Who is the “Self” that Buys?: An Empirical Examination of Imaginative Consumption and Explanation of Opinion Leadership

The present research, first, combines literatures on self-theory, imaginative consumption, and opinion leadership. Second, the research, using self-theory, explores individual difference variables predictive of imaginative consumption in two studies using different populations. The results reveal fashion product involvement, self-esteem, fashion knowledge, idea shopping motivation, and probability of a mispurchase influence the degree to which an individual imaginatively consumes fashion products. Third, the research makes a contribution by explaining from where opinion leaders derive their abilities—imaginative consumption. In contributing to scholarly work, the research explains the role of imagination and opinion leadership in both theories of self-verification and self-enhancement. Managerial implications include identifying potential opportunities for marketing communications and retail management. The findings are promising and encourage further exploration of the phenomenon of imaginative consumption.