Luxury brands and social media: drivers and outcomes of consumer engagement on Instagram

Social media has been increasingly important in how brands manage their image and keep up with consumer demands. However, luxury brands were initially reluctant to adopt an online presence given potential hazards to their core values of exclusivity, scarcity, authenticity and uniqueness. Therefore, research on social media engagement with luxury brands is still scant. Based on data collected from a multinational sample of 243 luxury brand followers on Instagram, analyzed using PLS-SEM, the purpose of this study is to understand its drivers and outcomes, validating and adapting the model proposed by Linda Hollebeek and colleagues in 2014. The study concludes that not only Consumer Involvement (borrowed from the original model) but also Brand Self-Expressiveness significantly impact social media engagement with luxury brands, which in turn predicts previous unexplored outcomes such as Brand Image and Loyalty. The study further provides valuable insights to theory and practice.