Why We Crush on Luxury Brands?

Abstract

Many people in South Korea are concerned with how other people judge them based on their appearance. The most important thing is whether a person wears at least one luxury brand item or not. This study aims to identify how the brand personality congruity with self-image and emotional attachment toward brands influence Koreans’ loyalties to luxury brands. Within these relationships, the researchers tried to determine the moderating effects of the interdependent and independent self from the theory of self-construal. 398 Korean customers of various ages were recruited. Brand personality and self-image congruity, emotional brand attachment, brand loyalty and independent-self variables all had significant effects. To analyze all the influences within variables and to determine the moderator effect, multiple regression and moderator regression analysis were adapted. The results for multiple regressions on brand personality, self-image congruity and emotional brand attachment as well as the influence on brand loyalty had significant impact. However, the moderating effect of self-construal on the relationship between brand personality and self-image congruity as well as on the relationship between emotional brand attachment and brand loyalty were partially significant. The implication of this research is that brand personality, self-image congruity, people’s emotional brand attachment and self-construal have been identified as new variables in the connections between customers, luxury brands and luxury products.