What shapes adolescents' attitudes toward luxury brands? The role of self-worth, self-construal, gender and national culture

Purpose: The main growth of the luxury market comes from Generation Z. This study addresses the research gap on the effects of adolescents' self-construal and contingencies of self-worth (CSW), both extrinsic (social approval and competition) and intrinsic (family support and virtue), on their attitudes toward luxury brands across cultures. The results show that extrinsic domains of CSW (competition and social approval) are associated with more pronounced attitudes toward luxury brands. In contrast, the intrinsic domains of CSW (virtue) are associated with weaker attitudes toward luxury brands. Our model also investigates the effect of two moderators: national culture and gender. This research samples 1087 teenage consumers (343 French, 357 American, and 387 Chilean teens). The paper highlights the contributions of the findings to luxury research, and illustrates their practical value for luxury companies interested in targeting Generation Z from different cultures.