Rothschild 15 defi nes involvement as: ‘ a state of
motivation, arousal or interest, evoked by a
particular stimulus or situation, displaying drive
properties ’ . Houston and Rothschild 16 in their
research paper have conceptualized the different
types of consumer involvement, which were
‘ enduring ’ , ‘ situational ’ and ‘ response-based ’ by
identifying the sources for involvement. Cohen 17
developed the concept further by defi ning the
‘ antecedents ’ from ‘ consequent outcomes ’ from
‘ involvement ’ , which was regarded as an internal
state of behavior. Consumers ’ involvement with a
product relates to their identifi cation with the
product 18 and the personality of an individual
determines his / her involvement with products.
If involvement was dependent upon internal
drives and motivations, it would differ from
individual to individual 19,20 and should satisfy
certain individual goals. 21 Involvement was
considered as an internal variable that was
affected by motives and internal drives to
behavior 16,22,23 and was related to the risk
perceived by the consumers in their purchase
decision. Consistent with the internal drives and
motives, involvement in a product category is
described by the arousal, interest and motivation
for a product category. 24 – 26 Thus, consumer
involvement may be defi ned as a goal-directed
behavior. 27 Bloch and Richins 22 posit that
involvement is dependent upon the characteristics
of products, people, and situations, which
presumably interact with each other. Mittal and
Predictors of fashion clothing involvement
Lee 25 have refi ned the view and state that they
‘ view these characteristics to produce (in
interaction) the three antecedents (utility / risk,
sign-value, and hedonic value) ’ , which generate
the involvement.
The involvement of consumers with a
product category would be a consequence of
multiple factors like risk perception, importance
of the product to the consumer, and its capability
to improve their lifestyle and self-image. 28
Involvement with products would vary across
consumers and is the central motivation construct
determining individuals ’ purchase behavior. 11
Products are chosen for the value and the
intangible benefi ts they present to the consumers.
Purchasing the right product would garner
greater acceptance from the peer groups and
reduce the risk of rejection from them.
The purchase of fashion clothing may be governed by
social sanction and acceptability. In India, where
most of the values are still family-driven and
group-directed, 2 the purchase of fashion products
would be governed by strong social approval. 1
Batra et al 29 suggest that Indian consumers ’
purchase and consumption behavior is
signifi cantly different from other cultures, as
Indians are more infl uenced by social values. For
Indians, possessions connote a link with their
traditional values and cultural artifacts and this is
more conspicuous in the case of Indians settled
abroad. 30 The fashion acceptance process is
mechanistically characterized by social infl uence
and diffusion 7 and the motivation of Indian
consumers for selecting a fashion brand would
differ from western consumers.
According to Dittmar 31 ‘ an individual ’ s identity
is infl uenced by the symbolic meanings of his or
her own material possessions, and the way in
which s / he relates to those possessions ’ . Earlier
research has examined various kinds of involvement
related to consumer involvement, 32 – 34 impact of
advertising involvement, 35 purchase involvement, 36
purchase decision involvement, 34 consumers ’
shopping involvement 37 and consumer
involvement. 38,39
Involvement with apparel products has been
addressed by several researchers. 40 – 48 Consumers ’
involvement with clothing may be perceived in
the light of the value the consumer places on
acquiring clothes to improve their social and selfimage.
Research for many years has recognized
apparel as a high involvement product
category 44,46,48,49 because of its capability to be
linked with individual ’ s personality and
communicating his / her attitude. Mittal 34 posits
that purchase involvement may occur without
much product involvement, and if the product
class (like fashion clothing) is involving, the
purchase decision would not be made casually.
Further, Mittal and Lee 25 reiterate ‘ productinvolvement
is an antecedent of purchase-decision
involvement ’ . We tend to get interested in a
product category if it has signifi cance with our
motives and desires; as a consequence we would
be spending more time evaluating the different
brands in the product category.
Traditionally, acquiring expensive and
luxurious items was associated with status such as
art items, jewellery and expensive vehicles. 39,50,51
Researchers have used ‘ fashion involvement ’ 38,52 – 54
to indicate the consumers ’ interest in the apparel
product category. Kim 48 states that consumers ’
involvement with product category infl uences
consumer information search about the brands in
that product category and decision making.
Consumer involvement is fundamentally
dependent upon the self-concept of individuals,
and also varies from situation to situation.
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