Constructing Personas: How High-Net-Worth Social Media Influencers Reconcile Ethicality and Living a Luxury Lifestyle

Marina Leban (), Thyra Uth Thomsen (), Sylvia Wallpach () and Benjamin G. Voyer ()
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Marina Leban: ESCP Business School
Thyra Uth Thomsen: Copenhagen Business School
Sylvia Wallpach: Copenhagen Business School
Benjamin G. Voyer: ESCP Business School

Journal of Business Ethics, 2021, vol. 169, issue 2, No 3, 225-239

Abstract: Abstract Drawing from a multi-sourced data corpus (in-depth interviews and Instagram posts) gathered from high-net-worth (HNW) social media influencers, this article explores how these individuals reconcile ethicality and living a luxury lifestyle through the enactment of three types of personas on Instagram: (1) Ambassador of ‘True’ Luxury, (2) Altruist, and (3) ‘Good’ Role Model. By applying the concepts of taste regimes and social moral licensing, we find that HNW social media influencers conspicuously enact and display ethicality, thereby retaining legitimacy in the field of luxury consumption. As these individuals are highly influential, they could leave a potentially significant mark on public discourse and, consequently, on their audiences’ construction of ethically responsible luxury consumption. In this vein, this article offers significant managerial insights into professional influencers and discusses ethical managerial practices to ensure ethical collaborations between influencers and managers.

Keywords: Ethicality; Luxury lifestyle; Social media influencer (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-020-04485-6

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