Erasmus University Thesis Repository
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Corrective Action as a Crisis Response Strategy: Examining Young Consumers Perceptions of Luxury Fashion Brands in The Netherlands
No full textIn recent years, fashion brands have been occupied with restoring their brand image in the aftermath of scandals due to ethical controversies, cultural insensitivity, and public scrutiny online. These crises pose a unique threat to brand value, which in the luxury fashion industry relies on consumer trust and emotional resonance. While existing theories such as Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) and image Repair Theory (IRT) offer guidance on the strategic messaging, they often overlook how younger, socially conscious consumers interpret brand image attributes like sincerity, authenticity, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) following a crisis. This thesis investigates how these perceived brand images influence brand trust and purchase intention among Dutch young adults aged 18 to 29 in response to a luxury fashion brand's rebuild strategy following a crisis. The central question is: To what extent does the perceived brand image of corporate social responsibility, authenticity, and sincerity resulting from a luxury fashion brand's rebuild crisis response strategy influence the brand trust and purchase intention among young adults aged 18 to 29 years in the Netherlands?
A quantitative methodology was employed by distributing a survey based on a hypothetical scenario experiment of the fictional luxury fashion brand Maison Elise. The survey (N= 206) measured respondents' perceptions of the brand's crisis response, brand trust, and purchase intention, using validated scales. Statistical analysis was used to examine both direct and indirect relationships between variables. The results indicate that sincerity has the strongest direct effect on purchase intention, followed by authenticity and CSR. Moreover, brand trust was found as a mediator between perceived brand image and purchase intention, suggesting that trust is a key factor through which consumers translate into behavioural intent. Additionally, educational level had a significant effect on purchase intention, with master's degree holders showing higher responsiveness than lower degree holders. These findings contribute to crisis communication theory by integrating affective and ethical dimensions into the SCCT and IRT frameworks. Practically, the results suggest that, next to corrective messages, luxury fashion brands must communicate sincerity and demonstrate value alignment to rebuild trust. The study also suggests that future research to focus on CSR typologies, brand equity, and consumer segmentation in post-crisis scenarios
More than just a fan? Exploring the influence of fan engagement and gender on brand perception of artists in popular music
No full textHow do fans influence the way popular music artists are perceived, and what role does gender play in shaping these perceptions? This thesis investigates the relationship between fan engagement, artist gender, and brand perception in the popular music industry. Using a quantitative approach, it examines how engagement with fan-created content relates to how audiences evaluate artists across different brand personality dimensions.
The study draws on Aaker's Brand Personality Framework alongside theories of participatory culture, brand identity, and gender inequality in music. A survey was conducted with over 150 respondents, measuring the extent of their fan engagement and their perception of various artist traits, including excitement, sincerity, competence, ruggedness, and sophistication.
Findings show that fan engagement is a significant predictor of how artists are perceived across multiple brand dimensions. While gender did not directly predict perception across all traits, it interacted with specific fan behaviours in meaningful ways, suggesting that the construction of artist identity is partially shaped by how gendered expectations intersect with participatory fan practices.
This thesis contributes to a more nuanced understanding of fan-artist dynamics by showing how brand perception is co-produced through digital participation. It also offers a replicable method for studying audience influence in artist branding, relevant to both scholars and industry professionals aiming to grasp the complexities of artist image construction in the digital era
Wie deed het licht aan in Eindhoven?
No full textWie deed het licht aan in de stad? Wie was de meest machthebbende partij in het Eindhoven van na de Tweede Wereldoorlog? Dit onderzoek richt zich op de totstandkoming van het 'Masterplan' tussen de gemeente Eindhoven en het bedrijf Philips. De onderhandelingen over het Masterplan begonnen kort na de Tweede Wereldoorlog en in 1954 werd er eindelijk een deal gemaakt. Met deze publiek-private samenwerking kwam er een doorbraak in de wederopbouw van de stad en kreeg de gemeente meer grip op de ontwikkeling van Eindhoven. Ook kreeg de stad een meer moderne identiteit en bewoog het weg van haar industriële karakter.
In het Masterplan werden afspraken gemaakt over de economische bezittingen van het bedrijf Philips en de gemeente. Als belangrijkste bedrijf in de stad had Philips een enorme concentratie aan land en middelen in zijn bezit die de verdere ontwikkeling van de stad in de weg stonden. De publiek-private samenwerking, vormgegeven in het Masterplan, moest hier verandering in brengen. Aan de hand van verschillende primaire (archief)bronnen is in dit onderzoek bekeken hoe dit Masterplan tot stand kwam en wat dit zegt over de naoorlogse politieke economie van Eindhoven. Hierin wordt gebruik gemaakt van theorieën uit de literatuur over (urbane) politieke economie en publiek-private samenwerking.
Uit het onderzoek blijkt dat de gemeente met deze vorm van publiek-private samenwerking een flinke verschuiving in de machtsverhoudingen wist te bewerkstelligen. De stad kon mede via het Masterplan een succesvolle wederopbouw tot stand brengen en een moderner stadscentrum bouwen. Eerdere geschiedschrijving heeft de rol van het Masterplan in de stedelijke ontwikkeling van Eindhoven onbesproken gelaten. Met dit onderzoek wordt zo een historiografisch gat opgevuld en een ander beeld geschetst van de rol van Philips in de totstandkoming van het hedendaagse Eindhoven
Designing Difference: Open Innovation in Fashion
No full textThe fashion industry is in an era of rapid change, rising competition, and increasing complexity regarding differentiation. In the context of external pressure for differentiation, innovation has emerged as a critical strategic lever, not only for survival and relevance but also for brand definition and cultural capital expansion. The present thesis investigates how fashion firms generate product innovation through external collaboration. While little research has been undertaken on this form of collaboration within the fashion field, this study applies the Open Innovation (OI) model applied by Butticè et al. (2023) to high-end fashion. The research employed a qualitative design. More specifically, data were gathered through seven expert interviews. Data were analyzed through thematic analysis, and both the interviews and the analysis were built around the OI model by using the three mechanisms to create ties to foster innovation: leveraging existing ties, product exposure, and entrepreneur exposure. The evidence suggests that fashion firms employ external partnerships not merely as a marketing strategy, but as a key mechanism to bring innovation within the firms' boundaries. Key findings confirm and extend the OI model, and they also underline the drawbacks and the risks involved in partnership projects.
Furthermore, the thesis provides significant contributions to practice through providing an understanding of the role that partnerships play in enhancing innovation capabilities. Different companies could benefit from the findings and insights discussed in the present dissertation. However, the study is not without limitations. The sample size, European-centric nature, the focus on a specific type of partnership, and the lack of consumer perspectives are just some of the study's limitations, which cannot be underestimated. Building on these limitations, recommendations for future research include a wider and more globally distributed sample, the inclusion of the consumer perspective, and a deeper exploration of long-term impacts. Such studies could enrich the understanding of how innovation unfolds over time and across cultural contexts, ultimately equipping fashion firms with actionable insights for designing more resilient and future-oriented collaborative innovation strategies
Hooked on Trust: Mapping the Pathways from Influencer Credibility to Consumer Repeat Purchase Intention
No full textInfluencer marketing has changed the way consumers interact with brands, creating a digital culture in which purchasing decisions are increasingly influenced by perceived trust, relatability and the aspirational lifestyles presented by influencers. While previous research has shown that influencer credibility can influence consumer attitudes, its impact on repeated purchase intention remains underexplored.
To address this gap, this thesis explores the following central research question:
How does influencer credibility influence online repeat purchase intention? What are the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions that affect this relationship?
Drawing on the Source Credibility Model, Self-Determination Theory, Dual-Process Theory and the Hedonic Treadmill, a conceptual model that integrates both emotional and cognitive dimensions is proposed; this includes two mediators (fear of missing out (FOMO) and persuasion knowledge), as well as three moderators (media literacy, dispositional skepticism, and centrality of materialism).
A quantitative survey was conducted obtaining 185 valid participants, data were collected through validated multi-item Likert scale instruments and analyzed using regression, mediation and moderation analyses via SPSS and PROCESS.
The results show that influencer credibility is significantly and positively associated with the intention to make repeat purchases online, confirming its role as a powerful predictor of ongoing consumer behavior. While FOMO was related to both credibility and purchase behaviour, it did not significantly mediate the relationship; persuasion knowledge was not a significant mediator, suggesting that critical awareness of persuasive intent may not be enough to counteract emotionally driven consumer patterns. Furthermore, none of the hypothesized moderators significantly altered the main relationship, suggesting that credibility may override individual resistance in digital commerce environments.
This study makes theoretical contributions by extending the literature on influencer marketing with a dual-pathway model of repeated purchasing. It has also societal implications, emphasizing the need to better understand how emotional mechanisms and influencer dynamics sustain overconsumption. These findings could inform the development of ethical marketing strategies and policies aimed at encouraging more thoughtful and responsible consumer behavior in the age of social media influence
(Under)mining a just green transition
No full textThis thesis analyses the intersection between the green transition and the impact on indigenous land and communities through the lens of necropolitics by using as case study the dispute at Thacker Pass in Nevada between indigenous peoples, environmental groups, mining interests and government over lithium mining. This thesis argues that the narrative of green transition, one of technical solutions for decarbonisation in the fight against climate change, is built on a historic legacy of extractivism. In the case of lithium mining in Nevada, local communities, especially indigenous Shoshone-Paiute people, are torn between the economic opportunities of mining, environmental risk and damage to land culturally significant, and their marginalisation from a decision-making process that sees the interests of geopolitics and mining industries prevaricate. This struggle does not just entail a political conflict over control over the land, but highlights both a different relationship to land and resources, and how these differences shape power over life and death in the region. Positioning this struggle in a historical context reveals how past experiences of colonialism and extractivism have shaped contemporary socio-economic and political environments in which the contestation over lithium mining unfolds. This is revealed through the study of primary sources such as interviews, statements and articles by the involved parties. What emerges from these sources is the importance of narratives and how they are deployed to further competing agendas. Seemingly benign narratives such as the necessity of the green transition to combat climate change obfuscates potentially harmful impacts on local communities, which see a historical continuity of imposed sacrifice in the name of bigger narratives
Solo, But Not Alone
No full textThis thesis examines the impact of social interactions on memorable solo travel experiences for female Gen Z members. It focuses on Gen Z as an emergent market segment and investigates how technology enables and mediates connections. While typically framed as a solitary endeavor, this research questions how solo travel is inherently shaped by social dynamics. The main research question examines how social interactions shape the memorability of solo travel experiences for female Gen Z travelers. Therefore, the objective is to investigate how interpersonal encounters and digital tools shape not only the travel experience but also the memory attributed to it.
The research employed a qualitative analysis of thirteen semi-structured interviews with female Gen Z member who are currently living in Europe. Thematic analysis revealed that Gen Z women navigate a space between independence and connection. While all participants were seeking autonomy and independence, there was an evident social significance with other travelers. While the depth of these interactions varied from fleeting to long-term friendships, all enhanced emotional engagement and memory-making. With the help of digital tools participants stayed connected even after traveling, but more importantly, also connect with family and friends from home during the traveling. Digital tools not only served as guidance and reassurance for female travelers, but created safety nets over distances without which participants would not travel solo. Sharing memorable moments was another integral part of the experiences, as it enhanced meaning-making and reflection processes. Overall, three typologies emerged from the findings: The Social Solo Traveler, the Semi-Social Traveler, the Life Crisis Traveler, as well as a conceptual framework for Memorable Solo Travel Experiences (MSTE).
This thesis contributes to the literature on Gen Z solo travel by reframing solo travel as an inherently social and digitally mediated experience. Implications include the need for tourism providers to design products that support emotional safety and community-building for solo travelers. Additionally, this thesis questions whether pre-conceived understandings of "authentic" solo travel impose exclusionary ideals, particularly for women, by undervaluing the collective dimensions that often define these experiences
Drievoudige planningskracht
No full textHet onderzoek Drievoudige planningskracht. Lessen over strategie bij de realisatie van de metro in samenhang met gebiedsontwikkeling in Kopenhagen, meer specifiek in Ydre Nordhavn is door Raymond Bijen als masterthesis in het kader van de Master City Developer (MCD) bij de Erasmus Universiteit/Delft University uitgevoerd in 2024/2025. In de thesis is onderzoek verricht naar de wijze waarop in Kopenhagen, en meer specifiek in Ydre Nordhavn, strategie is ingezet om metroontwikkeling en gebiedsontwikkeling in samenhang en met behulp van value capturing uit te voeren.
De in hoofdstuk 1 beschreven aanleiding voor het onderzoek is er in gelegen dat in de Regio Utrecht onderzoek plaatsvindt naar de eerste mogelijke aanleg van een metroverbinding. Uit literatuur en empirie komt naar voren dat dit vraagstuk in Nederland onder andere meer kennis en beleidsaanpassing vergt op het vlak van strategie, (alternatieve) bekostiging en governance
