Values that drive consumers to purchase luxury brands : a conceptual framework / by Yana Ali Dirani.

Abstract

The notion of luxury is not a result of modern day societies but it has been present for centuries before. Initially, social classes were predetermined by oneΓÇÖs ΓÇ£birth certificateΓÇ¥, differentiating between kings, priests, nobles, and simple workers and commoners. With time, a social-class based society disappeared but in its place came the concept of differentiation among people, mainly based on monetary possessions. From here comes the idea of luxury, whereby it ΓÇ£has the fundamental function of recreating the social stratification through a democratic approach, where everyone can recreate his strata according to his dreamsΓÇ¥ (Kapferer and Bastien 2008). In this paper, I will be looking at a conceptual model inspired by the model of Wiedman, Hennigs, and Siebels to identify the determinants of consumersΓÇÖ luxury value perception I will also add to this model the concepts of satisfaction, loyalty, and word of mouth. A consumerΓÇÖs luxury value perception and the motives for luxury brand consumption are not simply tied to a set of social aspects of displaying status, success, distinction and the human desire to impress other people, but also depend on the nature of the financial, functional, and individual utilities of the certain luxury brand (Wiedmann, Hennigs and Siebels 2009).