| dc.description.abstract | Generation Z consumers are forecasted to become the most influential generation in the next
years for the purchase of luxury goods. Understanding their needs and behaviors is becoming
more and more crucial for luxury companies, in order to be able to attract and retain them as
customers. On one side, Gen Z seems to particularly search for meanings behind the
purchase of luxury goods, looking at the brand image and symbolic interpretation of brands.
On the other side, they are extremely concerned about the environment and for this reason
they require brands to take serious actions in terms of sustainability. Therefore, this thesis is
focused in understanding the impacts of a brand's sustainability attributes on the creation of
self-image congruity between the customer and the brand, as well as on the creation of brand
trust, and consequently in the building of brand loyalty.
In order to explore these themes, an online survey has been conducted directed to this target
and focused on the fragrances sector. In the scope of this study, respondents were randomly
exposed to one scenario about the brand Guerlain, leader in the luxury fragrances sector, in
which a core or peripheral sustainability attribute was presented. Through the survey, it was
possible to measure the self-image congruity perception of consumers, as well as their trust
towards the brand and their propension to be loyal.
Findings showed that self-brand congruity impacts both brand trust and brand loyalty, and
that also brand trust influences the loyalty towards the brand. Moreover, other factors have
been found to influence the creation of brand loyalty, which are the consumer product
involvement, the perceived functional quality, the brand attitude and the environmental
consciousness of consumers. Lastly, it was possible to observe that Generation Z consumers
are extremely environmental conscious.
This thesis provides insights and confirmation about Generation Z's attitudes and behaviors
towards luxury brands. Therefore, managers of luxury companies should carefully focus on
the symbolic meaning they are conveying, in order to transmit meaningful values to the
consumers, also in terms of sustainability, to be able in the end to target and keep them as
customers. | en_US |
