Self-Construals Theory Applications for an Effective Communication of Sustainable Luxury

Introduction

In their seminal work on stakeholder marketing and CSR communication, Smith, Palazzo and Bhattacharya (2010) argue on how brands, understanding their power to satisfy consumers’ self-definitional needs, have started to see in CSR and cause related marketing a strong tool to build positive and strong links with the consumers. A related study from Curras-Perez et al. (2009), builds on the notion of consumer-company (C-C) identification to bring empirical evidence on the positive effect of CSR based C-C identification on brand attractiveness. Brand attractiveness is hence defined by the authors as “the positive evaluation of its identity, examined and assessed in relation to how it helps consumers satisfy their self-definitional needs” (p. 550); in the same paper, it is demonstrated that brand attractiveness has a positive relationship with CSR image via two intermediate variables: brand prestige and brand distinctiveness. Specifically, it is assessed by the authors that socially responsible companies are perceived as more prestigious and as more unique and distinct from other corporations, arguing that a brand with such characteristics will be evaluated by consumers as a valuable element through which achieving an enhanced and distinctive self-concept.

Bhattacharya and Sen (2003) add that if C-C identification wants to be achieved, companies shall pursue a coherent, effective and clear brand identity communication strategy. Such element is assessed as fundamental to foster brand bonding through the communication of the identity traits that consumers are likely to perceive as distinctive and close to their own. Notably, industry reports such as McKinsey’s “The State of Fashion 2019”, have indeed pointed out some important consumer shifts towards a more value oriented consumption: