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1 – 10 of over 19000The relationship between brand personality and consumer personality has become a researched issue in recent years. It is viewed that marketers start the dialogue with consumers…
Abstract
Purpose
The relationship between brand personality and consumer personality has become a researched issue in recent years. It is viewed that marketers start the dialogue with consumers through personality route by building brand personality in line with consumers’ own personality traits. Moreover, in the midst of stiff competition, role of corporate personality, as a component of corporate identity, has been considered instrumental behind the success of the organization. As a result, there might be a possibility that other than his/her own personality traits, a consumer’s brand preference may be influenced by both brand personality and corporate personality of the said brand marketer. So, the predictive roles of individual personality, brand personality and corporate personality on consumer brand preference formation need to be empirically investigated so that the same may be addressed strategically. However, as per knowledge of the researcher, no empirical study has been made to investigate the predictive role of consumer personality, brand personality and corporate personality on brand preference. In this back drop, to the best of our knowledge, this study is the first attempt to fill this research gap by investigating firstly, the direct effects of individual personality of consumer, brand personality and corporate personality on consumer brand preference and secondly the impact of interaction effects of those variables on brand preference in the context of the emerging economies.
Design/methodology/approach
This study includes Indian four-wheeler passenger car market as the focal point of the study. As the product category is predominantly linked with symbolic benefits to the consumers, this target segment may be motivated to express their personality through the brands they prefer. As a result it may be an appropriate sector to study the influence of individual, brand and corporate personality behind brand preference. In this study, we have used an anonymous self-administered structured questionnaire. Part A captured respondent’s brand preference. Part B used The Big Five Model personality scale. Part C used the ‘Brand Personality Scale’ proposed by Aaker (1997) as a measure of brand personality. Part D comprised ‘Corporate Personality Scale’ developed by Davies et al. (2001). Part E recorded demographic data, including age, income, educational qualification and occupation. For Part B, C and D, Respondents were asked to rate each of the dimensions, using a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 5=Most descriptive to 1=Least Descriptive. The validity of the theoretical model is tested through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). In the first stage, main effects of the proposed model are tested. In the next stage, we have tested interaction effects of constructs on band preference. To test the hypotheses multiple regression method has been used.
Findings
The result of main effects shows that individual and brand personality has significant impact on brand preference for the considered brand by the consumers. This implies that at the time of brand preference, consumers give due importance to individual personality and personality of the considered brand of SUV. A strong and clear brand personality indicates a favorable view about the brand. Further, the result shows at the time of buying decision, personalities of both product and corporate brand are influencing their preferences. Here, consumers might be making strong association between corporate and brand personalities. In addition, interaction effects among individual, brand and corporate personality are also significant. One may view from the result that consumers do not encourage compartmentalize thinking at the time of brand choice. In place of considering his/her own personality and brand and corporate personality as a standalone entity, they think in totality and interaction effects have significant influence on their brand preference.
Research limitations/implications
The paper has mentioned limitations: the restriction on selecting industry, company and brand, the restraint of sampling coverage and lack of generalization of the study findings. The implications should be interpreted with care. In this study we have not compared different brands from same industry or brands from different industries; there is a scope to do so. Moreover, this study considers results from one national context and, consequently, cross-national study may be conducted to extend the validity of the findings.
Practical implications
The findings from this study may enlighten brand marketers about the degree of influence of brand personality, corporate personality, and consumer personality on brand preference. This study advocates interaction effects of individual, brand and corporate on consumer brand preference. From this study perspective, we may say, brand personality and corporate personality provide significant opportunity for creation of uniqueness and have the potential to significantly influence brand preference.
Originality/value
This paper makes two contributions to the brand management literature. First, it provides new empirical evidence of the positive main effect of individual and brand personality on brand preference. Second, this paper first investigates interaction effects of individual personality, brand personality and corporate personality on brand preference. This is a very unique contribution of the paper. The results provide new insights for academic and practitioners into the relationship among individual personality, brand personality and corporate personality. This study is the first attempt to fill this research gap by investigating the impact of consumer personality, brand personality and corporate personality on brand preference.
Apparel brands are heavily reliant on emotional appeal and creation of imagery to achieve consumer recognition and interest. This study examines how US female consumers compare…
Abstract
Apparel brands are heavily reliant on emotional appeal and creation of imagery to achieve consumer recognition and interest. This study examines how US female consumers compare and form impressions of competing national apparel brands. More specifically, this study examines consumer perceptions of five brand personality traits for various apparel brands and the relationship between brand personality and brand preference. Findings from this study show that although personality expectations for apparel brands differ, brands with favourable brand attitude have favourable competent ratings. Also, for brands with similar personality patterns, similarities could be found for such characteristics as product lines offered, brand image, retailing format, etc.
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Wenting Feng, Yuanping Xu and Lijia Wang
Building on the theory of brand psychological ownership, this paper aims to explore the mediating role of brand psychological ownership in the relationship between brand…
Abstract
Purpose
Building on the theory of brand psychological ownership, this paper aims to explore the mediating role of brand psychological ownership in the relationship between brand personality (innocence/coolness) and consumers’ preferences, as well as identify the boundary conditions of this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the hypotheses, a series of four experiments were conducted in Wuhan, a city in southern China, using questionnaires administered at two universities and two supermarkets. Hypotheses were tested using PLS-SEM in SmartPLS 4.
Findings
The results indicate that brand personality, specifically the dimensions of innocence and coolness, has a significant impact on consumers’ brand preferences. Brands with a cool personality are preferred over those with an innocent personality. Moreover, the relationship between brand personality and consumers’ brand preferences is moderated by power motivation and identity centrality.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by differentiating between brand personality of innocence and coolness as two separate constructs and proposing brand psychological ownership as a mechanism through which brand personality affects brand preferences. The study’s samples were drawn from universities and supermarkets in southern China, providing evidence for the significant moderating effects of power motivation and identity centrality on consumers’ brand preferences.
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Helen Inseng Duh and Oliver Pwaka
Despite competition and supply-chain disruptions during Covid-19 pandemic (2019–2021), one grocery retailer consistently thrived and was ranked top. The sources of the sustained…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite competition and supply-chain disruptions during Covid-19 pandemic (2019–2021), one grocery retailer consistently thrived and was ranked top. The sources of the sustained performances needed examination. Guided by self-congruity theory and integrating three models, the authors examined how much the retailer's brand performances (brand loyalty, equity, preference and repurchase intentions) were emanating from brand personalities and marketing offerings. The mediating roles of brand loyalty and equity were tested.
Design/methodology/approach
Cross-sectional data was collected from 480 frequent customers using an online questionnaire posted on the researchers' social media pages. Factor analysis was conducted to identify the dimension that best describes the grocery retailer. Partial least square–structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test a conceptual model.
Findings
Factor analysis results show that brand sincerity (28.582% variance-explained; M = 4.1) was top (factor 1), followed by excitement (20.336% variance-explained; M = 3.9) and then trustworthiness (18.854% variance-explained; M = 3.87). PLS-SEM results revealed that two brand personalities (brand excitement and trustworthiness) and marketing offerings (price, place, product, promotion) impacted loyalty found to be a strong driver of brand equity. Repurchase intention and brand preference were influenced by brand equity. Brand loyalty mediated most of the relationships between brand personality dimensions, marketing offerings and brand equity. Brand equity also significantly mediated the relationships between brand loyalty, preference and repurchase intentions. The integrated model produced high explanatory powers with brand equity (67.8%), brand preference (71.7%), brand loyalty (63.2%) and repurchase intentions (54.2%).
Originality/value
The study extends a brand personality-loyalty model through integrating two other models that provided marketing offerings and brand equity outcomes. It demonstrates that a stream of profitable customers' responses awaits a retailer who holds both brand and customer mindsets by building admired brand personalities while providing desired marketing offerings.
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Ana Filipa Martins, Daniela Penela and Margarida G.M.S. Cardoso
This study aims to uncover the destination personality of the World Surfing Reserve (WSR) in Europe, Ericeira, from local stakeholders’ perspectives; understand if WSR recognition…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to uncover the destination personality of the World Surfing Reserve (WSR) in Europe, Ericeira, from local stakeholders’ perspectives; understand if WSR recognition influences the perception of destination personality; and understand if there is an alignment between the vision of the destination management Organization (DMO) and stakeholders in terms of destination personality.
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive literature search was conducted to identify personality traits, which were then filtered and included in a survey of Ericeira's stakeholders and in a DMO interview. A principal components analysis enabled the identification of the most relevant personality traits.
Findings
Cool, appealing and self-assured emerged as destination-specific personality traits of Ericeira, indicating that other similar destinations can consider them in future branding actions. The findings indicate that WSR recognition can be a determinant for local tourism but has no impact on destination personality as viewed by local stakeholders. Therefore, one can suggest that personality is embedded in a tourist destination and is somewhat resistant to external WSR recognition. In general, alignment was found between the views of the local stakeholders and the DMO.
Originality/value
This study reinforces the literature on the importance of stakeholder involvement in place brand development. It also suggests that external recognition may have an impact on local tourism but has a limited impact on destination personality. Finally, this research constitutes a baseline for further studies on the destination personality traits of current and prospective WSR.
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Zulhamri Abdullah, Chinedu Eugenia Anumudu and Syed Hassan Raza
This study aims to examine the current state of mission and vision statements on the company websites of fast-growing Malaysian and Singaporean small- and medium-sized enterprises…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the current state of mission and vision statements on the company websites of fast-growing Malaysian and Singaporean small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and analyze how these attributes are functionally used to build a distinct digital organizational identity.
Design/methodology/approach
The content analysis method was used to examine the similarities and differences among 170 Malaysian and Singaporean-selected SMEs based on Aaker’s five brand personality scales.
Findings
The findings demonstrated that there were explicit discrepancies between Malaysian and Singaporean SMEs in the applications of brand personality attributes. The findings also identified an increase in communicating mission and vision statements on the websites of both Malaysian and Singaporean SMEs. This emphasizes the need for Malaysian and Singaporean companies to intensify their efforts to develop a notable digital organizational identity.
Research limitations/implications
This study endeavors to provide novel insights into the digital communication practices of SMEs in building digital organization identity based on brand personality elements. Therefore, this study theoretically advances Aaker’s brand personality framework by incorporating digital organizational identity as a concept of Aaker’s brand personality from the SME perspective. This study contributes to the organizational identity literature by highlighting the need for these SMEs to integrate brand personality dimensions to compete with leading global companies.
Practical implications
The findings indicate that managers of SMEs can develop a unique digital organizational identity by communicating their vision and mission statements on their websites as a strategic asset for sustaining corporate reputation.
Originality/value
To date, little is known about the inevitable adaptation and application of communication that occurs when using digital means to develop a digital organizational identity. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to establish how Asian SMEs communicate their unique brand personality through websites to build their digital organizational identity.
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Ulf Aagerup, Svante Andersson and Gabriel Baffour Awuah
This study aims to investigate how business-to-business (B2B) companies build brand personality via the products they provide and via their interactions with customers.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how business-to-business (B2B) companies build brand personality via the products they provide and via their interactions with customers.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case study, which spans 10 years, investigates via interviews, observations, workshops and document analysis how two fast-growing B2B companies selling industrial equipment to manufacturers build brand personality.
Findings
The studied companies concentrate on different brand personality dimensions depending on the activities in which they engage. By focusing on brand competence in the realm of the actual product and brand warmth in the realm of the augmented product, the companies manage to create a complete and consistent brand personality.
Research limitations/implications
The research approach provides in-depth knowledge on how the companies build brands for a specific type of B2B product. However, the article’s perspective is limited to that of management and therefore does not take customer reactions into account.
Practical implications
The study describes how firms can build strong B2B brands by emphasizing competence in product design and R&D and warmth in activities related to sales and customer service.
Originality/value
The study introduces a conceptually consistent view of brand personality in the form of warm and competent brands to the B2B marketing literature. It builds on and contributes to the emerging research on B2B brand personality. By relating the companies’ brand-building activities to the type of products they sell, this study illustrates how context affects B2B brand building, and by integrating brand personality theory with product levels and marketing philosophy, it extends previous theory on B2B branding.
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Kristina Marie Harrison, Boonghee Yoo, Shawn Thelen and John Ford
The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of voters’ personal and societal values on presidential candidate brand personality preference. In addition, the research…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of voters’ personal and societal values on presidential candidate brand personality preference. In addition, the research examines which brand personalities are deemed most and least important. This research meets the growing demand to further understand how voters develop preferences for brandidates.
Design/methodology/approach
Voters ranked which presidential brand personalities they deemed most important in a candidate as well as which of the two major candidates they most associated with that trait. Data were collected weeks in advance of the 2020 presidential election from a national online panel representing a balanced mix of voters by party affiliation.
Findings
The results indicate that life satisfaction, political orientation and postmaterialism are significant and provide adequate explanatory power in understanding which brand personality traits are associated with a presidential candidate. Also, using an importance-performance matrix, the authors find which candidate is most identified with various brand personality traits and how important those traits are to voters.
Research limitations/implications
Using the importance-performance matrix for assessing brand/candidate personality preference by consumers/voters provides researchers with a multidimensional method for analyzing how various dimensions influence selection preference. The explanatory power of the independent variables, i.e. political orientation, comparative life satisfaction and societal values, is very low when regressed against personality attributes in general (not assigned to a candidate); however, they provide meaningful results when regressed against personality attributes when assigned to candidates. Understanding the importance of general brand personality attributes is not as important as understanding their importance when associated with a specific brand.
Practical implications
The importance-performance matrix for brand/candidate personality presented in this research clearly indicated and predicted voter preference for the 2020 Presidential election; thus, this tool can be effectively used by political marketers in future elections. Political orientation so strongly influences voter perception of specific candidate brand personality dimensions that they view their preferred candidate to be universally superior to other candidates. Political marketers can appeal to voters based on their political orientation to strengthen the relationship between candidates and voters.
Originality/value
This research investigates how personal and societal values impact voters’ preference for brand personality traits in a presidential candidate. Voter preference for presidential brand personality traits is assessed generically, i.e. not associated with a particular candidate, as well as when they are linked to a specific candidate, i.e. Biden and Trump.
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Ya-Hui Kuo, Pei-Chiang Wu and Sun Young Ahn
The purpose of this study was to develop a synthesized retail brand personality scale (RBPS) framework across retail formats. This research also addresses cultural differences by…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to develop a synthesized retail brand personality scale (RBPS) framework across retail formats. This research also addresses cultural differences by applying an emic-etic approach to scale development with United States (US) and Taiwanese samples.
Design/methodology/approach
After two focus group interviews and a pretest were conducted in both Taiwan and the US, a main test was conducted on consumer samples in Taiwan (N = 412) and in the US (N = 411). Confirmatory factor analysis was used to develop a valid, reliable RBPS.
Findings
The results revealed that sincerity and sophistication are comparable dimensions to those in the brand personality scale (BPS), and unpleasantness, traditionalism, enthusiasm, antagonism and innovativeness were found to be unique dimensions for retail brands. The findings also indicated that sincerity, unpleasantness and traditionalism are common dimensions across cultures, whereas innovativeness, sophistication and antagonism are culture-specific dimensions in the US, whereas enthusiasm is a specific dimension in Taiwan.
Originality/value
To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to develop a synthesized scale of retail brand personality that compares the identified dimensions to Aaker's (1997) BPS and includes an emic-etic approach. This research contributes to the branding literature and international marketing field, and has implications for retail practitioners.
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Hector Bajac, Miguel Palacios and Elizabeth A. Minton
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…
Abstract
Purpose
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.
Design/methodology/approach
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.
Findings
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.
Research limitations/implications
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.
Practical implications
Regardless of a brand’s personality, brands should seek consumers with similar personality traits, especially in Latin cultures.
Originality/value
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.
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