Fashion adoption theory
Fashion adoption theory (Sproles 1979) is employed to identify key characteristics of the tween fashion consumer groups. Fashion adoption is an individual decision-making process to adopt any given style (Forsythe et al. 1991). Fashion adoption theory explains consumers’ information seeking and decision-making process of fashion adoption, which includes awareness of fashion objects, interest, evaluation, identification of alternatives, decision, inventory of clothing, use, and obsolescence (Forsythe et al. 1991; Sproles 1979). According to this theory, the fashion adoption process is influenced by the adopter’s identity and psycho-social motivations. The adopter’s identity influencing the fashion adoption process includes age, sex, socioeconomic characteristics, and physical profile, such as body size/shape and appearance. The adopter’s psycho-social motivations include cognitive orientation toward dress (e.g. awareness, interest, knowledge, innovativeness, perceived risk, expectations, attitudes, and values), psychological identity (e.g. self-concept, personality, and individuality-conformity), and social influences on adopter (e.g. collective behavior, socialization, reference groups, social communications, and opinion leadership). This theory underscores the role of awareness of new fashion, which can be embodied by fashion innovativeness, and social influences, represented by opinion leadership, in the decision-making process of fashion adoption.
Sproles’ theory is utilized as the conceptual framework for the present study to explain how tween fashion consumers differ, depending on the two key psycho-social motivations, fashion innovativeness and opinion leadership, as well as how tweens’ fashion innovativeness and opinion leadership influence their fashion adoption process in online apparel shopping. Based on this fashion adoption theory, it was hypothesized tween consumers who exhibit more fashion innovativeness and opinion leadership may utilize more technology, especially Internet, for apparel shopping, browsing, and fashion information search; have a greater interest in online co-design involvement for new shopping experiences; and have stronger brand commitment toward their preferred fashion brands than those who retain less fashion innovativeness and opinion leadership.
Fashion innovativeness and opinion leadership of fashion change agents
Fashion innovativeness refers to one’s willingness to try a new fashion product earlier than other members of society (Goldsmith and Flynn 1992; Goldsmith 2000). Consumers’ fashion innovativeness tends to influence their fashion adoption process (Blackwell et al. 2001; Park et al. 2010). Fashion innovators with a high level of fashion innovativeness constitute a small segment of the overall consumer market, but they are a catalyst for mass adoption of products/brands (Goldsmith and Flynn 1992). Fashion innovators are apt to adopt a product sooner than other consumers (Beaudoin et al. 2003; Beaudoin and Lachance 2006) even though the purchase of these brands involves potential risk (Muzinich et al. 2003).
Opinion leadership refers to leadership by those who actively learn from and form opinions from the mass media and influence the decisions of others from the theory of two-step flow of communication (Katz and Lazarsfeld 1955). This theory explains people are not directly influenced by mass media but by opinion leaders who have more understanding of messages or contents from the media, explain and diffuse these to others. Opinion leaders are “individuals who are influential on the attitude and decision making of people in their social circle” (Brannon 2010, p. 407).
The fashion consumer groups retaining the FCAs characteristics—fashion innovativeness and opinion leadership—become involved in the diffusion process in which new innovative styles are adopted and then spread throughout society (Workman and Johnson 1993; Brannon 2010). The fashion consumer groups can be broken into four groups according to their role in adopting and diffusing new fashions: fashion innovators, fashion opinion leaders, innovative communicators, and fashion followers (Workman and Johnson 1993). Three of these four groups assist the advancement of new trends and styles: fashion innovators, fashion opinion leaders, and innovative communications. Collectively, these groups are considered fashion change agents (Workman and Kidd 2000).
FCAs who have more fashion innovativeness and opinion leadership tend to be more knowledgeable and interested in fashion, communicate, and spread new and innovative fashion trends within their social group (Brannon 2010; Cho and Workman 2015). FCAs tend to have a greater need for variety or change, enjoy shopping, and spend more money on fashion products as compared to non-FCAs (Workman 2010; Workman and Johnson 1993). FCAs are likely to value more hedonic and adventure shopping offering enjoyment and excitement (Goldsmith and Stith 1992). It is common for fashion opinion leaders to have a greater need for stimulation and seek a greater level of sensation and/or exciting experiences (Stanforth 1995; Studak and Workman 2004). Fashion innovators and opinion leaders also tend to use multi-channels for information search and apparel shopping, indicating more active use of information technology, social media, and so on (Cho and Workman 2011). Additionally, FCAs have relatively higher brand sensitivity (Beaudoin and Lachance 2006) and are more brand conscious (Workman and Cho 2012a, b), while demonstrating lower brand attachment, brand love, and brand trust than fashion followers (Workman et al. 2015).
Overall, FCAs with higher levels of fashion innovativeness and opinion leadership are different from fashion followers in fashion adoption and consumption. Based on the literature review of FCAs, it is hypothesized tween consumers can be segmented into FCAs and fashion followers in terms of fashion innovativeness and opinion leadership. It was assumed FCAs in the tween consumer group may lead the tween fashion market.
Hypothesis 1
Tween consumers can be segmented into different fashion consumer groups, based on fashion innovativeness, opinion leadership, Internet use for apparel shopping, interest in online co-design involvement, and brand commitment. There are significant differences for these characteristics among segmented fashion consumer groups.
Internet use and interests in co-design involvement
In a media-saturated society, technology, especially the Internet, is a means through which tween consumers become exposed to fashion information (Boden 2006). The Internet creates a competitive market place by presenting more options and experiences for consumers (Kim and Kim 2004), and Internet apparel shopping continues to increase (Rueter 2012). According to prior research, FCAs with higher fashion innovativeness and opinion leadership tend to become involved in shopping apparel products by utilizing multi-channels, including online and non-store channels (Cho and Workman 2011). Online apparel shoppers tend to be more innovative and knowledgeable about the Internet and use the Internet more frequently for shopping than non-online apparel shoppers (Goldsmith and Goldsmith 2001; Cho and Workman 2015). Park et al. (2007) also found fashion innovativeness positively relates to online shopping for purchasing foreign fashion goods beyond national borders. They also found that Internet use—a domain-specific innovativeness, which determines consumer adoption of the Internet for shopping—moderates the positive relationship between fashion innovativeness and attitude toward online apparel shopping for purchasing foreign fashion goods. Goldsmith and Flynn (2005) also found that consumers’ fashion innovativeness was positively associated with shopping in stores, catalogs, and the Internet. In particular, heavy shoppers of apparel products were more fashion innovative and more innovative for online apparel shopping than lower and medium shoppers. However, they did not find a significant relationship between opinion seeking from others and multi-channel shopping.
Additionally, technology allows consumers to participate in the co-design process through mass customization, a process that involves the customer in product development operations (Choy and Loker 2004). Co-design is defined as “the process of mass customization that allows a customer to interact with a set number of choices to individualize the product style, fabric, color, and size” (Choy and Loker 2004, p. 82). Co-design as part of an exciting consumer experience was more likely used among individuals with a higher level of optimum stimulation level (OSL)—individuals’ preferred level of stimulation from environmental stimuli (Fiore et al. 2004). According to Steenkamp and Baumgartner (1992), individuals with higher OSLs are more likely to have innovative behaviors by trying out new brands as well as exhibit more variety-seeking in a product category than individuals with lower OSLs. The relationship between fashion innovativeness and co-design was not investigated, but it is probable that individuals with higher fashion innovativeness would be more likely to try co-design for an exciting shopping experience.
Based on the literature, it is hypothesized that tween consumers with high FCA characteristics would use the Internet more for apparel shopping because they may possess more Internet use, while acquiring more interest in the co-design involvement for more experiential shopping experiences. These linkages between tweens’ FCA characteristics, and Internet use for apparel shopping and interests in co-design involvement may explore a better understanding of tween fashion consumers’ individual differences in online shopping orientations.
Hypothesis 2
Tween consumers’ (a) fashion innovativeness and (b) opinion leadership positively influence use of the Internet for apparel shopping.
Hypothesis 3
Tween consumers’ (a) fashion innovativeness and (b) opinion leadership positively influence interest in online co-design involvement for new shopping experiences.
Brand commitment and children’s wear market
Brand commitment is an emotional, psychological attachment to a brand within a product class from an attitudinal perspective, while brand loyalty is repeated purchase of a single brand over time from a behavioral perspective (Warrington and Shim 2000). Brand commitment and brand loyalty are positively related, but brand commitment is a stronger indicator of consumers’ brand choice behavior because brand-committed consumers are less likely to switch to an alternative brand than brand-loyal consumers when a preferred brand is absent (Warrington and Shim 2000).
Children are exposed to brands at a young age, ranging from food to clothing (Ji 2008). Brand awareness has been found to commence at an early age and grow stronger with time (Ross and Harradine 2004). While tweens have been characterized as having brand awareness, they do not necessarily display characteristics of brand loyalty (Grant and Stephen 2005). They understand their expectations for a product, and if they are not satisfied, they do not hesitate to consider the alternatives (Grant and Stephen 2005).
Previous studies show consumers with a higher level of fashion innovativeness tend to be more brand conscious (Workman and Cho 2012a, b) and more brand sensitive (Beaudoin and Lachance 2006). However, Workman et al. (2015) have found fashion change agents showed weaker brand attachment, brand love, and brand trust than fashion followers, indicating more brand-switching tendency among fashion change agents with higher levels of fashion innovativeness. Further investigation on these mixed results is needed to explore the relationships between the FCA characteristics and brand commitment. While the tweens market group has been identified and labeled, the literature available on tween consumers’ brand commitment is limited, particularly information on tweens as fashion-oriented consumers. Exploring characteristics of this fashion consumer group’s brand commitment would be beneficial to understand their attitudinal attachment or connection to brand. Thus, the following hypothesis investigating consumer-brand relationship is proposed.
Hypothesis 4
Tween consumers’ (a) fashion innovativeness and (b) opinion leadership negatively influence brand commitment toward their preferred fashion brands.