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1

Coleman, Megan K. "Untangling the Role of Brand Affect and Brand Trust in Marketing Research." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2015. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/994.

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Current marketing research suggests that two separate cognitive functions, rational "brand trust" and emotional "brand affect", work independently to influence brand loyalty and in turn, consumer purchasing. Yet, this idea is at off with a growing body of neuroeconomic research, which demonstrates the role of emotion in seemingly rational decisions.Here, we examine psychological, economic, and neuroscientrific research on how, along with the stand-alone effects of brand affect, emotion may influence brand trust, illustrating how these two seemingly separate functions may work in conjunction. First, we use psychological and economic theories such as the Somatic Marker Hypothesis, Affect-as-Information Theory, and Appraisal Tendency Theory to demonstrate that emotions have a large role in decision-making. Next we describe views from behavioral economics on how human decision-makers respond to uncertainty, drawing on frameworks, such as Prospect Theory and experimental findings like the Ellsberg paradox. Experimental findings suggest that people find the unknown emotionally aversive, both for uncertainty in outcomes (risk) and the range of possible outcomes (ambiguity). Risk- and ambiguity-aversion appear to arise from separate neural systems, suggesting that brand trust can increase affect by decreasing both perceived ambiguity and risk. Finally, we examine the marketing implications of the conclusion that affect and trust are interconnected. With the new perspective gained, marketers can better understand the mutually dependent relationship of brand affect and brand trust and begin to examine ways to capitalize on the clarification.
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Simelane, Tekhaya. "Exploring the role of consumer brands In shaping employer brand attractiveness." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/44449.

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The purpose of this research was to explore if there is a role that consumer brands play in shaping the attractiveness of an employer brand. This qualitative study was conducted using the exploratory approach, because the prior insights of the proposed relationship were modest and inconclusive. The population constituted of all registered Masters of Business Administration students at the Gordon Institute of Business Science. The sampling frame constituted second year (2013/14) and full time (2014/15) students. The reason for this choice was that these individuals are knowledgeable on brand concepts, are mostly likely thinking about employment prospects, and have had the opportunity to evaluate employer attractiveness. A sample size of 15 was drawn; this number was chosen based on the likelihood that data saturation would be reached at that point because of the homogeneous nature of the population. The outcome of this study revealed that consumer brands play a role in shaping employer brand attractiveness, with the main role being that consumer brands project employer brands. Potential employers utilise brands’ dimensions such as quality, innovativeness, longevity and public perception, amongst others, as an indication of employer brand attractiveness. Also uncovered by the study was that the extent of consumer brand influence on an employer brand varies with profession, industry and maturity. Moreover, consumers play a role in attracting potential employees towards investigating employment prospects in a certain organisation, but contribute very little to retaining employees if employment expectations are not met.
Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
lmgibs2015
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
Unrestricted
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Kwan, Man Ching. "A self-based perspective for consumer-brand relationship : understanding the role of brand attachment in brand equity creation." HKBU Institutional Repository, 2011. http://repository.hkbu.edu.hk/etd_ra/1261.

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Sultan, Abdullah J. "The relationship between new brand information exposure and future purchase intention the moderating role of brand implicit image /." Pullman, Wash. : Washington State University, 2008. http://www.dissertations.wsu.edu/Dissertations/Fall2008/a_sultan_11609.pdf.

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5

Berčíková, Michaela. "Výskum image značky L'Oréal v segmente študentov v Belgicku." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2009. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-11475.

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This paper is divided into theoretical and methodological part. First part defines the concept of the company brand, its role as a non-tangible asset, its value and methods of measurement and the process of strategic management of the brand value. Second part discusses the history of the L'Oréal Group, explains the main steps of the research. It focuses on student's perception of the importance of job conditions and psychological traits in a company as well as evaluation of L'Oréal's performance on these aspects.
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Karpasitis, Christos. "Brand video virality : the role of audio, visual and plot characteristics." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2017. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/20467/.

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Drawing on theoretical insights from multidisciplinary research in the fields of Multimedia, Internet Marketing, Business Management and Information Systems, this research is set out to explore how video content characteristics affect brand video virality. In this way, this research attempts to address a well-documented gap in existing research on the contributing factors that make brand videos viral (West, 2011; Cashmore, 2009). More specifically, it investigates the effect that particular content characteristics (visual graphics, audio and plot) might have in driving large numbers of consumers/social media users to create online stories about the same brand video by sharing, commenting or liking it in social networks. To examine this, engagements of Social Media users with brand videos were analysed and monitored by using the method of netnography. Following Dobele et al (2007)’s sampling approach, four brand videos selected on the basis of three main criteria: being global, being viral and being examples of a recent viral marketing campaign, were examined. In addition, two online surveys of a total of 351 Social Media users were conducted. The online surveys included open-ended and closed-ended questions regarding the participants’ engagement with different video content characteristics that were included within the brand videos examined. The results of this research suggest that the separate characteristics/components constituting a brand video's content may have an independent effect on the virality of the brand video. More specifically, across the video content characteristics examined, plot was the most powerful in terms of its impact on a Social Media user's decision to create an online story about a brand video in social networks and consequently, enhance its virality. Moreover, the presence of a familiar character/actor within a brand video’s visuals can significantly increase the possibility of the brand video going viral. In respect to the audio, there was evidence that for a brand video to go viral, "music fit" is vital.
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Mulyanegara, Riza Casidy. "Church marketing : the role of market orientation and brand image in church participation." Monash University. Faculty of Business and Economics. Department of Marketing, 2009. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/74962.

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Since its conception, the concept of ‘market orientation’ has been largely regarded as an employee-perceived phenomenon due to its focus on employees as the unit of analysis. The examination of market orientation from customer perspective (‘perceived market orientation’) remains an under-researched topic, particularly within the non-profit sector. The present study seeks to address this research gap through an investigation of the role of ‘perceived market orientation’ in affecting ‘customer participation’ with churches as the research context. The use of churches as a research context has become increasingly common in studies of non-profit and services organisations. Although the implementation of marketing techniques in the church context has been extensive, there has been little examination of the effectiveness of these methods in encouraging church participation. Consequently, previous studies in this area have failed to contribute to a theoretical understanding of how marketing can be used to motivate participation. It is thus apparent that there is a need for more research in this area to examine the potential role of concepts such as ‘perceived market orientation’ and ‘brand image’ in affecting church participation. This research incorporated two stages of research design in the form of qualitative and quantitative techniques. The qualitative phase involved in-depth interviews with Church Goers (CGs) and Non Church Goers (NCGs). Insights gained from the interviews helped the present author to incorporate relevant constructs as predictors of church participation in the conceptual framework. The quantitative phase involved the distribution of self-administered questionnaires using convenience sampling technique. CG respondents were approached through Assemblies of God (AOG) church leaders in Melbourne metropolitan and suburban areas whereas NCG respondents were recruited through newspaper advertisement. A total of 564 usable questionnaires were obtained representing 42% of the total number of respondents approached in both groups. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were employed to establish construct reliability and validity as well as measurement invariance. Subsequently, the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique was employed to analyse the hypothesised relationships between key constructs in the conceptual framework. The results of the study indicate that ‘perceived market orientation’ plays an important role in affecting the church participation of both CG and NCG respondents. An examination of corollary hypotheses reveals that ‘interfunctional coordination’ performs the strongest effect on church participation. Further, ‘customer orientation’ was only found to be significantly associated with church participation in CG group whereas ‘competitor orientation’ was not found to be positively associated with church participation in either group of respondents. The ‘brand image’ construct in the present study was developed to examine the church’s ability in creating a unique brand identity (uniqueness), monitoring brand values (reputation), and managing brand communications (orchestration) from the perspectives of existing (CG) and prospective (NCG) members. The analysis found that ‘brand image’ is a unidimensional construct which is positively associated with ‘perceived market orientation’, ‘perceived benefits’, and ‘church participation’ in both sample groups. The study also examines the significance of ‘perceived benefits’ in affecting church participation. The construct was found to be significantly associated with church participation in both sample groups. Among the three dimensions of ‘perceived benefits’, the construct of ‘social benefits’ was found to perform the strongest effect on church participation in both sample groups. The present study offers significant practical implications for non-profit managers in general and church leaders in particular. Due to the significance of market orientation and brand image in encouraging customer participation, it is recommended that non-profit managers and church leaders embrace market orientation and brand orientation to reach out their target segments more effectively.
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Dalstam, Malin, Hedvig Nordlöf, and Daniella Holmgren. "The NA-KD Truth About Influencer Marketing : Exploring influencer marketing through integrated marketing communication and the influencer’s role in strengthening a brand." Thesis, Internationella Handelshögskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, IHH, Företagsekonomi, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-39986.

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Problem: The nature of marketing communications is changing as a result of the rise and development of social media. In response to this advancement, the way in which companies communicate with their target audience has shifted. Consumers today attain greater control in terms of receiving and influencing a message. Companies may need to gain an understanding on how various marketing communication tools can be integrated and utilized instead of primarily using one marketing communication tool for the purpose of optimizing the impact of persuasive communication. However, a company’s attempt to control brand related discussions on social media can be executed through the use of influencer marketing. The use of influencers is expanding within the fashion industry but the recognition of influencers being a part of a company’s modernized marketing strategy is low. This causes the researchers inquiry to explore this further.    Purpose: The purpose of this research paper is to explore how a company within the fashion industry can use influencer marketing as a part of their integrated marketing communication and how a company can use an influencer to strengthen its brand in view of its brand identity. The study targets the fashion industry in Sweden.    Methodology: In order to fulfil the purpose of the study and to answer the two research questions, a qualitative research approach together with a multi-method approach was adopted. Semi-structured interviews and qualitative email questionnaires were used in the empirical data collection process. The selected participants obtained high knowledge in the field of influencer marketing as well as knowledge within the fashion industry. The participants were selected through convenience sampling.    Conclusion: The empirical study showed that influencer marketing can be used as a part of a company’s IMC by integrating the influencer with the six marketing communication tools. Furthermore, influencer marketing can be incorporated into a company’s IMC as a tool used to partially control eWOM to a desired target audience by speaking positively about a product, service and brand. An influencer can strengthen a brand through laying a foundation for a brand identity and a brand image to cooperate as a unit. It was further found that the influencer should be integrated internally within a brand identity for the purpose of externally communicating the brand identity to the company’s desired target audience. A conceptual model was developed by the researchers with the intention of providing a comprehensive illustration of the answers to the research questions.
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Kobolková, Edita. "Role prémiové značky v produktovém portfoliu vybrané tabákové společnosti." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2009. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-15762.

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The market of tobacco products presents a very specific area of fast moving consumer goods. Marketing activities are strictly limited by law and the correct establishment of communication tools is sometimes considerably difficult. In addition to the above, in the case of the tobacco industry, we are talking about almost the same product for every particular cigarette brand. My diploma thesis deals with the role of the premium brand Marlboro in the product porfolio of the company Philip Morris ČR a.s.
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Aurimas, Mickus, Zhou Pengshuo, and Guo Xiang. "The Role of Paid and Earned Social Media on Consumer Behavior for Apparel Brands in China’s Market." Thesis, Jönköping University, Internationella Handelshögskolan, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-48901.

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Social media marketing is gradually replacing traditional marketing and becoming the primary marketing strategy for businesses. Paid and earned media have emerged as two major social media marketing forms that are important in business development research. China has more social media users than any other country in the world and is housing platforms such as Weibo, WeChat or Xiaohongshu, thus with an ever-increasing demand for social interaction between a company and a customer, the search for the optimal marketing strategies in a hyper-competitive apparel market in China is in effect. With there being a lack of research in the field, the main purpose of this study is to examine how paid and earned social media channels impact apparel customer behavior in China. Firstly, the study aimed to see to what degree paid and earned media influences apparel consumption, and, secondly, it intended to see how social media marketing strategy impacts consumers' views on brand loyalty, brand awareness and purchasing behavior. In order to do this, a quantitative study has been conducted - nine hypotheses were formulated after an extensive literature review, from which a research model has been derived and a questionnaire used to gather the opinions of local Chinese social media users has been employed. Convenience with a non-probability sampling method was adopted to collect quantitative data. A total sample of 400 respondents participated in an online questionnaire, ranging from the age of 18 to 34 and having a relatively high education level. The SPSS program was applied to analyze the collected data with multiple statistical analysis methods: Cronbach alpha reliability test, factor analysis, and linear regression analysis to test internal consistency - Cronbach alpha, construct validity, and the relationship between dependent and independent variables. The study revealed that both social media marketing types have a positive effect on apparel consumer behaviors, however, paid media only mostly influences brand awareness of apparel brands, and earned media is very effective when it comes to influencing purchasing behavior and brand loyalty of apparel brands. Moreover, the utmost importance of Word-of-Mouth marketing has come to light, as the need for increased social value urges Chinese to promote products by sharing.
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Rivera, César, and Fredrik Byström. "Brand equity through rollercoasters and rabbits : Understanding the role of part-time marketers in enhancing the brand equity of an amusement park." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Företagsekonomi, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-105764.

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Relationship marketing is a marketing theory that has gathered much focus in the marketing research area lately. The core idea of relationship marketing is to retain the existing customers of a company by establishing long-time relationships with them. The theory of brand equity is a well-known theory on brand development that deals with issues such as customer’s perceptions and the brand meaning. The main purpose of this thesis is to gain deeper understanding of what kind of role the front-line employees in terms of part-time marketers, have on the enhancing of Liseberg´s brand equity. Liseberg holds a special position for the citizens of Gothenburg, and as the biggest amusement park in the Nordic are with 3.1 million visitors in 2014, we argue that theories like relationship marketing and brand equity could be of importance for Liseberg to maintain their position in the minds of their customers. We have also been able to identify a research gap. We discovered that research about the role of part-time marketers in relation to brand equity is relatively scarce. Even more specifically, we have not been able to find studies regarding the role of part-time marketers in the enhancing of the brand equity of an amusement park. We have conducted a qualitative study in order to accomplish the purpose of our thesis. In our study, we conducted nine semi-structured interviews with managers, front-line employees and customers of Liseberg. The interviews helped us gain a deeper understanding on how the role of the front-line employees as part-time marketers was perceived both internally and externally in Liseberg. Data from different customer reports were also provided to us from Liseberg. From our qualitative studies as well as from the data provided by Liseberg, we can conclude that the role of the part-time marketers was perceived differently from the customer’s point of view, compared to what managers and front-line employees thought. Nevertheless according to our findings, we can conclude that part-time marketers have a very important role in the enhancing of Liseberg´s brand equity. Finally we have also made practical recommendations for the management of Liseberg regarding on how to work with the part-time marketer’s concept in mind to improve Liseberg´s brand equity.
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Axelsson, Daniel, and Henrik Nordberg. "The Role of PR : In the Introduction Stage of a New Brand." Thesis, Jönköping University, JIBS, Business Administration, 2005. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-161.

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The reality of today is that companies are spending more and more money on commercial spots. The “highlight” of the year is Super Bowl, where a 30-second ad costs more than $2 million to run. Advertising agencies are using their role as communicators by competing with each other with no interest in the product. The marketing guru Al Ries released a controversial book called “The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR” (2002) together with his daughter Laura Ries. In this book they are at-tacking the traditional advertising industry and claim that it has lost its credibility and above all, public relations is a more effective tool in brand building. The Rieses also favors PR in the in-troduction phase of a new brand.

The purpose of the thesis is to investigate agencies’ view of public relations role relative to traditional advertising in the intro-duction phase of a new brand.

The authors have used a qualitative study where the purpose will be achieved by performing in-depth face to face interviews with three respondents, which has a deep knowledge within the PR and the traditional advertising industry.

Whether PR as a promotional tool is viewed as more effective relative to traditional advertising in the introduction of a new brand one has to consider different variables. PR is more effec-tive when it comes to credibility, cost, and clutter. However, a major drawback is the control. Also, one has to consider the at-tributes of the brand since there are brands that are more PR “friendly” than others.

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Čápová, Lenka. "Sponzoring v umělecké oblasti: Význam a role Sponsorship fitu." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2013. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-197818.

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The thesis discusses the process of sponsoring as a marketing instrument. It particularly focuses on sponsoring in fine and visual arts and examines how is this practice perceived by customers and what benefits does it bring to its company or brand. One key factor in said customer perception - sponsorship fit - is emphasized, which indicates the importance of a relationship between the sponsor and the sponsee. Main goal of this thesis is to explain its nature and discover, whether do representatives of Czech companies act on it or not. Theoretical part of the thesis lists relevant knowledge from current, mainly foreign literature, and the practical part employs existing consumer research and expert interviews. Together, the entire work aims to create a consistent and coherent whole, depicting the current theories and their utilization in reality. The thesis draws the conclusion that sponsorship fit in fine and visual arts does have its unique features, which need to be taken into account. Moreover, Czech companies can indicate these features adequatly and adjust their sponsoring activities accordingly.
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Frieden, Laura Rose. "The Role of Consumer Gender Identity and Brand Concept Consistency in Evaluating Cross-Gender Brand Extensions." Scholar Commons, 2013. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/4488.

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Cross-gender brand extensions are a developing and valuable strategy that has quickly grown to become a vital component of strategic communications management. The goal of this study is to gain a greater insight on what makes for a successful cross-gender brand extension. In order to expand upon the Basic Model of Brand Extension Evaluation (Doust & Esfahlan, 2012), this study examines how marketing factors, more specifically product positioning, combined with consumer gender roles and brand concept, affect how consumers evaluate cross-gender brand extensions. In the past gender and brand concept have been studied within cross-gender brand extension research. Yet, the present study focuses on gender roles, conceptualizing gender as levels of masculinity and femininity. The products featured were positioned as having either a symbolic or functional brand concept. The results from this study not only confirm that gender and gender roles are indeed two distinct concepts, but they also indicate that gender roles and brand concept have a significant effect on brand extension evaluations, especially when level of masculinity is a factor.
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Hardie, Kirsten. "Fictitious people as food brand icons : their role and visual representation in contemporary international food packaging." Thesis, University of Brighton, 2014. https://research.brighton.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/32fd3047-c4e1-4133-a4f0-e0457a0ce4d0.

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This thesis focuses upon fictitious people as food brand icons and their role and visual representation in contemporary international food packaging. It presents a new lens that focuses upon the visual reading of examples. Through comparative analysis of historical and contemporary British, Canadian and American examples primarily, ones that share comparable roles and visual characteristics, the study considers its hypothesis: a common visual formula operates across time and cultures in the creation and enduring omnipresence of icons that appear as real. It considers how shared visual codes provide identification of types and through such it presents a taxonomy of fictitious brand icons based upon their visual identity. The thesis considers, in relation to notions of storytelling, how examples read and are understood as real upon packaging and within wider commercial, social and cultural contexts. It considers how they relate to real people and roles through specific consideration of female home economist/ consumer advisor examples. The thesis focuses upon the American food brand icon Betty Crocker to consider how she may be understood as symbolic of a host of enigmatic examples. The thesis advances the study of packaging, branding, culinary history and design history through its original focus and methodological approach which evidently have been neglected previously in academic study. It braids interdisciplinary perspectives to present an original understanding of brand icons and packaging. It determines brand icon as key term; to address the need for a clear definition and understanding . The study's visual reading and taxonomy present an original framework that assert that visual codes create complex commercial and cultural fictitious personalities that can be deliberately elusive yet often appear as real. In particular, its interrogation of specific fictitious brand icons as enigmatic commercial home economists/consumer advisors confirms the existence of a commercial sisterhood; clone-types that appear to replicate their roles and appearance via visual codes that endure and appeal.
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Hilgenkamp, Heather. "Contrasting multiple models of brand equity’s role in consumer decision making." Diss., Kansas State University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/18711.

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Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Psychological Sciences
Gary Brase
Brand Equity is a common phrase in consumer research, but there is still a lot of ambiguity surrounding the measurement of this concept (Keller, 2008). Several methods of measurement have been proposed over the years, but no one method has been adopted as the ideal way to predict purchase intent and measure brand equity. The current research tested three theories—Social Exchange Theory (SET), Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and the Yoo and Donthu model—to see which is the best predictor of purchase intent and brand equity. SET assumes consumers weigh the costs and rewards of purchasing the product. TPB uses consumers’ attitudes over purchasing the product, subjective norms of what others would do, and the perceived behavioral control consumers have in actually purchasing the product. The Yoo and Donthu model has been used most often of the three theories in measuring brand equity and includes measures of brand loyalty, perceived quality, brand awareness/associations, and overall brand equity. Study 1 assessed consumer durable products (TV and athletic shoes) and Study 2 assessed consumer non-durable products (soap and toothpaste). Consumers evaluated these products online based on a picture of the product, the brand name, price, customer reviews, quality ratings, and an advertisement and then indicated their likelihood to purchase the product. Theory of Planned Behavior was the best predictor of purchase intent across all four products assessed indicating that consumers look at external factors such as what others would do as well as how much control they have over purchasing the product as much as they consider their own attitudes.
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Carberry, Mary. "The role of branding within an integrated supply chain : a case study of naturally coloured wool." Thesis, De Montfort University, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/2086/4203.

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Ewing, Douglas R. "When Does Brand Matter? An Empirical Examination of the Roles of Attachment, Experience, and Identity within Consumer-Brand Relationships." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1275917499.

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Buddle, Richard. "The dyadic brand : a systematic enquiry to explore the confusion embedded in brand literature, and to inform the development of a simpler brand model that clarifies the roles of the consumer and custodian /." full text via ADT, 2007. http://erl.canberra.edu.au/public/adt-AUC20080829.120412/index.html.

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Glynn, Mark Selwyn. "The role of brands in manufacturer-reseller relationships." Thesis, University of Auckland, 2004. http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/fullcit/3156559.

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The focus of this research is on the role of manufacturer brands for resellers within retail channels. This topic is important because of the strategic value of manufacturer brands and the increasing influence of resellers within channels of distribution. Much of the branding research has emphasised a customer brand knowledge perspective, however emerging perspectives suggest that brands are also relevant to other stakeholders including resellers. In contrast channels research has recognised the manufacturer sources of market power, but has not considered the impact of manufacturer 'push and pull' strategies within channels. A comprehensive theoretical framework therefore did not exist that addressed the reseller perspective of the brand. As a result, a multi-method research design was adopted and consisted of two phases. The first phase involved in-depth interviews, from which a conceptual framework was developed. In the second phase this framework was tested by means of a survey of supermarket buyers on major and minor brands in several product categories. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the survey responses. The structural model showed very good fit to the data and good construct validity, reliability and stability. Brands have several sources of value to resellers including manufacturer support, brand preference and customer demand which influence the reseller satisfaction with the brand. Reseller satisfaction in turn influences other channel outcomes such as trust, commitment and performance. Minor brands are better able to influence trust and commitment than major brands. A key contribution of this research is the development of a validated conceptual framework on the value of the brand in inter-organisational relationships from the point of view of a reseller. This research shows that it is the resources associated with the brand, not just the brand itself that creates value for resellers in channel relationships.
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Buddle, Richard, and n/a. "The Dyadic Brand A systematic enquiry to explore the confusion embedded in brand literature, and to inform the development of a simpler brand model that clarifies the roles of the consumer and custodian." University of Canberra. School of Professional Communication, 2007. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20080829.120412.

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The battle of the brands is being waged in an ever increasingly competitive and global business environment, a battle which generates the largest body of academic and professional literature in the field of marketing communication. Although much of the ground has been repeatedly ploughed, the literature conveys an impression that the "Brand" is perceived to lack clarity and agreement on its definition, strategic deployment and evaluation measures and that the overall concept of the brand is fraught with complexity and confusion. This thesis attempts to categorize and frame these impressions using content analysis to systematically unpack and analyze the layers of meaning embedded in the literature. The output from this study will inform the development of a simplified brand schema representing both sides of the brand equation, consumer and manager, recognition of which holds significant implications for the custodial guidance of this most vital business asset.
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Binkowska, Barbara. "The New Zealand hotel industry: the role of image as a medium influencing company's competitiveness and customer loyalty towards brand." AUT University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10292/170.

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This thesis evolves around image and its significance while developing customers' loyalty and increasing company's competitiveness in a highly competitive market. The topic is studied in-depth from the organisational perspective and delves into the differing motivations of hotel operators towards shaping favourable image as well as examining how the hotel's image affects customer loyalty and helps the company to increase its competitiveness. Finally, it analyses and compares which public relations tools are the most effective in the process of image creation and developing customer loyalty. From this perspective image becomes a central issue impacting company's future growth, performance and finally success. The research was conducted on the Auckland international hotel chains. Auckland hosts numerous conferences and events that drives demand for accommodation and in a way, creates a conducive environment to hotel operators for future expansion. Thus, hotels compete strongly with one another constantly looking for a competitive advantage by growing their customer base. My thesis outlines the hotels' management efforts and analyses their strategies in the context of changing customers' demands and market trends.With respect to methodological issues, my thesis is based on a qualitative approach and follows an interpretivist paradigm. The research background has been delineated as have been my respondents' profile to provide additional information about the organisation they represent. The research findings described at the end of this thesis document how important image is for a modern hotel and what initiatives should be followed to ensure success. Image and loyalty are closely interrelated as positive image affects customers' loyalty. In order to achieve a balance between sustaining a competitive advantage and increasing loyal customer base a number of managerial implications have been discovered. Detailed analysis of these findings may help the companies to establish a more favourable position in the global market and create mutually beneficial relationships which further help the organisation to grow.Having aimed at exploring the importance of image as a medium that affects company's competitiveness and customers' loyalty towards brand, this study has provided some useful indications for hotel companies as to what should be undertaken to gain loyal customers and improve company's performance on the market.
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Casteran, Gauthier. "An empirical investigation of antecedents of brand loyalty : the role of product category, marketing mix and consumer related characteristics in the light of niche brands proliferation." Thesis, Toulouse 1, 2016. http://www.theses.fr/2016TOU10028/document.

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Les entreprises investissent de larges sommes dans la fidélisation de leur clientèle. La raison en est simple : les clients fidèles font partie des plus profitables pour les entreprises. Il est donc essentiel de comprendre ce qui amène les consommateurs à être fidèles. La recherche a ainsi considérablement étudié les antécédents de la fidélité à la marque. Ceux-ci peuvent être divisés en trois classes : les antécédents liés à la catégorie de produit, ceux liés au marketing mix du produit et ceux liés au consommateur. Cependant, et malgré l’intérêt des chercheurs pour ces questions, une étude plus approfondie est nécessaire du fait de la mutation des marchés ces dernières décennies. Un des changements les plus marquants est le développement des marques de niche. Le but de cette thèse est ainsi de mieux comprendre ce qui amène les consommateurs à être fidèle à la lumière de ces marques de niche. Nous étudions plus particulièrement les marques bio et de distributeur. Cette thèse comporte quatre études, chacune s’intéressant à une classe particulière d’antécédents. Nos résultats nous permettent, tout d’abord, de réexaminer l’effet de certains antécédents grâce à des données de panel récentes. Ils nous donnent ensuite des indications sur les effets des marques de niche sur la fidélité à la marque. Plus précisément, ils démontrent que le développement des marques de niche a un effet sur la fidélité à un niveau agrégé. De la même façon, on observe un effet modérateur du type de marques de niche sur l’effet de certains antécédents. Nous discutons les implications théoriques, méthodologiques et managériales de ces résultats
Firms invest heavily in building and maintaining relationships with their customers. This is due to loyal customers being among the most profitable ones for firms. It is thus essential for managers and researchers to understand what drives customers to become loyal. Researchers have investigated brand loyalty antecedents at great length. These antecedents can be divided in three classes: product category, marketing mix and customer-related ones. Despite the large body of research on these antecedents, an update is necessary as markets have been changing in the last decades. One of the major changes has been the apparition and proliferation of niche brands (such as organic and private label brands) that are positioned to serve segments of consumers with specific needs. The aim of this Ph.D. research is to fill these gaps and get a better understanding of what influences brand loyalty in the light of niche brands’ development. We specifically focus on two types of niche brands: organic and private label brands. This Ph.D. research is comprised of four studies, each one investigating one class of antecedents. Our results first enable us to reassess the effect of certain antecedents of brand loyalty using recent panel purchase data. It also gives us some insights on the role of niche brands. It shows that the proliferation of niche brands and more specifically the proliferation of private label brands has an effect on brand loyalty at an aggregate level. In the same way, niche brands have a moderating effect on the impact of some antecedents of brand loyalty. Theoretical, methodological and managerial implications of these findings are discussed
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Hlophe, Nthabiseng. "The role of local context in the local strategies of global brands." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/29785.

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The greatest task of many international marketing practitioners in host organisations, entails understanding the factors that influence the localisation or standardisation of marketing programmes. The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the role of local context in the local strategies of global brands. This paper uses a qualitative case study design of two global brands.Findings – The findings show that the role that emerging macro-level factors of local context play in the local strategies of global brands is in determining the levels at which marketing programs will be standardised or localised.Micro-level factors of local context play the role of a) setting the preconditions for product development and b) determining the extant of productivity that can be achieved in the local contextThe strategic implications that must be considered at the local level when applying a global brand include brand identity standards as well as making specific choices about global or local consumer culture positioning.Practical implications- For practitioners, the practical implications encompass strategic considerations in the course of making decisions to standardise or localise marketing programs.Originality/value – This paper highlights new variations in contextual factors within-countries. It also provides an international perspective that is rooted in local context regarding global marketing intermediaries. Lastly, it explores the strategic implications considered when applying a global brand.
Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012.
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
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Roswinanto, Widyarso. "Belief Transfers in Co-branding and Brand Extension and the Roles of Perceptual Fit." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2015. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc801896/.

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Existing co-branding and brand extension research generally coalesces around two important constructs: perceptual fit and attitude toward the brand. Studies in co-branding and brand extension to date have generally emphasized the transference of affective elements of attitude from parent brand to the extension. Researchers and practitioners clearly need to learn more about the transfer of belief, the cognitive elements of attitude. Too little is currently known about whether and how beliefs are actually transferred in co-branding and brand extension applications, particularly in terms of perceptual fit. This dissertation investigates belief transfer and the effect of perceptual fit on belief transfer in co-branding and brand extension scenarios and develops answers to the following research questions: 1.Are different categories of beliefs transferable from parent brand to theextension? 2.How do various sub-dimensions of perceptual fit affect belief transfers fromparent brands to the extension? 3.How do different categories of beliefs affect consumers’ intentions to purchasethe extension products? Categorization Theory was used as the fundamental theory to build the hypotheses. This dissertation involved qualitative studies, belief scale development, and experimental design studies. The results revealed that aesthetic and functional beliefs are positively transferred from parent brand to the extension. The transfer of aesthetic beliefs is affected by the level of brand fit while the transfer of functional beliefs is independent upon the level of any perceptual fit construct. Finally, cognitive structure based on the strength of extension beliefs is more predictive upon the purchase intention. Findings will extend the co-branding and brand extension literature, especially in terms of the pattern of belief transfers that unfold subject to the influence of various perceptual fit constructs. The results will also provide additional insights about the role that perceptual fit plays in influencing categories of consumer beliefs as those beliefs are also influenced by the specific perceptual fits that are presumably transferred to the extension.
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Le, Roux Alta S. "Establishing the role of branding in social enterprises." Thesis, University of Pretoria, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/32391.

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“What role did branding play in the social marketing processes of the three Schwab Foundation award winning social enterprises (SEs)?” The research problem, as well as the research questions, revolve around the issue of establishing how branding may be employed as part of the social marketing process in such a way as to increase the competitiveness of those organisations known as social enterprises (SEs). This study investigates three SEs whose Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) have won The Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur (SFSE) of the Year Awards, to determine how branding was used as a communication tool to position their organisations as leaders and differentiators in the development sector. The three SEs that were chosen as case study organisations are: Soul City, Heartbeat and the Johannesburg Housing Company (JHC). The theoretical context focuses firstly on the non-profit sector in South Africa as the context and environment of this study, more specifically, the evolution of non-profit organisations (NPOs) into Social Enterprises (SEs). This is followed by defining communication principles and applications as they appear in both profit-driven and non-profit organisations/social enterprises (NPOs/SEs). This is applied in two different communication contexts: communication within corporate organisations and communication within development organisations. The last theoretical focus is placed on understanding what branding means, a description of the different branding categories, and a view of the evolution of branding to brand building and brand leadership. This is followed by a discussion on the importance of brand identity and equity in the process of brand development, brand management and measurement, including a presentation of the main role players in this brand-building process. Branding is then discussed as it is applied in SEs, outlining what a strong brand could do for the development sector. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research approaches are utilised; more specifically a qualitative research approach, supported by a quantitative one, referred to as the “dominant less-dominant model”. This study is based on the grounded theory model supported by a collective case study approach, also referred to as “building theories from case study research”. The study further indicates the theory that was generated by this study, namely “The Social Enterprise (SE) branding layered grounded theory model”. Whereas the 1st layer displays the important role that the NPO/SE sector if fulfilling in modern society; the 2nd layer the specific space and linkages of SEs with the different other society sectors are explained; the 3rd layer positions/similar to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs with the growth path of NPOs towards SEs and their own sustainability on the NPO/SE pyramid model; the 4th layer indicates the fact that the same corporate communication principles applies to the development sector; and the 5th layer stresses the important role that branding plays as the core element of a corporate communication strategy. In summary, the study found that a lack of implementation of corporate communication in NPOs and SEs, more specifically the absence of a corporate identity, image and a strategic brand management process, has a direct impact on the effectiveness of SEs’ communication and limits the achievement of their developmental objectives.
Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013.
gm2013
Information Science
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Scopelliti, Maria. "Gatekeepers No More: Redefining the Roles of Journalism and PR in the Age of Digital Media and Content Marketing." Thèse, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/30547.

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The digital media landscape has fundamentally changed the way audiences consume and share content, creating many opportunities and challenges for news companies and organizations of all types (private, public and non-profit). This research investigates how the latter have gained the ability to produce and distribute journalistic-like content through their owned channels, thus circumventing journalists and engaging with their audiences directly. It shows how digital media have altered the manner in which news about organizations is disseminated, and, subsequently, the roles of PR practitioners and journalists. Through a series of interviews with seasoned experts in these two competing and collaborating fields, this project provides insights regarding the erosion of journalists’ gatekeeping role and the advent of PR practitioners as content creators. It supports prior research regarding the value of reciprocity between journalists and PR practitioners and offers orientations as to the future of these two professions in the context of the digital media landscape.
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Trudeau, Hamidi Sabrina. "The journey from brand's social currency to superior customer-brand relationships : the intermediary roles of experiential and transformational benefits." Mémoire, Université de Sherbrooke, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11143/6773.

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The rise in the popularity of digital communication and social media platforms has increased the speed of information exchange among customers, and enabled them to instantaneously voice their thoughts and opinions about brands. This trend however has created certain challenges for marketers since they could no longer exert the sole control over the identities of their brands. Past research has confirmed that social interaction plays a key role in development of strong relationships among individuals (e.g. Nahapiet and Ghosal, 1998; Lobschat et al., 2013). In branding context, social interactions and the benefits derived from them establish a brand’s social value, and contribute to the formation of solid customer-brand relationships. As an attempt to better capture a brands’ social value, Lobschat et al. (2013) recently introduced the concept of social currency. Their findings reveal the importance of social currency as a key antecedent to several components of brand equity such as perceived quality, brand loyalty, and brand trust. Due to the newness of the social currency construct, however, its relationship with many other key variables of consumer behavior has not been much verified yet. In particular, there has been very little investigation of the potential links between social currency and the two emerging paradigms of experiential and transformational branding. Accordingly, the current study explores the role of brand’s social currency in providing experiential and transformational benefits in the context of cosmetics consumption. It further investigates the roles of brand experience and customer transformation in shaping greater customer attachment towards the brand. To test these relationships, the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method is applied. In total, 373 participants took part in this study. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed, and participants were invited to report on their consumption of their favorite cosmetic brands. Findings confirm that the various dimensions of social currency lead to experiential and transformational benefits in different ways. Results further suggest that both experiential and transformational benefits contribute to the enhancement of customer-brand relationships. Theoretical and managerial contributions are discussed.
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Pagani, Margherita. "The Role of consumer experiential engagement in new media based social networks environnments : implications for marketing strategies." Thesis, Lyon 3, 2015. http://www.theses.fr/2014LYO30091.

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Le but de cette thèse est de comprendre comment les entreprises peuvent faire augmenter une expérience donnant naissance à l’engagement des consommateurs grâce aux nouveaux médias (comme les vidéos du Web, les dispositifs de téléphonie mobile et la télévision "traditionnelle") afin de stimuler le comportement actif des clients et de redéfinir des stratégies commerciales de marketing. Nous avons structuré notre analyse sur trois études d’approche.Dans la première étude, nous avons décrit comment l'engagement personnel avec le contenu et l'engagement social interactif (résultant du sens perçu de la communauté, du sentiment d'appréciation intrinsèque et de la participation à l'expérience) influencent différemment le comportement actif et passif sur des sites de télévision sociale. Nous avons testé des hypothèses en estimant un modèle d'équation structurale avec les données d'une enquête sur un groupe de 814 utilisateurs de télévision sociale aux Etats-Unis et en Europe. Dans la deuxième étude, nous examinons l'influence de l'intrusion dans la vie privée sur la relation entre l'engagement expérientiel (c'est à dire l'engagement personnel et l'engagement interactif et social) et l'utilisation active et passif et nous avons testé ces hypothèses (379 utilisateurs) en tenant compte de services de géolocalisation sur téléphonie mobile. Dans la troisième étude, nous avons élargi notre cadre conceptuel et étudié les effets de l'engagement social interactif sur l'identité sociale et l'appréciation des marques. Le modèle a été validé expérimentalement en menant une enquête sur des pages de fans de Facebook de 20 grandes marques internationales situées en Europe et aux Etats-Unis (panel de 387 personnes). Les résultats émergeant des trois études prouvent que l'engagement expérientiel a des effets positifs sur le comportement du consommateur (actif et passif) en ligne et qu'il contraste avec l'effet négatif de l'atteinte à la vie privée. Les résultats obtenus confirment les effets positifs de l'engagement social et interactif sur les rapports affectifs des consommateurs pour une marque et le plein effet de l'identité sociale. De manière plus spécifique, les annonceurs publicitaires, qui forcent les expériences pouvant influencer l'engagement social et interactif, peuvent aussi influer sur l'identité sociale et le rapport avec une marque
The thesis aims to understand how companies can leverage on consumer experiential engagement in new-media based social media environments (using video on the web, handheld devices and web 2.0) in order to stimulate active behavior and redefine commercial marketing strategies. We structure our analysis on a three studies approach. The first study describes how Personal Engagement with the content and Social-Interactive Engagement (resulting from the perceived sense of community, intrinsic enjoyment and participation experience) differently influence both active and passive behavior. We test hypotheses with survey data from a sample of 814 US and EU social TV users. In study 2 we examine the influence of privacy intrusiveness on the relation between Experiential Engagement (Personal and Social-interactive Engagement) and active and passive use and we test it (n=379) with reference to mobile location-based social networking applications in EU and US. In study 3 we develop a conceptual model in which social-interactive engagement influences social identity directly and brand love indirectly through the mediating effect of social identity. The model was empirically validated (n=387) on the Facebook fan pages of 20 leading international brands in EU and the US. Findings emerging from the three studies show that Experiential Engagement has positive effects on the consumer behavior online (active and passive) and it may contrast the negative effect of privacy intrusiveness. The results obtained show also a positive effects of social-interactive engagement on consumer-brand affective relationships (brand love) and the full mediating effect of social identity. More specifically advertisers, leveraging on experiences that influence social-interactive engagement can influence the social identity and the relationship with the brand
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WANG, Wei. "The effect of word-of-mouth on the purchase of genuine and counterfelt luxury brands : the roles of attitude functions." Digital Commons @ Lingnan University, 2011. https://commons.ln.edu.hk/mkt_etd/3.

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This research aims to investigate the effect of word-of-mouth (WOM) on the purchase of genuine and counterfeit luxury brands with a focus on the roles of attitude functions, product type, valence of WOM, and brand popularity. It consists of two experimental studies. Study 1 examines the effect of WOM on the purchase of luxury brands and attempts to investigate the mediating role of attitude functions in the relationship between WOM and purchase intentions for luxury brands, with regard to different product types and valence of WOM. Study 2 compares the effects of WOM communications with traditional advertising on the purchase of counterfeit and genuine luxury brands. It also examines the differences between popular and non-popular luxury brands. Results reveal that social-adjustive and value-expressive functions fully mediate the effect of WOM on luxury brand evaluation while partially mediate the effect of product type on luxury brand evaluation. The effect of WOM on attitude functions is more pronounced for high (vs. low) susceptibility to interpersonal influence consumers. Findings of Study 2 support the moderating role of subjective norm in the self-monitoring and counterfeit luxury brand evaluation relationship, indicating that compared to advertising, WOM is a more effective way to decrease counterfeit luxury brand consumption. Managerial implications for strategic brand management and directions for future research are discussed.
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Lamb, Keith Whitaker. "The Role of Brand Equity in Reputational Rankings of Specialty Graduate Programs in Colleges of Education: Variables Considered by College of Education Deans and Associate Deans Ranking the Programs." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2010. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc28447/.

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Seeking to identify and further understand the variables considered when ranking specialty programs in colleges of education, this research study surveyed all deans, and associate deans responsible for graduate education, at United States institutions that offer the terminal degree in at least one of the ten education specialty areas. The study utilized a three-dimension model of brand equity from the marketing literature, which included the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion. Descriptive statistics determined that research by the faculty of the specialty program is the variable most widely considered by deans and associate deans when determining reputation. In order to determine what predicts a person's motivation to correctly rank programs, a principal components analysis was utilized as a data reduction technique, with parallel analysis determining component retention. The model identified five components which explained 66.224% of total variance. A multiple regression analysis determined that characteristics of a specialty program was the only statistically significant predictor component of motivation to correctly rank programs (β = .317, p = .008, rs2 = .865); however, a large squared structure coefficient was observed on perceived quality (rs2 = .623). Using descriptive discriminant analyses, the study found there is little evidence that marketing efforts have differing effects on groups. Further, a canonical correlation analysis that examined the overall picture of advertising on different groups was not statistically significant at F (15, 271) = .907, p = .557, and had a relatively small effect size (Rc2 = .099).
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Murray, John. "The specification of store environments : the role of store design-architecture in the consumer perception of retail brands." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/20860.

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The overall focus of this doctoral thesis is the examination of the role of store design-architecture in consumer perceptions of retail brand loyalty. More specifically, it examines how consumers’ perceptions at the store design-architecture level promote brand loyalty and attachment at the overall retail-level. This research, therefore, aims to address the underdeveloped extant knowledge of the role of the store design-architecture in retail branding. This thesis addresses two research questions: 1) is it possible to improve on the specification or measurement of the store environment beyond the novelty, complexity collative constructs proposed in traditional studies of the store environment?; and 2) what effect, if any, do these improved store environment constructs (from answering research question number one) have in explaining the role of store design-architecture in consumer perceptions of retail brand loyalty? In its examination of the role of store-level design-architecture in overall retail-level branding, the theoretical significance of this thesis is based on two activities. First, this thesis proposes a conceptual framework that draws on multiple, diverse literatures from design-architecture, psychology and marketing. The critical review of pertinent literatures from these three sources then enables the second activity: the generation of novel empirical insights based on surveys of consumer perceptions of store-level design-architecture. A research instrument is developed that compares higher and lower levels of design in two stores of Penneys, a discount fashion retailer. The responses of 145 consumers are examined in an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). A separate dataset of 403 consumer responses are analysed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equations Modelling (SEM). Multiple-group invariance testing is also completed on this dataset. The primary theoretical contributions of this thesis to the extant literature are five-fold. First, the principal contribution of this thesis confirms that store aesthetic preference is positively associated with retail brand loyalty. Thus, the second research question is satisfactorily addressed; I explain that there is a mild association between store aesthetic preference and the emotionally valenced retail brand attachment construct in higher-level design contexts. Instead, a store aesthetic preference association is observed with the more behaviourally valenced retail brand loyalty construct in lower-level designs. Consequently, this principal contribution to the extant literature reveals the perceptive dynamic of how consumers processing of store-level design-architecture correspond with their perceptions of retail-level brand loyalty. A host of global-attribute, objective-subjective, and cognitive-emotional perceptive processing at the store and retail levels are observed in the proposed theoretical framework. Second, to confirm the role of store design-architecture in retail brand loyalty, I develop: a new scale for retail brand product; modify scales for store prototype, store novelty, store aesthetic preference, store complexity and retail brand price; and introduce scales for brand attachment and brand loyalty from non-retail contexts into a retail context for the first time. This research, therefore, addresses research question number one by making a notable conceptual and measurement contribution to the specification of the store environment. Third, as a progression from the previous contribution, I use these improved store environments constructs to better specify the store environment, and examine the associations between store prototype, store novelty and store aesthetic preference. I demonstrate that theory such as the preference-for-prototypes literature helps to improve the extant understanding of the associations between store prototype, store novelty and store aesthetic preference. The confirmation of the existence of these associations essentially means that the proposed model is robust, credible and able to account for consumers objective-subjective, global-attribute discriminations of the store-level aesthetic. Fourth, in an effort to explain the relative visual and non-visual contributions to retail brand attachment and retail brand loyalty, I examine associations concerning retail brand product and retail brand price. Retail brand product is confirmed to have stronger associations with retail brand attachment than store aesthetic preference or store prototypicality. Thus, this research extends the extant knowledge of the relative contributions of visual and non-visual constructs to understanding retail brand loyalty. Fifth, this research contributes to the extant understanding of how non-invariance analysis can be employed in Structural Equations Modelling (SEM) to confirm differences between groups. This research examines differences in parameter values to confirm differences in perception of the higher and lower levels of store design-architecture. This type of use of non-invariance analysis is not frequently employed in SEM and I propose that this research instrument can be generalised to other retail contexts also. Finally, this thesis concludes by presenting the limitations of this research. It makes suggestions on potential future research that could be completed, and raises some pertinent implications for practitioners arising from this research.
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GAO, Xue. "The effects of perceived brand globalness on consumer responses to brand failures." Digital Commons @ Lingnan University, 2010. https://commons.ln.edu.hk/mkt_etd/1.

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Even big companies cannot guarantee their brands never ever fail customers. Recently the brand failures of Toyota taught us a vivid lesson that a brand takes decades to be built up but to be ruined overnight. Although, the advantages of building global brands are well recognized in literature, the superiorities of global brands in brand failure context are not yet studied. This study aims to investigate the effects of perceived brand globalness (PBG) on consumer affective and behavioral responses to brand failures. Global brands are perceived superior to local brands due to factors like higher quality perceptions and prestige feelings. Based on attribution theory, consumers are expected to have less negative responses to the failure of a brand which has a higher (vs. lower) PBG. Two studies were conducted to test the proposed hypotheses. Both studies were 2 (high PBG vs. low PBG brand) × 2 (failure present vs. absent) between subjects factorial designs. More than 200 respondents participated in the experiments. Study 1 examined the effects of PBG on consumer responses to fictitious brands. In order to increase the generalizability of research, Study 2 used established brands to find out the effects of PBG on consumer responses while controlling the confounding variables of brand familiarity and brand equity of the selected established brands. The results indicate that the more a brand is perceived global, the less negative responses consumers have toward the failures. Moreover, this thesis examines the moderating role of consumer ethnocentrism on the relationship between PBG and consumer responses. The proposed hypotheses are generally supported. The findings enrich the literature and benefit the marketing practitioners by broadening their views of building global brands.
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Mao, Huifang. "Brand referencing." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2006. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3215188.

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Kelly School of Business, 2006.
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-04, Section: A, page: 1442. Adviser: Shanker Krishnan. "Title from dissertation home page (viewed May 9, 2007)."
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Pogacar, Ruth. "Marketing Language: A Conceptual Framework and Examination of How Brand Name Linguistics Influence Brand Loyalty." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin15302704284269.

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Graham, Johnny Langston. "CONSUMER CORRUPTION OF BRAND MEANING: A MULTI-METHOD EXPLORATION OF BRAND APPROPRIATION." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2016. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/410546.

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Business Administration/Marketing
Ph.D.
This dissertation centers on the study of brand appropriation, the altering of brand meaning by non-target market consumers who belong to a subculture. Although oftentimes referenced within the social sciences, appropriation is a scantily explored construct within the context of marketing, and specifically branding. Using a multi-method approach, this research establishes a conceptual framework for brand appropriation, develops an in-depth understanding of why and how it occurs, and examines its effect on consumers and their relationships with brands. Overall, this work builds a theoretical foundation for this phenomenon, contributing to literature involving the role of brands within subcultures, the process and effects of non-target market adoption, and gives consideration to uninvited co-creation behavior. Furthermore these studies gives insight for firms which encounter this unexpected consumption behavior, providing understanding that can help inform strategic response.
Temple University--Theses
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Martin, William Carroll. "Investigating the antecedents and consequences of perceived connectedness to brand users brand communities versus brand collectivities /." Diss., Mississippi State : Mississippi State University, 2009. http://library.msstate.edu/etd/show.asp?etd=etd-03262009-122935.

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Hassey, Roseann V. "Stand By Your Brand: How Brand Personality and Brand Failure Type Shape Brand Forgiveness." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1470045358.

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Soni, Mayur. "Building corporate brand orientation through cross-functional integration within marketing brand orientation through cross-­‐functional integration within marketing." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/26355.

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Prior research defines brand orientation as an approach in which the processes of the organization revolve around the creation, development and protection of brand identity in an ongoing interaction with target customers with the aim of achieving lasting competitive advantages in the form of brands (Urde, 1999). This research paper examines how marketing managers perceive corporate brand orientation with a Financial services company, namely Standard Bank Group Limited (Standard Bank) and what influence cross-functional integration has in enhancing the level of brand orientation. The study design was non-experimental and convenience sampling used. The data was collected within the Group and South African marketing functions of Standard Bank both of which are located within South Africa. The survey was delivered to 131 respondents across 30 marketing functions with the unit of analysis being each employee within their respective teams. The research results indicate that cross-functional integration variables of compensation, multifunctional training and cross-functional teams have a positive influence on brand orientation. The findings from this research can contribute to the body of knowledge within the domain of building corporate brand orientation within the financial services industry, specifically with regards to implications for marketing leadership in terms of improving the performance of the marketing department.
Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010.
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
unrestricted
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Bruggemann, Ben G. "How We Decide When We Can't Decide: A Study OF Brand Dependency and Brand Sensitivity." Ohio University Honors Tutorial College / OhioLINK, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1492613032364565.

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Goodwin, Jill Suzanne. "Creating Brand Communities| A Phenomenological Study on Media and the Psychology of Brand Magic." Thesis, Colorado State University, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10599404.

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Understanding the complexities of the consumer-brand relationship is an ongoing area of study in multiple fields. Stemming from the notion that brands convey cultural meaning, brand community studies focus specifically on the process of meaning creation. The traditional focus of brand community research has been on social interaction. However, newer research points to the psychological formation of brand communities in the absence of social interaction. The psychological sense of brand community (PSBC) model was created to account for this newer area of research. Mental models are the cognitive model individuals form to interact with the world around them. Based in psychology, mental model research postulates that individuals must first be able to internally represent their external world in order to interact with it. Mental model theory provides a foundation for insight to the individual’s reality of the brand community relationship at the social and psychological level. Thus, this study will use a qualitative phenomenological approach to elicit and explore the expressed mental models of members that self-identify with a brand community when exposed to branded media. In particular, this study centers around the Disney brand and how Disney’s use of video advertisements activates PSBC among a loyal following. By using a brand exemplar to study this phenomenon, common themes of the consumer-brand relationship are revealed that give insight to the types of internal representations of external reality elicited by branded media exposure. By gaining a better understanding of the difference between psychological and social brand communities, media communication scholars can gain a deeper understanding of how the types of messages created for a brand can foster a sense of relationship with the brand.

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Sekhon, Tejvir Singh. "The role of brand attachment in brand-related bragging." Thesis, 2016. https://hdl.handle.net/2144/17101.

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Bragging about brands on social media is pervasive. When bragging about brands, communicators face a trade-off between enhancing perceptions of their competence versus lowering perceptions of their warmth or likability. Likewise, for brands, bragging can increase the brand’s visibility but can convey negative brand-user imagery that detracts from the equity of the brand. Across four experimental studies, this dissertation shows how signaling brand attachment moderates the effects of brand-related bragging on both the perceptions of communicators and brand-user imagery. Results from the first two studies show that mentioning a high status brand in social media communications leads to negative evaluations when the communicator is not seen as attached to the brand, and positive evaluations when brand attachment is signaled. Using brand attachment cues while bragging leads the audience to infer that the communicator talks about the brand because of intrinsic motives such as personal enjoyment, versus extrinsic motives such as status-signaling, resulting in favorable communicator impressions and brand-user imagery. The last two studies show that the beneficial effects of using brand attachment cues while bragging are mitigated if the cues are seen as non-credible or non-diagnostic of motives in a particular communication context. This research develops a theoretical framework for brand-related bragging and suggests practical ways to manage the trade-offs involved for both communicators and brands. Further, it opens new avenues for research by providing a social perception lens on consumer-brand relationships and showing that there are benefits of signaling one’s brand attachment for both consumers and brands in terms of impressions formed by the audience.
2021-06-30T00:00:00Z
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43

Wongsrikun, Thotsaporn, and 翁日華. "The role of affect in Brand marketing on Twitter." Thesis, 2016. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/24819174624985719179.

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碩士
國立臺灣科技大學
資訊管理系
104
Social media has gained increasing importance in online brand marketing. This study aims to explore the role of affect, both positive and negative, in social media brand marketing. Based on the Mehrabian-Russell model, we propose that general positive affect exhibited by Twitter brand accounts is positively related to followers’ positive responses such as retweets and favorites, as well as the overall follower counts; general negative affect, however, is negatively related to followers’ retweets, favorites, and overall follower counts. Data was collected from the most recent tweets of each brand Twitter account, whereas the target brand accounts were selected from top brand finance global companies ranked by most brand value in the year 2014. The data was analyzed using linear regression. The results reveal that positive affect is positively related to the number of retweeted tweets, the number of favorited tweets, and follower counts. Negative affect, however, is negatively related to the number of retweeted tweets and the number of favorited tweets, but not significant related to follower counts.
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44

Tesařová, Veronika. "Role sémiotiky vizuálního marketingu při budování značky." Master's thesis, 2018. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-388741.

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The Diploma thesis is focused on marketing and semiotics and the use of these two fields combined. In the course of the thesis, we will deal with the analysis of single visual marketing modes and the overall impact on perception of the brand and also its ́ building by linking these elements. In the thesis, we will focus on the Gunter Kress ́ theory of multimodality and, in this context, we will focus on the contents of the Brand manual, which is the key to brand building. Attention will be paid to semiotic analysis of logos, utilization of images and photos, colors and fonts and other components important for creating a visual marketing strategy. In the empirical section, two similar brands will be introduced, on which the single modes will be demonstrated and analyzed. Although the two brands are similar to each other, one has a clearly recognizable brand identity, while the other brand is failing. Also, the second brand obviously does not follow the Brand manual. By analyzing and comparing the visual content of these two brands, we will be able to detect errors that may be critical to brand building and may have a negative impact on the perception of the potential clients with the result of brand extinction. In the result of the thesis, we should be able to confirm the importance of using...
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45

Sankaranarayanan, Ramesh. "Role of Online Brand Communities in Making Strategic Marketing Decisions." Thesis, 2011. http://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/7440/1/Sankaranarayanan_MSc_S2011.pdf.

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46

Bilro, Ricardo Jorge Godinho. "The role of consumer-brand engagement in a digital marketing era." Doctoral thesis, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10071/15736.

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The purpose of this thesis is to understand the role of consumer-brand engagement in a digital marketing era. We explore the consumer-brand engagement construct in relation to consumers as the engagement subjects, and brands (i.e., brand/companies) as the engagement objects. Our intention is to contribute to advancing the theoretical knowledge of this subject and to provide useful insights that can be used by practitioners, particularly companies that use interactive platforms to create consumer-brand relationships.
O objetivo desta tese é o de compreender o papel do compromisso entre o consumidor e a marca nesta nova era de marketing digital. Exploramos nesse sentido o constructo do compromisso entre o consumidor e a marca, sendo o consumidor o sujeito do compromisso e a marca (isto é, marcas ou empresas) o objeto desse compromisso. É nosso objetivo contribuir para o avanço teórico do conhecimento sobre esta área do saber, bem como fornecer novos conhecimentos que possam ser úteis e utilizados pelos gestores nas empresas, nomeadamente no que diz respeito a empresas que utilizem plataformas interativas para criar relacionamentos entre os consumidores e as marcas.
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47

Park, Hyejune. "The Role of Social Network Websites in Consumer-Brand Relationship." 2011. http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/1214.

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This research explored the phenomenon of online social network in the context of consumer-brand relationship. The specific research objectives were: (a) to examine whether perceived benefits of a Brand’s Social Network Website (BSN) predict BSN relationship quality; (b) to investigate whether perceived benefits of BSN predict perceived relationship investment; (c) to examine if online social connection strengthens the relationship between perceived benefits of BSN and BSN relationship quality; (d) to examine if experience with BSN strengthens the relationship between perceived benefits of BSN and BSN relationship quality; (e) to investigate whether BSN relationship quality predicts brand relationship quality; (f) to examine whether BSN relationship quality predicts customer loyalty toward BSN; (g) to investigate whether perceived relationship investment predicts brand relationship quality; (h) to investigate whether brand relationship quality predicts customer loyalty toward BSN; (i) to examine whether brand relationship quality predicts customer loyalty toward the brand; and (j) to investigate whether customer loyalty toward BSN predicts customer loyalty toward the brand. This research employed a mixed-method approach to overcome the weaknesses in a single method approach and to provide stronger evidence for a conclusion. First, qualitative analyses explored the unique context of BSN, which was not much investigated in prior research. Specifically, Brand Pages of 22 apparel brands and 10 restaurant/coffeehouse brands, chosen as research settings, were investigated to validate the proposed research constructs. Second, quantitative analyses utilized an online self-administered cross-sectional survey method. A total of 501 complete responses collected from consumer panels of marketing research firm were used. The results suggested that BSN benefits are important drivers of relationship mediators (i.e., BSN relationship quality, perceived relationship investment), which in turn positively influence BRQ. However, functional benefits did not influence BSN relationship quality. In addition, while customer loyalty toward BSN was predicted by both BSN relationship quality and BRQ, it did not positively influence the loyalty toward the brand. Specifically, BSN loyalty did not influence behavioral loyalty and negatively influenced willingness to pay price premium. Further discussion about the results, implications, and suggestions for future research were provided.
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Apostolopoulou, Artemisia. "The role of parent brand strength, perceived fit, and fan identification on consumers' evaluation of brand extensions in the sport setting." 2002. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI3068535.

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Brand extensions are new products or services, beyond an organization's current offerings, that are introduced under the brand name. Sport organizations are increasingly implementing extension strategies in an effort to create additional revenue streams and to enhance their relationship with their fans. Although brand extensions have been a topic of extensive study in the mainstream marketing literature, only three studies have examined this practice in the sport setting. This dissertation aims to add to the limited sport-related literature but also provide insights to practitioners by examining the effect of three factors on consumers' evaluation of brand extensions introduced in the sport setting. More specifically, the strength of the parent brand and the perceived fit between the parent brand and the extension are manipulated in a 2 x 2 factorial design, to examine whether there are differences in the way consumers view extension products based on the parent brand introducing the extension and the degree of fit of the new product. Further, driven by the unique nature of the sport product, which fosters strong emotional connections between fans and their favorite teams, fan identification is also included in the design. Its effect on consumers' evaluation of the extensions as well as its interaction with the other two independent variables are examined via a series of analysis of variance. Limitations related to the measurement and manipulation of the parent brand strength variable do not allow for any conclusions on the value of this factor. Nevertheless, the results of the study clearly suggest that fan identification is a significant factor, as increasing levels of fan identification are highly related to more favorable evaluations of the proposed extensions and higher intention of sport consumers to try or purchase the extensions. Furthermore, perceived fit appears to be significant for the evaluation of the extensions, even when high levels of identification with the two parent brands are present. Sport managers interested in introducing extensions of their brand should capitalize on existing high identification levels, but also create meaningful links between the brand and the new products to facilitate their acceptance and support from consumers.
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Cebisa, Zwelakhe Erick. ""The role of brands in the advertising of beauty products."." Thesis, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/1477.

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This research investigates the role of brands in the advertising of beauty products. This study was conducted at tertiary institutions in the Durban Metropolitan Area. Since, students are believed to constitute a large market for consumer goods, especially beauty products, the study also seeks to determine consumption patterns and preferences of brands of beauty products by students at tertiary institutions. Using a survey-based study, the results of the survey highlights the importance of the branding of beauty products in promoting sales, loyalty and preference for various brands. The findings suggest that marketers' should continue to provide information to consumers about their beauty products, so that their benefits and functions are constantly emphasized, without exaggerating the claims of the brands. It has also emerged that detailed instructions on the use of beauty products and the frequency of their use be clearly indicated on their labels. This study has also revealed that brands of beauty products entrench the image of the company through its truthful advertising.
Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.
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Portal, Sivan-Rachel. "The role of brand authenticity in the development of brand trust in South Africa." Thesis, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/23049.

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A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Strategic Marketing. Johannesburg, March 2017
Brand trust has been in decline for a number of years (Eggers, O’Dwyer, Kraus, Vallaster, & Güldenberg, 2013; Gerzema, 2009; Gilmore & Pine, 2007; Schallehn, Burmann, & Riley, 2014). According to Eggers et al., (2013), this has been attributed to many possible causes; the most prevalent being a breakdown between the promises made by brands and what they actually deliver. As a result, consumers are growing increasingly sceptical and they find themselves unable to believe brand claims (Eggers et al.,, 2013). Brand authenticity has been referred to as the perfect antidote to this problem (Gerzema, 2009). It is synonymous with honesty (Morhart, Malär, Guèvremont, Girardin, & Grohmann, 2015), sincerity (Beverland, 2005a; Fine, 2003; Napoli, Dickinson, Beverland, & Farrelly, 2014; Pace, 2015), and trust (Eggers et al.,, 2013); and is a key success factor for brands today (Brown, Kozinets, & Sherry, 2003; Gilmore & Pine, 2007). Authentic brands are deeply committed to their values and to delivering on their promises (Eggers et al.,, 2013; Morhart et al.,, 2015). Morhart et al., (2015) state that to enhance the perception of authenticity, brands should come across as more “human”, as doing so makes it easier for consumers to recognise the inherent values of the brand. Due to a rebirth in traditional, wholesome values, consumers are growing increasingly fond of humanised brands and they now even relate to brands in the same way they relate to people (Brown, 2010; Fournier, 1998; Kervyn, Fiske, & Malone, 2012; Malone & Fiske, 2013). It has been said that brands that are succeeding in a time when brand trust is at an all-time low, are those that are fostering meaningful relationships with their customers by coming across as “human” (Kervyn et al.,, 2012; Malone & Fiske, 2013; Marshall & Ritchie, 2013). This research set out to examine the humanisation of brands, particularly in a world where authenticity is becoming increasingly popular and brand trust, increasingly rare. It was hoped that an empirical investigation would help to define the implications of this growing trend in brand management. The study was conducted in South Africa, where historically there has been a major breakdown of trust between its citizens and the institutions that have been entrusted to lead them (Lekalake, 2015; Marais, 2011; Moeng, 2015; Steenkamp, 2009). The study was grounded in theory that has roots in the field of social psychology. In interpersonal relationships, Cuddy, Fiske, and Glick (2007) found that people make judgements about others based on the evaluation of two dimensions: warmth and competence. The Brands as Intentional Agents Framework (BIAF) (Kervyn et al.,, 2012) theorises that this is consistent with people and brands. Consumers evaluate brands on the same basis of warmth and competence: where warmth is the belief that the brand has good intentions, and competence, the belief that the brand has the ability to carry out those intentions. (Kervyn et al.,, 2012). Expressions of warmth and competence enhance the perception that a brand is humanlike (J. Aaker, Vohs, & Mogilner, 2010; Kervyn et al.,, 2012; Malone & Fiske, 2013). An extensive literature review was conducted on brand authenticity, perceived warmth, perceived competence and brand trust - revealing strong connections between these four constructs. The research problem was three-fold. First, the intention was to establish and evaluate the dimensions of brand authenticity in South Africa, postulated as originality, continuity, credibility and integrity (according to recent studies in the literature). Second, the intention was to then determine whether brand authenticity has a positive impact on brand trust. Brand trust was postulated as having two dimensions, brand intentions and brand reliability, as per Delgado-Ballester (2004). Third, the intention was to resolve whether perceptions of warmth and competence then mediate the relationship between brand authenticity and brand trust. This study adopted a quantitative methodology whereby a self-completion questionnaire was distributed using face-to-face data collection procedures. The sampling frame consisted of frequent flyers of one of seven domestic airlines that fly within South Africa’s borders, namely: South African Airways (SAA), Mango, British Airways (BA), Kulula, Safair, Blue Crane and Cemair. The study used a convenience sample of passengers at Bidvest airport lounges in four major cities, and at Lanseria, a smaller airport in Johannesburg. The questionnaire design included a construct measurement section where respondents were asked to rate their perception of the selected brand’s authenticity, warmth, competence and trust. The data collection returned an impressive 355 usable responses, made up predominantly of business travellers. Partial least squares (PLS) was used to examine the data and factor analysis revealed four important findings. First, the analysis showed three new factors, different to the four postulated dimensions of brand authenticity. They were Original, Ethical and Genuine. Second, brand trust was found to be one-dimensional, and not two-dimensional as postulated. Third, although a revised model of six constructs (original, ethical, genuine, warmth, competence and brand trust) displayed both internal reliability and convergent validity, discriminant validity could not be proven due to critically high correlations between the constructs. The high levels of similarity rendered the constructs indistinguishable in a causal model and as a result, the hypotheses could not be tested using the data that was collected. Finally, an additional analysis showed significant differences between the results of South African Airways (SAA) and some or all of the other airlines on all the constructs. As SAA was not viewed in a positive light, this study identified SAA as an outlier brand. The findings of this research proved to be very interesting, and have major theoretical and managerial implications. As brand authenticity was measured as a second-order construct, it could not be said with certainty that original, ethical and genuine are dimensions thereof. However, the literature certainly suggested that they might be. Authenticity has been linked to any semblance of originality (Vann, 2006); an honourable set of values (Beverland, Lindgreen, & Vink, 2008); and that which is genuine, real and true (Arnould & Price, 2000; Beverland & Farrelly, 2010; Grayson & Martinec, 2004; Molleda & Jain, 2013). Moreover, a recent study by Akbar and Wymer (2016) proved originality and genuineness to be dimensions of brand authenticity and their findings strongly support those of this study. The unexpected results of this research also confirm that brand authenticity is highly contextual and subjective – its meaning is dependent on the consumer’s personal experiences and their unique understanding of what is authentic (Beverland & Farrelly, 2010; Bruhn, Schoenmüller, Schäfer, & Heinrich, 2012; Fritz, Schoenmueller, & Bruhn, 2017; Leigh, Peters, & Shelton, 2006; Molleda & Jain, 2013). This study reiterates that brand managers wishing to enhance perceptions of authenticity, must adapt their approach for their specific brand in specific contexts and be very cognisant of their customers unique interpretation of authenticity. The lack of discriminant validity between the six constructs in the revised path model (original, ethical, genuine, warmth, competence and brand trust) was the most noteworthy finding of this research, as it has serious theoretical and managerial implications. This finding indicates that consumers view these constructs as one and the same, and they are deeply interconnected. This could be attributed to the strong literary overlaps between them, as many of these constructs have almost identical definitions and key traits (for example: honesty, sincerity, benevolence, capability, and reliability). As a result, this research makes an important contribution to advancing the Brands as Intentional Agents Framework (BIAF) (Kervyn et al.,, 2012). It suggests that the BIAF should be expanded to include constructs beyond warmth and competence, as expressions of all six constructs contribute equally to the perception that a brand is human. This research concludes with the Human Brand Model (HBM); a model that provides practical guidelines as to how managers can use the insights from this study to build human brands. To enhance the perception that a brand is more human, managers must use expressions not only of warmth and competence, but of originality, ethicality, genuineness and trust as well. The six dimensions work along a continuum: if one is elevated, so too are the others; but if one is tarnished, the others are negatively impacted too. The result is that no single dimension can be ignored in this process. Brand managers must understand that efforts to build a human brand far surpass the marketing team. This process requires the mobilisation of every department in the organisation and the commitment of the highest levels of leadership. This research set out to establish whether the human brand is simply a buzzword in marketing, or an idea that has both academic and managerial value. The idea that brands have evolved into animate entities is not yet widely accepted in academic literature. However, this research makes an important contribution to advancing the existing theory on brand perception and current views on brand anthropomorphism. It also provides some guidance as to the exact mechanisms that can be used to build human brands. The findings demonstrated that the human brand is an idea that is real, and one with value for both academics and practitioners, leaving room for much further research.
MT2017
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