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The purpose of this paper is to understand how congruence influences product evaluations in an international Latin culture context, as moderated by the public vs private nature of the product and user-image vs product-personality congruence.

Participants were recruited from two universities in Spanish-speaking, Latin cultures: Spain – Latin Europe (n=340) and Uruguay – Latin America (n=400). All participants were asked to indicate product-personality congruence (i.e. congruence between one’s self and the product) and user-image congruence (i.e. congruence between a product’s typical user and the product) for two private and two public products.

Two types of congruence (product-personality and user-image) positively influence brand evaluations more for publicly consumed than for privately consumed brands for consumers in both Latin cultures, with effect sizes being greater than prior research in other cultures.

This research supports congruence theory in showing that similarity between a consumer and a brand leads to more favorable attitudes. Limitations include the sole use of student subjects and examination in only two countries of Latin culture.

Regardless of a brand’s personality, brands should seek consumers with similar personality traits, especially in Latin cultures.

This research addresses several limitations in prior research by examining both publicly and privately consumed products in one study, exploring congruence across Latin cultures, and testing products not confounded by addictive properties.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of pre-existing mood valence, mood arousal and ad-evoked arousal on response to television and print advertising. It combined the arousal-as-information and arousal regulation approaches into a single arousal congruence theory. It sought an extended application of arousal congruence theory in the persuasion domain with several novel findings.

Four experiments were conducted to test the hypotheses. Analysis of variance, multivariate analysis of variance and pairwise comparison were used for data analysis.

Consumer judgment is a joint function of mood valence, mood arousal and ad-evoked arousal. Positive mood does not always generate more positive evaluations and vice versa. Ad-evoked arousal can more strongly influence consumers’ judgments when they are in a negative rather than a positive mood. Furthermore, consumers in a positive mood rate a target more favorably when the ad-evoked arousal level is congruent with their current arousal state, while those in a negative mood rate a target more favorably when the ad-evoked arousal level is incongruent with their current state of arousal. Arousal polarization intensifies such congruence (and incongruence) effects.

The findings reveal a mood-lifting opportunity based on ad-evoked arousal. This has implications for the design of advertisements, promotional materials, marketing campaigns and retailing environments.

This paper’s findings highlight unexpected effects of stimulus-evoked arousal in persuasion when consumers are exposed to multiple emotional cues from the environment. The paper demonstrates the utility of an integrated model, explaining the relative importance of valence and arousal in influencing consumer judgments. It has been the first to examine arousal congruence, arousal polarization and arousal regulation mechanisms jointly.

The purpose of this paper is to test the impact of symbolic and functional incongruity on brand hate. According to self-congruity theory, symbolic and functional congruence are a critical phenomenon in consumer buying decisions. Therefore, the present study develops a theoretical framework based on self-congruity theory to examine the key determinants of brand hate.

Data were collected only in fast-food chain franchises in the capital city territory of Pakistan. Therefore, it is hard to generalize the findings of this research for customers from different cultural backgrounds.

The results of the study reveal that symbolic and functional incongruence are the primary factors responsible for brand hate among Pakistani fast-food customers. Customers carefully consider both self-image and product attributes when purchasing products.

The research uses the cross-sectional method, which limits the findings’ usefulness in other sectors.

The current research helps policymakers understand the key determinants of brand hate, showing that symbolic incongruence is the primary antecedent. Therefore, policymakers and corporate leaders should consider that Pakistan is an Islamic country where consumer choices of food are not only derived from food quality, food hygiene and service quality, but also the symbolic image (i.e. halal food) is a vital determinant of consumption.

This study contributes to the literature by discussing the above issue and presenting quantitative data. This research extends the literature by testing and validating a conceptual model that includes two types of congruence (symbolic and functional) to study brand hate. The proposed conceptual model provides a novel, theoretical, self-congruity point of view on brand hate.

This study aims to investigate the shopping behaviour of consumers, mainly in fashion apparels, and intends to understand consumer buying patterns in Indian context. The study was designed to determine the level of consumer's sense of belonging towards apparel shopping by applying the concept of self-congruence.

The study used variance-based partial least squares structural equational modelling (PLS-SEM) on a cross-sectional study conducted on 569 consumers. The study was conducted by using questionnaire to collect the responses from the central zone of India. The results support most of the projected hypotheses.

The study focused on the shopping behaviour of consumer such as self-congruence, impulse buying, hedonic values and consumer satisfaction. The results of the study highlight the association of constructs and analysed the mediation relation of hedonic and impulse buying constructs. The results revealed a positive association among the constructs and also found a partial mediation effect in their relation with constructs.

The findings are outcomes of an empirical study conducted in the fashion apparel industry of India based on the sample set of urban consumers. The study is restricted to the direct and indirect relationship of constructs. Further, research can examine by using moderating constructs like demographic factors (gender, age, income, etc.) and other shopping behaviours (like brand loyalty, brand love, brand attachment) for more clarity in results. Moreover, the study limited is with fashion apparel, whereas there are many categories in the fashion industry like accessories, perfumes, cosmetic products, footwear and also other products industry.

The study provided valuable inputs to the literature of marketing where self-congruence affects consumer shopping behaviour such as impulse buying, hedonic values and consumer satisfaction. The study proposes a practical approach that can help the marketing professionals and product developers to have a deep understanding about consumer shopping behaviour for facilitating consumer-oriented goods in the Indian fashion industry.

This is one of the first studies in the fashion industry to test the association of self-congruence with hedonic value and consumer satisfaction. This relation is not tested in context of fashion apparel. Additionally, this study also examined the mediating effect of hedonic value and impulse buying in relation with self-congruence and consumer satisfaction in the Indian context.

The authors examine mutually exclusive sub-groups of congruent expectations for leader and follower roles relate to sub-groups of self-other endorsement, and how these patterns predict relationship quality.

The authors examine patterns of congruent implicit theories relate to patterns of self-other endorsement, at the dyadic level, using latent class analysis in 193 working-adult dyads. The authors then examine how these patterns predict leader and follower assessments of relationship quality using general linear models (GLM).

The authors supported 4 classes of dyads with specific patterns of congruent (or incongruent) ILT's and IFT's: Role congruent, exchange congruent, committed leader congruent, and role incongruent dyads. Class membership predicted leader-assessed leader-member exchange (LMX) and perceived support. The authors then supported 3 classes of self-other endorsement: dyads with mutual endorsement, leader identity endorsement, and no endorsement. Class membership predicted follower-assessed LMX, perceived support, and perceived contribution from leaders. Class membership corresponded meaningfully.

The authors empirically examine the extent to which relationship behavior can be understood: (1) by similar implicit theories, or (2) through identification with a leader or follower role. Moreover, the authors uncover unique combinations of congruence, and address a key challenge posed by traditional variable-oriented strategies typically used in LMX research.

This study aims to highlight the impact of altruistic-self and hunger awareness on socially responsible food consumption through the lens of self-awareness and self-congruity theories due to the great challenge of Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger.

A survey was conducted with a sample of 812 respondents. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) confirm each variable's structure through the measurement model and test the hypothesis to support a structural model.

The results highlight that the combination of altruistic-self and hunger awareness (AS-HA congruence) drives consumers to execute socially responsible food consumption. Meanwhile, consumers' food-saving attitude mediation translates to the attitude towards responsible and ethical use increasing socially responsible food consumption, a contextual development in the theory of congruence. Conversely, hunger awareness is not confirmed as significantly influencing socially responsible food consumption.

This research provides valuable insights for academicians and practitioners in developing food waste management strategies that can be implemented to reduce food wastage.

Food waste is a global concern and is challenging for many manufacturing, distribution and individual wastage levels. However, food wastage by consumers is one of the most critical problems which can be minimised with awareness and attitudinal changes in behaviour as a form of socially responsible consumption.

Because communication channels are inherently unique, they may differentially affect customers depending on their preferred communication style. Therefore, the information that firms provide might not have the intended effect, which is to increase program loyalty. The purpose of the current study is to present a marketing communication model that focuses on promoting program loyalty via self-congruity with the communication style of information channels.

The study introduces a self-congruity theory-based structural equation model, which is validated through an online sample of 575 respondents. The model begins with communication style and investigates its impact on satisfaction and loyalty in relation to hotel loyalty program members.

The model confirms that different forms of communication have varying levels of relevance to program loyalty. Communication style, information quality, self-congruity and satisfaction are all significant predictors of program loyalty.

Management can cultivate a community of loyal program members through the recognition of self-image congruence and its relationship with communication style, along with a solid understanding of target markets.

Despite the apparent influence that communication has on loyalty, very little research evaluates the typologies (firm-created and customer-created), dimensions (electronic and in-person) and attributes of information in terms of their effects on program loyalty.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of congruity and endorsement on consumer attitudes toward sports website advertisements (Aad), the advertising brand (Abr), and consumers’ future intentions (FI).

The current study followed a 2×3 between-subjects experimental design. Sports celebrity (or the presence or absence of a sports celebrity in a banner ad) and the level of congruity between the website and banner ad (high congruity – soccer, medium congruity – snowboard, and low congruity – computer) were the primary independent variables. Data were collected in two stages. An initial pilot study (n=40) established the reliability and validity of the scaled measures guiding this test. The second phase of data collection, the main study, was conducted over a five-day period. A random assignment of treatment conditions (i.e. exposure to one of six banner ad manipulations) was followed by a series of short surveys designed to measure the dependent variables of subjects’ cognitive ad responses (i.e. Aad, Abr, and FI).

The results indicated that participants who viewed the ad with the endorsement showed a more positive Aad than those who viewed the ad without it. The participants with a high congruity condition reported a more positive Abr and higher FI than those with low or medium congruity.

This study extends the application of congruity theory to banner advertisements, thereby aiding our understanding of consumers’ perceptions of advertising.

This study aims to investigate how congruence between the image of a successful entrepreneur and one’s own gender-role orientation affects entrepreneurial intentions (EI).

A total of 552 working-age adults (49.5% women) answered questions on gender-role orientation, perception of a successful entrepreneur, EI, antecedents of EI (perceived behavioural control (PBC), subjective norm (SN), attitude towards entrepreneurship), entrepreneurial self-efficacy and risk aversion.

Women reported a lower EI than men, and both male and female participants perceived successful entrepreneurs as masculine. In the final model, biological sex did not predict EIs. Rather, it was associated with the extent to which participants felt they resembled successful entrepreneurs, which, in turn, predicted greater levels of PBC, SNs and attitudes towards entrepreneurship, as well as greater EI.

The study is one of the first to study joint impacts of biological sex, gender and congruence on EIs.

Meeting human needs is considered as fundamental to sustainable human settlement. However, in micro level developments particularly in respect of a housing unit, for example, an operational definition of sustainability which will be useful in its practical implementation, has yet to be developed. To address this, the author posits that theories on the relationship between the environment and the person can be taken as a conceptual frame of reference. One of them is the theory of Person-Environment Congruence (PEC). This theory conceptualizes “congruence” as the favourable outcome of the person-environment relationship. Achieving PEC is considered as the most important criteria that supports the concept of housing sustainability. In the context of housing, the author considers that PEC is achieved when the dwelling place can offer its inhabitants a place which meets their basic needs. In order to operationalize this concept in terms of housing unit design, the author propagates the use of the Means-End Chain (MEC) research model to explore the relationship between a person and his or her environment. The combination of the two concepts facilitates the identification of those housing attributes emphasized in the home-making process, together with the users' perceptual orientation towards those attributes. To experiment with the application of the MEC research model in respect of exploring the concept of PEC, a case study was conducted on 15 renovated and personalized houses in a mass housing scheme in Malaysia. The traditional MEC methods were maintained with some modifications to accommodate the various housing characteristics. The results suggest that the MEC research model is able to link the relevant housing unit attributes to user values, and it is potentially applicable in the design of a housing unit. The results also indicated that user participation is essential in home making process, in order to achieve and maintain sustainability.