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In seeking to expand our understanding of brands and their impact on consumer behaviour, assesses the relationship between brand associations, which contribute to consumption behaviour. A self‐administered questionnaire was developed and administered to a non‐probabilistic convenience sample of 315 young consumers. The findings of this research indicate that the status‐conscious market is more likely to be affected by the symbolic characteristics of a brand; feelings aroused by the brand; and by the degree of congruency between the brand‐user’s self‐image and the brand’s image itself. Results also indicate that the higher the symbolic characteristics, the stronger the positive feelings, and the greater the congruency between the consumer and brand image, the greater the likelihood of the brand being perceived as possessing high status elements. The suspicion that status‐laden brands would be chosen for status consumption and conspicuous consumption was also confirmed. These findings broaden our understanding of status‐conscious consumers and their behaviour towards brands.

Previous research indicates that the self‐image product image congruity (commonly known as self‐image congruence) can affect consumers’ product preferences and their purchase intentions. Self‐image congruence can also facilitate positive behaviour and attitudes toward products. This paper reports findings from a research study which was conducted to determine the effect of self‐image congruity on brand preference and satisfaction in the precious jewellery market in the UK. A questionnaire was sent to 500 consumers of precious jewellery in five major cities of the UK. Results indicate that self‐image congruity was a very strong predictor of consumers’ brand preferences and a good predictor of consumer satisfaction. Respondents with higher levels of self‐image congruity were more likely to prefer the brand and enjoy higher levels of satisfaction with the brand as compared to those with lower levels of self‐image congruity. The paper discusses the implications for brand managers so that they can position their brands in an effective way.

The paper aims to examine the role of service branding and web site performances in a multi‐channel retail context by studying consumers who have on‐going relationships with retailers. Focus is placed on understanding perceptions of image congruency of the retail service brand across physical and electronic channels, together with web site performance perceptions influencing web site attitudes. The effects of web site attitudes on behavioural loyalty are also investigated.

Data were gathered via an online survey from 196 consumers and analysed using structural equation modelling via PLS analysis.

The findings shed light on the importance of cross‐channel service brand management together with managing critical web site service interface capabilities in the retail environment to engender favourable web site attitudes and customer loyalty outcomes.

Multi‐channel retailers should carefully consider the degree to which consumers perceive the web site and its performance to be congruous with the retailer's brand image which appears to influence how information is subsequently processed and impacts customer loyalty behavior.

The findings are of value to multi‐channel retail practitioners and focus on how consumers with an ongoing relationship with the retailer integrate offline and online brand images in the formation of web site attitudes. In addition, the study examines both cognitive and hedonic elements of web site performance in the research framework.

The purpose of this paper was to assess how adolescents' favorite apparel brand was related to congruency between brand image and three components of self concept (actual, ideal, ideal social). Predictors of the brand‐self concept congruency relationships were also examined.

A questionnaire distributed to 300 high school students yielded usable data from 137 students. Participants' ages ranged from 14 to 18 years.

The highest level of congruency was found between adolescents' favorite apparel brand and their actual self concept followed by ideal social and ideal self concept. Adolescents who indicated that their apparel purchases were highly influenced by their peers or family members linked their favorite brand with their ideal social or ideal self concept. Materialistic adolescents also linked their favorite apparel brand to their ideal self concept.

Focusing on congruency between brand and self concept is an important strategy in marketing targeting adolescents. Family and peer group influences played an important role in congruency adolescents identified between self and apparel brands.

This research demonstrated application of self‐brand congruency theory to adolescents and to apparel products. Adolescent consumers, like adults, identify a preference for apparel brands that they can link to some aspect of self.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate young New Zealand shoppers' ethnocentricity and brand perceptions by extending the research of O'Cass and Lim. The paper does this by looking at the relationship between ethnocentrism and brand choices, and by investigating whether young New Zealand shoppers have different price and brand‐user image congruency perceptions for local and foreign brands.

A total of six hypotheses were tested using data gathered from a mall intercept survey of 208 respondents aged between 16 and 25 years. The shoppers were measured through a series of Likert‐scale questions from the O'Cass and Lim study, the Shimp and Sharma CETSCALE items, and a range of demographic characteristic items.

Young New Zealand shoppers are about mid‐level internationally in terms of ethnocentrism, and ethnocentricity does not have an influence on their perceptions of brands. Price perceptions and self/brand user congruency perceptions are important to young New Zealand shoppers, and these are different for local versus foreign brands.

Foreign brands do not suffer from ethnocentricity but they do have a distorted (high) price perception amongst young New Zealand shoppers, suggesting a need for marketing aimed at dispelling this misperception. There is also a lack of congruency with brands, indicating that more active promotions with stronger and more distinct brand images are required.

This is one of the first studies to examine young New Zealand shoppers in any context, and is the only study to link young New Zealand shoppers with other international studies of ethnocentrism and brand perceptions. While adding to the understanding of brand perceptions it also provides practitioners with insights into young shoppers' perspectives on international brands.

This study examines how the locus of agency of brands' artificial intelligence (AI)–powered voice assistants (VAs) could lead to brand loyalty through perceived control, flow and consumer happiness under the moderating influences of brand image and voice congruity.

This study conducted a 2 (locus of agency: high vs. low) by 2 (brand image-voice congruity: congruent vs. incongruent) between-subjects experimental design. MANOVA, ANOVA and structural equation modeling (SEM) were conducted to test the hypothesized model.

ANOVA results revealed that human-centric (vs. machine-centric) agency led to higher perceived control. The interaction effect was significant, indicating the importance of congruency between brand image and VAs' voices. SEM results confirmed that perceived control predicted brand loyalty fully mediated by flow experience and consumer happiness.

This study provides evidence that the positive technology paradigm could carve out a new path in existing literature on AI-powered devices by showing the potential of a smart device as a tool for improving consumer–brand relationships and enriching consumers' well-being.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how adolescents' self‐concept and brand image congruency are related to their level of liking for an apparel brand. It also aims to examine whether this relationship varies depending on adolescents' gender and identity development.

Self‐image congruency theory was used to investigate whether adolescents' liking for an apparel brand was related to perceived congruency between aspects of self‐concept and apparel brand. Male and female adolescents (n=140) between 14 and 18 years of age participated.

Adolescent consumers liked apparel brands that they linked to their ideal social self‐concept. This connection was particularly strong for male adolescents with less established identities.

Adolescents liked an apparel brand when they reported a link between the brand and ideal social self‐concept. These adolescents may have used apparel brands to shape the views others formed of them.

Many questions concerning the basis for adolescents' apparel brand preferences have not been answered. Our research documents how male and female adolescents use branded apparel products in relation to their identity development status.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the antecedents and outcomes of online consumer brand engagement (OCBE). In addition, a mediator effect of satisfaction and brand love in the relationship between OCBE and positive electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) is analyzed.

Data were collected using a panel sampling with 201 participants from the millennial generation provided by the software tool Qualtrics. The online questionnaire is composed of two screening questions, the items of the constructs and a section with the socio-demographic variables.

Involvement and online brand experience (OBE) are important drivers of online brand engagement. Brand love is a significant mediator between online brand engagement and e-WOM.

Studies about antecedents and outcomes of online consumer engagement are rare. This paper contributes to the fledgling online consumer engagement literature by analyzing three antecedents: involvement, OBE, and self-brand image congruency. For the first time, brand love and satisfaction were considered as direct outcomes of online brand engagement. New insights are provided into the mediating role of brand love between online brand engagement and e-WOM.

This study examines consumer brand associations, focusing on the differences between association held for western brands and eastern brands by young Singaporeans under the country‐of‐origin umbrella. The study also examines consumer ethnocentric tendencies (CET), finding very low levels of ethnocentrism among respondents, and results indicate CET had no effect on brand preference or purchase intention.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate Generation Y consumers’ luxury fashion consumption. Generation Y is becoming a very important segment for the luxury market in the USA. Specifically, this study is designed to investigate Generation Y consumers’ consumption of luxury fashion products from the following perspectives: the influence of self-related personality traits on their brand consciousness; and the influence of brand consciousness on consumption behaviours in terms of consumption motivations, purchase intention, and brand loyalty.

A conceptual model was developed to represent the proposed relationships among the related variables. An online survey was conducted and 305 valid surveys were collected. The proposed hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling (SEM) analyses.

From the perspective of self-concept, this research shed some light on the luxury fashion consumption behaviour of Generation Y consumers. Public self-consciousness and self-esteem were both found having significant influence on Generation Y consumers’ brand consciousness and in turn their luxury consumption motivations and brand loyalty.

Limitations for this study mainly come from the representativeness of the sample, which was recruited from a panel of a third party research group. Implications for luxury fashion brand managers and retailers focus on strategies that influence the social and self-motivation for luxury consumption and level of brand consciousness.

This research is unique because it focuses on luxury fashion consumption of Generation Y consumers, an emerging segment in the luxury market. Generation Y consumers’ behaviour towards luxury fashion was examined in terms of their self-related personality traits, brand consciousness, motivation, and brand loyalty.