Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to develop a model of brand authenticity and analyze the antecedents and effects of the construct. Although there is no doubt about the relevance of ...authenticity in personal relationships, published research has yet not thoroughly explored the concept’s meaning in reference to brands.
Design/methodology/approach
– Based on socio-psychological attribution theories and grounding on the identity-based brand management approach, a causal model of brand authenticity is developed. The hypothesized relationships are analyzed using the partial-least-squares approach. The primary data are based on an online survey conducted in Germany (n = 600). The respondents were asked about fast-food and beer brands.
Findings
– The data show that brand authenticity positively impacts on brand trust. Furthermore, the key antecedents in the model (consistency, continuity and individuality of a brand) drive the perception of brand authenticity as hypothesized.
Research limitations/implications
– The model should be tested in further product categories and moderators should be integrated.
Originality/value
– The findings suggest that authenticity is perceived when a brand is consistent, continuous and individual in its behavior. Nevertheless, the empirical results indicate that the factor individuality has the lowest influence on perceived brand authenticity. This is an interesting finding, as being “unique” is commonly regarded as an important success factor in branding. Although the study’s findings confirm its relevancy, they relativize its importance: being consistent, meaning that a brand fulfills its brand promise at every brand-touch point, and being continuous, meaning that the brand promise reflects the essential core of the brand, are of major importance.
Purpose
This study aims to examine how brand gender (masculine/feminine brand personality FBP traits) stimulates brand engagement (cognitive processing, affection and activation) inside online brand ...communities (OBCs). The authors also explore the mediation of this effect through brand identification and brand personality appeal (BPA). The moderating role of consumers’ biological sex is also investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
The theoretical model has been tested with the data collected from OBC members through the structural equation modelling technique. Bootstrapping is used for mediation analysis and multiple group analysis for testing the moderating effects.
Findings
Results show that masculine brand personality (MBP) influences brand engagement directly, as well as through brand identification and BPA. However, FBP elicits brand engagement only through the mediation of brand identification and BPA. Consumers’ biological sex moderates the effect of FBP on brand engagement, but no moderation was traced for the effect of MBP on brand engagement.
Research limitations/implications
The context of the research poses a limitation on the broader replication of study findings. Other limitations include the absence of community-based variables and the focused use of gender centric brands in this study. This research will help researchers to understand the nuances in the underlying relationship between brand gender and brand engagement inside OBCs.
Practical implications
The managers can emphasize MBP but should not downplay the importance of FBP inside OBCs. To achieve brand engagement, the marketers should curate FBP in a way to affecting consumers’ brand identification and brand appeal. To achieve consumer brand engagement, MBP can be targeted at both male and female consumers, whereas FBP holds more importance among female consumers. Therefore, classifying members as per their biological sex is recommended for better brand engagement from brand gender inside OBCs.
Originality/value
This study explores finer mechanisms in the relationship between brand gender and brand engagement inside OBCs by charting out the powerful mediating role played by brand identification and BPA. The moderating role of consumers’ biological sex is an important dimension to these relationships, not explored hitherto.
The authors propose an augmented conceptual model explaining consumer preferences for global brands versus local brands in emerging markets and test the model using data from a Chinese consumer ...sample. The model adds high brand-identity expressiveness as well as high trust and positive affect toward these brands. The results support these additions and replicate previous findings that brand quality and prestige are important links between perceived brand globalness (PBG) and perceived brand localness (PBL) and favorable behavioral intentions. The most novel finding is that both PBG and PBL can enhance a brand's identity expressiveness. The results establish the mediating roles of these additional variables between PBG/PBL and behavioral intentions and also identify the incremental explanatory value of these additional mediators, which have been neglected in previous global branding research. Furthermore, PBG—which affects behavioral intentions through pathways of brand prestige, trust, and affect—is more influential than PBL, which operates mainly through brand identity expressiveness.
The brand management literature has long acknowledged the strategic importance of managing brand identity. However, prior empirical research has largely ignored brand attractiveness in building such ...identity in the eyes of consumers. Focusing on the airline industry, this study investigates the role of brand attractiveness in fostering customer brand identification. The empirical testing of the conceptual model suggests that brand prestige, brand distinctiveness, and memorable brand experiences have a significant indirect effect on customer brand identification through brand attractiveness, while brand social benefits contributes directly to such identification. The results also challenge prior empirical findings by providing strong support for the need to include brand attractiveness in cultivating identification. When brand attractiveness is incorporated in the model, the effects of brand prestige, brand distinctiveness, and memorable brand experiences became non-significant in predicting customer brand identification. The findings highlight the importance of projecting a brand identity that is attractive to target consumers in order to achieve customer brand identification.
•Investigates the role of brand attractiveness in building customer brand identification (CBI).•Examines a model that includes traditional brand identity building blocks and brand encounter factors.•Brand prestige, brand distinctiveness, and memorable brand experiences affect CBI indirectly through brand attractiveness.•The inclusion of brand attractiveness generates results challenging prior research findings on the formation of CBI.•This study advances theoretical and practical understanding of driving CBI.
We review a growing body of research in consumer behavior that has examined when consumers humanize brands by perceiving them as like, part of, or in a relationship with themselves. One research ...stream shows that sometimes consumers perceive brands as having human-like forms, minds, and personality characteristics. A second stream identifies ways that a consumer perceives a brand as being congruent with or connected to the self. Finally, a third highlights that consumers can view brands in ways that are analogous to the types of relationships they have with people. We review research in these three areas and point out connections among these research streams. In part, we accomplish this by showing that factors associated with the SEEK model, which are designed to explain anthropomorphic tendencies, are also relevant to other ways of humanizing brands. We identify major propositions derived from this research and several areas for which additional research is needed. We conclude with recommendations for the many opportunities for expanding our conceptual and empirical understanding of this domain.
Brand Love Batra, Rajeev; Ahuvia, Aaron; Bagozzi, Richard P.
Journal of marketing,
03/2012, Volume:
76, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Using a grounded theory approach, the authors investigate the nature and consequences of brand love. Arguing that research on brand love needs to be built on an understanding of how consumers ...actually experience this phenomenon, they conduct two qualitative studies to uncover the different elements ("features") of the consumer prototype of brand love. Then, they use structural equations modeling on survey data to explore how these elements can be modeled as both first-order and higher-order structural models. A higher-order model yields seven core elements: self-brand integration, passion-driven behaviors, positive emotional connection, long-term relationship, positive overall attitude valence, attitude certainty and confidence (strength), and anticipated separation distress. In addition to these seven core elements of brand love itself, the prototype includes quality beliefs as an antecedent of brand love and brand loyalty, word of mouth, and resistance to negative information as outcomes. Both the firstorder and higher-order brand love models predict loyalty, word of mouth, and resistance better, and provide a greater understanding, than an overall summary measure of brand love. The authors conclude by presenting theoretical and managerial implications.
•Develops a multi-disciplinary measure of the brand signature construct.•Results indicate that brand signature includes dissemination of its dimensions (brand name and brand logo).•Recognised brand ...attitude with two components (i) brand association and (ii) brand belief.•Identifies brand awareness components (i) brand familiarity, and (ii) brand recognisability.•Understanding the determinants that affect brand signature to manage global hotel brand reputation and performance.
This paper develops a multi-disciplinary measure of the brand signature construct by means of literature review and primary data analysis. This study explains that brand signature involves (i) endorsement of consistent consumer attitude toward diffusion of a brand name and brand logo (consists of typeface, design, and color); (ii) the expression and pursuit of a distinct message and the quality of the organization to consumers as well as consistency in communication; and (iii) the implementation, support, and maintenance of hotel brand signature systems based on the use of online/offline media. SEM is employed in order to test the proposed model. The results indicate that brand signature includes dissemination of its dimensions; brand attitude with two components (brand association and brand belief); brand awareness consists of brand familiarity, and brand recognisability; and consistency in brand reputation and prefaced by hotel brand performance implementation. Brand signature is recommended as a tool useful for the service industry to manage their global hotel brand reputation and performance.
In the past two decades there has been a growth in the rate at which consumers join, companies use, and researchers study brand communities. Given the expansion of brand communities, scholars ...insistently analyze why individuals join and stay in them. However, no study concurrently examines the links among the members’ integration, participation and commitment to a brand community. Furthermore, research conceive brand communities as homogenous. Whether the feelings and behaviors of members of different kinds of communities, and specifically consumer-run and company-managed brand communities, are comparable is unknown. Using a sample of 2167 consumers of a leading motorcycle brand, this study examines the members’ integration, participation and commitment to consumer-run and company-managed communities. The findings reveal that consumer-run communities stimulate higher levels of integration, participation and commitment than the company-managed communities, but that the mechanisms connecting integration, participation and commitment are invariant across the two types of community.
In today's increasingly competitive and dynamic marketplace, achieving brand commitment is one of the ultimate goals for brands. Considering the heightened importance and relevance of brand's ethical ...perception and its symbolic benefits, the present research examines the impacts of perceived brand ethicality on brand passion and brand commitment. A conceptual framework was tested using structural equation modeling with responses from 273 apparel shoppers collected by using a structured questionnaire. We find evidence of mediating-moderation effect in which the moderating power of perceived brand ethicality is eliminated in the presence of full mediator, brand passion. Interestingly, in studying the “mediated-moderation” links, we also find the dampening effects of perceived brand ethicality at play. The results of this paper have theoretical contributions and implications for managers.
This article introduces a new determinant of brand extension success, brand extension authenticity (BEA), as a complement to fit. The authors develop the BEA construct and a scale to measure it and ...then demonstrate that BEA captures consumer perceptions of brand extension legitimacy and cultural contiguity along four interrelated but distinct dimensions: maintaining brand standards and style, honoring brand heritage, preserving brand essence, and avoiding brand exploitation. They demonstrate the power of BEA in predicting consumer reactions to brand extensions, particularly among consumers with strong self-brand connections. Not only is BEA distinct from two conceptualizations of fit in brand extension literature—fit as similarity and fit as relevance—but it also moderates the effects of both fit dimensions on brand extension responses. By capturing a cultural and consumer relational perspective that shapes reactions to brand extensions, BEA provides an important, complementary construct for predicting brand extension success and enhancing brand value. Brand managers attentive to BEA may be able to stretch brands further than assessments of fit alone would suggest, but they risk failure in otherwise well-fitting extensions perceived as inauthentic.
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