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Consumers usually respond favourably to ingroups but negatively to dissociative groups and products linked to dissociative groups, termed the dissociative group effect. Despite important implications for branding, advertising and celebrity endorsement, little is known about how to attenuate the effect. This paper aims to introduce a mechanism which attenuates the dissociative group effect by drawing on construal level theory.

An experimental approach was used which included two-part between-subjects designs.

High identifiers prefer products linked to their ingroup over ones linked to a dissociative group, however, the opposite is true for low identifiers. The difference in preference is attenuated for high and low identifiers when they are placed in an abstract mind-set. The underlying mechanism of this effect is similarity focus.

The same context was used to ensure that the attenuating effect found was not due to contextual factors. However, further studies should replicate the findings in a wider variety of contexts.

This research offers practical recommendations on how to manage multiple customer segments in increasingly diverse marketplaces. By inducing an abstract mind-set in customers, for example, via advertising copy, website architecture or contextual factors such as pitch of the music, marketers can increase the effectiveness of identity-linking marketing for consumers’ high/low in identification.

This is one of the first empirical studies to evidence the applicability of construal level theory within identity marketing and offers a novel mechanism to attenuate the dissociative group effect. The findings shed new light on how low identifiers relate and respond to identity-linked marketing.

This study aims to introduce the concept of dissociative threat, which is the fear of being associated with an undesirable (dissociative) group as a result of demonstrating ability in a domain that is stereotypically linked to that group. Consumers experiencing dissociative threats use inability signaling as a self-presentational strategy in which they present themselves as lacking ability in the dissociative domain.

Five experimental studies were conducted to test whether consumers experience threat in dissociative domains and to examine factors that influence this threat.

Results showed that dissociative threat adversely affects consumers’ performance at tasks that require using products linked to dissociative groups. Threatened participants reported intentions to perform poorly and train for a longer time in preparation for such tasks, thus signaling low ability in dissociative domains. Additionally, when participants who were experiencing dissociative threats received confirmation that they lacked ability in that domain, their performance at these tasks improved.

This study expands the knowledge on strategies, including inability signaling, that consumers use to avoid being linked to dissociative groups.

The findings suggest to marketers that stereotypes that link their products to certain consumer segments can threaten other consumers. Factors that shape and alleviate this threat are identified, which may help companies who are marketing such products.

This study extends the current understanding of stereotype threat and proposes a new self-presentational strategy, that has not been documented yet in the literature (i.e. inability signaling), that consumers use to deal with the dissociative threat.

This paper aims to extend and complement research on reference groups by suggesting that two distinct types of dissociative groups – specifically, a near versus distant dissociative group – have differential impacts on consumer choices. While prior research has examined the impact of dissociative groups on consumer evaluations and responses more generally, there has been little attention paid to how different types of dissociative groups may affect consumer choices. The current research attempts to address this research gap by identifying two different types of dissociative groups and exploring how, why and the conditions under which they might exert differential impacts on consumer choices.

Four experimental studies test these ideas. Studies 1–2 were conducted on Amazon Mechanical Turk. Studies 3–4 were conducted in a laboratory setting at a large public university.

The findings suggest that consumers are less likely to buy a product if it is associated with a near dissociative group as compared to a distant dissociative group; and this effect is driven by construal-level mindsets. In addition, the proposed effect is moderated by group conformity such that for people low in conformity, the proposed effect holds; while for people high in conformity, they would not make a purchase as long as a product is associated with a dissociative group – regardless of whether it is near or distant.

For experimental control, the studies were conducted in the lab or using online participants, and thus might lack much of the richness of real field settings. Future research could seek to address these issues, perhaps, examining the effects of social distance to a dissociative group on consumer choices in a naturalistic environment.

This work advances an understanding of how different types of dissociative groups affect consumer behavior, with implications for marketing practices and public policymakers. First, the findings provide important insights into how to expand into a completely new market. Second, this research provides an important implication for launching a successful advertising campaign and designing an effective marketing segmentation strategy. Third, this research also offers important insights into how to pivot marketing strategies during a crisis. Finally, the research draws out the implications for policymakers to develop effective substance abuse prevention programs for children and adolescents.

To the knowledge, this is the first study to examine different types of dissociative groups and their differential impacts on consumer choices. Further, the current research complements prior research on reference groups by identifying the conditions under which a nearer social distance might lead to greater negative product evaluation. Finally, this research identifies the conditions under which the impact of different types of dissociative groups may vary, opening up new areas for research on why, how and when dissociative groups can affect consumer behavior.

Brands are increasingly reflecting social values, and many brands have begun to embrace equality and inclusivity as a marketing strategy. Accordingly, consumers are increasingly being exposed to brands associated with different social groups. This paper aims to examine how consumers who have experienced pride respond to brands associated with dissociative out-groups.

Four studies were conducted. Study 1 tested the basic effect of how the experience of different facets of pride affects consumers’ brand attitudes toward a brand associated with a dissociative out-group. Studies 2 and 3 examined the underlying mechanism of consumers’ psychological endorsement of egalitarianism using both mediation and moderation approaches. Study 4 derived implications of our findings for marketers.

The results show that consumers respond differently to a brand associated with a dissociative out-group based on the facets of pride they experience. When consumers experience authentic (vs hubristic) pride, they exhibit a more favorable attitude toward the brand associated with the dissociative out-group. This is because authentic (vs hubristic) pride increases consumers’ psychological endorsement of egalitarianism, which enhances consumers’ brand attitudes toward the brand associated with the dissociative out-group.

The findings suggest that brand managers should think about ways to elicit consumers’ authentic pride to minimize the potential backlash from consumers when promoting equality and inclusivity in their brand communications, particularly when such communications contain cues of dissociative out-groups.

This paper contributes to the branding literature by identifying pride as an important determinant that can help brands overcome the negative impact of dissociative out-groups on consumers’ brand reactions, enriches the literature on pride by documenting a novel effect of the two facets of pride on consumer behavior and extends the literature of egalitarianism by demonstrating pride as a driver of consumers’ psychological endorsement of egalitarianism.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role played by both, self-brand connection and reference groups, in attributing symbolic meaning to a brand. Current studies focus either on the influence of reference groups or on the role of self-brand connection. We demonstrate that both interact in attributing symbolic meaning. To explain interactions between the consumer, the brand and the reference groups, we draw on Heider’s balance theory.

A questionnaire was developed which included scales on self-brand connection, reference group belonging and symbolic brand meaning. Data were collected through an online survey and analyzed with factor analyses, analyses of variance and correlation analyses.

Our findings suggest that consumers may alter their beliefs about a brand depending on both, their self-brand connection and the influence of reference groups. If a consumer feels a strong connection with a brand and this brand is used by a dissociative reference group, the consumer will not attribute high symbolic meaning to that brand. The same is valid if the consumer’s in-group uses a brand which the consumer does not feel connected to.

The present study introduces Heider’s balance theory to the fields of reference group research and self-brand connection research. Balance theory has proved to be a valuable framework for analyzing the relationships of consumers, their brands and their reference groups in the context of attributing symbolic brand meaning. Building on these insights, researchers and practitioners may better understand the emergence of symbolic brand meaning hereafter.

This study aims to examine how brands attempt to extend their customer set not through the typical route of adding brands, but through the strategic extension or enlargement of their target customer set. Building on theories from both reference group perceptions and brand identification, this research explores the impact of strategic customer extensions on current target market consumers.

Two scenario-based experiments explore strategic customer extensions for a packaged goods brand and a well-known retail brand. The analysis involves both analysis of variance and SEM methods.

Current target market consumers’ evaluations of strategic customer extensions are informed by reference group perceptions relating to the proposed customer extension. When current target market consumers perceive strategic customer extensions as potentially attracting a dissociative reference group, consumers have weaker evaluations and brand identification measures and, subsequently, weaker future intentions towards the brand.

The brand identification literature is augmented by incorporating theories from the reference group literature to demonstrate how to reference group perceptions drive a current target market consumers’ evaluations of strategic customer extensions to affect the strength of the identification that current target market consumers have with a brand. Brand identification is also demonstrated as mediator customer evaluations and subsequent intentions towards the brand.

Co-creating consumers are often featured prominently in marketing communications for new co-created products. Previous research has only investigated the responses of non-participating consumers by describing co-creating consumers in text. This paper aims to examine consumer responses to combinations of text descriptions and pictures of co-creating consumers.

An experimental study used a reference group perspective to explain non-participating consumer responses to communications about co-creation with consumers in new product development.

Pictures of co-creating consumers moderate the effects of texts describing consumer co-creation on brand attitudes. The brand effects of describing the co-creating consumer in text as belonging to a dissociative group are negative when the picture looks similar to the non-participating consumers. If the co-creating consumer looks dissimilar to the in-group, the reference group text has no effect. Self–brand connection mediates these effects on brand attitudes.

A reference group perspective is introduced as a boundary condition to the research on the communication of consumer co-creation. The effects on brand attitudes depend on the pictorial representations.

Companies should be advised to avoid portrayals of co-creating consumers that could cause dissociation in relevant consumer groups.

Neither reference group associations nor pictorial descriptions of co-creating consumers, have hitherto been investigated with regards to consumer co creation, despite the frequent inclusion of consumer imagery in advertising for consumer co-created new products.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of exposure to prosocial media content (PMC) on the subsequent intention to donate to a prosocial cause of a rejected group versus a prosocial cause of a neutral group. The hypothesis, supported in two experimental studies, is that for the individual exposed to a PMC, the difference in the donations for social causes of a rejected group and a neutral group is smaller than for the individual exposed to a non-PMC.

Two between-subjects experimental studies were performed. In both studies, the individual’s emotional responses were manipulated through PMC (conditions: prosocial versus non-prosocial). Then, respondents were asked to split a fixed amount of money between two social actions whose beneficiaries were members of a rejected group versus members of a neutral group.

It was found that the difference in donation between the two actions associated with different types of beneficiaries (i.e. rejected group vs neutral group) was smaller for the individuals exposed to PMC than for individuals exposed to non-PMC.

In this research, the donating behavior was operationalized by a simulated donation and not by a real donation.

Results suggest that PMC on the internet could be effective in reducing rejection for stigmatized dissociation groups for which it is difficult to get help.

The results suggest that exposure to PMC on the internet can increase donations for rejected groups. The confirmation of the PMC effect on reducing negative outcomes opens the possibility to diminish negativity toward stigmatized groups.

Theoretically, the explanations are based on the social comparison theory.

Focusing on a community organisation, the purpose of this paper is to unravel the process through which infringing contested practices that threaten or compromise the community’s sense of distinction are transformed into acceptable symbolic markers.

An ethnographic study comprising participant observation, in-depth interviews and secondary data was conducted in the context of a non-profit community cinema.

Taking a longitudinal approach and drawing from practice theory, this paper outlines how member-driven, customer-driven and necessity-imposed infringing practices settle in new contexts. Further, this paper demonstrates that such practices are filtered in terms of their ideological “fit” with the organisation and are, as a result, rejected, recontextualised or replaced with do-it-yourself alternatives. In this process, authority shifts from the contested practice to community members and eventually to the space as a whole, ensuring the singularisation of the cinema-going experience.

This paper addresses how the integration of hegemonic practices to an off-the-mainstream experience can provide a differentiation tool, aiding resisting organisations to compensate for their lack of resources.

While the appropriation practices that communities use to ensure distinction are well documented, there is little understanding of the journey that negatively contested practices undergo in their purification to more community-friendly forms. This paper theorises this journey by outlining how the objects, meanings and doings that comprise hegemonic practices are transformed by and transforming of resisting organisations.

This paper aims to examine how conflicting brand preferences between a social group and an individual may lead the individual to hide their consumption. Specifically, the authors examine the conditions under which hiding behaviour is most likely to occur and the impact of susceptibility to interpersonal influence on the decision to hide.

Two experiments were conducted using a combination of student and adult samples. Analysis of variance and regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses.

Findings suggest that individuals are most likely to hide their consumption behaviour when group sanctions for non-conformity are severe, but the likelihood of being caught is low. Further, individual differences in susceptibility to interpersonal influence are found to affect individuals’ decisions to hide their consumption behaviour.

By identifying hidden consumption behaviour as a possible response to preference conflict, this research contributes to the literature on social influence and extends our understanding of how consumers behave when influenced by social group pressure.

The present work establishes hiding behaviour (a concept which has yet to be thoroughly explored in the literature) as an alternative yet viable response to preference conflict.