The effect of consumers' involvement and innovativeness on the utilization of fashion wardrobe

Abstract

This study proposed wardrobe utilization as a means of explaining consumer clothing use behaviour, and aimed to explore its relationship with other antecedent variables. We posit that use innovativeness functions as an antecedent of wardrobe utilization within a model comprised of fashion-related variables, such as fashion innovativeness and fashion involvement. An empirical study was conducted to test this relationship with 211 adult women between the ages of 20 and 40 years. In order to calculate wardrobe utilization, the number of clothing items worn by each respondent was divided by the total number of clothes that the respective respondent owns. The findings of this study revealed a measureable effect of use innovativeness on wardrobe utilization and apparel purchase behaviour. In addition, fashion innovativeness and fashion involvement was shown to affect use innovativeness; however, the two variables did not have a significant impact on influencing wardrobe utilization. These results showed that use innovativeness plays a role of the full mediator variable in the path from fashion involvement and fashion innovativeness to wardrobe utilization. These also indicated that people who are very innovative in their use of fashion are likely to broadly utilize their respective wardrobes. Finally, the impact of purchase behaviour on wardrobe utilization was dismissed, as purchase behaviour and use behaviour were found to be clearly distinguished from one another. Clothing utilization is related to the life cycle of clothes including their purchase, usage and disposal. And in better understanding clothing utilization, the needless waste of clothing would be reduced and would encourage better management of clothes after their purchase. In the context of the product life cycle, this study of clothing use behaviour can assist in building a more sustainable environment for the textile and fashion industry.

Understanding millennial consumer’s adoption of 3D printed fashion products by exploring personal values and innovativeness

“…Goldsmith (2000) asserted that fashion innovativeness is a predictor of consumers' tendency to purchase new fashionable clothing. In a recent study by Choo et al (2014), consumers with high fashion innovativeness were found to be more likely to purchase new and trendy products/services. Accordingly, consumers with high fashion innovativeness are likely to perceive a new technology (e.g., 3D printing) positively and favorably and thus to develop the intention to try it.…”

The Impact of E-Commerce Firms’ Capabilities on Value Offering in the Online Shopping Environment

“…Specially, research shows that consumers' Internet usage has a positive effect on online buying and is significantly linked with socio-economic characteristics (Wu et al, 2011). Consumer creativity includes an openness to new ideas and seeking new experiences, which solves problems with personal knowledge (Choo et al, 2014). Online retailers should further identify existing gaps between their own desired level service performance and customer expectations.…”

Engaging fashion consumers in social media: the case of luxury brands

“…Social values were measured by 13 items adapted from Wiedmann, Hennigs, and Siebels (2009) and Loureiro and de Araújo (2014). Involvement comprised seven items adapted from Choo et al (2014). The construct of consumer engagement was composed of 16 items as proposed by Kumar and Pansari (2016).…”