Abstract
The aim of this study is to understand the actual preferences, behaviors, and purchasing decisions of young consumers in the context of sustainability, with an emphasis on luxury products. The primary objective of the research is to determine the impact of ‘sustainable tendencies’ on stimulating the purchase of luxury goods by the Italian Generation Z and Generation Y populations. In addition to examining the intergenerational differences in perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable marketing, the study is aimed at investigating the potential intersection of the consumption of luxury products and the consumption of slow fashion. In particular, through an empirical analysis carried out on a sample of 1314 young consumers in Italy (representing the two generational cohorts), this research provides interesting results which demonstrate the importance of adopting differentiated CSR strategies which are attentive to sustainability based on the demographic characteristics of young consumers of luxury brands. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze and understand the structural relationships between variables. This study thus helps to fill the knowledge gap about the consumption orientation of the younger generations. The results of this study contribute to a growing body of literature on luxury brands and sustainability issues in marketing.
Highlights
An increasing number of studies have been devoted to exploring the relationship/compatibility between luxury and sustainability
As the Cronbach’s alpha for the given latent variable (SCB) was 0.105, we did not consider it in constructing the structural model
Millennials were more interested in transparent communication of the brand, which was consistent with other findings: transparent brand communication is an element of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and the analysis of relationship between latent variables shows that, when buying luxury goods, CSR activities of the brand were more important for Generation Y
Summary
An increasing number of studies have been devoted to exploring the relationship/compatibility between luxury and sustainability. Young luxury consumers have been increasingly interested in social and environmental issues and the sustainability of the luxury goods they buy; the challenge for luxury companies is to incorporate sustainability into their brand development. It is still not entirely clear to what extent luxury and sustainability can be harmonized and what the real opinions of luxury consumers on sustainability are. Scientific investigation of the perception of young generations on luxury and sustainable products is still in a nascent stage. After developing a conceptual framework of the issues related to sustainable luxury, this paper wishes to fill the knowledge gap of the consumption orientation of the young generations. A deep understanding of the perception of young luxury consumers on the social and environmental dimensions of sustainability is needed, as they represent the future evolution of the luxury market
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