Nguyen, Thanh (2018) Barriers to become a fashion influencer. Masters thesis, Concordia University.
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Abstract
It has been argued that the participatory Web has democratized markets such as fashion. Consumers have been theorized to be able to acquire a “megaphone” and become influencers. Such consumer influencers have been increasingly used for marketing purposes because of their persuasive power. Various studies have focused on the existence of these influencers, how to manage their influence and the impact of their influence. Despite claims of democratization, it is unlikely that all consumers can become influencers. Little research has examined the struggles everyday consumers face during their journey to become an influencer. Consequently, I intend to answer the following question through my study: What are the barriers to become a fashion influencer? Employing a qualitative approach and combining in-depth interviews of six wannabe-fashion influencers, a netnography and archival data, I find that in their quest to acquire a megaphone, wannabe-influencers face four main struggles. These struggles emerge as they are leaving their role as everyday consumers and starting to acquire some influence. I conceptualize this as being “stuck-in-between”. I find four ways consumers are stuck in-between these two roles: between different fields; between celebrity status and non-celebrity status; between amateur and professional; and between geographical periphery and center. I apply concepts from Bourdieu’s field theory to inform how being stuck in-between results in the incapacity of everyday consumers to accumulate enough capital to fully become an influencer. My study benefits existing research on field theory and influencers. It also has managerial implications, as the barriers faced by consumers lead to strategic recommendations for fashion marketers, brand managers, and designers to better develop their influencer marketing campaign, letting them work more efficiently with influencers, and producing better results.
| Divisions: | Concordia University > John Molson School of Business > Marketing |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
| Authors: | Nguyen, Thanh |
| Institution: | Concordia University |
| Degree Name: | M. Sc. |
| Program: | Administration (Marketing option) |
| Date: | 24 July 2018 |
| Thesis Supervisor(s): | Pierre-Yann, Dolbec |
| ID Code: | 984076 |
| Deposited By: | Thanh Nguyen |
| Deposited On: | 16 Nov 2018 16:50 |
| Last Modified: | 16 Nov 2018 16:50 |
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