INFLUENCE OF STATUS CONSUMPTION, MATERIALISM AND SUBJECTIVE NORMS ON GENERATION Y STUDENTS’ PRICE-QUALITY FASHION ATTITUDE

Abstract

Fashion is regarded as one of the world’s largest consumer industries, generating up to 2.5 trillion US Dollars in consumer spending in 2016. South Africa is one of the leading fashion markets in Africa, reaching recorded retail sales revenue of approximately ZAR172 billion by end of 2016. Owing to the intense competition, effective marketing strategies are essential in order for fashion marketers and retailers to differentiate themselves and to target their markets effectively, including when targeting Generation Y consumers. Generation Y are described as the largest and most profitable consumer group for marketers and retailers, representing approximately 36 percent of the South African population in 2018. This generation represents a salient current and future market segment for a variety of industries, including the fashion industry. Therefore, understanding their attitudes towards using price as an indicator of quality for fashion products is likely to be essential in designing marketing strategies to ensure sustained success and growth. As such, the purpose of this study was to determine Generation Y students’ price-quality fashion attitude and the influence of the materialistic dimensions of success and happiness, together with the dimensions of fashion status consumption and fashion subjective norms thereon. The study followed a quantitative research approach, whereby self-administered questionnaires were completed by a non-probability convenience sample of 600 students, who were registered at the campuses of three South African public higher education institutions situated in the Gauteng province. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and regression analysis. The findings of this study suggest that status consumption, materialism and subjective norms significantly influence Generation Y students' price-quality fashion attitude.

Keywords

• Fashion marketing,price-quality fashion attitude,Generation Y students,South Africa

Kaynakça

1. Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179-211. Amed, I., Berg, A., Brantberg, L. & Hedrich, S. (2016). The State of Fashion. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-state-of-fashion Accessed 2018/06/02. Anon. (2018). Fashion & Accessories. Statistics and Facts on Fashion & Accessories. https://www.statista.com/markets/423/topic/463/fashion-accessories/ Accessed: 2018/06/02. Aydin, H. (2017). Influence of self-monitoring and materialism on fashion clothing involvement. International of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 7(2), 274-293. Belk, R.W. (1985). Materialism: trait aspects of living in the material world. Journal of Consumer Research, 12(3), 265-280. Bevan-Dye, A.L. & Surujlal, J. (2011). Attitudes towards materialism in sport and materialism tendencies amongst Black Generation Y students. African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance, Suppl., 1(1), 43-55. Bevan-Dye, A. L. & Akpojivi, U. (2016). South African Generation Y students’ self-disclosure on Facebook. South African Journal of Psychology, 46(1), 114-129. Bevan-Dye, A.L., Garnett, A. & De Klerk, N. (2012). Materialism, status, consumption and consumer ethnocentrism amongst black generation Y students in South Africa. African Journal of Business Management, 6(16), 5578-5586. Brand South Africa (2014). South Africa's Economy: Key Sectors. https://www.brandsouthafrica.com/investments-immigration/economynews/sa economy-key-sectors Accessed: 2019/06/20. Brown, A. (2013). Africa’s Fashion Industry: Challenges, Opportunities. http://www. africastrictlybusiness.com/news-analysis/africas-fashion-industry-challenges-opportunities Accessed: 2018/06/03. Butcher, L., Phau, I. & Shimul, A.S. (2017). Uniqueness and status consumption in Generation Y consumers. Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 35(5), 673-687. Cassidy, T.D. & Van Schijndel, H. (2011). Youth identity ownership from a fashion marketing perspective. Journal of Fashion Marketing Management, 15(2), 163-177. Chan, K. & Prendergast, G. (2007). Materialism and social comparison among adolescents. Social Behavior and Personality, 35(2), 213-228. Chaplin, L.N. & John, D.R. (2010). Interpersonal influences on adolescent materialism: A new look at the role of parents and peers. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 20(2), 176-184. Dingus, R. (2014). Like it, love it, or gotta have it: relating materialism and attachment. Atlantic Marketing Journal, 3(3), 38-47. Dodds, W.B., Monroe, K.B. & Grewal, D. (1991). Effects of price, brand, and store information on buyers’ product evaluations. Journal of Marketing Research, 28(3), 307-319. Eastman, J.K., Goldsmith, R. & Flynn, L.R. (1999). Status consumption in consumer behaviour: scale development and validation. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 7(3), 41-52. Eastman, J. K. & Liu, J. (2012). The impact of generational cohorts on status consumption: an exploratory look at generational cohort and demographics on status consumption. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 29(2), 93-102. Euromonitor International (2017). Apparel and Footwear in South Africa. https://www.euromonitor.com/apparel-and-footwear-in-south-africa/report Accessed: 2018/08/20 Fitzmaurice, J. & Comegys, C. (2014). Materialism and social consumption. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 14(4), 287-299. Fishbein, M. & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, Attitudes, Intention and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research. Philippines: Addison-Wesley. Goldsmith, R.E., Flynn, L.R. & Kim, D. (2010). Status consumption and price sensitivity. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 18(4), 323-338. Gorostidi-Martinez, H., Xu, W. & Zhao, X. (2017). A study of the Chinese consumers’ product-country image of Spain. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 29(5), 947-977. Hair, J.F., Black, W.C., Babin, B.J. & Anderson, R.E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis: a global perspective. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Hanzaee, K.H. & Taghipourian, M.J. (2012). Attitudes towards counterfeit products and generation differentia. Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology, 4(9), 1147-1154. Hassler, J. (2017). How to Effectively Sell to Millennials. https://www.intelliverse. com/blog/how-to-effectively-sell-to-millennials/ Accessed 2019/06/20. Heaney, J.G., Goldsmith, R.E. & Jusoh, W.J.W. (2005). Status consumption among Malaysian consumers. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 17(4), 83-98. Hoyer, W.D., MacInnis, D.J. & Pieters, R. (2018). Consumer Behavior. 7th ed. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Kang, D. S. (2010). Understanding of consumption behaviors in art and cultural sectors for developing successful communication plans. Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, 18, 263-279. Khare, A., Achtani, D. & Khattar, M. (2014). Influence of price perception and shopping motives on Indian consumers' attitude towards retailer promotions in malls. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 26(2), 272-295 Kim, S., Lee, J. & Yoon, D. (2015). Norms in social media: the application of Theory of Reasoned Action and personal norms in predicting interactions with facebook page like ads. Communications Research Reports,32(4), 322-331. Kumar, A. & Lim, H. (2008). Age differences in mobile service perceptions: comparison of Generation Y and baby boomers. Journal of Services Marketing, 22(7), 568-577. Larsen, V., Sirgy, J.M., Wright, N.D. (1999). Materialism: the construct, measures, antecedents, and consequences. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 3, 78-110. Lichtenstein, D.R. & Burton, S. (1989). The relationship between perceived and objective price-quality. Journal of Marketing Research, 26, 429-443. Lichtenstein, D.R., Ridgway, N.M. & Netemeyer, R.G. (1993). Price perceptions and consumer shopping behavior: a field study. Journal of Marketing Research, 30, 234-245. Lipovcan, L.K., Prizmic-Larsen, Z. & Brkljacic, T. (2015). Materialism, affective states, and life satisfaction: case of Croatia. SpringerPlus, 14(4), 699-708. Markert, J. (2004). Demographics of age: generational and cohort confusion. Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, 26(2), 11-25. Muruganantham, G. & Priyadharshini, K. (2017). Antecedents and consequences of private brand purchase: a systematic review and a conceptual framework. International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, 45(6), 660-682. O’Cass, A. & Frost, H. (2002). Status brands: examining the effects of non-product-related brand associations on status and conspicuous consumption. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 2(2), 67-88. Pallant, J. (2013). SPSS Survival Manual. 5th ed. London: Open University Press. Parguel, B., Delécolle, T. & Florence, P.V. (2016). How price display influences consumer luxury presentations. Journal of Business Research, 69(1), 341-348. Phau, I. & Teah, M. (2009). Devil wears (counterfeit) Prada: a study of antecedents and outcomes of attitudes towards counterfeits of luxury brands. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 26(1), 15-27 Polonsky, M.J., Vocino, A., Grau, S.L., Garma, R. & Ferdous, A.S. (2012). The impact of general and carbon-related environmental knowledge on attitudes and behaviour of US consumers. Journal of Marketing Management, 28(3-4), 238-263. Priilaid, D. & Hall, D. (2016). Price-quality heuristic correlation with rates of product consumption. British Food Journal, 118(3), 541-559. PRNewswire (2015). With İncreased Competition, Clothing and Apparel Companies Must Go the Extra Mile to Establish Brand Loyalty. Accessed 2019/06/12. Rao, A.R. & Monroe, K.B. (1988). The moderating effect of prior knowledge on cue utilization in product evaluations. Journal of Consumer Research, 15(2), 253-264. Richins, M.L. & Dawson, S. (1992). A consumer values orientation for materialism and its measurement: scale development and validation. Journal of Consumer Research, 19(3), 303-316. Richins, M.L. & Rudmin, F.W. (1994). Materialism and economic psychology. Journal of Economic Psychology, 15(2), 217-231. Sandhu, S.S. & Paim, L.B. (2016). Consuming for status among Malaysian working women. Journal of Emerging Aconomies and Islamic research, 4(3), 11-16. Schepers, J. & Wetzels, M. (2007). A meta-analysis of the technology acceptance model: investigating subjective norm and moderation effects. Information and Management, 44(1), 90-103. Schiffman, L.G., Kanuk, L.L. & Wisenblit, J. (2010). Consumer Behavior. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Statistics South Africa (2017). Retail Trade Sales (Preliminary): February 2017. http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P62421/P62421December2017.pdf Accessed 2019/07/07. Statistics South Africa (2018). Statistical Release P0302: 2018 Mid-year Population Estimates. http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0302/P03022017.pdf Accessed 2019/06/12. Ting, M.S., Goh, Y.N. & Isa, S.M. (2018). Inconspicuous consumption of luxury fashion goods among Malaysian Adults: an investigation. Global Business and Management Research: An International Journal, 10(1), 313-310. Universities South Africa (2015). http://www.universitiessa.ac.za/public-universities-south-africa Accessed 2018/06/12. Wang, F., Zhang, H., Zang, H. & Ouyang, M. (2005). Purchasing pirated software: an initial examination of Chinese consumers. Journal of Consumer Marketing. 22(6), 340 – 351. Wang, Q., Cui, X., Huang, L. & Dai, Y. (2016). Seller reputation or product presentation? An empirical investigation from cue utilization perspective. International Journal of Information Management, 36(3), 271-283. Weiner, I.B., Schinka, J.A. & Velicer, W.F. (2003). Research methods in psychology. 2nd ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Zeithaml, V.A. (1988). Extending consumer ethnocentrism theory: the moderating effect test. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 30(4), 907-926