Managerial Implications

been analysed, respectively by Napoli et al. and Keller, with a focus on the relation between the individual consumer and the brand. However, the present study has shown that the perception that a consumer has on the authenticity of a brand and the evaluation of its value is socially constructed and it has many external influences. For example, social media brand ambassadors have been cited multiple times in the results, showing that other stakeholders can influence the way consumers perceive luxury brands. Further researchers can be done upon this topic (see intra 8.3 Limitations and Future research).

for the love of its product, being therefore sincere. Stressing the attention on all these attributes, not only positively influence the image that customers have about a brand, but, as mentioned in the results, it also influences the Consumer Brand Resonance, reinforcing the engagement, the attachment and the loyalty that customers have towards a luxury brand (see intra 7.0 Findings).

Moreover, luxury brands managers should also stress the attention on the dimension of heritage, considering it as a starting point for their business. More specifically, results have shown that customers care about heritage and the roots of a luxury brand, reason why managers should be consistent in the designs and collections they propose on the market. Nevertheless, innovation is also crucial, therefore luxury brands managers are responsible for finding the right balance between the past and the present, in order to connect the original values to the contemporary needs and wants of their customer base. In particular, luxury brands managers should be aware of the cruciality of heritage in this industry, since it is the point of differentiation among luxury brands. Heritage should be used as a competitive advantage, and managers should always try to be consistent with the initial brand values, keeping them alive also in the contemporary era.

Another important aspect about Brand Authenticity that luxury brands managers should bear in mind is that both prospect and current customers expect the best quality in luxury products.

Quality is essential, but it is seen as an intrinsic attribute of luxury items. That is why luxury brands managers should not mainly stress the attention on promoting the high quality of their products but rather on meeting the expectations of customers and on not disappointing them.

Secondly, in order to effectively succeed in the above-mentioned strategies and fulfil those purposes, luxury brands managers need to consider the power of communication. In fact, findings have shown that customers recognise the importance of the dimensions of Brand Authenticity but that they feel the need to be more informed about those. Specifically, customers stated that luxury firms should be in the front line in communicating and pushing towards them the values linked to these dimensions, in order for customers to have a direct first input that they could deeper examine. For example, customers confirmed that sincerity is an aspect that they value in luxury brands, but they also admitted that they are not used to dig into reports of production processes and sustainability. That is why luxury brands managers should be attentive to communicate the efforts they are making in these fields.

In the following, the authors will present some ideas that have emerged during the focus groups and that have been acknowledged to be relevant for luxury brand managers, in order for them to put into practice the suggestions delineated at the beginning of this paragraph.

To enhance sincerity, luxury brands managers should, first and foremost, involve their brand ambassadors across all platforms. Their role is considered fundamental in communicating and spreading the activities regarding the attribute of sincerity: customers follow these social figures, they trust them, and they are influenced by them. Brand ambassadors are a source of inspiration and information and having them pushing facts about sincerity could trigger customers to be more engaged and involved with the brand, as displayed in the results (see intra 7.0 Findings). Moreover, luxury brands managers should keep sustaining human and environmental campaigns, as most of them is already doing. Promoting this kind of campaigns would enhance their sincerity, showing customers what the brand stands for and creating a relationship with them, developing the Consumer Brand Resonance attributes.

Concerning craftsmanship, customers admitted their interest in knowing the production methods and the percentage of handcrafted elements in the luxury products they buy. Being aware of this could reinforce the relationship customers have with the products they own and therefore with the brand and it could also have an impact on the perception of exclusivity. For these reasons, luxury brand managers could promote the realisation of videos with two different purposes. On the one hand, videos showing how artisans realise products could be posted online, in order to show to all consumers the production processes based on craftsmanship, emphasising the cure and attention for details that these people put in the production process.

On the other hand, videos showing the state of production of one specific item could be provided to customers. More specifically, a QR code could be insert in the label of each item, directing customers to a video that could show them the process that their items have been through. In this way, they could feel more engaged with the brand and attached to the product they own.

Also, for customized orders, thanks to this kind of videos online shoppers could be guided through the creation of their item step by step, monitoring the status of production and starting to create a bond with the product even before the moment in which they will have it in their hands.

Finally, to practically enhance heritage, luxury brands managers should create some interactive expedients to instil in the customers the values of the luxury brand and its history. For example,

they could put some QR codes in the shop windows that people could scan with their phones and read some historical facts concerning the brand or actions made by the brand that demonstrate their willingness to pursue their values. The communication of these information should however also be present in the online platforms in order to encounter the new generations habits.