Oh Look, Another Woke Brand !: Brand Legitimacy's Impact on the Consumer-Brand Relationship in Brand Activism Campaigns

Samia Moumade (), Aurélie Hemonnet-Goujot () and Pierre Valette-Florence ()
Additional contact information
Samia Moumade: CERGAM - Centre d'Études et de Recherche en Gestion d'Aix-Marseille - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - UTLN - Université de Toulon
Aurélie Hemonnet-Goujot: CERGAM - Centre d'Études et de Recherche en Gestion d'Aix-Marseille - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - UTLN - Université de Toulon, AMU IAE - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises (IAE) - Aix-en-Provence - AMU - Aix Marseille Université
Pierre Valette-Florence: UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: This study examines how brand legitimacy impacts consumer-brand relationships in brand activism campaigns. While prior research shows consumers align with brands reflecting their values, this study addresses how legitimacy-moral, pragmatic, and cognitive-affects this dynamic. Using congruence theory, it explores (1) the multidimensional effects of brand legitimacy on consumer evaluations and (2) the mediating roles of self-congruity, social involvement, and consumer-cause engagement. Two experiments with 1,200 participants focused on campaigns against social discrimination. Results reveal pragmatic legitimacy boosts purchase intentions and willingness to pay a premium, while moral legitimacy enhances engagement. Self-congruity, consumer-cause engagement, and social involvement mediate effects, and controversy positively moderates outcomes. These findings suggest brands can benefit by strategically aligning brand legitimacy dimensions and levels of congruence in brand activism campaigns.

Keywords: brand legitimacy; congruence theory; brand activism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-05-25
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05477859v1
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Published in 54th Annual Conference of the European Marketing Academy, European Marketing Academy (EMAC), May 2025, Madrid, Spain

Downloads: (external link)
https://hal.science/hal-05477859v1/document (application/pdf)

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:hal:journl:hal-05477859

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().