Mirror, mirror on the wall: consumer vanity and luxury consumption
by Nadine Hennigs; Thomas Kilian
Luxury Research J. (LRJ), Vol. 1, No. 2, 2016

Abstract: As former communist countries turn to capitalism and developing economies become affluent, more consumers have a strong desire for luxury brands; they try to conform to the widely advertised ideal that physical appearance and professional success lead to happiness in life. Against this backdrop, consumer vanity reflects the impact of a society's cultural values. To enhance the current understanding of vanity-related consumer attitudes and behaviour, the main contribution of the present paper is to examine the relationship between consumer vanity and luxury consumption in a cross-cultural comparison. Based on a conceptual model that links the multidimensional constructs of consumer vanity and luxury consumption, we drew a sample from an individualistic country (Germany, n = 244) and a collectivist country (Poland, n = 333). The study's results support the predicted relationships between consumer vanity and luxury consumption in both cultures. In addition, the results show that culture has an impact on the relationship between consumer vanity and luxury consumption and their drivers.

Online publication date: Wed, 03-Aug-2016

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