Dr. Naila Zulfa, a lecturer in the Department of Management at the UGM Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB UGM), has achieved international recognition.
She was awarded the Best Paper at The 2024 MAG Scholar Conference on Business, Marketing, and Tourism held in Macau, China, from Nov. 12-14, 2024.
During the conference, Dr. Zulfa presented her research titled “Luxury Literacy: The Role of Luxury Brand Knowledge on Luxury Consumption and Communication.”
This study explores how luxury brand literacy mediates the relationship between global identity and luxury brand consumption behavior.
“The idea arose from my curiosity about findings from previous research,” she explained at FEB UGM on Wednesday (Dec. 4).
Dr. Zulfa’s research findings indicate that individuals with a strong global identity tend to purchase luxury brands if they understand them well. This brand literacy influences the decision to buy and the desire to share stories about luxury brand consumption experiences.
Dr. Zulfa acknowledged the support of the Department of Management and FEB UGM. She conducted this research with funding assistance from the Independent Research Grant.
Dr. Zulfa also faced challenges in this study, particularly regarding respondents who did not meet the sample criteria. Out of over 600 respondents, only 285 met the criteria for purchasing luxury brands within the past year.
Participating in this conference provided Dr. Zulfa with invaluable experience. In addition to receiving the award, she was also offered the opportunity to publish her research in a journal affiliated with Emerald Publishing.
“The best part was meeting researchers from various countries and editors from several journals. I also had the chance to discuss potential future research collaborations directly with Professor Zhilin Yang from the City University of Hong Kong,” she said.
Winning the Best Paper award at the conference was of profound significance to Dr. Zulfa. The recognition further motivates her to continue conducting research and writing.
“I didn’t have any expectations for this conference. My focus was solely on delivering a good presentation. So, when I was announced as the winner, I was quite surprised,” she remarked with a smile.
Dr. Zulfa hopes to continue researching new and innovative topics soon. She encourages early-career researchers to keep looking for research opportunities and focus on studies with simple models that provide new, unique, and relevant findings.
Reporters: FEB UGM/Shofi Hawa Anjani & Kurnia Ekaptiningrum
Author: Agung Nugroho
Post-editor: Afif