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Lachance
et al.
Abstract
Wearing clothes with prestigious brand names seems to be
very important for adolescents. This phenomenon was studied in the context of consumer socialization by examining
the influence of three socialization agents, namely parents,
peers and TV, on the development of French Canadian adolescents brand sensitivity and their relative importance.
Controlling for socio-economic variables, multiple regression analyses were conducted separately for boys and for
girls. For both genders, brand sensitivity is related to peer
influence. Girls brand sensitivity is related to the importance fathers give to clothing brands. TV exposure is not
related to adolescents brand sensitivity. For boys and girls,
peers represent the most important predictor of this consumer socialization. The results are discussed in the light of
social and economic pressures and family relationships.
Keywords
Relevant literature
Introduction
Correspondence
Marie J. Lachance, Department of Agricultural Economics and Consumer
Sciences, 4310C Pavillon Paul-Comtois, Universit Laval, Qubec, Qc,
Canada G1K 7P4. E-mail: marie.lachance@eac.ulaval.ca
47
act as role models for teenagers and then can be considered as symbolic peers.14 According to some studies,
television is, to some extent, influential on youth clothes
shopping behaviour, at least for the late adolescent/
young adult group,30 and teenagers attitudes towards
athletic shoes.31
Relative importance of consumer socialization agents
Peers
Operational definitions and method
Television
Brand sensitivity
48
49
Control variables
50
Total sample
Gender
Female
Male
Age (years)
1214
1516
17+
Economic levelb
Low
Middle
High
%a
1034
100.0
505
506
48.8
48.9
410
424
191
39.7
41.0
18.5
327
482
225
31.6
46.6
21.8
Total number and percentage may vary because of missing answers data
for each item.
b
Low, middle and high economic levels correspond to ranks 8, 48 and 94,
respectively, of the economic classification of schools (on 100).
Mean
SD
Minimum
Maximum
Brand sensitivity
Age
Brand Importance for mother
Brand Importance for father
Influence from peers
TV exposure (hours/week)
21.31
15.00
1.96
1.94
30.14
19.23
7.00
1.53
1.13
1.18
8.92
8.06
7.00
12.00
1.00
1.00
12.00
7.00
35.00
19.00
5.00
5.00
57.00
35.00
Unstandardized coefficients
Standardized coefficients
Adjusted R 2
15.598***
-0.555***
0.253
0.943
0.495
1.121***
0.255***
0.002
-0.132***
0.019
0.053
0.086
0.206***
0.333***
0.072
0.041
0.108
0.143
0.246
0.250
a
Economic level was treated as a dummy set variable, with low economic status being the reference category for comparison purposes.
*** P < 0.001.
The most important agent in developing brand sensitivity in apparel appears to be the influence of peers, confirming the huge importance of friends and pals during
adolescence, and the role that clothes seem to play in
their relationships with them. These results are not only
consistent with the literature on the greater influence of
peers during adolescence relative to other consumer
socialization agents,10 but also with most findings about
their greater influence in clothing.14,21,26 As they can be
classified as public luxuries, the nature of these prestigious brands of clothing and shoes makes them more
likely to be affected by peers.49 Also, these findings
could be partly explained by the fact that teens shop
51
Unstandardized coefficients
Standardized coefficients
16.321***
-0.102
-2.304***
-0.552
-0.279
0.004
0.324***
0.002
-0.022
-0.166
-0.032
-0.049
0.006
0.427***
0.021
Adjusted R 2
0.021
0.019
0.019
0.187
0.187
Socio-economic level was treated as artificial numerical variables (dummies) and zero value was attributed to the low level.
*** P < 0.001 (see modifications on the note of the previous table).
more often for clothes with friends than with other people.26,30 We know the importance of acceptance and
approval from the groups of which teens want to be
part. Just like teenagers perception of dress,9 brand
names on clothes and sport shoes seem to be part of the
social interaction process and possibly, a prerequisite
condition to verbal exchange or even to peer acceptance. Zollo2 would call these clothes with brand names
badge items, which tell others how adolescents see
themselves and how they want to be perceived by others. This is in line with reference and normative influences of peers on clothing behaviour.28 In return, brand
names can be instrumental in helping teens to gain this
acceptance. One consequence is that this social pressure
to fit the norms by wearing the right brand names may
add to the economic burden parents and adolescents
themselves have to cope with. Indeed, most of the time,
these prestigious brands are expensive and adolescents
brand sensitivity makes the desired clothes difficult to
substitute. They do not want or need a windbreaker,
they need a particular one from this specific popular
prestigious brand.
All these pressures could have a negative impact on
parentadolescent communication or relationship. As
clothing seems to be one of the sources of greatest conflict between adolescents and parents,50 it is possible that
repeating or insisting demands from teens for brand
names and negative reactions or refusal from parents
can generate important tensions or even conflicts in the
household.
52
53
Conclusion
References
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32.
33.
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36.
37.
38.
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39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
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Appendix A
Kapferer and Laurents Brand Sensitivity Scale adapted
for adolescents
1. When I buy a piece of clothing or fashion accessories (sport shoes, caps, etc.), I look at the brand.
2. When I buy a piece of clothing or fashion accessories, I take brands into account.
3. I dont choose my clothes or fashion accessories
according to the brand.
4. Brand is not important to me.
5. When I buy clothing products, I prefer buying well
known brands.
6. If the store I am shopping in doesnt offer the specific brand of clothes or fashion accessories I am
looking for, I prefer to wait.
7. Using the scale reproduced below (1 = most important and 5 = least important) rank the following
characteristics according to the importance you
generally place on each one of them when you purchase a piece of clothing or a clothing accessory
(you must give a different rank to each aspect):
Fabric
Print
Brand
Price
Colour
Appendix B
Bearden, Netemeyer and Teels Susceptibility to Reference
Group Influence Scale
57