Luxury is dead, long live luxury! Resonance as an alternative lens to advance our understanding of an eternal desire and a global business

Abstract

PurposeIn contemporary business and marketing literature luxury is mainly approached from the perspectives of production, communication and consumption. The author argues that to understand the phenomenon in the future, different, more contextualized and human-focused lenses and methodologies are needed. He ventures out into philosophy, sociology and anthropology to broaden the perspective on the matter and proposes resonance, the theory of successful world relations, as an alternative view on luxury and luxury consumption.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on the authors' reflections and an extensive review of literature, including contributions from different academic disciplines.FindingsWith introduction of resonance the author provides an alternative theoretical and practical lens on a multifaceted and dynamic phenomenon that nurtures lucrative markets which must adapt and fundamentally redefine themselves in response to changing social, ecological, technological and economic circumstances and evolving customer needs pointing towards a new social paradigm.Originality/valueThe author presents a critical view on luxury and enriches the discussion in the marketing and business-related literature with the perspectives of philosophy, sociology and other disciplines, linking the phenomenon to resonance theory and the notions of rebellion and escape. The paper suggests new ways of intellectually, scientifically and commercially engaging with the notion luxury and aims at serving as a springboard for further research.