Defining brand heritage experience in luxury brand museums

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the specific characteristics of consumers’ lived experience in a brand museum within a luxury context. While previous research has investigated this experience through the lens of brand heritage, the unique attributes and prestigiousness of the luxury field have not yet been examined. The authors argue that these distinctive features may alter the brand heritage experience in significant ways.

Design/methodology/approach

To understand the dimensions of a brand heritage experience in a luxury context, the authors applied a qualitative method using reflexive introspection. Specifically, the authors used 89 reflective introspections of 29 visitors of nine different luxury brand museums.

Findings

The findings indicate that a brand heritage experience in luxury is based on four dimensions: aesthetic, authentic, scientific and mythic. The data also reveal the heterogeneous aspect of the experience, which varies according to the level of consumers’ brand familiarity as well as whether the museum visit is led by a guide or not.

Originality/value

The authors contribute to the literature by emphasizing a new dimension of a brand heritage experience in luxury: a mythic dimension. This study also unveils the impact of contextual factors on the brand heritage experience.

Citation

De Boissieu, E. and Chaney, D. (2024), "Defining brand heritage experience in luxury brand museums", Qualitative Market Research, Vol. 27 No. 5, pp. 941-965. https://doi.org/10.1108/QMR-01-2024-0015