Sustainable luxury and brand identity: a balance theory analysis of Ferrari’s electrification on Twitter

This study investigates how sustainable luxury is negotiated in public discourse by analyzing Twitter reactions to Ferrari’s electrification. As the luxury industry increasingly faces sustainability pressures, tensions between tradition and innovation emerge, particularly in sectors such as automotive, where identity is rooted in performance and sensory experience. Drawing on balance theory and using 9,643 English-language tweets from 2013 to 2023, we applied Biterm Topic Modeling and sentiment analysis to examine perceptions of Ferrari’s electrification. Three dominant themes emerged: the role of engine sound in brand identity, technological sophistication in hybrid models, and evolving definitions of sustainable luxury. Sentiment analysis revealed positive reactions, particularly toward innovation-focused topics. In Ferrari’s context, our findings suggest that sustainability gains public legitimacy when promoted as a form of technological innovation. This study contributes to the literature on sustainable luxury and brand co-creation, offering implications for how heritage luxury brands can strategically communicate sustainability.