The effect of perceived social power on consumers’ purchase intentions for alternative modes of luxury brands acquisition

Abstract

The present research examines the impact of perceived social power on individuals’ decisions for alternative modes of luxury brands acquisition, whether for first-hand, second-hand or counterfeit luxury goods. It also explores whether these decisions are moderated by the level of luxury of the brand, i.e. entry-level or top-level luxury brands. Thus, through an experimental study with a mixed design, this paper showed that high-power individuals are less willing to purchase counterfeit products than their powerless counterparts and that are also less price-sensitive. Also, it proposes that high states of social power lead to more conservative socially risky decisions than low states of social power in a purchasing context. Nevertheless, it can also lead to more risky decisions when purchasing products that carry high levels of financial risk.There was a consensual difference between groups: regardless of the perceived social power, individuals have more purchase intentions for authentic luxury products (first and second-hand) than for the non-authentic ones (counterfeits). However, while the purchasing intentions of the latter are identical among both authentic products, low-power individuals demonstrated a greater willingness to purchase second-hand luxury products than the first-hand ones. Moreover, contrary to expectations, low-power individuals show more propensity to buy counterfeit products than their powerful counterparts. The conclusions and implications of these results are discussed throughout the dissertation.

Date of Award	27 Jan 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	João Niza Braga (Supervisor)