Redefining luxury: exploring the natural connection with sustainability beyond labels

Abstract

Purpose Once considered improbable, the fusion of sustainability and luxury has emerged as a captivating concept in contemporary consumer culture. The growing emphasis on integrating sustainability into luxury products has raised concerns about potential consumer backlash. The current research proposes that consumers’ traditional luxury personal and social purchase motives (i.e. luxury values) can be shaped by their opinions on luxury sustainability (i.e. perceived luxury sustainability).Design/methodology/approach The analysis was conducted in two stages using the PROCESS macro. We utilized a sample of 600 participants, equally distributed across two distinct cultures: individualistic with a high sustainable orientation and collectivistic with a developing sustainable orientation. In the first stage, we employed Model 4 to examine the anticipated influence of perceived luxury service (PLS) on perceived luxury values that underpin consumers’ purchase intentions (PI). In the second stage, we investigated the country’s moderating role in shaping the relationships explored in the first stage. A moderated mediation analysis was conducted using Model 7 of the PROCESS macro.Findings This research has uncovered a profound connection between luxury and sustainability that challenges conventional knowledge. The results confirm that perceiving luxury as sustainable enhances consumers’ perceptions of its quality and material aspects, increasing their intent to purchase luxury items. However, this perception also seems to diminish other traditional luxury values. This trend holds across diverse cultural contexts. Nevertheless, insights from this study highlight the importance of considering cultural differences, particularly in social motives, in the context of luxury and sustainability.Originality The current research adds to the understanding of the self-congruity concept, which influences consumers’ evaluation of products based on how they relate product or brand values to their self-identity. This study employs a novel approach to investigate how comprehensive variables—including personal and social values, cultural orientation, and sustainable perception—might influence consumers’ purchase intentions (PI) toward luxury products, regardless of sustainable labeling. For the first time, it reveals how consumers innately link sustainability to luxury values across different cultures. Previous studies have focused explicitly on sustainably labeled luxury products, considering limited luxury values and never conducting cross-cultural tests. Given these findings, the current article proposes managerial recommendations to navigate this complex consumer landscape.

Keywords

• Luxury sustainability
• luxury values
• luxury consumption
• luxury branding
• culture
• cross-country