Purpose -Since South Korea has widened its market doors to global trade, demand has been continuously on the rise for foreign luxury brands, especially from young South Korean consumers. This study aims to identify the determinants of young South Korean consumers' purchasing intentions toward foreign luxury fashion brands and their relative importance. Design/methodology/approach -The data used in this study were gathered by surveying university students in Seoul, South Korea using convenience sampling, and 319 questionnaires were used in the statistical analysis. In analyzing data, factor analysis, correlation, and regression were conducted. Findings -The results showed that all determinants, except for vanity, were significantly related to the purchasing of foreign luxury fashion brands. Regarding their relative importance, purchasing frequency was the most influential factor followed by conformity, age, consumer ethnocentrism, social recognition, and pocket money, in that order. Originality/value -For the luxury brand marketers, practical implications of why young South Korean consumers have increasing demands for foreign luxury brands, the potential market growth, consumer profiles, and marketing strategies were discussed.

Purpose -This study examines the impacts of fashion innovativeness and materialism on young Korean consumers' attitudes toward online purchasing of foreign fashion goods across national borders through local e-commerce enablers and the moderating effect of internet innovativeness on these impacts. Design/methodology/approach -The data used in this study were gathered by surveying female university students in Seoul, Korea, using convenience sampling, and 222 questionnaires were used in the statistical analysis. In analyzing data, correlation analysis, hierarchical regression, and simple slope analysis were conducted. Findings -The results showed that fashion innovativeness and materialism are positively related to the attitude toward purchasing foreign fashion goods online across national borders, and that internet innovativeness exercises significant moderating effects on the relationships. Originality/value -Past research found positive direct impacts of internet innovativeness on internet shopping, but no study has explored the interaction effects between internet innovativeness and other variables directly influencing online purchasing attitudes toward foreign fashion goods. Practical implications are discussed, and suggestions for future research are made.

In expanding their market to the global level with clear and consistent global brand images across nations, marketers are ever confronting the issue of how to deal with different cultural values. Cultural value is identified as an influential factor on brand image and is widely accepted as one of the crucial concepts in understanding consumer consumption value, which determines choices of consuming everyday products and services. Most firms endeavoring to establish and maintain consistent global brand images, however, adopt a standardized brand image strategy that usually does not consider individual target markets' characteristics, including the concepts of cultural value and consumption value. This study developed a conceptual framework which incorporated cultural value not only as a direct antecedent of brand image, but also as an indirect antecedent of brand image through consumption value, and empirically tested it using the category of apparel. Following this framework, this study hypothesized the differences in brand image, cultural value, and consumption value between the U.S. and South Korea. Data were gathered through surveying university students residing in the San Francisco and Seoul metropolitan areas using a convenience sampling method. A total of 329 completed questionnaires were used in factor analysis, discriminant analysis, and structural equation

An ethnic identity is reflected through intrinsic and extrinsic traits which also may be associated with other ethnic behaviors. This study investigated ethnic identity as it relates to traditional ethnic dress patterns, and use of ethnic reference persons and ethnic market sources as information on contemporary dress. A sample of 117 students identifying with one of seven ethnic heritages was analyzed as a pooled group with separate analyses for the Chinese and Japanese. Analyses included Spearman rho correlations and the Mann-Whitney U test. Results indicated a relationship between ethnic identity and ethnic dress usage. Individuals with higher ethnic identities used family, ethnics other than family, ethnic fashion magazines, and ethnic fashion shows as sources of information on dress; however, the relationship with ethnic identity and the use of these sources varied according to ethnic heritage.

The clothing purchase behaviour of US and Japanese female university students was compared. Evaluative criteria when buying clothing, an interest in clothing and fashion and source of fashion information were studied. Relationships between variables were investigated and the difference and similarity between the two countries were discussed. For evaluative criteria, fit and style/design were ranked the most important in both countries. US students tended to give higher scores for fit, quality, fashion and brand/designer name than Japanese students. Japanese students were more economical, and colour and style/design were important. We found differences in the meaning of fashion between the two countries by cluster analysis. Interest in clothing was almost at the same level in the two countries. But interest in fashion was different; Japanese students were more interested in fashion when they spent more money on clothing. The fashion information sources most frequently used were fashion magazines, store displays, friends and TV. US students were more active in collecting information about fashion and used family members and non‐personal sources, such as catalogues, the cinema, newspapers and electronic sources. Japanese students used more retail‐oriented sources such as store displays and sales people. In both countries, students who were information search oriented tended to rank evaluative criteria highly and to have more interest in clothing/fashion.