Special Session: Drivers of Female Luxury Consumption in the Gulf Region: An Abstract

Abstract

Luxury brand consumption has been the focus of considerable research examining the reasons for lavish expenditure on luxury goods. Researchers argue that consumers buy expensive possessions to convey their level of prestige, boost their self-esteem, express their identity, and signal status (e.g., Belk 1985; Han et al. 2010; Richins 1987). Cross-cultural research argues that the applicability of theories studied in Western cultures may prove to be problematic in non-Western cultures (e.g. Arnould and Thompson 2005; Ger and Belk 1996; Gould 1992; Wallendorf and Arnould 1988). While previous studies have examined luxury brand consumption in Western societies, research is scant in examining such buying behavior on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) consumers, with few exceptions. GCC consumers spend approximately between USD 6 billion and USD 10 billion per year on luxury products (Pivac 2014), therefore, making it a very lucrative, yet understudied market. This paper aims to fully explore and understand the drivers behind luxury consumption for women in the GCC area. Specifically, we draw on social role theory (Eagly and Wood 1999) to develop a deeper understanding for gender-related expectations pertaining to Arab female luxury consumption. In so doing, our study extends the existing literature on luxury consumption, by exploring this type of consumption through the lens of social role theory, a vastly under-studied area in the Arab context. According to social role theory, men will occupy roles that afford them greater power and status, where they reflect behaviors that are assertive, individually-oriented, directive, and autocratic – termed agentic behaviors (Eagly 1987). Women’s social behaviors, on the other hand, are less assertive, and more caring and nurturing – termed communal behaviors (Eagly 1987); thus, women occupy roles with less status and power (Ridgeway and Diekema 1992). Our results interestingly contrast with the drivers that would be expected to be used by female Arab consumers. Social role theory posits that, through socialization, females, in general, develop an interdependent self-concept embedded in a communal, caring, and nurturing social role. Our study shows that Arab women display largely independent and agentic behaviors, roles generally associated with men, in their luxury consumption. We offer plausible explanations to our findings along with theoretical and managerial implications from our study.