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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between status-leveling symbols (i.e. the symbols used by organizations to remove, blur, or downplay hierarchical distinctions) and employees’ work attitudes, as mediated through perceptions of trust, justice, and leader-member exchange. The study intends to provide some empirical support relative to the role of symbolic-leveling symbols as a social influence process in the workplace.

In this study, the authors developed a measure of organizational status leveling by focussing on three symbols – physical space, dress, and forms of address. Data were collected from 147 employees who were enrolled in a part-time MBA program. The paper used path analysis to test the hypotheses.

Results fully supported the theoretical model except the mediating role of justice perceptions in the relationship between status-leveling symbols and affective commitment.

The results of the study provide guidance for design of physical workspaces and setting or reinforcing norms regarding forms of address and dress codes. Such practices need to be integrated with other high-involvement HR practices so as to create and sustain the culture desired by the organization.

The paper is the first to measure status-leveling symbols in organizations, and the first to investigate the linkages between symbolic-leveling symbols and relevant work-related outcomes.

In the purchase intention of green products context, researchers have mainly investigated the role of symbolism but have mostly discussed symbolic attributes/meanings in terms of social status only. This research aims to investigate the impact of four perceived symbolic meanings of green clothing (status, environmentalism, innovation and fashion symbols) on consumers' purchase intention of green clothing through their attitude toward it. Besides, the moderating role of a consumer mindset in the indirect relationship between symbolic attributes and the purchase intention of green products through consumer attitude is examined.

The data were collected through a survey from a sample of 325 respondents in Turkey, especially younger ones. The data were analyzed via confirmatory factor analysis and hypothesized relationships were tested with multiple and simple regression analyses and PROCESS macros in SPSS.

All symbolic meanings of green clothing impact purchase intention positively and indirectly through consumers' attitudes toward it. The results of moderated mediation analyses showed that the impact of symbolic meanings, except for environmentalism symbol, on purchase intention through consumer attitude was significantly moderated by the consumer mindset.

This research contributes to the under-researched areas of the impact of various symbolic attributes/meanings of green clothing on consumers' purchase intention. Besides, this study advances the role of consumer mindset in consumer behavior research in such a way that it connects mindsets of personality, consumers' attitudes toward green products and their green purchase intention. Furthermore, this study addresses the gap in regard to the role of mindsets of personality on sustainable/environmental behaviors. It will provide implications for fashion marketing managers to develop appropriate targeting, positioning and communication strategies for consumers' mindsets.

As luxury goods are losing their importance for demonstrating status, wealth or power to others, individuals are searching for alternative status symbols. Recently, individuals have increasingly used conspicuous consumption and displays of experiences on social media to obtain affirmation. This study aims to analyze the effects of luxury and nonluxury experiences, as well as traditional luxury goods on status- and nonstatus-related dimensions.

After presenting the theoretical foundation, the authors conduct a study with 599 participants to compare status perceptions elicited by the conspicuous consumption of luxury goods, luxury experiences and nonluxury experiences. The authors investigate whether experiences that are visibly consumed on Instagram are replacing traditional luxury goods as the most important status symbols. Furthermore, the authors examine the effects of the content shown on nonstatus-related dimensions and analyze whether status perceptions differ between female and male social media communicators. Finally, the authors analyze how personal characteristics (self-esteem, self-actualization and materialism) influence the status perceptions of others on social media.

The results show that luxury goods are still the most important means of displaying status. However, especially for women, luxury experiences are also associated with a high level of social status. Thus, the results imply important gender differences in the perceptions of status- and nonstatus-related dimensions. Furthermore, the findings indicate that, in particular, the individual characteristics of self-actualization and materialism affect status perceptions depending on the posted content.

While the research has already considered some alternative forms of conspicuous consumption, little attention has been given to experiences as status symbols. However, with their growing importance as substitutes for luxury goods and the rise of social media, the desire to conspicuously consume experiences is increasing. The authors address this gap in the literature by focusing on the conspicuous display of luxury and nonluxury experiences on social media.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that influence Chinese consumers’ purchase of organic products, with a focus on organic tea.

A structured questionnaire was used to survey 202 shoppers in Guangdong Province, China. The data were analyzed using multivariate regression.

The study suggests two significant predictors of organic tea purchase intentions: perceiving organic tea as a healthier alternative to non-organic tea; perceiving the purchase of organic tea as a status symbol. Younger respondents and respondents with higher educational attainment reported greater organic tea purchase intentions. Non-significant predictors of organic tea purchase intentions were respondents’ knowledge of organic tea through media exposure, their gender and income.

The findings help further research on consumer preferences regarding organic foods providing key insights for researchers and marketers as they strive to make informed decisions in the emerging organic food retail environment. Specifically, Chinese consumers perceiving organic tea as a healthy option and as a status symbol are more likely to state organic tea purchase intentions. These results point to the need for extended research on key antecedents of Chinese consumers’ purchase intentions of organic products.

Little was known about the motivations of Chinese consumers for purchasing organic food products, as the psychological and demographic factors that are associated with organic food purchase behavior in China were not well researched. Specifically, there is still a notable gap in the understanding of how consumers in China make organic tea purchase decisions. With organic foods occupying a progressively larger portion of Chinese diets and budgets, this research fills in some of the knowledge gap by examining how the social norms of status symbols influence Chinese consumers’ purchase intentions of organic tea.

Conspicuous consumption refers to the competitive and extravagant consumption practices and leisure activities that aim to indicate membership to a superior social class. Studies examining the symbolic role of luxury brands and status symbols, and the importance of interpersonal relations and upward social mobility via consumption choices, have been widely discussed in the marketing and consumer behaviour literature. There is, however, limited research on how the all‐encompassing concept of “conspicuous consumption” has evolved since the introduction of the term by Thorstein Veblen in 1899 in The Theory of the Leisure Class. This paper seeks to review some of the issues.

Using a chronological periodization the paper examines and discusses the impact of wider institutional and socio‐economic forces on the evolution of conspicuous consumption phenomena. The paper adopts a historical framework related to economics and marketing.

The paper shows how the concept of “conspicuous consumption” has been reinvented with different terminology during the twentieth century by marketing and consumer behaviour theorists.

The paper discusses and examines the socio‐economic factors behind the changing consumption patterns of “conspicuous consumers” throughout the twentieth century. It is valuable for marketing academics, students and marketing practitioners interested in the evolution of status symbols.

Gregory P. Stone (1921–1981) made original contributions to the fields of urban sociology, social psychology, sociology of sport, and sociological theory. His work gave rise to a set of empirically grounded concepts including nonranked status aggregates, personalization, universes of appearance, and personal and collective identity. These concepts developed over time, were based on quantitative research, and provide continuity to Stone’s work. This essay will elaborate on these concepts in order to consolidate and interpret Stone’s contribution to sociology.

In seeking to expand our understanding of brands and their impact on consumer behaviour, assesses the relationship between brand associations, which contribute to consumption behaviour. A self‐administered questionnaire was developed and administered to a non‐probabilistic convenience sample of 315 young consumers. The findings of this research indicate that the status‐conscious market is more likely to be affected by the symbolic characteristics of a brand; feelings aroused by the brand; and by the degree of congruency between the brand‐user’s self‐image and the brand’s image itself. Results also indicate that the higher the symbolic characteristics, the stronger the positive feelings, and the greater the congruency between the consumer and brand image, the greater the likelihood of the brand being perceived as possessing high status elements. The suspicion that status‐laden brands would be chosen for status consumption and conspicuous consumption was also confirmed. These findings broaden our understanding of status‐conscious consumers and their behaviour towards brands.

This paper aims to explore how traditional industries revert the trend of decline in sales through rebranding by analyzing the extended case study of the fountain pen industry.

This study analyzes the marketing in case study of the fountain pen industry through two coordinates – symbolizing status and branding nostalgia. The division of analyses in these categories is supplanted by data, such as linear regression to analyze changes in product characteristics.

This study finds that the rebranding of the fountain pen in multiple fitting images – status symbol, object of nostalgia and something scarce and unique – is successful in capturing consumer demand, shaping consumer perceptions and help the mature industry locate as well as enter a niche market.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first one to explore the business development of traditional industry as a case study of fountain pens from the perspective of marketing and consumer behavior.

In the literature, technology has been shown to perform two major roles, one functionalist and the second symbolic. The purpose of this paper is to explore how cultural expressions in the form of symbols impact on technology diffusion.

Data were obtained primarily through qualitative research (semi‐structured interviews, document analysis and field notes/observation). Data analysis and coding was conducted using template analysis (Atlas.ti).

The findings of the research suggest that an understanding of the symbolic role of technology in the form of “space”, physical structures, communication facilitators and a status symbol may enhance the success of its adoption among indigenous agribusinesses.

The study is limited by its focus on a select set of symbolic dimensions of culture. Emphasising a limited set of cultural dimensions assumes that other imperatives may not have a high impact on technology diffusion.

The focus in this case is on small‐scale indigenous agribusinesses operating in the Southeast of Nigeria. The authors employ broader social anthropological and sociological theories which lie outside the parameters of standard technology adoption and diffusion of innovation theories to support the study.

South Africa is increasingly becoming an attractive market for luxury fashion brands due to the growing middle-income consumer segment, which is perceived to be upwardly mobile. Despite evidence of black South African's exhibition of heightened interest in conspicuous consumption (CC), there seems to be limited research addressing the drivers and implications of such behaviour. This study aims to investigate the antecedents of CC by middle-income black South Africans and the marketing implications thereof.

This study employed a survey questionnaire approach and a quantitative methodology for primary data collection. Data were gathered from a sample of 170 respondents across South Africa and analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) through SPSS and Mplus software. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test model fit, reliability and validity of measurement instruments, while path modelling was used to test hypotheses adopted by this report.

Among the major findings made by this report was that social class signalling positively influenced CC. In contrast, CC was not predicted by status consumption (SC). This study concluded that social factors motivated the CC of luxury fashion brands by middle-income black South Africans.

This study's key recommendations were for marketing professionals to imbue overt status cues in their brand campaigns to drive the consumption of luxury fashion brands. Future studies could investigate whether or not the findings of this study are applicable across ethnic demographics in South Africa.

The study extends the discourse of the antecedents of ethnic consumer behavioural patterns in a historically segregated market. It weighs in on the growing research addressing factors driving the middle-income population from emerging economies to consume luxury fashion brands conspicuously.