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In the current era of fake news, illusions, manipulations and other artificial attributes of virtuality and reality, authenticity is a virtue that people highly appreciate. This study aims to examine the influence of the personal brand authenticity of top football players on loyalty to the football discipline in general, via the mediation of personal brand identification.

Based on data collected from a convenience sample of 562 respondents from Poland via an electronic survey and analyzed using the structural equation modeling method, this study explored, first, the influence of top football players’ personal brand authenticity on consumers’ identification with these football players, and second, how this identification may lead to enhancing loyalty to the football discipline. Finally, it verified how the loyalty effect (attitudinal and behavioral) varies across different categories of spectators.

Personal brand identification with authentic football stars is a focal factor enabling the creation of loyalty (attitudinal and behavioral) to the whole discipline. Consumers’ perceptions of the authenticity of the personal brands of football players play a role in increasing identification with these personal brands. This identification is essential in achieving loyalty to football as a sports discipline via football celebrities.

Football players perceived as authentic are evaluated more positively, leading to consumer identification with these players, which, in turn, increases consumers’ loyalty to football. Thus, the presence of authentic, skilled players is important for football, but the actual loyalty effect from authenticity can be achieved only by identification. Therefore, football requires exceptional, strong stars who reflect a set of desired personal values. Further research is needed to identify the desired set of values that leads to identification with football stars.

This study presents evidence that the personal brand authenticity of a football star is a driver of loyalty towards football discipline in general if the spectators’ identification with this superstar occurs. Moreover, this study proves that loyalty to football driven by the personal brand authenticity of football stars differs between spectators’ categories.

This paper aims to examine under what conditions consumers develop emotional attachment toward authentic brands. It proposes that authentic brands’ ability to evoke attachment is contingent upon situational (i.e. need to belong and need to express the authentic self) and consumer individual difference variables (i.e. brand engagement in self-concept [BESC] and personal authenticity).

Two experiments empirically test the effects of brand authenticity on emotional brand attachment. Experiment 1 considers the moderating roles of social exclusion and BESC. Experiment 2 examines the moderating roles of situationally induced feelings of self-inauthenticity and enduring personal authenticity.

Consumers with a high level of BESC show greater emotional brand attachment to authentic (versus less authentic) brands when they feel socially excluded. Consumers with a high level of enduring personal authenticity show greater emotional brand attachment to authentic (versus less authentic) brands when they experience situations that make them feel inauthentic.

This paper has implications for brand communication strategies adopted by brands that are positioned strongly on authenticity.

This paper is one of the few to examine the effect of brand authenticity on brand attachment taking into account the moderating role of situational and individual difference variables. The findings contribute to the brand attachment and brand authenticity literatures.

Authenticity is a complex character that is valued in service contexts. Frontline service employees (FSEs), as both brand representatives and individuals who interact with clients, can signal their authenticity to customers. The purpose of this study is to investigate how FSEs signal their authenticity to customers. The authors investigate authenticity signal themes and develop a typology of how FSEs use these signals in the workplace.

This research uses a multi-method approach: qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with FSE and customers and quantitative data were collected in a follow-up survey using a sample of financial planners.

Findings from both studies show that FSE can use signals reflecting the display of client-centricity, positive emotions, transparency and disclosure of personal information. A latent profile analysis reveals three authenticity signal profiles, differing in the extent to which FSE uses each of these signals.

This study identifies how FSEs can shape perceptions of authenticity in a service context, thus expanding theory by integrating both personal and brand authenticity perspectives. The findings further demonstrate that authenticity can be signaled on multiple dimensions, reflecting the complex nature of this construct.

The findings from this research can guide managers in developing workplace policies that enable FSEs to display authenticity in various ways to customers. Managers can further use the insights from this research to identify needs for FSE training and development.

The authors create novel insights into how FSEs signal authenticity to customers given their dual roles as individuals and brand representatives. This study offers nuanced insights into different types of signals and their application in a service context.

Based on object–object congruity, this study aims to clarify the driving factors and antecedent mechanism of tourists’ willingness to purchase intangible cultural heritage (ICH)-souvenirs.

This study used a five-point Likert scale to collect data and proposed a structural equation model to explore this issue.

ICH-inheritor/souvenir-congruity is positively related to tourists’ purchase intention for ICH-souvenirs and perceived authenticity; perceived authenticity and brand identity play a chain mediating effect between ICH-inheritor/souvenir-congruity and the purchase intention for ICH-souvenirs.

This paper excludes individual, situational and cultural factors, ignoring the possible moderating roles of these factors. This treatment simplifies the feasibility of the present study but might lead to the deviation between the results of the current research and the actual outcomes.

The retailers of ICH-souvenirs should encourage the ICH-inheritors to endorse and promote their products while creating. They could tell a good story about their experience or create entertainment experiences for tourists through hand-in-hand teaching.

This study explores the driving factors and antecedent mechanism of tourists’ purchase intention for ICH-souvenirs from the third perspective of image congruity theory, namely, object–object congruity.

品：形象一致性与品牌对游客购买意向的影响

基于客-客一致性, 本研究旨在厘清游客购买非物质文化遗产纪念品的影响因素与驱动机制。

本研究利用5点式Likert量表收集数据, 并提出了一个结构方程模型来探讨这个问题。

非遗传承人/纪念品一致性正向显著影响非遗纪念品的购买意愿和本真性感知; 本真性感知和品牌认同在非遗传承人/纪念品一致性和非遗纪念品购买意愿之间起着链式中介作用。

本研究从形象一致性理论的第三个视角（客-客一致性）, 探讨了游客购买非遗纪念品的影响因素与驱动机制。

本研究进一步证明了客-客一致性的有效性和合理性, 拓宽了形象一致性理论的外延。

非遗纪念品的零售商应鼓励非遗传承人在创作的同时代言和推广他们的产品。他们可以讲述自己的经历, 或者通过手把手教学为游客创造娱乐体验。

本文排除了个人、情境和文化因素, 忽略了这些因素可能的调节作用。这种处理简化了当前研究的可行性, 但可能导致当前研究结果与实际结果之间的偏差。

la influencia de la consistencia de la imagen y la marca en la intención de compra de los turistas

Resumen

Basado en la congruencia objeto-objeto, el presente estudio busca esclarecer los factores impulsores y el mecanismo antecedente sobre la disposición de los turistas a adquirir recuerdos del PCI.

El presente estudio utiliza una escala de Likert de cinco puntos para recopilar datos y plantea un Modelo de Ecuaciones Estructurales (MEE) para estudiar este asunto.

La congruencia entre el heredero/recuerdo del PCI se relaciona de forma positiva con la intención de compra de recuerdos del PCI por parte de los turistas y con la autenticidad percibida; la autenticidad percibida y la identidad de marca ejercen un efecto mediador en cadena entre la congruencia entre el heredero/recuerdo del PCI y la intención de compra de recuerdos del PCI.

El presente estudio explora el mecanismo antecedente de la intención de compra de los turistas de recuerdos de PCI a partir de la tercera perspectiva de la teoría de congruencia de la imagen (la congruencia objeto-objeto).

El presente estudio justifica la validez y racionalidad de la congruencia objeto-objeto, extendiendo la teoría de la congruencia de imagen.

Los minoristas de los recuerdos del PCI deben fomentar que los herederos del PCI respalden y promocionen sus productos al mismo tiempo que los crean. Ellos pueden contar sus propias experiencias o crear experiencias entretenidas para turistas mediante la enseñanza mediante ejemplos.

El presente documento no tiene en cuenta los factores individuales, situacionales y culturales e ignora el posible papel moderador de estos factores. Dicho tratamiento simplifica la viabilidad de este estudio, aunque podría dar lugar a una desviación entre los resultados de la presente investigación y los resultados reales.

The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into how female entrepreneurs develop and communicate an authentic personal brand. The authors examine the entrepreneurial marketing (EM) activities undertaken by female entrepreneurs and identify the impression management (IM) behaviours and tactics used. The authors explore the risks associated with self-promotion to gain a better understanding of how female entrepreneurs market themselves and their businesses.

The study adopts an interpretative phenomenological approach (IPA). Using semi-structured interviews, the authors explore the experiences of female entrepreneurs as they engage in IM behaviours. The sample is drawn from female entrepreneurs who have small-scale businesses, which span a range of specialist service sectors. All participants are engaging in personal branding activities. Participants were recruited via a gatekeeper and invited to take part in the study. Data from 11 female business owners were collected and analysed using IPA. Interview transcripts and field notes were analysed for broad patterns, and then initial codes developed, which allowed for themes to emerge, with a number of core themes being identified. These core themes are presented, together with verbatim quotes from participants, to provide a rich insight into the marketing activities of these female entrepreneurs.

The findings reveal the complex challenges faced by female entrepreneurs as they engage in self-promotion and IM to market their business. Four key themes emerge from the data to explain how female entrepreneurs engage in managing their brand both online and offline: experimental, risk, authenticity and supplication. The study identifies, in particular, that female entrepreneurs use the tactic of supplication in combination with self-promotion to communicate their brand. Additionally, it was found that female entrepreneurs share their personal fears and weaknesses in an attempt to be seen as authentic and manage the risk associated with self-promotion.

The study contributes to the EM literature by extending the understanding of the risks associated with self-promotion for female entrepreneurs. The study also contributes to the IM literature by providing a better understanding of IM beyond organisations and applied to an entrepreneurial domain. The study highlights a number of important implications for entrepreneurial practice and policy.

This research aims to explore generation (Gen) Z's personal branding on social media when job seeking.

Gen Z students, in their final year of university, were interviewed about personal branding, as well as recruiters and career advisors to gain insights into the recruitment process and expectations of online personal brands. Before interviewing, Gen Z students' LinkedIn profiles were examined, and then fed into the interview process.

Using impression management theory, the findings show that Gen Z perceive online personal brands as a crucial tool to gain more advantage in job markets. A gap was found between desired and perceived selves in Gen Z's online personal brands. Strategies such as effective self-reflection, authentic communication, self-promotion processes, awareness of risks and constantly controlling digital footprints were suggested to build stronger and more coherent personal brands. Gen Z are in favour of a more dynamic, interactive, work-in-process of authentic personal brands.

This research demonstrates the importance of authentically building online personal branding strategies and tactics to bridge the divide between Gen Z's desired and perceived images in personal branding on social media when job seeking.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of consumer-based brand authenticity (CBBA) on customer satisfaction (CS) and brand loyalty (BL). The moderating effect of the variable “alternative attractiveness” in the relationship between CS and BL was further investigated. The study compared and analyzed the difference between global sportswear brands and domestic ones and the difference between global chocolate brands and domestic ones in terms of CBBA, CS, BL and attractiveness of alternatives (AA).

Structural equation modeling and multigroup analysis were conducted in order to analyze the data collected from 600 consumers via face-to-face survey.

The results showed that quality commitment and heritage-sincerity, which are subdimensions of CBBA, had a significant positive effect on CS. Additionally, both of them affected CS differently in the comparison of the global brands with the domestic ones. Furthermore, CS had a significant positive effect on BL, and AA had a negative effect on BL.

This study deepens the insights into the effects of antecedents of CBBA on CS and BL, enhancing the research with quantitative analysis through two different product groups. The study provides important cues on which antecedents of CBBA help to strengthen the authenticity of brands of Turkish and global origin, and also differs in that it examines to what extent the effect of CBBA on CS and BL varies across global and domestic brands.

Celebrity-branded products constitute a brand extension growing phenomenon. Authenticity may explain why some of these offerings are successful despite low perceived fit, a traditional measure for brand extension acceptance. The purpose of this paper is to propose and test a framework based on the meaning transfer model that depicts the effects of brand extension authenticity, brand extension fit and idol attachment on the valuation of such offerings. An exploration of both functional and hedonic extensions is provided to control for product-type variables.

Scenario-based survey data from a general population (n = 646) was collected and analyzed with ordinary least squares regressions.

Brand extension authenticity is a significant antecedent of brand extension success in both product types, and brand extension fit is the most relevant antecedent only in functional extensions. Idol attachment exerts less influence than fit and authenticity in the functional extension. However, its relevance considerably improves in the hedonic extension.

A better understanding of consumers’ responses to celebrity brand extensions is essential to the branding literature. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to consider brand extension authenticity as a predictor of celebrity brand extension success and advances our knowledge of consumer behavior in relation to celebrities as brands and their products as brand extensions. The conceptual and empirical relevance of brand extension authenticity is demonstrated, highlighting its predictive power when compared with brand extension fit and idol attachment in a celebrity brand extension model, and a boundary condition related to product typology is uncovered.

This study, based on craft beer brands, aims (1) to explain the importance of four brand authenticity dimensions (continuity, originality, reliability and naturalness) in consumers' perceptions of brand image; (2) to verify if the brand–consumer emotional relationship (brand love) is enhanced by the consumer's perceptions of the brand's image; (3) to verify if the consumer's perceptions of the brand's image increase brand satisfaction; and (4) to verify if brand satisfaction increases brand love.

Data were collected from consumers of different craft beer brands to evaluate the assumptions underlying the proposed conceptual model. In total, 175 questionnaire responses were used, and the model was estimated through structural equation modelling (SEM) with partial least squares (PLS).

The results confirmed that brand authenticity is a strong antecedent of the brand image of craft beers, and that brand image affects both consumer brand satisfaction and brand love. The effect of brand satisfaction on brand love has also been confirmed. Craft beer brands should aim to attract more fan-consumers, i.e. consumers who seek an emotional relationship that manifests itself in affection, beauty, well-being and long-term commitment. Fan-consumers give their hearts/love and recommend the brand.

The paper tries to fill two gaps in the literature. First, we make the initial empirical application of the Bruhn et al. (2012) scale and verify its adequacy in this context. Second, this is the first time that the model's design has been validated. The results allow us to confirm that authenticity is an antecedent of brand image, and its simultaneous impact on the consumer's brand love for, and satisfaction with, craft beer brands.