Using an aesthetics and ontology framework to investigate consumers’ attitudes toward luxury wine brands as a product category : Evidence from two countries

Purpose This paper aims to classify and investigate customer attitudes toward luxury wine brands in the USA (a developed market) and South Africa (a developing market) by using an aesthetic and ontological framework. Design/methodology/approach Using recognized scales, consumers’ ontological and aesthetic orientation and attitudes toward luxury wine brands as part of a product category are measured. Data for the USA sample were collected using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform, whereas the South African sample data were collected from a sample of Generation Y consumers. Using the two orientation scores, it was possible to create a 2 × 2 matrix with low and high scores for the two countries investigated. To determine the relationship between the resultant groups and attitude toward wine, ANOVA was performed. Differences among the groups were identified via a comparison of means. Findings The results suggest that the use of aesthetics and ontological orientations enables the identification of different luxury wine consumer modes in the two countries studied. In addition, these demonstrate significantly different attitudes toward luxury wine brands as part of a product category. Research limitations/implications The samples for both countries were collected using a non-probability sampling method, and any generalization to the greater populations must be undertaken with caution. Practical implications The findings demonstrate a unique approach that provides an alternative form of segmentation for luxury wine brands. Recommendations to target the different identified modes and how these impact attitudes toward luxury wine brands as a product category in the two countries are made. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature by providing a unique and alternative method of market segmentation and shows how this affect attitudes toward luxury wine brands as a product category.