Abstract—Liminality denotes the sense of moving from one
life stage to another. A well-known liminal period for identity
construction is the teenage years. A survey study was conducted
to examine the concept of liminality and its influence on
adolescents’ relationships with global brands. Altogether 603
adolescent girls in Hong Kong and Shanghai completed a
questionnaire with questions on female gender role perception
and attitudes toward six global brands. Liminal life stages of
adolescence, proxied by year in school, emerged as a stronger
predictor of brand evaluations than cultural background,
socioeconomic status or the girls’ perceptions about female
gender roles. The findings support the homogenization of
consumer culture within the context of globalization.
Index Terms—Liminality, adolescents, consumer-brand
bonds, brand evaluation, global brands.
Dong Dong is with David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies, Hong
Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong (e-mail: dongdong@hkbu.edu.hk).
Kara Chan is with the Department of Communication Studies, Hong
Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong (e-mail: karachan@hkbu.edu.hk).
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Cite: Dong Dong and Kara Chan, "Adolescent Girls‘ Evaluation of Brands during Liminal Life Stages," International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance vol.5, no.3, pp. 249-254, 2014.