Abstract

The article aims at analysing meanings, which are attached to authenticity on the part of consumers. For this purpose, it presents two empirical studies, whereof one is qualitative and the other is quantitative, which have been both carried out in a contest in which authenticity is particularly important: that of the consumption of pop music. Findings reveal how authenticity should necessarily be considered a multidimensional construct, and how, besides indexicality and iconicity, which have been previously discussed by the literature, two other important dimensions would emerge: the individual experiential and the social experiential ones. Thus, by also highlighting the relevance of individual's consumption experience in the perception of authenticity, the study enables to obtain a few useful managerial implications and some suggestions for future research.