Secret Communication - Inconspicuous Luxury Consumption and its Ambiguous Nature
(2018) BUSN39 20181Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- Inconspicuous luxury consumption describes a descreet approach to luxury and refers to the avoidance of displaying ostentatious logos and blatant patterns on consumed goods. This consumption practice represents an evolving phenomenon and challenges the traditional perception that luxury consumption is highly visible. So far, research on inconspicuous consumption is scarce and points out its complex and ambiguous nature. The present thesis investigates the underlying ambiguities constituting this consumption practice. By conducting observations and qualitative in-depth interviews with the inconspicuous luxury clientele from Switzerland, we explore the ambiguities by means of examining consumers’ experiences. We contribute to previous... (More)
- Inconspicuous luxury consumption describes a descreet approach to luxury and refers to the avoidance of displaying ostentatious logos and blatant patterns on consumed goods. This consumption practice represents an evolving phenomenon and challenges the traditional perception that luxury consumption is highly visible. So far, research on inconspicuous consumption is scarce and points out its complex and ambiguous nature. The present thesis investigates the underlying ambiguities constituting this consumption practice. By conducting observations and qualitative in-depth interviews with the inconspicuous luxury clientele from Switzerland, we explore the ambiguities by means of examining consumers’ experiences. We contribute to previous research since we unfold and shed light on these ambiguities. By confronting contradicting attitudes and motivations, we organize and frame the identified ambiguities into six tensions: (1) tolerance vs. contempt, (2) need for discretion vs. need for being noticed, (3) need for meaningful consumption vs. need for immediate satisfaction, (4) need for uniqueness and differentiation vs. need for affiliation, (5) need for self-enhancement vs. need for self-communication, and (6) need for personal pleasure vs. need for status. Moreover, we identify that several tensions are interrelated and the concepts of self, personal pleasure and status are overarching. By introducing the tensions, we offer a more profound and holistic understanding of this consumption practice. Thus, in addition to its academic contribution, the present study provides practitioners with important insights that facilitate the development of adequate marketing strategies to efficiently target the inconspicuous luxury clientele. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8947584
- author
- Leute, Hannah Roberta LU and Anthoine-Badaroux, Alexandra Rose Joséphine LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- BUSN39 20181
- year
- 2018
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- inconspicuous, conspicuous, luxury consumption, ambiguity, Veblen, Bourdieu, cultural capital, discreet
- language
- English
- id
- 8947584
- date added to LUP
- 2018-07-30 14:16:31
- date last changed
- 2018-07-30 14:16:31
@misc{8947584,
abstract = {{Inconspicuous luxury consumption describes a descreet approach to luxury and refers to the avoidance of displaying ostentatious logos and blatant patterns on consumed goods. This consumption practice represents an evolving phenomenon and challenges the traditional perception that luxury consumption is highly visible. So far, research on inconspicuous consumption is scarce and points out its complex and ambiguous nature. The present thesis investigates the underlying ambiguities constituting this consumption practice. By conducting observations and qualitative in-depth interviews with the inconspicuous luxury clientele from Switzerland, we explore the ambiguities by means of examining consumers’ experiences. We contribute to previous research since we unfold and shed light on these ambiguities. By confronting contradicting attitudes and motivations, we organize and frame the identified ambiguities into six tensions: (1) tolerance vs. contempt, (2) need for discretion vs. need for being noticed, (3) need for meaningful consumption vs. need for immediate satisfaction, (4) need for uniqueness and differentiation vs. need for affiliation, (5) need for self-enhancement vs. need for self-communication, and (6) need for personal pleasure vs. need for status. Moreover, we identify that several tensions are interrelated and the concepts of self, personal pleasure and status are overarching. By introducing the tensions, we offer a more profound and holistic understanding of this consumption practice. Thus, in addition to its academic contribution, the present study provides practitioners with important insights that facilitate the development of adequate marketing strategies to efficiently target the inconspicuous luxury clientele.}},
author = {{Leute, Hannah Roberta and Anthoine-Badaroux, Alexandra Rose Joséphine}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Secret Communication - Inconspicuous Luxury Consumption and its Ambiguous Nature}},
year = {{2018}},
}