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Table des matières

I. INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................................................3

II. THEORETICAL FOUNDATION............................................................................................................................3

A. Compatibility of luxury and sustainability............................................................................................3

B. The scarcity factor used in marketing..................................................................................................4

C. Corporate social responsibility in the luxury industry...........................................................................4

III. RESEARCH QUESTION AND HYPOTHESIS.............................................................................................................5

IV. ANALYTICAL MODEL......................................................................................................................................5

V. RESEARCH DESIGN........................................................................................................................................6

VI. REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................................6

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 I. Introduction

Fur was once considered a sign of true wealth. For many years, fur was so
important to fashion that it spawned a thriving business. Today, wearing fur
has become a sign of animal cruelty and unethical activities (Dragani, 2021).
According to PETA, 85 percent of the world's fur is produced from animals who live
in confinement, frequently in piteous conditions and suffer from severe treatment.
Moreover, in a study of IFOP done in the French industry, 89% of the respondents
are against using fur trade (IFOP, 2022). Considering the movement toward
sustainable activities and ethical endeavors, luxury brands such as Prada and Stella
McCartney have turned off fur entirely from their collections (Dragani, 2021). In
September 2021, the whole Group Kering gave a press release to announce that
they will also take a step to go fur-free (Kering Corporate, 2021). Through this
example, we can see that luxury brands have a corporate social responsibility: they
have a role to play in the society as to offer positive initiatives that will bring the world
to a better place.

However, some luxury brands continue to offer fur animal products like Louis
Vuitton, and they still are considered as the world’s most valuable luxury brand,
according to Forbes. The case of Louis Vuitton reveals that there is a discrepancy
between the consumer concerns around environmental issues concerning animal
welfare and their interest among luxury brands that are not taking actions in this
direction.

In fact, with the evolving trend of more ethical and conscious actions from luxury
brands, the idea is to understand if this shift impacts the scarcity image of the luxury
brand. Therefore, it will be important to understand the customers perception of
these initiatives as they do not seem to be very reluctant to the luxury brands that
still use animal fur in their collections. Would the customers lose in their willingness
to purchase from a luxury brand that has become becoming more sustainable with
environmental-friendly initiatives? In this research, we will only concentrate on one
specific responsible and sustainable action: offering fur free collections and stop
animal cruelty for their fur.

Therefore, the management decision problem identified here is: Does the
engagement for offering fur free collections impact the scarcity image they have
among customers? The marketing research problem which results from this is:
How do customers behave towards luxury brands that have shifted to fur free
collections?

II. Theoretical Foundation

A. Compatibility of luxury and sustainability

On the one hand, luxury is a very difficult term to be defined. Luxury has been
described in the literature as something to be associated with concepts such as
timeless, excellence, exclusivity, expensiveness, uniqueness, aesthetics, heritage,
and sensuality (Amatulli et al., 2017; Park et al., 2022). On the other hand,
sustainability was first mentioned in 1987 during the World Commission on
Environment and Development summit. The definition they developed still stands

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today: sustainability is the “development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Therefore,
many key features of luxury and sustainability are quite similar and are becoming
more and more similar (Amatulli et al., 2017).

Given that luxury goods, more than mass-market goods, are used to demonstrate
consumer identity and personal value systems (Jenkins, 2014), it may be even more
essential to luxury customers those brands like Gucci or Ralph Laurent lead in the
quest of sustainability standards (Amatulli et al., 2017). In short, buyers se luxury
goods as a way of expressing their profoundest principles when they are produced
and traded without causing others to suffer (Bendell & Kleanthous, 2007).

Although luxury items and sustainability share certain characteristics, such as

durability, numerous buyers disregard the sustainability element of high-end
products (Beckham & Voyer, 2014). In fact, high-end items are more lasting and by
that acquiring luxury may be a unique way to engage in responsible consumerism
(Sun et al., 2021). Consumers, on the other hand, prefer to spend their money on a
variety of everyday items rather than a few high-end items (Sun et al., 2021). We
show that this impact is caused in part by customers' “product durability neglect”
(Sun et al., 2021). When it comes to high-end purchases, consumers may
completely disregard product durability because it is not a distinguishing feature.
(Beckham & Voyer, 2014).

As a result, Luxury brands must play an important role: growth in luxury has been
driven primarily by brand heat and newness, but millennials and Generation Z are
increasingly demanding responsible and sustainable products (Salomon, 2022). It
has been found in another study that a brand framing approach based on
sustainability, in contrast to a more typical, exclusivity-driven framing strategy, can
benefit luxury brands (Sipilä et al., 2021). They are completely compatible when
basing the business model at the very beginning on sustainability.

B. The scarcity factor used in marketing

According to the Cambridge dictionary, scarcity can be defined as a “situation

when something is not easy to find or get”.

When it comes to marketing, scarcity can influence a customer's decision among

a variety of options (Mair, 2018). Scarcity management that is effective can provide a
competitive edge (Gierl et al., 2008). There are at least two different sorts of scarcity:
scarcity caused by a quantity limit and scarcity caused by a time limit. Because the
degree of scarcity fluctuates with each unit sold in the event of a quantity limit, both
supply and demand parameters can be modified (Aggarwal et al, 2011). Sellers
frequently utilize quantity limitations as a marketing tactic to limit the accessibility of a
product intentionally. The most famous example is the "limited editions," in which
only a limited number of items are produced and no more are made (Balachander &
Stock, 2009). In fact, limited supply can cause arousal and, as a result, influence
attractiveness positively (Zhu & Ratner, 2015).

C. Corporate social responsibility in the luxury industry

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 As consumers have been increasingly concerned that their luxury purchases
to be ethical and ecological (Pantano & Stylos, 2020), luxury brands have started to
implement corporate social responsibility initiatives that goes beyond the law and
responds to moral acts for the purpose of accommodating stakeholders' wellbeing
(Carroll,1991).
According to research that has been undertaken, the importance of corporate
social responsibility programs influences customers' buying intentions toward luxury
businesses (Ho et al., 2016). The study also reveals that there are four categories of
customers: their perspectives of CSR initiatives differ between the consumer groups
(Ho et al., 2016). Furthermore, in another study they indicate that views of intrinsic
corporate social responsibility reasons moderate the influence of corporate social
responsibility moral underpinnings on customer sentiment (Hang et al., 2021).
Therefore, the luxury industry should focus on connecting foundations rather than
personalizing roots to achieve a win-win scenario with their customers (Hang et al.,
2021).
In addition, a study has shown that it may be advantageous not just to engage in
corporate social responsibility initiatives, but also to include sustainability into brand
framing for luxury brands (Sipilä et al., 2021). But extrinsic corporate social
responsibility attributions can result from corporate social responsibility initiatives,
which may be extremely undesirable for these firms and will only result from negative
effects at the customers’ level (Sipilä et al., 2021).

III. Research Question and Hypothesis

RQ1: Can we distinguish a typical luxury customers’ behavior towards luxury brands
that offer fur free collections?

 H1: Luxury customers are less willing to purchase from luxury brands that
offer fur free collections as they perceive them to loss their scarcity image.
 H2: Luxury customers that are environmental conscious will be more willing to
ditch a luxury brand that does not offer fur free collections than a brand who
does.
 H3: Luxury customers are aware of the environment issues but when it comes
to purchasing, they do not take responsible and sustainable actions of the
brand as a criterion as they are driven by conspicuous consumption.

IV. Analytical Model

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 In this analytical model, it is illustrated the impact of offering a product that is for
free or not on the attitude and willing to purchase the relation of customers. This is
where the two hypotheses influence the relation whether the customers are aware of
the environmental threats using fur results and whether they are influenced by the
conspicuous consumption effect.

V. Research Design

To respond to the research question and test the hypotheses, the research will
be designed follow two methods.

The research design will start with a qualitative study with interviews of 10 luxury
customers. The ideal would be to take 5 that say they are environmental conscious
and 5 that are not. This would help us try out the first hypothesis on their perceived
image of scarcity when a luxury brand chooses to change their collections and offer
fur free products. The questions that will be asked to the respondents will be oriented
on their awareness of the threats of using fur on luxury products engenders and their
willingness to purchase with or without fur. They will confront to two similar products
of the same brand, but they are not made with the same raw materials. Using an
example will help the respondent to respond the most spontaneously as possible
and to evaluate their willingness to purchase directly. Through this real-life case, we
will be able to also evaluate their perception of luxury brands and how they evaluate
the scarcity of them.

To complete the research, a second method will be used to have a wider range of
responses and to identify the attitudes of customers on their willing to purchase while
introducing two factors that can impact it: the consciousness of the planet and the
conspicuous consumption effect that is very pronounced in the luxury sector. With a
quantitative study using a questionnaire on Qualtrics, we will be able to collect data
in a small amount of time. The questionnaire will be shared mainly on social media to
be shared again by the respondents. The ideal would be to gather around 500
responses to be able to have a solid amount of data to analyze it afterwards on
SPSS. One of the first screening question will be “Have you ever bought a luxury
product?” to ensure the validity of the respondents. Here are some following
questions that can be asked in the survey:

- How important is it for you that a luxury brand takes initiatives for the
environment and offers sustainable and responsible products?
- Do you see yourself as a sustainable customer?
- Have you ever bought a luxury product to display your wealth?
- On a scale from 1 to 5, how are you likely to buy a luxury product that is fur free?
- On a scale from 1 to 5, how are you likely to buy a luxury product that is made
with fur?
- Can you name some luxury brands that seem offering a sustainable collection?
- Could you grade the different criteria below that influence your purchase, from
the most important to the less important? (Sustainable, price, style, brand,
country of origin)

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VI. References

Aggarwal, P., Jun, S. Y., & Huh, J. H. (2011). Scarcity messages. Journal of
Advertising, 40(3), 19-30.

Amatulli, C., De Angelis, M., Costabile, M. & Guido, G. (2017). Sustainable Luxury
Brands: Evidence from Research and Implications for Managers. Palgrave
Macmillan.

Balachander, S., & Stock, A. (2009). Limited Edition Products: When and When not
to Offer them. Marketing Science, 28(2), 336-355.

Beckham, Daisy and Benjamin G. Voyer (2014). “Can Sustainability Be Luxurious? A

Mixed-Method Investigation of Implicit and Explicit Attitudes Towards Sustainable
Luxury Consumption,” in Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 42, June Cotte and
Stacy Wood, eds. Duluth, MN: Association for Consumer Research, 245–50.

Bendell, J. & Kleanthous, A. (2007). Deeper luxury: Quality and style when the world
matters. WWF UK.

Carroll, A. B. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the

moral management of organizational stakeholders. Business Horizons, 34, 39–48.

Dragani, M. (2021). These Luxury Labels are Helping the Environment by Going Fur-
Free. L’Officiel from https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/fur-free-luxury-brands

Gierl, H., Plantsch, M., & Schweidler, J. (2008). Scarcity Effects on Sales Volume in
Retail. The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research,
18(1), 45-61.

Hang, H., Rodrigo, P., & Ghaffari, M. (2021). Corporate social responsibility in the
luxury sector: The role of moral foundations. Psychology & Marketing, 38(12), 2227–
2239.

Ho, H., Awan, M. & Khan, H. (2016). Luxury brands and corporate social
responsibility: a perspective on consumers' preferences. Journal of International
Management Studies, 16, 77-81

IFOP (2022). Would you personally say that you are for or against the fur trade?
Statista from https://www-statista-com.rennes-sb.idm.oclc.org/statistics/1125283/
public-opinion-fur-trade-france/

Jaewoo Park, Hyo Jin Eom, & Charles Spence. (2022). The effect of perceived
scarcity on strengthening the attitude–behavior relation for sustainable luxury
products. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 31(3), 469–483.

Jenkins, R. (2014). Social identity.

Kering Corporate (2021). Kering goes entirely fur free. Kering Press Release from
https://keringcorporate.dam.kering.com/m/44324acfb85e74a3/original/KERING.pdf

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Mair, C. (2018). The Psychology of Fashion. London: Routledge.

Pantano, E., & Stylos, N. (2020). The Cinderella moment: Exploring consumers'
motivations to engage with renting as collaborative luxury consumption mode.
Psychology & Marketing, 37, 740–753.

Salomon, L. (2022). The 25 Most Sustainable and Ethical Luxury Fashion Brands.
Ecocult from https://ecocult.com/sustainable-luxury-fashion-brands/

Sipilä, J., Alavi, S., Edinger-Schons, L. M., Dörfer, S., & Schmitz, C. (2021).
Corporate social responsibility in luxury contexts: potential pitfalls and how to
overcome them. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 49(2), 280

Sun, J. J., Bellezza, S., & Paharia, N. (2021). Buy Less, Buy Luxury: Understanding
and Overcoming Product Durability Neglect for Sustainable Consumption. Journal of
Marketing, 85(3), 28–43

Zhu, M., & Ratner, R. K. (2015). Scarcity Polarizes Preferences: The Impact on
Choice among Multiple Items in a Product Class. Journal of Marketing Research,
52(1), 13-26.