Luxury brands, Functional theories of attitude
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
Developments in Web 2.0, defined by user-generated contents (UGC) and social
networking sites (SNSs), have significant implications for consumption and the
study of consumer cultures (Beer and Burrows, 2010). The internet has enabled a new
era of UGC, threatening the hegemony of traditional content generators like one-way
advertising and expert reviewers as the primary sources of legitimate information
(Dhar and Chang, 2009). The transparent nature of the web has paved the way for UGC
and SNSs to become a legitimate, trusted voice that resonates with consumers.
As brands are increasingly embedded in SNSs (e.g. Facebook and Twitter) and other
variant forms of social media (e.g. YouTube), the competition between brands has
become a battlefield where companies co-own their brands, co-direct their brands
competitive strategies, and co-define symbolic meanings of their brands with their
consumers (Heil et al., 2010; Tynan et al., 2010). User-generated branding (UGB),
defined as the strategic and operative management of brand-related user-generated
content (UGC) to achieve brand goals (Burmann et al., 2009, p. 66), is rooted in the
theoretical framework of the identity-based brand management approach, which views
brand identity as consumers self-reflection (Burmann and Arnhold, 2009). In light of
this symbolic function of brands in consumer identity construction, the present study
examined value-expressive and social-adjustive functions of luxury brands in the
context of social media.
Luxury brands are expected to evoke uniqueness and exclusivity through high
quality, premium pricing, and controlled distribution. With the exponential growth of

687
Received 28 November 2011
Revised 31 May 2012
Accepted 10 July 2012

Marketing Intelligence & Planning

Vol. 30 No. 7, 2012
pp. 687-699
r Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0263-4503
DOI 10.1108/02634501211273805

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SNSs and various social media, however, luxury brands face challenges in how to
maintain brand integrity while harnessing the power of UGC and SNSs. The primary
channel of retailing for luxury brands is offline stores since luxury brands pursue
uniqueness and exclusivity through strictly controlled distribution. Luxury brand
managers encounter a dialectical tension between the need to keep up with the social
media trend and the need to maintain their brand integrity and exclusive reputation.
Social media are a Pandoras box for luxury brands because they can serve as a virtual
brand community (a specialized, non-geographically bound community, based on
a structured set of social relationships among admirers of a brand (Muniz and
OGuinn, 2001, p. 412)) and a virtual anti-brand community (online space that focusses
on negative attention on a specific targeted brand (Krishnamurthy and Kucuk,
2009, p. 1119)) simultaneously because of their versatile and unpredictable nature.
Brand communities are groups of users and admirers of a brand who engage jointly in
group actions to accomplish collective goals and express mutual sentiments and
commitments (Stokburger-Sauer, 2010). In contrast, anti-brand communities, involving
social interactions among customers who mobilize collective actions against a brand,
provide these consumers with a forum to voice discontent, facilitate the exchange
of anti-brand information, and promote boycotts and lawsuits (Krishnamurthy
and Kucuk, 2009). With the evolution and expansion of social media and brands
increasing virtual presence within social media, the clear dividing line between
brand communities and anti-brand communities has been blurred; that is, positive
UGC and negative UGC co-exist in social media, thus functioning as both pro-brand
and anti-brand communities. Consumers may promote their favored brands by posting
positive comments on the brands Facebook pages and Twitter or uploading favorable
video clips to YouTube. At the same time, consumers may use brands social media as
complaint forums by posting negative comments about an unsatisfactory transaction
with a company.
The need to understand the dynamics of consumer-brand relationships formed and
metamorphosed via versatile UGC embedded in social media is an impetus for
proposing a model comprising various antecedents to and consequences of consumers
brand attitude in the novel context of brands social media interfaces. In this regard,
the present research examined the marketing potential of social media as a tool for
luxury brand management and addressed the challenges luxury brands encounter in
managing their interactive and dynamic relationships with consumers who utilize
social media.
Luxury brands and social media
Luxury brands account for a significant portion of consumer product sales. Sales
revenue of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH), the worlds largest luxury brand
group, was 20,320 million euros in 2010 (Bloomberg.com, 2011). Despite the economic
decline in recent years, LVMHs net profit and total equity have consistently increased.
Expecting to generate more than 190 billion euros in worldwide sales in 2011, luxury
industries are experiencing strong annual growth in terms of both value and volume.
The buoyant luxury goods sector implicates the need for a better understanding
of driving factors that encourage luxury brand consumption and the significance of
research on luxury brand management in the current social and media environments.
Accordingly, the present study delved into the social psychological mechanisms
underlying the unique integration of luxury brands and social media whereby luxury
brands company-generated contents and consumer-generated contents co-exist.

With the proliferation of UGC embedded in multifarious social media contexts,

consumers increasingly have access to opinions from other consumers outside their
immediate social circle (Dhar and Chang, 2009). Social media like Facebook and Twitter
are a developing form of virtual communities (mediated social spaces in the digital
environment that allow groups to form and be sustained primarily through ongoing
communication processes (Bagozzi and Dholakia, 2002, p. 3)). Unlike many traditional
media where individuals consume content passively, community members in these
settings create content through active participation. Such consumer-generated content
shapes virtual communities unique characteristics and influences the creation of
a capital of knowledge or opinions. Previous research demonstrates that consumers
prefer recommendations from other consumers over professional reviews by critics,
especially for hedonic goods (Dellarocas et al., 2007; Smith et al., 2005). This finding
implies the potential impact of UGC about hedonic brands embedded in social media on
brand management because luxury brands represent consumers hedonic, as opposed
to utilitarian, motivation.
The main objective of this project was to test the potential of social media marketing
for luxury brand management. To investigate consumers perceptions of an actual
luxury brand currently available in the global market and its real Facebook page
available on the web in an ecologically valid setting, this study leveraged the worlds
largest luxury brand Louis Vuittons Facebook. The present research also prompted
participants to explore Louis Vuittons Facebook page actively, evaluate the brands
Facebook interfaces (e.g. Facebook wall, overall design, recent updates, profile pictures,
information, photos, videos, consumer-generated contents (Like, comments,
share, talk about the page), brand-consumer interactions, etc.), and indicate their
perceptions of the luxury brand embedded in its social media and behavioral intentions
to utilize the luxury brands social media for online searching. Visiting Louis Vuittons
Facebook may stimulate consumers interest in using Facebook for online shopping.
This perk, in turn, may result in consumers behavioral intentions to (re)visit Louis
Vuittons Facebook and other social media in which a wide range of brand-related
UGCs are available. The first research question (RQ1), therefore, examined the
relationship between consumers willingness to utilize Facebook for online shoppingrelated search and their intentions to (re)visit Louis Vuittons social media:
RQ1. Is there a correlation between consumers interest in utilizing Facebook for
online shopping-related search and their intentions to (re)visit a luxury
brands social media?
The widespread phenomenon of research online and purchase offline (ROPO) indicates
that consumers conduct their product research online but purchase via traditional
channels such as offline stores (Heil et al., 2010). ROPO is an important construct to
investigate in consumer research on interactive marketing and online shopping. As the
pure internet model has given way to hybrid forms of e-commerce whereby firms
combine their traditional brick-and-mortar businesses with web channels (Whitten
et al., 2001), click-and-mortar and cyber-enhanced retailing have emerged as
distinct business models (Otto and Chung, 2000). Such hybrid companies obtain
competitive advantages from cost reductions, value-added services, and extensions
into new markets made possible by integrating their physical stores and virtual
presence (Steinfield et al., 2001). As a result, e-commerce and online shopping might
be perceived as a threat to brands with only offline brick-and-mortar stores.

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The ROPO phenomenon is particularly relevant to luxury brands products given

the high costs of purchasing and the high risks of counterfeit luxury brands online.
ROPO in luxury brand consumption can be operationally defined as consumers
behavioral intentions to visit a luxury brands online channels before making an offline
purchase. Social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) can serve as luxury brand
evaluation forums where consumers evaluate the quality of a luxury product or
service by referring to other consumers reviews, in the form of textual descriptions
and/or various consumer-generated contents including photos, video, and audio, before
making an actual purchase, thus reducing uncertainty and improving efficiency
of consumers online searches (Dwyer, 2007) in the luxury brand consumption process.
Thus, the second research question (RQ2) examined the relationship between
consumers utilization of a luxury brands social media and their intentions to ROPO:
RQ2. Is there a correlation between consumers intention to visit a luxury brands
social media and ROPO intentions?
Functional theories of attitude
Previous research has identified two functions of luxury brands driven by
functional theories of attitude (Shavitt et al., 1992): the value-expressive function and
the social-adjustive function (Wilcox et al., 2009). Attitudes serve two social functions:
self-expression attitude corresponding to the value-expressive function and
self-presentation attitude corresponding to the social-adjustive function. When
consumers have a value-expressive attitude toward luxury brands, they are motivated
to consume them as a form of self-expression to communicate their central values or
beliefs and unique identities. For example, a consumer might purchase a Louis Vuitton
bag because the brand reflects the consumers personality and central beliefs and
communicates these values to others (i.e. self-expression). When consumers have
a social-adjustive attitude toward luxury brands, they are motivated to consume them
to convey a particular social image and gain approval in social situations. For instance,
a consumer might purchase a Louis Vuitton bag because the brand reflects a social
status symbol the consumer wishes to present to others (i.e. self-presentation), thus
serving the goal of projecting a particular image in social settings. The functional
theories of attitude emphasize multiple functions and goals served by attitudes as key
determinants of the attitude-behavior link (Shavitt, 1989). This research proposed
that consumers perception of luxury brands serves both a self-expression
(value-expressive attitude) function (H1) and a self-presentation (social-adjustive
attitude) function (H2) and that these two functions are positive predictors of
consumers attitude toward a luxury brand:
H1. Consumers perceived value-expressive function of a luxury brand is a positive
predictor of their attitude toward the luxury brand before they visit the luxury
brands Facebook.
H2. Consumers perceived social-adjustive function of a luxury brand is a positive
predictor of their attitude toward the luxury brand before they visit the luxury
brands Facebook.
This research also acknowledged the importance of consumers attitude toward an
existing luxury brand before visiting the brands social media and proposed a positive

correlation between luxury brand attitude prior to the social media visit and luxury
brand attitude after the social media visit:

Luxury brand
management

H3. Consumers attitude toward a luxury brand before visiting the luxury brands
Facebook is a positive predictor of consumers attitude toward the luxury brand
after visiting the luxury brands Facebook.
Consumers brand attitude strength predicts their behaviors of interest to firms,
including brand consideration, intention to purchase, purchase behavior, and
brand choice (Priester et al., 2004). Thus, brand attitude is a crucial brand equity
driver in brand management (Park et al., 2010). This study examined the predictive
role of brand attitude after consumers explore the luxury brands Facebook in
determining the extent to which they are willing to utilize Facebook for online
shopping (H4) and (re)visit the luxury brands Facebook and other social media like
Twitter (H5):
H4. Consumers attitude toward the luxury brand after visiting the luxury brands
Facebook is a positive predictor of their interest in utilizing Facebook for online
shopping.
H5. Consumers attitude toward the luxury brand after visiting the luxury
brands Facebook is a positive predictor of their intention to revisit the
luxury brands social media.
This research also examined the influence of consumers satisfaction with a luxury
brands Facebook interface on brand attitude after their Facebook visit. To maintain
a long-term relationship with consumers and improve consumers favorable attitude
toward the brand, it is integral for the company to provide satisfactory user interfaces
for social media in which the brand and relevant UGC (consumer-generated brandrelated content) are embedded:
H6. Consumers satisfaction with the luxury brands Facebook is a positive
predictor of their attitude toward the luxury brand after visiting the luxury
brands Facebook.
The escalating growth of the luxury goods industry reflects the trend that
consumers are increasingly pursuing products that provide emotional benefits
(Hagtvedt and Patrick, 2009). Hagtvedt and Patrick (2009) theorized that the
connotations of pleasure that accompany a luxury brand distinguish it from the
utilitarian benefits conferred by a value brand. They found that luxury brands are
more extendible than value brands by virtue of their hedonic potential and their
promise of emotional pleasure. The extant literature indicates that two different
shopping motivations (hedonic motivation v. utilitarian motivation) (Babin et al.,
1994) affect online shopping attitudes (Childers et al., 2001), ROPO intentions
(To et al., 2007), and online shoppers flow experiences (Novak et al., 2003). Therefore,
understanding the role of consumers hedonic motivation and hedonic choice
behavior is integral to luxury brand management. To this end, in addition to structural
equation modeling (SEM) analyses, the current study examined the influence of
consumers motivational orientations (hedonic motivation v. utilitarian motivation)

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measured by hedonic choice v. utilitarian choice on the main variables to answer the
following research question:

692

RQ3. Is there a systematic difference between consumers who make a hedonic

choice and those who make a utilitarian choice before visiting a luxury
brands Facebook page with regard to the main variables (perceived
value-expressive and social-adjustive functions of luxury brands, attitude
toward the luxury brand, satisfaction with the luxury brands Facebook
interface, intentions to (re)visit the luxury brands social media, ROPO
intentions, and intentions to utilize Facebook for online shopping)?
Method
Participants and procedure
Participants were 143 undergraduate students recruited from a private university in
the USA. Participation was voluntary and there was no monetary compensation.
Participants were invited to a lab equipped with computers on which an online
informed consent form (reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board)
and an online cross-sectional survey questionnaire (Qualtrics) were pre-loaded. After
the participants signed the informed consent form, a trained researcher gave a brief
instruction regarding the studys procedure. The researcher asked participants to take
an online survey questionnaire designed to measure their perception of luxury brands
and attitude toward the Louis Vuitton brand until they saw a page that said, Today,
you will have an opportunity to visit Louis Vuittons Facebook page. You will spend
several minutes on Louis Vuittons Facebook page to explore company-consumer
interaction. Please call the researcher for further instruction. The researcher then
gave a brief instruction about how to reach Louis Vuittons Facebook page
(www.facebook.com/LouisVuitton?sk wall) to explore the brands social media. After
the instruction, participants explored Louis Vuittons Facebook for about 15 minutes
and completed the remaining survey questionnaire designed to measure their
satisfaction with the luxury brands Facebook and various endogenous variables.
Measures
Exogenous variables. Consumers perceived value-expressive function of luxury brands
(x1) was measured with the four items from Wilcox et al. (2009) study before the
consumers visited Louis Vuittons Facebook page: Luxury brands reflect the kind of
person I see myself to be; Luxury brands help me communicate my self-identity;
Luxury brands help me express myself; and Luxury brands help me define myself
(a 0.946, M 3.545, SD 1.635). Each item was measured by a seven-point Likert
scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7). Consumers
perceived social-adjustive function of luxury brands (x2) was measured with the four
items from Wilcox et al. (2009) study before the consumers visited Louis Vuittons
Facebook page: Luxury brands are a symbol of social status; Luxury brands help
me fit into important social situations; I like to be seen wearing luxury brands; and
I enjoy it when people know I am wearing a luxury brand (a 0.904, M 4.355,
SD 1.542). Each item was measured by a seven-point Likert scale ranging from
strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7). After consumers visited Louis Vuittons
Facebook page, their satisfaction with the luxury brands (Louis Vuitton) Facebook (x3)
was measured with the following question: How satisfied are you with Louis Vuittons
Facebook page? followed by nine items: Louis Vuitton Facebook page; Louis Vuitton

Facebooks overall design; Louis Vuitton Facebooks recent updates; Louis Vuitton
Facebooks profile picture; Louis Vuitton Facebooks information section; Louis
Vuitton Facebooks journey section; Louis Vuitton Facebooks photos section;
Louis Vuitton Facebooks video section; and Louis Vuitton Facebooks interaction
with consumers (a 0.898, M 4.422, SD 1.084). Each item was measured by
a seven-point scale ranging from I am very dissatisfied (1) to I am very satisfied (7).
Hedonic choice v. utilitarian choice. Between these two options, which one would
you like to choose?: $1,500 designer (Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Prada, or Gucci) female or
male bag to pick up within two weeks v. $1,500 target gift card that expires within two
weeks. Out of 112 participants, 46 people (41.1 percent) chose the $1,500 designer bag,
and 66 people (58.9 percent) chose the $1,500 grocery gift card. This choice behavior
question was asked before participants explored Louis Vuittons Facebook.
Endogenous variables. Brand (Louis Vuitton) attitude was measured by asking
participants to rate the brand (Please rate Louis Vuitton brand) using 13 items: good;
favorable; positive; important; useful; appealing; pleasant; attractive;
friendly; satisfying; agreeable; worth trying; and worth buying. Each item
was measured by a seven-point scale ranging from not at all (1) to very much (7).
Attitude toward the Louis Vuitton brand was measured both before (Z1) (a 0.966,
M 4.337, SD 1.624) and after (Z2) (a 0.957, M 4.438, SD 1.433) visiting the
brands Facebook page. Intention to use Facebook for online shopping (Z3) was
measured by five items after visiting Louis Vuittons Facebook page: I am interested
in utilizing Facebook to follow-up on luxury brands online updates; I am
interested in utilizing Facebook to browse luxury brands I like; I am interested
in utilizing Facebook for online shopping in general; I am interested in utilizing
Facebook for shopping luxury brands online; and I am interested in
utilizing Facebook to refer to consumer reviews (a 0.950, M 2.241, SD 1.429).
Each item was measured by a seven-point Likert scale ranging from strongly
disagree (1) to strongly agree (7). Behavioral intention to use Louis Vuittons social
media (Z4) was measured by six items after participants visited Louis Vuittons
Facebook page: I would like to add Louis Vuitton as my Facebook friend;
I would like to visit Louis Vuitton Facebook again; I would like to share Louis
Vuitton Facebook with my Facebook friends online; I would like to share
Louis Vuitton Facebook page with my offline friends; I would like to visit Louis
Vuittons official web site listed on its Facebook page; and I would like to visit
Louis Vuittons Twitter listed on its Facebook page (a 0.930, M 2.558, SD 1.350).
Each item was measured by a seven-point Likert scale. Intention to ROPO (Z5) was
measured by four items after participants visited Louis Vuittons Facebook page:
If I purchase products from Louis Vuittons offline stores, I will visit Louis Vuittons
Facebook online before making an offline purchase; If I purchase products from
Louis Vuittons offline stores, I will visit Louis Vuittons Twitter online before making a
purchase; If I purchase products from other luxury brands offline stores, I will
browse their Facebook before making a purchase; and If I purchase products from
other luxury brands offline stores, I will browse their Twitter before making
a purchase (a 0.936, M 2.027, SD 1.164). Each item was measured by a
seven-point Likert scale.
Data analysis (SEM procedures)
The model was tested using maximum likelihood procedures in LISREL 8.8. The fit
of the hypothesized model to the observed correlations of the data was evaluated using

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three methods: the significance of the w2-statistics was tested. Also, since w2 is sensitive
to sample size, degrees of freedom (df) are the appropriate standard by which
researchers judge whether the w2 is large or small. A ratio of w2 to df (w2/df) of o5,
recommended by Wheaton et al. (1977), was used as an appropriate criterion; goodness
of fit index (GFI) and adjusted goodness of fit index (AGFI) (i.e. GFI adjusted for df)
were examined; and the root mean squared residuals (RMR) was assessed as an
estimate of the average magnitude of the fitted residuals. The root mean square error
of approximation (RMSEA) is a measure of discrepancy per df between the model
and the data (Jorsekog and Sorbom 1999). Conventionally, cutoff values of .90 or higher
for the normed fit index (NFI) and non-normed fit index (NNFI) and values of .05 or
lower for the RMR and RMSEA are indicators of a well-fitting model (Bollen, 1989).
Results
Preliminary analysis
Table I presents correlations for the data.
Primary analysis
Overall model fit of the theoretical model at the global level. The overall fit of the model
was very good w2 (df 17) 27.27, p40.05, which indicates that the hypothesized
(theoretical) model is not different from the sample data. Furthermore, the model
produced the ratio of the w2 to the df (w2/df) 1.60, a figure below the criterion value
of 5. The proposed model had a RMR value of 0.08, a RMSEA of 0.07, a NFI of 0.95, a
NNFI of 0.96, a comparative fit index value of 0.98, a GFI of 0.94, and an AGFI
of 0.94, which altogether indicates a very good fit to the data.
Model component assessment of the theoretical model at the local level. All the b and g
coefficients were significant. Interest in utilizing Facebook for online shopping
positively predicted intentions to visit the luxury brands social media (b43 0.30,
t 3.89, po0.05). Intentions to visit the luxury brands social media positively
predicted ROPO intentions (b54 0.59, t 7.53, po0.05). Consumers perceived
value-expressive function of a luxury brand positively predicted their attitude toward
the luxury brand before visiting the luxury brands Facebook (g11 0.23, t 2.07,
po0.05), supporting H1. Consumers perceived social-adjustive function of a luxury
brand positively predicted their attitude toward the luxury brand before visiting the

Variables

Table I.
Zero-order correlations

x1: value-expressive function

x2 : social-adjustive function
x3: satisfaction with brands
Facebook interface
Z1: brand attitude (pre-test)
Z2: brand attitude (post-test)
Z3: online shopping via Facebook
Z4: intention to visit the brands
social media again
Z5: intention to ROPOR the brand
Notes: *po0.05; **po0.01

x1
VEF

x2
SAF

x3
SAT

Z1
Z2
Z3
BApre BApost OSFB

Z4
INT

Z5
ROPO

1
0.663** 1
0.140
0.449**
0.478**0
0.185

0.154
0.484**
0.460**
0.258**

1
0.300** 1
0.547** 0.845** 1
0.079 0.248** 0.297** 1

0.392** 0.318** 0.348** 0.524** 0.596** 0.446** 1

0.215* 0.204* 0.183 0.380** 0.387** 0.384** 0.594**

luxury brands Facebook (g11 0.33, t 3.01, po0.05), supporting H2. Consumers
attitude toward a luxury brand before visiting the luxury brands Facebook was
a positive predictor of consumers attitude toward the luxury brand after visiting
the luxury brands Facebook (b21 0.75, t 17.72, po0.05), H3 was supported.
Consumers attitude toward the luxury brand after visiting the luxury brands
Facebook positively predicted their interest in utilizing Facebook for online shopping
(b32 0.30, t 3.06, po0.05), thus supporting H4. Consumers attitude toward the
luxury brand after visiting the luxury brands Facebook was a positive predictor of
intention to (re)visit the luxury brands social media (b42 0.51, t 6.38, po0.05), thus
supporting H5. Consumers satisfaction with the luxury brands Facebook positively
predicted consumers attitude toward the luxury brand after visiting the luxury
brands Facebook (g23 0.32, t 7.64, po0.05), supporting H6. The data produced
a very well-fitting model, and every individual hypothesis was supported. Figure 1
summarizes the results of testing the overall model fit at the global level and the
individual hypotheses as model components at the local level.
Between-subjects independent samples t-tests were conducted to answer the
research questions. The results indicated that consumers who chose hedonic luxury
goods ($1,500 designer bag) demonstrated stronger value-expressive attitudes and
social-adjustive attitudes toward the luxury brand, more positive attitudes toward
the luxury brand before and after exploring the brands Facebook, greater satisfaction
with the luxury brands Facebook interface, greater intentions to (re)visit the luxury
brands social media, greater ROPO intentions, and greater intentions to utilize
Facebook for online shopping than those who chose utilitarian necessity goods ($1,500
grocery coupon). Table II summarizes the results of the t-tests.

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Discussion
This exploratory study tested the marketing potential of social media for luxury brand
management. SEM analyses were conducted to elucidate the dynamic relationships
Results of SEM Analysis
2 = 27.27,
df = 17, p-value > 0.5,
RMSEA = 0.07
Valueexpressive
function

 11=

1

0.23*

 32=

Brand attitude
(pre-test)

 21=

0.75*

1

Social-adjustive
function

 12=

0.30*

3

Brand attitude
(post-test)

 43=

2
 42=

0.33*

Online shopping
via facebook

0.51*

0.30*

Intention to visit
the brands
social media
4

 54=

0.59*

Intention to
ROPO
the brand
5

2

 23=

Satisfaction
with brands
facebook
3

0.32*

Figure 1.
Results of SEM analysis

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Table II.
Independent samples
t-test results

Dependent variables
Value-expressive function
Social-adjustive function
Pre-brand attitude
Facebook satisfaction
Post-brand attitude
Facebook online shopping intentions
LVs social media visiting intentions
LV ROPO intentions

Means and standard deviations

Hedonic choice (n 46) Utilitarian choice (n 66)
4.28
5.08
5.29
4.68
5.26
2.58
3.33
2.35

(1.67)
(1.23)
(1.48)
(1.05)
(1.17)
(1.68)
(1.37)
(1.39)

3.03
3.85
3.67
4.24
3.87
2.00
2.02
1.80

(1.41)
(1.55)
(1.38)
(1.08)
(1.32)
(1.18)
(1.05)
(0.92)

t
4.25**
4.47**
5.91**
2.17*
5.74**
2.15*
5.69**
2.49*

Notes: Standard deviations are in parenthesis. *po0.05; **po0.01

among consumers perceptions of value-expressive and social-adjustive functions of

luxury brands, brand attitudes before visiting a specific luxury brands Facebook,
brand attitudes after a Facebook visit, satisfaction with a luxury brands
Facebook interface, and intentions to utilize social media for luxury brand
purchasing. In general, the results of SEM analyses indicated that consumers
satisfaction with a luxury brands Facebook interface is a positive predictor of
favorable attitude toward the luxury brand. Brand attitude after visiting the luxury
brands Facebook was a positive antecedent of consumers interest in utilizing
Facebook for online shopping, intention to revisit the brands Facebook, and intention
to explore the luxury brands social media before making an offline purchase (ROPO).
This research is the first to examine consumers evaluation of an actual luxury
brand embedded in its actual social media and to test an integrative model comprising
antecedents to and consequences of attitude toward luxury brands in light of the
dynamics of UGC and SNSs.
This research has several managerial implications for branding. First, to elicit positive
brand attitudes among their target consumers, luxury brand marketing managers need
to gain a deeper understanding of why consumers buy luxury goods (Tasi, 2005).
To address this question, the present research examined the role of consumers hedonic
motivations behind a choice behavior (luxury v. necessity) and their perceptions of valueexpressive and social-adjustive functions of luxury brands. Second, this research departs
from the traditional paradigm of the consumer-brand dyad to the new paradigm of the
consumer-brand-consumer triad (Muniz and OGuinn, 2001) in the novel domain of UGB
and social media. Thus, this research provides managerial implications for marketers
who are eager to tap into social media-based brand management and implicates the
importance of creating social media interfaces that meet consumers need to promote
favorable brand attitudes. The ascendancy of consumer-generated content prefigures
significant changes in how advertising is defined and practiced, although traditional
mass media are still widely being used for brand management. Consumers actively using
social media provide tangible evidence of perceptions of brands and brand attributes and
serve as vivid examples of the most compelling marketing messages from the perspective
of brand loyalists (Muniz and Schau, 2007). Therefore, luxury brand managers interested
in utilizing social media for advertising their products, services, and events need to build
an interactive relationship with these consumers and continue active dialogues with
them. The following section discusses the need for further research that provides
empirical support for the arguments proposed in the current research.

Limitations and suggestions for future research

Several limitations of this research may serve as a useful bridge to future investigation
of relevant topics. The following section acknowledges the studys limitations
regarding external validity and the influence of different motivations and speculates
on how these limitations can be addressed in the future.
First, participants in this study were invited to visit a specific brands Facebook
page instead of reaching its Facebook page voluntarily. The first key rationale for this
explicit prompt was that Facebook users often get unexpected friend request messages
and are exposed to various links to brands and companies social media including
Facebook ( Like us on Facebook, Be a fan, RSVP on Facebook), Twitter (Follow
us on Twitter, Find more on Twitter), and YouTube (links to the brands channel
on YouTube). Therefore, the procedure of the current research has an acceptable level
of external validity. The second rationale was that undergraduate students enrolled in
a private university are potential future consumers of luxury brands and more active
users of social media than older consumers who can afford and purchase luxury
products. Despite the exploratory nature of the present research and the advantage of
homogenous participants in controlling for other extraneous variables (e.g. income,
purchase history, experience with brands), undergraduate students evaluation of
a luxury brands Facebook interface is still problematic. To address this limitation
regarding the tests of non-random potential consumers in a lab setting, future research
needs to recruit real consumers who naturally or accidentally end up being linked to
the site or voluntarily visit the brands Facebook. Future research can greatly benefit
from rigorous content analysis of the comments posted by actual consumers who
contribute to the creation and promotion of UGC actively and significantly.
Additionally, participants did not actually generated content for Louis Vuitton in
the current study, although they were exposed to UGC including other peer consumers
comments (UGC) and system-aggregated quantitative indicators of consumer input
(e.g. how many peer users Like each comment).
Second, this research demonstrated the role of dichotomous choice (hedonic
luxury product v. utilitarian necessity goods) in inducing important attitudinal and
behavioral consequences of luxury brand management leveraging social media.
Consumers who showed a hedonic choice behavior indicated more positive attitudes
across the main endogenous variables. Despite this strong evidence for the influence
of consumers hedonic v. utilitarian choice as a motivational factor, participants were
not segmented into separate categories. Follow-up large-scale survey studies need to
further examine different theoretical models between the consumers with different
motivations (hedonic v. utilitarian). For example, for consumers who demonstrate
a utilitarian choice behavior and therefore show less favorable attitudes toward luxury
brands, a theoretical model about utilitarian brands can be proposed. Furthermore,
a 2 (consumers motivational orientation: hedonic v. utilitarian)  2 (brand type:
hedonic brands Facebook visit v. utilitarian brands Facebook visit) between-subjects
factorial experiment can advance our knowledge of the role of consumer-brand
congruity in social media-based brand management, thus enabling brand marketing
managers to segment the market by differentiating between consumers with distinct
motivations.
Third, the current study did not consider the reverse pattern of ROPO, which is
research offline and purchase online. An offline in-store search followed by an online
purchase provides greater knowledge about the desired parameters. Furthermore,
consumers can avoid sales tax, which in the case of luxury brands involves

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a substantial amount of money. The current findings in support of ROPO can be

re-examined in consideration of the reverse process in future studies.
Fourth, due to the exploratory nature of the study and the preliminary findings, this
research used several measuring instruments that were not previously validated.
Follow-up studies need to address this issue of scale development and validation.
Despite several limitations, this study marks an exploratory step toward our
understanding of the dynamic roles UGC and social media play in the formation
and maintenance of the emerging consumer-brand-consumer triad culture. Building
upon the current exploratory research as a pilot study, additional studies with more
refined designs need to be conducted.
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About the author
Seung-A Annie Jin is an Assistant Professor in the Communication Department, Boston College
and her research revolves around the theme of social psychological effects of new media and
interactive communication technologies (e.g. social media, 3D virtual reality, video/computer
games, robotics, and haptics) in e-health and e-commerce. Her work has been published in
Journal of Communication, Journal of Health Psychology, Journal of Interactive Marketing,
Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Brand Management and Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and
Social Networking, among others. Seung-A Annie Jin can be contacted at: seunga.jin.1@bc.edu
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