Abstract. Since consumer’s needs, wants, and preference

Abstract
Since consumer’s needs, wants, and preferences establish a cornerstone for developing new
products, this research aims to determine the effect of hedonic shopping motivations of
Jordanian youth’s fashion leadership behavior as a reflection of product features.Based on the
diffusion and human motivations theories, six hedonic shopping motivations have been
examined:(1) value shopping motivations; (2) gratification shopping motivations; (3) idea
shopping motivations; (4) adventure shopping motivations; (5) social shopping motivations;
and (6) role shopping motivations. A self-administered questionnaire has been developed to
collect data from the research sample comprising 500 students from four private universities
in Amman. Results showed that fashion leadership behavior is significantly related only to
four hedonic shopping motivations: value shopping motivations, idea shopping motivations,
social shopping motivations; and role shopping motivations, whereasgratification and
adventure shopping motivations were found to not have a significant impact on leadership
behavior. Research recommendations and future research were also discussed.
Keywords: Leadership Behavior, Hedonic Shopping Motivations, Retailers, Fashion, Jordan.
1. Introduction
Over the past years, globalization has trimmed the borders between countries and reduced the
time used in promotingnew products and services. However, with lower trade barriers, the
global textile and apparel industry during the last 10 years has grown more competitive;
prices have fallen and margins have become thinner (Rahman et al., 2014). The role of brand
managers was to find radical solutions from a consumer’s perspective to face these challenges
(Bataineh et al., 2017). Accordingly, retailers were in need to maintain a stable market share
and a competitive advantage to overcome this intense environment. Fashion styles had
become blurred in convincing the consumers to adapt and accept the massive amount of
clothing variety, taking into consideration the fact that the difference in fashion styles
inherited had started to become more like homogenized styles. Despite that the job of
retailers along with marketers has become more and more challenging leading to the
important role of fashion leaders in changing consumer fashion patterns.
What is more, the ultimate aim is to convince the consumers to favor the trendiest fashion
with less or no consideration; therefore, fashion leaders play a tremendous role in facilitating
the acceptance of the newest or most innovative fashion by speeding up the adoption process
(Kim and Hong, 2011). The apparel industry accounted for 2.8 percent of the world
merchandise trade (WTO, 2017). On the other hand, large producers of clothing have moved
their factories from the western countries to Asia and the Far East, e.g. China, Vietnam,
Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India, to gain low labor costs, low taxes, and abundance of raw
materials. However, the textile and apparel industry occupied the first rank in the Jordanian
exports by 10.24 million JD according to the latest report provided by the Jordanian Chamber
of Commerce (2016).
The Jordanian clothing industry faces intense competition; the existence of huge brand chains
leads to invade the local production and postponing its progress. Hence, it seems important to
elaborate on the hedonic shopping motivations of the Jordanian youth’s fashion leadership
behavior because youths particularly follow fashion opinion leaders by accelerating both the
adoption and spreading of new fashion items.This is why marketers need to have a better
understanding to be able to target customers and also ensure maximum acceptance of their
product as youth represent a promising and appealing market in Jordan andare thebiggest

portion of the Jordanian community.Moreover, retailers might reduce the costs of launching
new fashion styles by carefully monitoring fashion opinion leaders’ behaviors and
understanding their consumption patterns, which will give them broad lines for future
marketing strategies. Accordingly, this research is trying to investigate to how much degree
Jordanian youth’s fashion opinion leadership varies with regard to the hedonic shopping
motivations since it is evident that the perceptions of the psychological motivation for fashion
shopping arestill fuzzy compared with the perceptions of demographical point of view.
Hence, this research might be a cornerstone in helping marketers as well as researchers to
understand youth’s hedonic shopping motivation and fashion leadership behavior.
2. Research Background
The apparel industry is dynamic, driven by fashion diversity to increase demand.This
diversity results in uncertainty as it’s hard to predict the demand acceptation pattern. Fashion
leaders work as influential agents who convince others to adapt to fashion diversity (Kang
and Park-Poaps, 2010). According to Atik and Firat (2013), leadership behavior is not only
associated with a particular social class but also with each sub-society class.Also, the
diffusion of a specific fashion outfit is linked to the ability of the marketer to decode the style
and look for the leader whocould be bind to it. Meanwhile, Jordan is a country with a young
population having more than 70 percent of people under the age of 34 years, 27.1 percent
represents youth between the age of 20 and 34 years, which means that youth is one of the
most appealing markets for retailers and the largest segment for clothing and fashion stores in
Jordan (Department of Statistics, 2017).This research focused on youth as they present a
large base of shoppers in the Jordanian community as well as a major purchasing power that
they spent 250 million JD on clothing (Jordan Chamber of commerce, 2016). Hence, today
youth desire only the best products with the best value.
2.1 Fashion Leadership Behavior
Product or a style can wait for years to be diffused or accepted.People first need to be aware
of it which can be made possible if fashion opinion leadersadopt the style.As a result,
followers will copy the leader’s behavior and eventually it becomes part of their fashion
norms (Fam et al., 2010). Opinionleaders always are known as the first class to adopt and
spread the new fashion style, while other consumers are considered to be fashion followers
who imitate the opinion leaders’ behaviors (Rahman, 2014).Therefore, fashion opinion
leaders are always looking for new fashion styles to differentiate them and ensure their
innovativeness. Also, the transmission of opinionleaders word of mouth consists of informal
communications directed at other consumers about the ownership, usage, or characteristics of
a particular product or service.
However, opinion leaders have a great deal between behavior and time of adoption, since the
time they need to pass the style to others can delay the adoption time, the more familiar the
innovation the less time is needed to spread it. Kang and Park-Poaps (2010) found that
opinionleaders have a fundamental role in the adoption of their intimate group of individuals
more than on the mass group of a social system.
Clearly, opinionleadership behavior is driven by the need to standout, to be known, and
admired through their advice and recommendation.Leaders are satisfying their own symbolic
needs, not the other’s need (Goldsmith et al., 2008).According to Kim and Hong (2011),
motivations will trigger a particular behavior, in which an individual will experience either
satisfaction or dissatisfaction as a reaction to the undertaken behavior. Although in the scope
of fashion leadership behavior, it is important to understand that opinionleaders are not only

affected by their internal traits but also by specific external shopping motivations.
Traditionally, shopping was always considered as a goal-oriented task, but for the
opinionleaders, shopping is a satisfactory task even if no product purchasing has occurred
(Hanzaee and Khonsari, 2011).
In the consumer’s behavior, it is essential to embrace the hedonic/utilitarian shopping
motivations to have a clear vision of the actual behavior. According to Workman (2011),
people will perform specific reactions in response to their psychological
behavior.Hence,opinion leadership is based on either hedonic or utilitarian shopping
motivations. Moreover, the product nature and circumstances can inherit either the hedonic or
the utilitarian shopping motivations (Roy and Ng, 2012).
2.2 Hedonic Shopping Motivations
In the last few decades hedonistic motivations have been blossoming in many aspects, it has
started getting well identified, and researchers have started moving to the hedonistic part
oflife(Bridges and Florsheim, 2008). According to Allard et al. (2009), store atmosphere,
such as layout, colors, and lighting, contributes to increase or decrease consumers’ hedonic
motivations. On the other hand, consumers who experience positive hedonic consumptionwill
not only result in satisfaction but also the future buying intention will also be affected
(Hanzaee and Khonsari, 2011). Consumers who are satisfied with their hedonic shopping
consumption will definitely recommend this product or store to others and also plan for future
purchasing (Ryu et al., 2010). Hence, individuals with hedonistic orientation will translate
their pleasure and multisensory feelings into satisfaction. To face all the changing behavior
that exists in today’s economic conditions which cause a low shopping engagement, people
need a powerful motivation like “hedonistic dimensions” that will recreate shopping actions
(Jones et al., 2006). However, loyalty and positive word of mouth are created through
satisfactory hedonic experience. Lacking something in our life can create hedonic shopping
motivation to get a pleasure feeling (Arnold and Reynold, 2009). Meanwhile, shopping
centers are considered to have a triggering effect on the hedonic shopping motivations.
According to Lee et al. (2005) all hedonistic dimensions can occur in one shopping trip, but
consumers can experience that differently. Furthermore, hedonic shopping motivations have
been giving a lot of classifications in consumer behavior literature.While in this study we will
use Arnold and Reynolds (2003) in which hedonic shopping motivations are divided into six
broad categories: (1) value shopping motivations; (2) gratification shopping motivations; (3)
idea shopping motivations; (4) adventure shopping motivations; (5) social shopping
motivations, and (6) role shopping motivations. We will discuss this in the following
sections.
2.2.1 Value Shopping Motivations
According to Kang and Park (2010), value shoppers have been identified as individuals who
think of shopping as a challenge or a game they want to succeed in, they hunt sales, bargain,
and they are stunned by negotiations not only to reduce the price but also for them it’s a talent
they showcase. Otherwise, opinionleader shoppers pay more on fashion products, and the
value shopping doesn’t have a part in their hedonistic motivation (Scarpi, 2006). Fashion
shoppers look for a pleasure experience and don’t look from a bargain point of view, they
buy luxurious fashion garments without thinking of price level (Juggessur and Cohen, 2009).
Additionally, value shopping occurs inside the store by being more attentive to promotions,
and many consumers get arousal and a motivation to shop that was not preplanned (Arnold
and Reynold, 2003). However, winning a price negotiation will produce a feeling of