Determinants of Saudi Arabian women's luxury fashion brands purchase intention: mediation effect of cognitive-affective model / Amani Adnan Aqeel

Saudi Arabia, a country that has often been described as traditional and conservative, has been experiencing rising consumption of luxury brands lately. This is indeed an area that is still underexplored as the consumption behaviour of Saudi women toward luxury fashion brands have not been given much attention in the literature. As luxury goods are products that have intrinsic values and high social standing, both rational and emotional variables must be considered in the study of consumer behaviour and the cognitive-affective model is one of the theoretical bases in understanding such purchase intention. The cognitive-affective model has been used to understand the purchase intention of goods but very little of its application is seen in the context of luxury goods where perceived quality and emotional value are incorporated. As such, the mediating effect of perceived quality and emotional value as suggested by the model is the emphasis of this study as this is an area that has yet to be pursued extensively in existing literature. In line with this, the main objective of this study was to determine the relationship between the social status of women consumers and their purchase intention of luxury brands in Saudi Arabia. Primary data were obtained through questionnaires distributed in Riyadh and Jeddah, two major cities in Saudi Arabia, to Saudi women aged 20 and above who had luxury fashion brand purchase experiences. A total of 366 valid responses were collected and structural equation modelling was used to carry out a multivariate analysis. The findings of the research indicate that individual characteristic and consumer normative, two distinct constructs in the proposed framework, influenced perceived quality and emotional values of Saudi women's luxury fashion brands purchase. Both perceived quality and emotional value were found to motivate purchase intention and that perceived quality significantly mediates the relationship between the individual characteristics and consumer normative and purchase intention. Unlike previous studies that found emotional value as the most important element in the purchase intention of luxury goods with perceived quality having a negative effect, this study finds that perceived quality of luxury fashion brands is the key factor influencing the purchase intention among Saudi women. The present study thus contributes to the body of knowledge on luxury consumption in emerging markets like Saudi Arabia by proposing the inclusion of mediators in the relationship between social status and purchase intention.