Abstract:
The research begins with a discussion of the worldwide and the Canadian market. The
research profiles the examination of the relationship between a person's self concept (as
defined by Malhotra) and fashion orientation (as defined by Gutman and Mills), and to
understand how these factors are influenced by acculturation, focusing in-depth on their
managerial implications. To study these relationships; a random sample of 196 ChineseCanadian female university students living in Canada was given a survey based on
Malhotra's self-concept scale, and the SLASIA acculturation scale. Based on multiple
regression analysis, findings suggest that the adoption of language and social interaction
dimensions of acculturation constructs have significant effects on the relationship between
self concept and fashion orientation.
This research contributes significantly to both marketing theory and practice. Theoretically,
this research develops new insights on the dimensionality of fashion orientation, identifies
various moderating effects of acculturation on the relationship of self concept and fashion
orientation dimensions, and provides a framework to examine these effects, where results
can be generalized across different culture. Practically, marketers can use available findings
to improve their understanding of the fashion needs of Chinese-Canadian consumers, and
target them based on these findings. The findings provide valuable implications for
companies to formulate their fashion marketing strategies for enhance fashion orientation in terms of different dimensions, based on different levels of acculturation.
