Examining the Relationships among Attitude toward Luxury Brands, Customer Equity, and Customer Lifetime Value in a Korean Context

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

During the past 10 years, sales of luxury goods increased significantly to more than US$ 130 billion in 2007. In this industry, more than half of the revenue comes from Asia where the average income has risen significantly, and the demand for luxury products is forecast to grow rapidly. Purchasing luxUly brands appears to be an intriguing social phenomenon that is profitable for companies in this region. As a newly developed country, Korea is one of the most attractive luxUly markets in Asia. CUITently, a total of 120 luxUly fashion brands have entered the Korean market, primarily in luxury districts in Seoul where the competition is fierce,
The purposes of this study are to: (I) identi fy antcccdcnts of attitude toward luxUly brands, (2) examine thc cffcct of attitudes toward luxury brands on customer equity, (3) detelllline the impact of attitudes toward luxUly brands on customer lifetime value, and (4) investigate the influence of customer equity on customer life time value. Previous studies have examined materialism, social nccd, experiential need, need for uniqueness, confollllity, and fashion involvement as antecedents of attitude toward luxury brands, Richins and Dowson (1992) suggested that that materialism influences consumption behavior relative to quantity of goods
purchased. Nueno and Quelch (1998) reported that the ownership of luxUly brands conveys infonnation related to the owner's social status, conununicates an image of success and prestige, and is a detenninant of purchase behavior. Experiential need is recognized as an important aspect of consumption, especially for new products developed to meet consumer demand. Since luxury goods, by definition are relatively scarce, ownership of these types of products may fulfill consumers' need for uniqueness, In this study, value equity, relationship equity, and brand equity are examined as drivers of customer equity. The sample (n = 114) was undergraduatc and graduate
students at two private women's universities in Seoul, Korea, Data collection was conducted using a sel f-administered questionnaire survey in March, 2009. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, factor analysis, reliability analysis, and regression analysis using SPSS 15.0 software, Data analysis resulted in a number of conclusions. First, experiential need and fashion involvement positively influence pat1icipants' attitude toward luxury brands. Second, attitude toward luxury brands positively influences brand equity,
followed by value equity and relationship equity. However, there is no significant relationship between attitude toward luxury brand and customer lifetime value. Finally, relationship equity positively influences customer lifetime value, In conclusion, young consumers are an impottant potential consumer group that tries different brands to discover the ones most suitable for them. LuxUlY marketers that use effective marketing strategies to attract and engender loyalty among this potentially lucrative consumer group may increase customer
equity and lifetime value,

목차 (Table of Contents)

• I. Introduction
• II. Literature Review
• III. Research Model and Hypotheses
• IV. Method
• V. Results and Discussion
• VI. Conclusions and Implications