Luxury fashion brands: how brand personality, mediated by perceived brand luxury, and moderated by brand experience, contributes to brand equity

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation was to gain a better understanding of brand personality, perceived brand luxury, and brand experience, and how these variables impact brand equity for luxury fashion brands. The study developed a valid instrument for measuring luxury fashion brand personality and provided a relationship model to explain the relationship between brand personality and brand equity for the luxury fashion brand. To achieve those goals, an online survey was conducted in the U.S. in December 2016. A total of 707 people participated in the survey, and 387 surveys were valid. Using exploratory factor analysis, we first identified that seven factors contributed to luxury brand personality, including superiority, excitement, aristocracy, classic, creativity, opulence, and ruggedness. As such, a seven-dimensional scale including these seven factors was developed to measure luxury brand fashion personality. Next, the relationship between variables of brand personality factors, perceived brand luxury, brand experience, and brand equity were analyzed. The results of the study showed that perceived brand luxury was a partial mediator for brand personality and brand equity, and brand experience was a moderator for perceived brand luxury and brand equity. Brand personality congruity was also confirmed to be a mediator for brand personality for the luxury fashion brand. This study developed a brand personality model for the luxury fashion brand, which can be used for luxury brand practitioners to measure and manage their brands’ personality. The results of this study indicate the effect of brand personality on consumer-based brand equity in the context of the luxury fashion brand. Moreover, the results indicate perceived brand luxury and brand experience have some influence on brand equity. These findings provide practitioners with a general picture of brand personality performance of luxury fashion brands and help practitioners better understanding what personality dimensions they should strengthen for improving their brand equity in future business activities.