Global Heritage vs. Local Identity: How Chinese Gen Z Consumers Interpret Western Luxury Brands’ Collaborative Storytelling - A Case Study of Louis Vuitton
(2026) BUSN39 20261Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- Purpose: Taking Louis Vuitton as an example, this study aims to explore how Chinese Gen Z consumers interpret the authenticity of the Western luxury brands' collaborations storytelling in China.
Design/methodology/approach: This study employed interpretive qualitative methods, drawing on consumer culture theory, cultural brand building, and brand meaning co-creation theory. The visual stimulus material used in the study was the Louis Vuitton Snake Year series. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 Chinese Gen Z respondents.
Findings: The research results show that the judgment of the respondents on the authenticity of the brand is not a single reaction but a phased evaluation process. They read authenticity in a conflicting... (More) - Purpose: Taking Louis Vuitton as an example, this study aims to explore how Chinese Gen Z consumers interpret the authenticity of the Western luxury brands' collaborations storytelling in China.
Design/methodology/approach: This study employed interpretive qualitative methods, drawing on consumer culture theory, cultural brand building, and brand meaning co-creation theory. The visual stimulus material used in the study was the Louis Vuitton Snake Year series. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 Chinese Gen Z respondents.
Findings: The research results show that the judgment of the respondents on the authenticity of the brand is not a single reaction but a phased evaluation process. They read authenticity in a conflicting Guochao cultural context and determined whether the cultural symbols in them had readable Chinese cultural characteristics. When the symbols were clearly perceivable, respondents would infer the brand’s sincerity through visible cultural investment, story depth, and respect for cultural meaning. The respondents would only buy into its glocalization effort if the localization does not spoil Louis Vuitton's recognizable luxury heritage. Social media amplified, challenged, and publicly promoted the meaning of the brand, which influenced the respondents’ judgment of the authenticity of the brand.
Implications: The study suggests that the authenticity of luxury goods in glocalization cannot be simply realized through adding local symbols but needs to be constructed through a variety of means such as cultural legibility, perceived sincerity, heritage protection, and digital negotiation. Theoretically, this study proposes a processual perspective on consumers' authenticity judgments, contributing to the literature on luxury brands' glocalization and brand authenticity. At the practical level, this study suggests that when Western luxury brands attempt localization in China, they should understand it as a culturally sensitive meaning-making process, rather than merely decorative use of local symbols. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9232272
- author
- Tran, Uyen Hong Phuong LU and Pan, Xinyuan LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- BUSN39 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- glocalization, luxury branding, brand authenticity, collaborative storytelling, Chinese Gen Z, Guochao, Western luxury brands, Louis Vuitton
- language
- English
- id
- 9232272
- date added to LUP
- 2026-07-21 09:23:46
- date last changed
- 2026-07-21 09:23:46
@misc{9232272,
abstract = {{Purpose: Taking Louis Vuitton as an example, this study aims to explore how Chinese Gen Z consumers interpret the authenticity of the Western luxury brands' collaborations storytelling in China.
Design/methodology/approach: This study employed interpretive qualitative methods, drawing on consumer culture theory, cultural brand building, and brand meaning co-creation theory. The visual stimulus material used in the study was the Louis Vuitton Snake Year series. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 Chinese Gen Z respondents.
Findings: The research results show that the judgment of the respondents on the authenticity of the brand is not a single reaction but a phased evaluation process. They read authenticity in a conflicting Guochao cultural context and determined whether the cultural symbols in them had readable Chinese cultural characteristics. When the symbols were clearly perceivable, respondents would infer the brand’s sincerity through visible cultural investment, story depth, and respect for cultural meaning. The respondents would only buy into its glocalization effort if the localization does not spoil Louis Vuitton's recognizable luxury heritage. Social media amplified, challenged, and publicly promoted the meaning of the brand, which influenced the respondents’ judgment of the authenticity of the brand.
Implications: The study suggests that the authenticity of luxury goods in glocalization cannot be simply realized through adding local symbols but needs to be constructed through a variety of means such as cultural legibility, perceived sincerity, heritage protection, and digital negotiation. Theoretically, this study proposes a processual perspective on consumers' authenticity judgments, contributing to the literature on luxury brands' glocalization and brand authenticity. At the practical level, this study suggests that when Western luxury brands attempt localization in China, they should understand it as a culturally sensitive meaning-making process, rather than merely decorative use of local symbols.}},
author = {{Tran, Uyen Hong Phuong and Pan, Xinyuan}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Global Heritage vs. Local Identity: How Chinese Gen Z Consumers Interpret Western Luxury Brands’ Collaborative Storytelling - A Case Study of Louis Vuitton}},
year = {{2026}},
}