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This paper aims to examine consumers’ evaluation of and reaction to the coexistence of brand misconduct and sustainability claims through a series of studies.

The research questions are examined across three studies. Consumer’s scepticism of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is considered the driver of brand distance. Brand hypocrisy is postulated to mediate the relationship between scepticism to CSR and brand distance. Furthermore, brand trust and desire for exclusivity are tested as moderators of brand hypocrisy and brand distance.

The findings showed that environmental misconduct leads to perceived brand hypocrisy and brand distancing. When luxury brands take action to remedy their actions, the perceived brand hypocrisy and brand distancing decrease. In addition, brand trust and desire for exclusivity dilute the relationship between brand hypocrisy and brand distance.

The findings show that, standing in a contradictory position, brands can still reduce the consumers’ perceived brand distance by building a strong consumers’ trust toward the brand. At the same time, relating the luxury consumers’ yearning for the exclusive products and services, the findings show that the consumers with a strong desire for exclusivity feel a lower level of brand distance even if the brand gets involved in misconduct.

Este artículo examina la evaluación y la reacción de los consumidores ante la coexistencia de la mala conducta de la marca y las alegaciones de sostenibilidad a través de una serie de estudios.

Las preguntas de investigación se examinan a través de tres estudios. El escepticismo de los consumidores respecto a la RSC se considera el motor del distanciamiento de las marcas. Se postula que la hipocresía de la marca media la relación entre el escepticismo hacia la RSE y la distancia de la marca. Además, se comprueba que la confianza en la marca y el deseo de exclusividad son moderadores de la hipocresía y la distancia a la marca.

Los resultados mostraron que la mala conducta medioambiental conduce a la percepción de hipocresía de la marca y al distanciamiento de la misma. Cuando las marcas de lujo toman medidas para remediar sus acciones, la hipocresía y el distanciamiento de marca percibidos disminuyen. Además, la confianza en la marca y el deseo de exclusividad diluyen la relación entre la hipocresía y el distanciamiento de la marca.

Los resultados demuestran que, situándose en una posición contradictoria, las marcas pueden seguir reduciendo el distanciamiento de marca percibido por los consumidores mediante la creación de una fuerte confianza de los consumidores hacia la marca. Al mismo tiempo, relacionando el anhelo de los consumidores de lujo por los productos y servicios exclusivos, nuestros hallazgos muestran que los consumidores con un fuerte deseo de exclusividad sienten un menor nivel de distancia a marca incluso si la marca se ve involucrada en una mala conducta.

本文通过一系列的研究, 考察了消费者对品牌不当行为和可持续发展主张并存的评价和反应。

研究问题在三项研究中得到了检验。消费者对企业社会责任的怀疑被认为是品牌距离的驱动因素。品牌伪善被假设为介导对企业社会责任的怀疑和品牌距离之间的关系。此外, 品牌信任和对排他性的渴望被测试为品牌伪善和品牌距离的调节因素。

研究结果显示, 环境方面的不当行为导致了人们对品牌伪善和品牌距离的感知。当奢侈品牌采取行动补救他们的行为时, 被感知的品牌伪善和品牌距离就会减少。此外, 品牌信任和对排他性的渴望稀释了品牌伪善和品牌距离之间的关系。

研究结果表明, 站在矛盾的立场上, 品牌仍然可以通过建立消费者对品牌的强烈信任来减少消费者感知的品牌距离。同时, 联系到奢侈品消费者对独家产品和服务的渴望, 我们的研究结果表明, 即使品牌涉及到不正当行为, 对独家性有强烈渴望的消费者也会感到较低的品牌距离。

While envy has been widely explored in psychology literature, theoretical understanding of the effects of envy on consumers’ emotional responses to brands is promising but under explored. Therefore, this study aims to apply cases of envy and psychological distance to consumers to examine whether the style of brand storytelling can moderate brand preference.

Three experimental studies were conducted to test the hypotheses. Experiment 1 investigated the effect of envy on consumer evaluations of an advocated brand, through viewing a series of advertisements that varied in brand storytelling styles. A total of 104 working students were randomly assigned to a 2 (brand storytelling: underdog vs top dog) single factorial design. Experiment 2 investigates the effect of envy on consumer evaluations of the advocated brand through viewing advertisements that varied in psychological distance. A total of 108 working students were randomly assigned to a 2 (psychological distance: proximal vs distant) single factorial design. Experiment 3 investigated the effect of envy on evaluations of the brand through viewing advertisements that varied in brand storytelling style and psychological distance. A total of 208 working students were randomly assigned to a 2 (underdog vs top dog) × 2 (proximal vs distant psychological distance) between-subject factorial design.

Results demonstrate that for consumers experiencing benign and malicious envy, advertisements characterized by brand storytelling (underdog vs top dog) and psychological distance (proximal vs distant) will elicit differential brand preferences.

This research takes up the call to address the limited attention given to envy in the context of brand advertising. Specifically, this research aims to explore how consumer envy influences brand preference and the role of moderating effects such as brand storytelling and psychological distance in this context.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of craftsmanship content and social distance embedded in the craftsmanship content on luxury brand experiences, perceived luxury and brand purchase intentions using a social media video.

The authors conducted a single factor (close social distance vs great social distance vs control group) using a between-subjects experimental design. The social distance was manipulated by the presence (i.e. a close social distance) or absence (i.e. a great social distance) of a consumer scene in a craftsmanship video shown on social media. The control group watched a video with non-craftsmanship content. Then, brand experience, perceived luxury and purchase intentions were measured.

The results showed that the control group perceived less luxury and had lower brand experiences and purchase intentions than the group that watched the video without a consumer scene. In addition, participants who watched the craftsmanship video that included a consumer scene (i.e. a close social distance) had stronger brand experiences than those who watched the video without the scene (i.e. a great social distance). The brand experience increased perceived luxury and purchase intentions.

By manipulating social distance and providing better brand experiences in social media, experiential marketing allows luxury brands to reconcile two apparently incompatible goals: maintaining an exclusive image while increasing purchase intentions.

This research study examines how changing the logo to one that depicts social distancing impacts consumers’ attitude toward the brand, attitude toward social distancing guidelines, intention to follow social distancing guidelines, purchase intention, logo evaluation and word of mouth (WOM).

A 2 (logo type: conventional vs. novel) X 2 (product involvement: high vs. low) between-subjects experimental design was employed. A multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was run on the dependent variables (i.e. attitude toward the brand, attitude toward social distancing guidelines, intention to follow social distancing guidelines, purchase intention, logo evaluation and WOM).

The results indicate a significant moderating effect of product involvement. Individuals who were exposed to a novel logo for a low-involvement product demonstrated improved purchase intentions, attitudes towards the brand, WOM and intentions to follow social distancing guidelines.

From a practical perspective, the results suggest that managers at global brands should consider their brand’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. For example, Nike chose to frame its consumers’ athletic habits as a lifesaving call to action with a new advertising copy that proposed, “If you ever dreamed of playing for millions around the world, now is your chance: play inside, play for the world,” to stress the necessity for people to stay at home.

From a theoretical perspective, the results of this study add to the emerging literature on CSR and logo changing, and particularly on following social distancing guidelines introduced in response to COVID-19, by exploring the link between COVID-19 advertising in promotional materials (logo changing) and outcomes such as attitude toward the brand, attitude toward social distancing guidelines, intention to follow social distancing guidelines, purchase intention, logo evaluation and WOM.

This research study adds to the literature on CSR and logo changing, primarily the contribution is based on the understanding of the impact of social distancing guidelines introduced in response to COVID-19. More specifically, this research study contributes toward the understanding of the link between COVID-19 advertising in promotional materials (e.g. logo changing) and outcomes such as attitude toward the brand, attitude toward social distancing guidelines, intention to follow social distancing guidelines, purchase intention, logo evaluation and WOM.

Relates evidence which suggests that launching a vertical brand extension generally has a negative impact on the core brand because it dilutes the core brand image, advising that a brand extension should be introduced only when its profit potential exceeds the losses that will be sustained as a result of damage to the core brand. Describes two important tools which can reduce the dilution of the core brand image and/or enhance the success of a new brand extension introduction distancing, and information cues: Explains that, to reduce damage to a valuable core brand or to benefit a new step‐up brand extension, the extension should be maximally distanced from the core brand; however, to benefit a new step‐down brand extension (at the expense of the core brand), the extension should be positioned close to the core brand. Highlights how information cues that describe a brand extension can also act like distancing techniques, simply by serving to reinforce the similarities (implied closeness) or differences (implied distance) between the brand extension and the core brand.

The purpose of this paper is to study the interaction of timing cues (active deals vs upcoming deals) and brand familiarity on consumers’ purchase intention.

The research design of this paper is based on one experiment conducted in a behavioural experimental laboratory and two experiments in Mechanical Turk. The data received from these experiments were analysed using one-way ANOVA technique and PROCESS models.

Results across three experiments show that consumers prefer upcoming deals over active deals when brands are of low familiarity. However, the effect is attenuated for brands with high familiarity. Further, the paper proposes and shows that the effects of timing cues and brand familiarity interactions on purchase intention are explained by temporal distance. Finally, results show that need for cognition moderates the effects.

The research results may vary when size of discounts is mentioned. There is a need to study various other moderators such as product type, self-other overlap and regulatory focus.

The paper offers managerial strategies and insights that can be adopted by the online retailing industry. Paper offers practical implications for brands, especially for ones with low familiarity.

This paper adds to the literature by studying new timing cues to understand the behaviour of consumers in retailing industries.

This paper aims to examine the relationships between brand equity, customer satisfaction and cultural distance for a tourism destination. The mediating role of customer satisfaction and the moderating effect of cultural distance in these relationships are assessed.

The direct–indirect–moderating relationships were assessed by applying covariance-based SEM (CB-SEM), mediating and multi-group analysis. A paper survey was used to collect data from 618 tourists (domestic and international tourists) visiting a destination in Vietnam.

The findings support direct positive links between the dimensions of brand equity and customer satisfaction, except for the effect of destination brand awareness on destination brand loyalty. This work further demonstrates the mediating effect of customer satisfaction on the indirect relationships between the dimensions of brand equity. Cultural distance was found to moderate the connections between the research concepts.

Future research should explore the model’s relationships based on comparisons in different destinations, to better understand the impact of cultural factors.

This study identifies specific factors to increase branding efficiency by developing and testing the relationship between brand equity and customer satisfaction. Using moderating variables through the lens of cultural distance, it proposes a mediated model. This work contributes to practice by informing destination managers on how to improve brand equity and satisfaction based on the cultural characteristics of international and domestic visitors.

This study aims at investigating how the level of brand–consumer interaction between luxury brands and consumers on social media may affect the perception of brands’ luxuriousness. In particular, this study is focused on the moderating role of consumers’ materialism.

This study adopted a quantitative approach. Data were collected with two online experiments. Study 1 was run to test whether a luxury brand’s product description was perceived as more luxurious when published on a social media platform versus the brand’s website, and if consumers’ materialism influences this effect. Study 2 explains the underlying psychological mechanism by underlining the mediating role of psychological distance.

The results show that branded luxury products are perceived as more luxurious when these are communicated on a social media platform (vs on the brand’s Web page), and consumers are high (vs low) in materialism, due to high psychological distance.

Previous literature has neglected the relationship between materialism and social media communication, as well as the potential differential effect that a high versus low level of brand–consumer interaction may have, for luxury brands, in the online context. This study fills this gap by investigating the role of a consumer-related characteristic (i.e. the level of materialism) that represents an important dimension in luxury consumption. Moreover, this study sheds light on the mediating role of psychological distance in the context of luxury brands’ online communication.

Brand transgressions, characterized by service failure, are a frequent theme for marketing scholars. Their impact on satisfaction, trust and brand loyalty is of high interest. However, in assessing the influence of those events on third-party consumers, the literature is still lacking. The purpose of this paper is to explore how social distance explains the reactions of close and distant third-party consumers toward other consumers during a brand transgression event. Anger is analyzed as a driver of this process.

Two experiments were conducted. Both studies presented a 3 (social distance: victim vs close third party vs distant third party) by 2 (severity: low vs high) between-subjects design. Respondents were asked to read a transgression scenario in a mobile phone service (study 1) and in a restaurant (study 2) and then completed scales that measured their affective reactions and evaluations of the relationship – satisfaction, trust, and loyalty intention – with the transgressing brand.

The results showed that transgression severity intensifies the effect of the brand transgression on consumer’s anger. Victims and close third parties demonstrated higher levels of anger compared to distant third-party consumers. In the case of severe transgressions, an experience of anger contagion between victims and close third-party consumers was responsible for the negative effect on the relationship evaluation of the transgressing brand compared to distant third-party consumers.

This study extends previous research about how social distance influences consumer-brand relationships and demonstrates the mediating role played by affective anger contagion.