Who is the "Self" that Buys? An Exploratory 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.