Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Textiles, Apparel Design, & Merchandising

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

The dissertation aimed to investigate (i) the difference in consumer perception between the mass-market and luxury market of secondhand fashion services, (ii) determine the types of value and strategies that can be adopted into mass-market SHF from luxury SHF business platforms, (iii) investigate the word-of-mouth communication of mass-market SHF consumers, and (iv) investigate the consumer perception of the ‘quality’ and ‘fashionability’ of the mass-market SHF product. Two studies were designed to address the research questions due to the nature of available data. The data were collected from third-party consumer review sites where consumers can review their perception of secondhand fashion services and third-party video review sites where a consumer can review their secondhand fashion products. Machine learning algorithms were used to analyze the service-related dataset with the formulation of a research framework based on the ‘source of value’ theory. A qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the product-related dataset with the formulation of a research framework based on intrinsic and extrinsic quality theory.

Among the source of values, in the mass market, consumers perceived the ‘Ownership/possession transfer/delivery’ and ‘interaction between consumer to platform’ the most negatively. On the other hand, the consumer perceived the ‘product’ and ‘Ownership/possession transfer/delivery’ the most positively. From the findings, it was discussed how mass-market Secondhand fashion platforms can adopt value strategies from the luxury-market Secondhand fashion platforms. The findings also revealed how these three ‘source of value’ areas were influencing consumers to provide a word-of-mouth recommendation to fellow consumers in the online space. Consumer perceived the ‘quality’ and ‘fashionability’ of the product mostly through ‘brand image’/’originality & authenticity’ and ‘design’ of the product.

Date

4-22-2023

Committee Chair

Lang, Chunmin

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.6124

Available for download on Saturday, April 04, 2026

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