Frederik Meyer

When brands get branded

Recent perspectives on branding have claimed that consumers establish relationships with brands (Fournier, 1998). According to this view, one has also to consider that — similar to human relationships — transgressions may occur in such a relationship. Brand misconduct describes a brands behaviour that consumers do not agree with, e.g. Coca-Colas introduction of the so-called New Coke in the eighties. After an introduction and definition different forms of misconduct are distinguished. The possible consequences, how the company can react to brand misconduct and, ultimately, the implications for branding theory development are examined.

Brand love in progress – the interdependence of brand love antecedents in consideration of relationship duration

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the dynamic nature of consumer–brand relationships and, in particular, the passionate dimension of brand love. It explores the relevance of the two dimensions of the identification construct (inner and social self) for the creation of passionate love for a brand. More precisely, it attends to the possible mediating character of identification between the perceived utilitarian or hedonic value and passionate brand love. These effects are analysed in consideration of the moderating effect of relationship duration taking a further-reaching perspective and contributing to the understanding of the transformation of the brand love construct within a long-term consumer–brand relationship. Design/methodology/approach – A survey on universally known brands representing both a hedonic and a utilitarian concept was conducted. The model has been tested using the partial least squares approach to structural equation modelling. Findings – The effects of the antecedents of passio...

Creating Passionate Love Through Rational Value: A Moderated Mediation Analysis Considering Identification and Relationship Duration

This study contributes to insights of the effectiveness of identification on passionate love. But more differentiated in comparison to previous research we show direct effects of the two dimensions of identification, self-reflection and self-enhancement as important influence factors of passionate love. According to Steinberg’s (Psychol Rev 93(2):119–135, 1986) Triangular Theory of Love, love is not only triggered by emotional aspects that are beyond reason. So utilitarian attributes that are more down-to-earth and realistic namely quality value, price value, and uniqueness can be relevant drivers of love. But more important, is their influence constant during the course of a relationship? We detected that the emphasis of these central influence factors differ with rising duration of the relationship. With increasing duration of a relationship the role of self-reflection for the feeling of passion towards the brand becomes more significant. The effect of self-enhancement surprisingly decreases with increasing relationship duration. Regarding the rational antecedents of passionate brand love, we see different effects considering the mediation and moderation analyses.

Die Bedeutung von Emotionen für die wahrgenommene Fairness bei Preiserhöhungen

ZusammenfassungDie wahrgenommene Fairness von Preisen hat sich als zentrales Konstrukt der Marketingforschung zur Analyse der Wirkung von Preiserhöhungen etabliert. Ausgangspunkt der interdisziplinären Preisfairnessforschung ist, dass Kunden ein Angebot nicht nur rational-ökonomisch bewerten, sondern zusätzlich eine emotionale Komponente bei der Bewertung der Fairness eines Preises relevant ist. Dieser Beitrag bezieht sich daher auf die Analyse emotionaler Aspekte für die Bildung des Fairnessurteils bei Preiserhöhungen, während bisherige Studien, mit wenigen Ausnahmen, auf die Untersuchung kognitiver Größen abstellen. Die auf Basis der Equity-Theorie postulierte Relevanz von Emotionen für das Fairnessurteil bei Preiserhöhungen und dessen Auswirkung auf die Preisbereitschaft können durch eine empirische Untersuchung gestützt werden. Die Ergebnisse dienen der Ableitung von Handlungsempfehlungen für die Unternehmenspraxis und die Forschung.AbstractPrevious research on price changes has focused on the analysis of price increases on the base of rational processes. Against this research stream this paper focuses on the examination of the moderating role of emotions on the link between the magnitude of price increases and the perceived price fairness as well as the link between the perceived price fairness and the willingness to pay. The empirical results demonstrate that emotions have the potential to compensate the negative impact of price increase on the perceived price fairness.

Challenging Challenge: The Ambivalent Impact of Challenge on Intrinsic Motivation Effectiveness in Digital Co-Creation

While most literature on co-creation shows a consistently positive impact of challenge on motivational processes, the authors of this study examine situational ambiguous effects. Consequently, the exalted status of challenge in practice and research is called into question. This research combines psychological needs inferred from Self-Determination Theory with challenge derived from Flow Theory to explore direct and interactive effects on motivation and participation in digital co-creation. As an example of concrete consumer innovation the authors applied the concept of Threadless in order to test propositions for co-creation settings. Threadless is a real online platform that calls up for submitting consumer-generated designs. The findings reveal an ambivalent role of challenge, depending on consumer traits, which contributes to motivation research and offers potential applications for practice and research.

Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud: An Empirical Analysis of the Role of Neutralization Techniques Within the Context of Moral Intensity

This study addresses a research gap in the literature of ethical decision-making which deals with the mediating role of central neutralization techniques between incidents of different severity and resulting consumer attitudes toward the company. It is widely accepted that irresponsible company actions effect consumer actions and attitudes toward the company in an unfavorable way. Yet, reality proves that this is only partly true, revealing moderate negative consequences for companies in scandalous situations. Consumers do not completely transfer their proethical attitude in actual purchase behavior, which leads to an attitude-behavior gap. We aim at explaining the psychological concepts lying behind these circumstances. For this purpose, the model of moral intensity serves as the conceptual basis to describe the expected negative effect of ethical scandals. In order to shed light on the deviant consumer behavior, neutralization techniques that reflect a defense mechanism are added to the model. The results of the study reveal that indeed the use of the neutralization technique denial of responsibility serves as a mediator in the proposed model and positively influences the attitude toward the company. Furthermore, it is shown that the assumed relations differ between participants of internal and external locus of control, and, thus, personal character traits.

Choosing the Right Cause: The Moderating Role of Meta-Cognitions in Cause-Related Marketing Effectiveness

In recent years, consumers’ expectations in terms of corporate obligations have changed, such that the ethical and philanthropic dimensions of Carroll’s (1979) corporate social responsibility (CSR) pyramid have evolved from desired to presupposed responsibilities. Beyond the consequentially increasing prevalence of CSR activities, considerable attention has been given to cause-related marketing (CRM) in marketing research and practice (Bigne Alcaniz, Chumpitaz Caceres, and Curras Perez, 2010). CRM is defined as a “process of formulating and implementing marketing activities that are characterized by an offer from the firm to contribute a specified amount to a designated cause when customers engage in revenue-providing exchanges that satisfy organizational and individual objectives” (Varadarajan and Menon, 1988). Existing research supports the notion that CRM exerts an important impact on consumers’ buying behavior and enhances the image of the sponsoring company or brand (Barone et al., 2000; Bigne Alcaniz et al., 2010; Gupta and Pirsch, 2006; Lafferty, Goldsmith, and Hult, 2004; Nan and Heo, 2007). Furthermore, literature indicates that a systematic choice of the cause affects the effectiveness of CRM activities (Varadarajan and Menon, 1988). More specifically, the majority of studies highlight the importance of fit between the cause and the sponsoring company or brand (Becker-Olsen, Cudmore, and Hill, 2006; Ellen, Mohr, and Webb, 2000; Lafferty et al., 2004). There is, however, some evidence that fit might be necessary but not sufficient for CRM success (Pracejus and Olsen, 2004). As such, additional research on relevant cause characteristics is needed in order to guide managerial decisions (Nan and Heo, 2007). With this in mind, this study empirically examines the impact of meta-cognitions in terms of the validity of consumer attitudes toward the cause in a high-fit condition.

Understanding the Fundamental Mechanisms of Origin-Based Brand Value Creation: An Empirical Analysis

This paper presents the results of an empirical study on the fundamental process of customer-based brand value creation based on brand origin associations. It extends existing knowledge by analyzing multiple paths of effect and incorporating the moderating role of COB-COM-congruency. The results offer valuable implications for marketing research and practice.

Credibility as a Key to Sustainable Advertising Success

This paper addresses the operational part of sustainable marketing, especially advertising with sustainability. This form of advertising has to consider particularly the aspect of credibility since the social-ecological value of a product is often not evident for the consumer. Therefore, credibility represents an essential competitive advantage for companies who offer sustainable products. The purpose of this paper is to identify the determinants which are decisive for the credibility attribution of sustainable advertisement in order to achieve an improved comprehension of the latent construct and a more credible design of this type of advertisement. In addition, the actual influence of credibility on consumer behavior is to be analyzed. In order to obtain adequate results, the conceptualization and empirical validation of a causal model were performed which measures both the evaluation and effect of credibility. Thereby, the trustworthiness of the brand communicator, mediated by the content of the message, appears as an essential factor of influence regarding the credibility attribution. Further, the analysis concludes that the credibility of the advertisement directly influences the attitude of the consumer toward the product.

The “Bigger” Company Responsibility — When One Bad Product Harms a Country’s Image —

Since the 1960s, extensive research efforts on country of origin support the assumption that origin cues impact consumption behavior (Al-Sulaiti and Baker, 1998). Peterson and Jolibert (1995) state country of origin as one of the most widely studied phenomena in all the international business, marketing and consumer behavior literatures. When looking at the research on country of origin, we see a development from understanding the effect one-dimensionally as any positive or negative influence that the country related to the product might have on the consumer’s choice processes behaviour (Schooler, 1965, Chao 1993, Samiee, 2004, Papadopoulos and Heslop, 2003) to a more specific understanding of where a product is made (Zhang, 1996). Most of the existing studies therefore focus on “made-in“-effects (country of manufacturing) or image spillover with regard to the country of assembly (Nebenzahl, Jaffe and Lampert, 1997, Yong, 1996). Following management challenges arising from globalization and leading to a repositioning of company activities to a number of different countries, the one-dimensional understanding of the country of origin effect seems out-dated (Bluemelhuber, Carter and Lambe, 2007). Johansson and Nebenzahl (1986) therefore postulate the differentiation of the effect in country of manufacturing and country of branding. Their proposition is supported by a number of studies showing that consumers are able to distinct different effects of the country origin (Chao, 1993, Sadrudin and d’Astous, 2002, Thakor and Lavak, 2003, Brodowsky, Tan and Meilich, 2004). Hence, in more recent studies the focus is on the country of branding (Johansson, Douglas and Nonak,a 1985, Ozsomer and Cavusgil, 1991, Phau and Prendergast, 2000) or, as other authors call it, brand origin (Thakor and Kohl,i 1996, Johansson, Douglas and Nonaka, 1985, Chattalas, Kramer and Takada, 2008). Additionally, even more detailed specifications like the country of design (Nebenzahl, Jaffe and Lampert, 1997, Jaffe and Nebenzahl, 2001), the country of parts or the origin of top management are examined (Pharr, 2005).