Brand associations: the value of ability versus social responsibility depends on consumer goals

Zachary S. Johnson (), Yun Jung Lee () and Minoo Talebi Ashoori ()
Additional contact information
Zachary S. Johnson: Adelphi University
Yun Jung Lee: Adelphi University
Minoo Talebi Ashoori: Purdue University Northwest

Journal of Brand Management, 2018, vol. 25, issue 1, No 4, 27-37

Abstract: Abstract Prior research establishes that brand value is built through the development of brand associations, broadly categorized based on ability and social responsibility associations. Of the two associations, ability associations are generally considered more valuable; they provide direct evidence of product qualities, while social responsibility associations are not thought to. We argue that consumers’ consumption goals (attribute- vs. experience-related) can moderate the influence of ability versus social responsibility communications on consumers’ product appraisals. This effect occurs because ability and social responsibility associations, respectively, allude to person-to-person perceptions of competence and warmth, thereby altering the fit between brand associations and consumers’ consumption goals. Specifically, in person-to-person perceptions, competence aligns to capabilities and expertise while warmth aligns with social traits including kindness and helpfulness, which foster social cohesion—characteristics that, respectively, align more closely to product attributes versus experiences. Results from an experimental study (coffee was the context) indicated that consumers valued ability over social responsibility when considering product attributes, but valued social responsibility more than ability when considering consumption experiences. Hence, this research demonstrates a reversal of the dominant findings within the literature.

Keywords: Corporate associations; CSR; Social responsibility; Warmth; Competence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41262-017-0070-4 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:jobman:v:25:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1057_s41262-017-0070-4

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.palgrave.com/gp/journal/41262

DOI: 10.1057/s41262-017-0070-4

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Brand Management is currently edited by Joachim Kernstock, Shaun M. Powell, Mark Davies and Ur a Golob

More articles in Journal of Brand Management from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().