Culture and luxury value perception

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate how culture influences the way consumers perceive luxury. The model used in this paper combines previously developed frameworks concerning luxury value dimensions with the famous model of Hofstedes’ cultural dimensions. An online survey has been completed to collect data to compare responses of consumers from two different countries. Then an analysis of the data collected has been conducted in order to identify the cultural influence. . The findings support the idea that the perception of overall luxury value may be influenced by culture and thus, may vary from one culture to another. More specifically, the results show that the weight of both functional and financial values in the overall luxury perception differs significantly depending on cultures. Moreover this study highlights the fact that, at the same time, this overall luxury value is also influenced by some demographic characteristics. The conclusions might help luxury-marketing managers to develop an efficient product and communication strategy, which takes into account cultural dimensions’ specificities.