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S/he styles: narcissistic fashion apparel consumption in India

Juhi Gahlot Sarkar (Institute of Management Technology Ghaziabad, Ghaziabad, India)
Abhigyan Sarkar (XLRI Delhi-NCR, Delhi, India)

Journal of Consumer Marketing

ISSN: 0736-3761

Article publication date: 5 January 2022

Issue publication date: 9 February 2022

591

Abstract

Purpose

This research aims to investigate if consuming fashion apparel brands for the purpose of social appearance expressiveness may garner calculative brand commitment, through the mediation of narcissistic brand love. It also tests moderation of gender for the aforementioned mediated relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The research has a core qualitative component (Study 1), which focuses on an interpretivist approach using a grounded theory paradigm to analyze data (N = 37) collected from semi-structured depth interviews. It is followed by a positivist survey based enquiry (study 2), and the data (N = 245) were analyzed using Haye’s (2017) process macro.

Findings

Analysis reveals that Indian consumers fall in narcissistic love with those apparel brands that aid their quest for maintaining desirable social appearances and develop a calculative commitment toward the brands, which aid this quest. The effect of social appearance expressiveness of apparel brand on consumers’ narcissistic brand love is moderated by gender, such that female consumers (as compared to males) are more invested in consuming fashion apparel brands as a means to enhance their social appearances.

Originality/value

The value of this study lies in extending self-presentation theory to understand the role of consumer narcissism in shaping Indian consumers’ fashion apparel consumption. The authors investigate the narcissistic consumption orientation that evolves as a result of consumers’ desire for social self-expression, irrespective of possessing narcissism as an enduring personality trait. Thus, the findings are relevant for possibly all consumers who, given certain conditions, may temporarily develop narcissistic brand love.

Keywords

Citation

Sarkar, J.G. and Sarkar, A. (2022), "S/he styles: narcissistic fashion apparel consumption in India", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 39 No. 1, pp. 55-65. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-09-2020-4106

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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