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Brand attributes and personal values that shape millennials’ legitimacy judgements of clothing brands amid a global crisis

Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2023

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Main Author: Nkuna, Khanyisa Brenda
Other Authors: Erasmus, Alet
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2023
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access_status_str Open Access
author Nkuna, Khanyisa Brenda
author2 Erasmus, Alet
author_browse Erasmus, Alet
Nkuna, Khanyisa Brenda
author_facet Erasmus, Alet
Nkuna, Khanyisa Brenda
author_sort Nkuna, Khanyisa Brenda
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria.
description Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2023
format Thesis
id oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/92619
institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:38:07.678Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2023
publishDateRange 2023
publishDateSort 2023
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
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spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/92619 Brand attributes and personal values that shape millennials’ legitimacy judgements of clothing brands amid a global crisis Nkuna, Khanyisa Brenda Erasmus, Alet Olivier, Johan Clothing brands Millennials Personal values Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2023 This study was conducted in South Africa, amid the COVID-19 pandemic when many clothing retail stores were closing, resulting in many retrenchments which exacerbated the high unemployment rate and reduced the industry’s contribution to an already pressurised economy. This study aimed to investigate Millennials’ beliefs about clothing brands’ appropriateness, ethical worthiness and potential to support self-worth - the so-called legitimacy of the brands - arguing that this cohort, based on considerable market size and particular interest in clothing, significantly influences brands’ survival in the marketplace. The study argued that to remain relevant, retailers have to understand the underlying motives that fundamentally influence millennial’s brand legitimacy judgements to develop agile brand strategies that will “stand the test of time.” Anchored in Schwartz's ten-value typology (2012), the study implemented a mixed methods Means-End Chain (MEC) approach, incorporating a triple-stage Delphi technique, followed by an online focus group discussion, involving 50 and 10 participants, respectively. Data were analysed qualitatively, firstly uncovering the preferred brand attributes and related consequences that millennials anticipated to derive from preferred clothing brands. This guided the content design of the quantitative phase of the MEC procedure, where an online survey questionnaire was completed by 350 millennials. Using MEC’s series of hierarchical value maps, ‘hedonism’ and ‘security’ emerged as predominant personal values - per Schwartz’s (1994) value continuum. Clothing brands that are perceived as legitimate (pragmatically, morally, and cognitively), would therefore be those that instigate feelings/emotions of pleasure and harmony within the individual as well as the groups that they associate with. This study contributes to literature, by identifying the predominant values that direct millennials legitimacy judgements of clothing brands amid a crisis period, which is a time when core values are highly prevalent, and consumers are more cautious and less inclined to splurge and be reckless. The findings - most prevalent values - are then translated in terms of more tangible brand attributes that could guide retailers’ brand strategies. Future research could focus on other market contexts, explore gender and income differences, and even refinement within the millennial age category depending on retailers’ regard for particular market segments. pagibs2023 2023-09-29T11:35:41Z 2023-09-29T11:35:41Z 2023 2023-06-30 Dissertation * http://hdl.handle.net/2263/92619 en © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle Clothing brands
Millennials
Personal values
Nkuna, Khanyisa Brenda
Brand attributes and personal values that shape millennials’ legitimacy judgements of clothing brands amid a global crisis
title Brand attributes and personal values that shape millennials’ legitimacy judgements of clothing brands amid a global crisis
title_full Brand attributes and personal values that shape millennials’ legitimacy judgements of clothing brands amid a global crisis
title_fullStr Brand attributes and personal values that shape millennials’ legitimacy judgements of clothing brands amid a global crisis
title_full_unstemmed Brand attributes and personal values that shape millennials’ legitimacy judgements of clothing brands amid a global crisis
title_short Brand attributes and personal values that shape millennials’ legitimacy judgements of clothing brands amid a global crisis
title_sort brand attributes and personal values that shape millennials legitimacy judgements of clothing brands amid a global crisis
topic Clothing brands
Millennials
Personal values
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/92619
work_keys_str_mv AT nkunakhanyisabrenda brandattributesandpersonalvaluesthatshapemillennialslegitimacyjudgementsofclothingbrandsamidaglobalcrisis