Young Men's Choice of Fashion as a Career Path: "Seekers" and "Settlers"

Karpova, Elena,Lee, Juyoung,Garrin, Ashley The Costume Culture Association 2018 Fashion, industry and education Vol.16 No.2

This study explored men's choice of fashion as a college major and, subsequently, a non-traditional career path. Such investigation is important to gain a better understanding of the motives and processes of selecting a non-traditional college major and subsequent career path. This research consulted several theoretical frameworks to guide the development of research questions and help interpret the findings of the study. Specifically, our study builds upon Holland's trait theory (1982), Gottfredson's (1981) circumscription theory, Farmer's (1985) model of career motivation, and Simpson's (2005) typology of men's non-traditional career entry. A qualitative method was used to explore men's experiences of selecting fashion as an academic major in college and deciding to pursue a career in the traditionally female-dominated field. Following the analysis of 22 individual interviews with male upperclassmen majoring in fashion, three topical areas emerged and we proposed a model of male students' path to a non-traditional college major. The model explains male students' dynamics of entering a non-traditional college major, the role of personal and social factors in the decision process as well as the role of future career orientation when choosing to study fashion as an academic major.

Developing a typology of sustainable apparel consumer: An application of grounded theory

Karpova Elena E.,Reddy-Best Kelly L.,Bayat Farimah 한국마케팅과학회 2024 Journal of Global Fashion Marketing Vol.15 No.2

The purpose of the study was to develop a data-driven typology to explain sustainable apparel consumers’ orientations towards clothing acquisition and use. Using grounded theory, we analyzed comments of New York Times readers to a sustainability-focused article and identified the two core constructs that allowed for a systematic and effective classification of sustainable apparel consumers: (1) importance of personal appearance and (2) willingness and/or ability to pay for clothing. The typology was developed based on the discourses of several hundred people’s comments to share and encourage sustainable practices for acquiring and using clothes. As a result of applying the two constructs to the data, four groups of sustainable apparel consumers were established: classy affluents, chic thrifters, functional minimalists, and austeritics. The paper outlines each group’s unique apparel needs and priorities that manifest in everyday practices.

Young Men’s Choice of Fashion as a Career Path: “Seekers” and “Settlers”

( Elena Karpova ),( Juyoung Lee ),( Ashley Garrin ) 복식문화학회 2018 Fashion, industry and education Vol.16 No.2

This study explored men’s choice of fashion as a college major and, subsequently, a non-traditional career path. Such investigation is important to gain a better understanding of the motives and processes of selecting a non-traditional college major and subsequent career path. This research consulted several theoretical frameworks to guide the development of research questions and help interpret the findings of the study. Specifically, our study builds upon Holland’s trait theory (1982), Gottfredson’s (1981) circumscription theory, Farmer’s (1985) model of career motivation, and Simpson’s (2005) typology of men’s non-traditional career entry. A qualitative method was used to explore men’s experiences of selecting fashion as an academic major in college and deciding to pursue a career in the traditionally female-dominated field. Following the analysis of 22 individual interviews with male upperclassmen majoring in fashion, three topical areas emerged and we proposed a model of male students’ path to a non-traditional college major. The model explains male students’ dynamics of entering a non-traditional college major, the role of personal and social factors in the decision process as well as the role of future career orientation when choosing to study fashion as an academic major.

THE APPROPRIATENESS OF PROMOTING LUXURY BRANDS ONLINE. THE EFFECTS OF BRAND HIERARCHY AND LUXURY VALUE

Alexandra Karpova,Thao Nguyen,George Balabanis 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2015 Global Fashion Management Conference Vol.2015 No.06

As the rapid adoption of the Internet around the globe made digital marketing an indispensable means of gaining competitive advantage for many sectors (Leeflang, Verhoef, Dahlstrom, & Freundt, 2014), its appropriateness for luxury products remains debatable. The main lures to luxury products for many consumers are their exclusivity and rarity, two valuable attributes that are at odds with digital medias’ ubiquitousness and pervasiveness (Hennigs, Wiedmann, & Klarmann, 2012). The main purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of online promotion of luxury brands on different aspects of their brand image. Additionally, the paper checks how the impact of the Internet on luxuries’ brand image varies across different segments of luxury consumers and levels of brand luxuriousness. The main hypothesis of the study, that the Internet affects luxury brand image, is grounded in the McLuhan’s (1964) assertion that "the medium is the message". The congruence of the medium to the advertised brand has a positive effect on brand evaluations (Dahlén, 2005). Given that the Internet could serve as a tool for luxury firms to enhance their creative aspects (Okonkwo, 2009), the question arises as to how congruent the Internet is as a medium to luxury brands that sell on the basis of their exclusivity. The congruence of the Internet to the luxury brands is moderated by: the level of luxuriousness of the brand and the perceived luxury values. Dahlén, Granlund & Grenros (2009) have shown that the use of new media benefit more the “low reputation” brands rather than the “high reputation” ones. In high reputation brands consumers have expectations of higher standards from the medium and are more attentive to changes in the advertising medium. Moreover, by definition the higher the level of brand luxuriousness the higher its exclusivity and rarity. Hence, it is hypothesized that the Internet’s appropriateness as a medium will be negatively related to the luxuriousness of the brand. Luxury values influence consumer choices for luxury brands and brand image perceptions. Luxury value activation by contextual cues like the advertising medium is expected to align image perceptions to the expressed values. As a result, we expect brand image attributes that express specific luxury values to be influenced by the extent to which the medium promotes or inhibits the expression of such values. In luxuries, Wiedmann, Hennings and Siebels (2007) identified four categories of luxury values (financial, functional, individual and social) that are hypothesized to have a differential impact on the effect of the Internet to luxury brand image. To test the hypothesized relationships, an experimental design was used. Facebook was selected as a platform for “online” promotion and the stimuli were luxury watches. The results indicated online luxury promotion adversely affects luxury brand’s perceptions hedonism and uniqueness. The effects were more pronounced to the most luxurious brands and to specific luxury value segments. The results provide useful insights for the development of luxury brand strategies.

DEVELOPING BRAND PERSONALITY TYPOLOGY FOR LUXURY PRODUCTS

Alexandra Karpova,George Balabanis 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2014 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2014 No.7

This paper attempts to develop a new more representative typology exclusively for luxury brand personalities addressing the conceptual and methodological limitations of previous works. Existing brand personality measures (e.g. Aaker, 1997; Geuens, Weijters, & Wulf, 2009; Sweeney & Brandon, 2006) are grounded on human personality taxonomies, thereby rendering their ability to accurately capture the essence of luxury brand personality doubtful. They also inherit some of the conceptual and methodological issues from Aaker’s (1997) work, for which it has been recently criticised. This evidence points towards the need for a new measurement tool for luxury brands developed from scratch. Recognising the need to provide solid foundations of the luxury brand personality traits, the present paper uses lexical approach similar to the way it was used in the human personality scale development research (Cattell, 1943; Goldberg, 1982; John, Angleitner, & Ostendorf, 1988). The main reason for using natural language as a source of luxury brand personality attributes is based on the key assumption behind the lexical approach that most important individual differences will be encrypted into the language in the course of time (John et al., 1988). Embracing this assumption, we believe that the use of luxury brand personality descriptors in the natural language will determine their importance. The first step involved doing online text mining to learn how consumers describe various luxury brands, thereby generating a pool of items. Also, in-depth interviews were undertaken with frequent luxury buyers using Kelly’s repertory grid technique to facilitate construct elicitation. Next, the list of characteristics was screened against Norman’s (1967) comprehensive list of personality traits to ensure that only personality traits were retained in the pool. Finally, a new framework was developed by means of assigning items into different dimensions based on semantic similarities of traits and was juxtaposed with existing brand personality measures. Luxury brand personality appears to comprise twelve salient personality dimensions that cannot be directly matched with existing personality measures. The new typology reveals some unique traits and dimensions that could improve the construct’s content validity and facilitate marketers’ branding decisions. Comparisons with other frameworks support the view that luxury brand personalities are different in consumers’ common parlance and require a separate measure. Some concerns related to the consistency and also content and construct validity are highlighted in this work and call for further examination.

DEVELOPING BRAND PERSONALITY TYPOLOGY FOR LUXURY PRODUCTS

Alexandra Karpova,George Balabanis 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2014 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2014 No.10

This paper attempts to develop a new more representative typology exclusively for luxury brand personalities addressing the conceptual and methodological limitations of previous works. Existing brand personality measures (e.g. Aaker, 1997; Geuens, Weijters, & Wulf, 2009; Sweeney & Brandon, 2006) are grounded on human personality taxonomies, thereby rendering their ability to accurately capture the essence of luxury brand personality doubtful. They also inherit some of the conceptual and methodological issues from Aaker’s (1997) work, for which it has been recently criticised. This evidence points towards the need for a new measurement tool for luxury brands developed from scratch. Recognising the need to provide solid foundations of the luxury brand personality traits, the present paper uses lexical approach similar to the way it was used in the human personality scale development research (Cattell, 1943; Goldberg, 1982; John, Angleitner, & Ostendorf, 1988). The main reason for using natural language as a source of luxury brand personality attributes is based on the key assumption behind the lexical approach that most important individual differences will be encrypted into the language in the course of time (John et al., 1988). Embracing this assumption, we believe that the use of luxury brand personality descriptors in the natural language will determine their importance. The first step involved doing online text mining to learn how consumers describe various luxury brands, thereby generating a pool of items. Also, in-depth interviews were undertaken with frequent luxury buyers using Kelly’s repertory grid technique to facilitate construct elicitation. Next, the list of characteristics was screened against Norman’s (1967) comprehensive list of personality traits to ensure that only personality traits were retained in the pool. Finally, a new framework was developed by means of assigning items into different dimensions based on semantic similarities of traits and was juxtaposed with existing brand personality measures. Luxury brand personality appears to comprise twelve salient personality dimensions that cannot be directly matched with existing personality measures. The new typology reveals some unique traits and dimensions that could improve the construct’s content validity and facilitate marketers’ branding decisions. Comparisons with other frameworks support the view that luxury brand personalities are different in consumers’ common parlance and require a separate measure. Some concerns related to the consistency and also content and construct validity are highlighted in this work and call for further examination.

“Must-have” skills and knowledge for apparel merchandising professionals in South Africa

Jacobs Bertha,Karpova Elena 한국마케팅과학회 2023 Journal of Global Fashion Marketing Vol.14 No.2

Employing competent merchandisers has become a global chal- lenge for apparel companies. This study aimed to prioritize mer- chandising skills and knowledge required to function in merchandising positions. Adaptive conjoint analysis was employed to prioritize 29 identified skills and knowledge types and 116 indi- vidual dimensions describing these types. An online survey was developed and administered using Sawtooth Software Inc. A total of 172 merchandising professionals participated in the study. Sawtooth Software built-in regression analysis was used to analyze the survey responses. A priority order for the 29 skills and knowl- edge types was established, consisting of 13 “must-have”, 13 “fairly- important”, and three “nice-to-have” types. The 13 “must-have” skills and knowledge types included a mix of six soft skill types (communication, diplomacy, flexibility, administrative/managerial, positive attitude, teamwork), one hard skill type (technology), five explicit knowledge types (retail operations, manufacturing, market- place awareness, assortment management, product development), and one tacit knowledge (professional experience). Based on the prioritized 29 skills and knowledge types, an apparel merchandising competency framework was adapted for the South African retail industry. Out of the 116 individual dimensions only half (58) were determined as essential and included in the final framework. The findings indicate that a competent merchandising professional should have a well-balanced skill and knowledge set to succeed in the apparel retail industry.

Exploration of Knowledge and Competitiveness in the Fashion Industry Agglomeration

Lee, Juyoung,Karpova, Elena,Perry, Anna Lingling The Korea Society of Costume 2017 International journal of costume and fashion Vol.17 No.2

The purpose of this study was to explore how knowledge in a successful fashion industry is developed and used, and how this knowledge affects industry competitiveness. Based on a case study method, thematic themes explaining the relationship between knowledge and fashion industry competitiveness were identified through constant comparative analysis of the existing literature. In this study, the three knowledge characteristics (increasing returns to scale, non-rivalry and non-excludability, and tacit and codifiable nature) were systematically applied to the four major functional areas of fashion industry. Based on new growth theory, it was proposed that increasing returns to scale present in agglomerations helped increase fashion industry competitiveness through knowledge in all types of fashion industry through design, product development and supply chain management, marketing, and craftsmanship. The study provides implications for policy-makers and industry liaisons to improve the competitiveness of the fashion industry and a theoretical foundation for future fashion industry competitiveness research to further identify factors that determine fashion industry competitiveness.

Exploration of Knowledge and Competitiveness in the Fashion Industry Agglomeration

Juyoung Lee,Elena Karpova,Anna Lingling Perry 한국복식학회 2017 International journal of costume and fashion Vol.17 No.2

Examination of Two Decades in Used Clothing Trade: The Case of the United States and Selected Developed Economies

Lee, Youngji,Zhang, Ling,Karpova, Elena The Costume Culture Association 2016 Fashion, industry and education Vol.14 No.2

This research examined two decades of the U.S. used clothing exports to the world. All countries (209) were classified into four groups based on the level of economic development. Between 1996 and 2012, U.S. used clothing exports shifted away from low-income economies to high-income economies. For the first time, our research demonstrated that the majority of used clothing discarded by American consumers is exported to high-income economies instead of poorest nations of the world. Next, used clothing exports and imports by volume and value in seven high-income countries were analyzed. The high-income countries not only exported but also imported significant amount of used clothing, which indicates a growing demand for worn apparel in developed nations. The demand might be at least partially attributed to the popular vintage clothing trend and increasing consumer environmentalism. Implications regarding development and implementation of a new classification system of worn clothing and recommendations for future research are presented.