Generation y consumers, luxury brands and social responsibility: what are the main motivations of generation y luxury consumers to engage in a socially responsible consumption behavior?

The fast-growing segment of younger luxury consumers, the generational size, and their spending power transform the Generation Y cohort in an appealing group for luxury brand managers, as well as academics in the fields of Consumer Behaviour, International Business, and International Marketing. Millennials’ increasing demand for socially responsible products has led some luxury brands to focus a considerable part of their efforts on the development and promotion of socially responsible initiatives. The present study was conducted to explore the relationship between the purchase of luxury brands and the socially responsible consumption behaviour of the Generation Y segment from the consumer behaviour perspective. Based on the literature and the different perspectives of distinct researchers, the authors developed seven distinct propositions and designed a conceptual model which showed that Millennials’ luxury socially responsible purchase conduct is mainly driven by six variables: signalling behaviour, status, the impact of brands’ CSR activities on environmental and/or social issues, consumers’ objectives and context of display, negative feelings, and brands’ attributes. Hence, through the presentation of a framework, this paper tried to enhance scholars and practitioners’ knowledge about luxury socially responsible consumers and the driving forces that propel Generation Y consumers to purchase luxury socially responsible brands.