Beyond the fad: A critical review of consumer fashion involvement

Fashion involvement has been regarded as an important research topic in consumer research. Despite the importance of this topic, no attempt has been made in the past to review, assess and consolidate extant research on fashion involvement. This study presents a comprehensive and critical review and analysis of the recent studies on involvement in the context of fashion clothing to indicate the current state and identify possible gaps. A content analysis of the current peer-reviewed journal articles published on this research topic reveals a paucity of research on a number of antecedents and consequences of involvement. Further, the findings show that the research method is biased towards the survey method as opposed to experimentation. In this paper, the results of the content analysis outlining methodologies, sample characteristics, variables and major findings are provided and analysed, followed by directions for future research, theoretical and managerial implications, and limitations.