Drivers of consumer–brand identification

Nicola Stokburger-Sauer, S. Ratneshwar and Sankar Sen

International Journal of Research in Marketing, 2012, vol. 29, issue 4, 406-418

Abstract: The concept of consumer–brand identification (CBI) is central to our understanding of how, when, and why brands help consumers articulate their identities. This paper proposes and tests an integrative theoretical framework of the antecedents of CBI. Six drivers of CBI, a moderator, and two consequences are posited and tested with survey data from a large sample of German household consumers. The results confirm the influence of five of the six drivers, namely, brand–self similarity, brand distinctiveness, brand social benefits, brand warmth, and memorable brand experiences. Further, we find that all five of these antecedents have stronger causal relationships with CBI when consumers have higher involvement with the brand's product category. Finally, CBI is tied to two important pro-company consequences, brand loyalty and brand advocacy. Theoretical and managerial significance of the findings are discussed.

Keywords: Consumer–brand identification; Consumer self-identity; Brand relationships; Product category involvement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (130)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ijrema:v:29:y:2012:i:4:p:406-418

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijresmar.2012.06.001

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