Fabulous outside, pure inside: Sustainability and quality as drivers of legitimacy in the luxury brands

Luxury and sustainability have long been framed as conflicting logics: luxury thrives on exclusivity, scarcity, and indulgence, while sustainability emphasizes restraint, transparency, and responsibility. Reconciling these seemingly opposing values remains a critical challenge for luxury brands, particularly regarding how sustainability signals can be credibly integrated in communication without eroding perceptions of craftsmanship and prestige. Drawing on signaling theory, this study examines how sustainability-related communication functions as a costly, credible signal that shapes perceived quality and, ultimately, brand legitimacy in the luxury sector. Using Rolex, the leading brand in Spain’s wholesale watch and jewelry sector, as the empirical context, survey data from 245 current and prospective luxury watch consumers were analyzed via PLS-SEM. Results show that sustainability signals are not read as contradicting luxury’s quality standards but, when consistent and credible, are reinterpreted as cues of rigor, durability, and craftsmanship, reinforcing rather than undermining legitimacy. Quality remains the dominant legitimizing mechanism, yet sustainability retains a direct, non-redundant effect that improve consumers’ perceptions. Importance-Performance Map Analysis further reveals that environmental signals bolster quality perceptions, while social signals more directly build legitimacy. These findings extend signaling theory to the luxury-sustainability paradox, offering brand managers a dimension-specific framework for communicating sustainability without compromising luxury’s symbolic value.