To celebrate 50 years since the founding of SDA Bocconi, this space hosts a selection of ideas generated by our Faculty that have made their mark in the landscape of management research. Relevant and concrete, conducted with scientific rigor and impactful for our society: these are the four pillars underpinning the pathway we propose. The SDA Insight initiative falls under the broader umbrella project, “50 Years of Ideas.”
More and more often, consumers are making their purchase decisions based on the symbolic value of products and services. At the same time, companies are investing enormous resources in developing new products with content that is more symbolic than functional. This means that the symbolic dimension of a product – which lies in its style – has become a critical competitive component in numerous sectors, not only in creative industries like fashion and design.
In our 2006 paper entitled, “Convergent designs in fine fashion: An evolutionary model for stylistic innovation”, published in Research Policy, we formulated a number of hypotheses based on factors that affect the affirmation and adoption of stylistic innovation, and we proposed an evolutionary model for such innovation.
Stylistic innovation evolves sequentially, with periods of ferment followed by periods of convergence on a predominant style. Granted, individual companies can be trend setters, and customers do need differentiation. In any case, in our study we argued that what counts is the convergence on a standard, and that different styles tend to align cyclically with a single reference trend. We called this “convergent stylistic design.” To test our conceptual framework, we turned to the fine fashion industry, where stylistic innovation, through variations in aesthetic elements, acts on products’ social value as well. We ran empirical research through semi-structured interviews with twelve experts in the sector, and we conducted an in-depth analysis of the product characteristics of fashion items that were featured in a given season by Vogue Italia from 1984 to 2002.
Based on our work, we found that “social compatibility” is the first convergence driver in stylistic innovation. In fact, customers seek differentiation and distinction, but also recognition and membership in a group that’s perceived as elite. Being one of the elite means following their habits, behaviors, and fashions and sharing similar values. The characteristics of the products utilized by the elite allow members to identify with this group and at the same time set themselves apart from other groups. Consequently, the style of each company must have certain convergent characteristics in order to be utilized as a language to convey membership in a specific community. As for the second convergence driver of stylistic innovation, this is linked to “aesthetic compatibility,” which derives from the degree of consistency between different products.
In technology sectors, products must be technically compatible in order to work together, which means that that a standard is needed to ensure that the product system functions. In sectors with high symbolic content, instead, compatibility between products and aesthetics is not strictly necessary for product use. Therefore, in these contexts, convergence develops with respect to certain styles without a single standard emerging. Thanks to these characteristics of stylistic innovation, there are market niches where companies can still be successful even if they don’t adopt the convergent style or concentrate exclusively on a given trend.
