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Applications are invited for a self-funded 3-year PhD.

The PhD will be based in the Faculty of Business and Law, and will be supervised by Dr Mahsa Ghaffari and Professor Diego Vazquez-Brust.

Programme

There is an ongoing debate about luxury and sustainability. From one side luxury products are perceived to be durable and lasting worth (Kapferer, 2010) and hence contributing to sustainable development (SD), however from the other side, research on luxury consumption report reluctance of consumers in embracing sustainability and their lack of care about sustainability when consuming these products (e.g., Davies et al., 2012; Moraes et al., 2017).

Moraes et al (2017) found consumers’ less favourable attitudes toward the introduction of recycled materials into the luxury products – and luxury by its definition reinforces the idea of exclusivity and social stratification, hence its core value seems incompatible with one of the main pillars of sustainability which is social inclusiveness (Kapferer and Bastien, 2012; Kapferer and Michaut-Denizeau 2014).

Despite these tensions (Achabou and Dekhili 2013), due to the increased importance of sustainability in businesses and the vital need to make sustainable production, many luxury producers are endorsing their products with sustainability (e.g. Yves Saint-Laurent launch of “New vintage” collection using recycled fabric from previous seasons; Gucci Equilibrium, an online platform where every member of staff can dedicate one percent of their working time to volunteering in local communities). However, if the producers’ attempts to be sustainable are not corresponding with consumers’ responses in the luxury sector, the ultimate aim of creating a sustainable luxury business model is not yet achieved.

In this study, the main aim is to understand the meanings associated with luxury consumption and try to identify ways to align sustainability with luxury consumption in a way that they organically support each other.

As the theoretical framework for this research, we propose social practice theory (Schatzki 2001) to understand the components of luxury consumption. A successful candidate will be looking at the practice of luxury consumption, and its evolution to explore the systematic arrangement of meanings, know-how, infrastructures, sayings, doings and material objects required for performing it (Warde 2005) and identify the role of luxury consumption practice in understanding change towards sustainable consumption (Shove and Walker 2010). 

A doctorate research on this area could use interpretivist approach to explore the subjective meanings and understandings, which interconnect participants’ nexus of luxury consumption practices. A qualitative approach including interviews, ethnographic research, field observation or virtual ethnographic fieldwork, and perhaps action research depending on the core research skills of the PhD candidate can be applied.

References:

Achabou, M. A. and Dekhili, S. (2013). Luxury and sustainable development: Is there a match? Journal of Business Research 66, 1896–1903.

Davies, I. A., Lee, Z., & Ahonkhai, I. (2012). Do consumers care about ethical-luxury?. Journal of Business Ethics, 106(1), 37–51.

Kapferer, J. N., & Bastien, V. (2012). The luxury strategy: Break the rules of marketing to build luxury brands. Kogan page publishers.

Kapferer, J. N., & Michaut-Denizeau, A. (2014). Is luxury compatible with sustainability? Luxury consumers’ viewpoint. Journal of Brand Management, 21(1), 1–22.

Kapferer, J. N. (2010). All that glitters is not green: the challenge of sustainable luxury. European business review, (11), 40–45.

Moraes, C., Carrigan, M., Bosangit, C., Ferreira, C., & McGrath, M. (2017). Understanding ethical luxury consumption through practice theories: A study of fine jewellery purchases. Journal of Business Ethics, 145(3), 525–543.

Schatzki, T. (2001). Introduction: practice theory. The practice turn in contemporary theory. Routledge.

Shove, E., & Walker, G. (2010). Governing transitions in the sustainability of everyday life. Research policy, 39(4), 471–476.

Warde, A. (2005). Consumption and theories of practice. Journal of consumer culture, 5(2), 131–153.

Fees and funding

Visit the research subject area page for fees and funding information for this project.

How to apply

We’d encourage you to contact Dr Mahsa Ghaffari on mahsa.ghaffari@port.ac.uk, and/or Prof. Diego Vazquez-Brust on diego.vazquez-brust@port.ac.uk to discuss your interest before you apply, quoting the project code.

Please also include a research proposal of 1,000 words outlining the main features of your proposed research design – including how it meets the stated objectives, the challenges this project may present, and how the work will build on or challenge existing research in the above field.

If you want to be considered for this self-funded PhD opportunity you must quote project code MKTG5090220 when applying.