Abstract

This is a longitudinal study of the extent to which luxury fashion brands have struggled with the dilemma of on the one hand interacting with fans and customers online, while on the other hand retain the exclusivity, surprise, and innovation hype of the brand. We have developed a framework for assessing websites and social media sites of luxury fashion brands. We applied the framework in three empirical studies in 2006, 2008 and 2010. Our findings show that the observed luxury brands have increased their adoption of social and interactive digital Internet-based technologies since 2006. We also document some of the most interesting uses of Web 2.0 technologies fashion brands for creating an immersing and innovative environment online. While some brands like Burberry has gone ‘the full Monty’, others like Prada has not had a functioning web-site since 2007, probably disappointed about their first attempts at ‘getting their feet wet’ early on. The findings have theoretical relevance in the shape of the 8C framework, but it should also have relevance for practitioners, as it might function as a checklist for creators and management of fashion brand websites.

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