Factors influencing university-related apparel consumption

Abstract

University fans like to wear university-related apparel products (URAPs) such as collegiate licensed apparel products (CLAPs) and non-collegiate licensed apparel products (non-CLAPs) to show their connection to their university. However, previous URAP studies have focused on only CLAPs. Further, consumers also want to look stylish when they wear URAPs, but no published studies have examined URAPs with different style characteristics (i.e., basic vs. fashion). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the influence of perceived university prestige on consumers’ attitudes toward purchasing each type of URAPs (i.e., basic CLAPs, fashion CLAPs, basic non-CLAPs, and fashion non-CLAPs) and their resultant effects on consumers’ purchase intention and purchase behaviors and to examine the moderating effects of consumers’ psychographic characteristics on the relationships between perceived university prestige and attitudes toward purchasing each type of URAPs. Data were collected using an online survey with a sample of 545 Auburn University Alumni Association members and 581 Auburn University students. Results revealed that the higher the perceived university prestige, the more positive the consumers’ attitudes toward purchasing the four types of URAPs. Results also showed no difference between the strength of the influence of perceived university prestige on consumers’ attitudes toward purchasing CLAPs versus non-CLAPs. Analysis further revealed no significant moderating effects of the psychographic variables; however, further direct effect analyses showed that consumers’ attitudes toward purchasing each type of URAPs were significantly related to various psychographic variables. These findings provide insights into students’ and alumni’s URAP consumption phenomenon and important theoretical implications in URAP research and managerial implications for universities, manufacturers and retailers of both CLAPs and non-CLAPs.