Possession Attachment toward Global Brands: How the “World of Barbie” is Shaping the Mindsets of Millennial Girls

Abstract

This research studies possession attachment and focuses on bonds with brands acquired during childhood. The study concentrates on millennial girls growing up in Indian culture and investigates their possession attachment towards Barbie dolls and its impact on their mindsets. The Barbie brand is a prominent cultural icon from the industrialized world. The influence of possession attachment manifests itself when adults use comfort objects such as dolls, blankets, or photographs during childhood. Authors observed that attachment behaviour towards inanimate objects differs depending on the culture in which an infant was raised. This research identifies and validates multiple outcomes of possession attachment such as memories, nostalgia, identity congruity and transnational imagined community. The role of Barbie dolls within the product category of girls toys allows to generalize the results achieved here to broader setting of possession attachment acquired during childhood towards global brands, especially in crafting branding strategies for high involvement goods.

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