L’ambivalence des adolescents à l’égard de la consommation de produits de luxe

o Research objectives/questions The objective of this article is to better understand adolescents' ambivalence towards luxury consumption by taking into account its occasional and regular nature and by distinguishing personal and interpersonal luxury. o Methodology/approach Based on the concept of ambivalence and the opposition between personal and interpersonal luxury, a qualitative study is implemented. It is based on 24 semi-directive interviews with adolescents aged 12 to 18. A thematic and dynamic content analysis based on a semiotic grid is conducted. o Results Four dimensions of ambivalence towards the consumption of luxury products were identified: hedonism (between the desire to please oneself and the fear of lack of pleasure), sociality (between the desire to feel superior and the fear of having a pretentious image), singularity (between the desire to feel unique and the fear of attracting attention), and conformity (between the desire to belong to a group and the fear of lacking personality). The analyses also show that, unlike adolescents with an occasional luxury consumption, adolescents with a regular luxury consumption tend to have a complex ambivalence, combining several motivations and intra- and inter-dimensionsal brakes. o Managerial/societal implications This article sheds light on the discourse to adopt by professionals to better communicate with them. o Originality The originality of this article lies in the use of semiotics and the dynamic approach of its square to better understand ambivalent motivations toward luxury.