BRAND PERSONALITY AND USER IMAGERY BASED SELF-CONGRUITY By BRIAN THOMAS ...

110 Pages·2005·0.99 MB·English

THIS BRAND’S FOR ME: BRAND PERSONALITY AND USER IMAGERY BASED
SELF-CONGRUITY

By

BRIAN THOMAS PARKER

A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

2005
Copyright 2005

by

Brian Thomas Parker
This document is dedicated to my family.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This dissertation was made possible by Marilyn Roberts, Gail Baker, David
Miller, and particularly John Sutherland, each providing unique intellectual and personal
support often beyond the scope of the academic endeavor, contributing to my growth as
an individual and academic professional.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv
LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................... viii
LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................x
ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... xi
CHAPTER
1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................1
Research Problem .........................................................................................................4
Dissertation Agenda......................................................................................................7
2 LITERATURE REVIEW ...........................................................................................10
Self-Congruity Theory................................................................................................11
Self-Theory and Self-Image ................................................................................12
Antecedents of Self-Brand Congruity .................................................................15
Image Congruence Hypothesis............................................................................16
Theoretical Paradigms: Image Measurement and User Imagery ........................18
Congruity Indicator Scores..................................................................................21
“Global” Self-Congruity Measure.......................................................................22
Theoretical Summary ..........................................................................................23
Brand Image................................................................................................................23
Brand Personality ................................................................................................26
Brand personality source variables ..............................................................27
Brand personality scales and framework .....................................................28
Symbolic function of brand personality .......................................................31
Brand Attitude ............................................................................................................32
Summary of Literature Review ..................................................................................35
Research Objectives and Questions............................................................................36
Research Objective One ......................................................................................38
Research Objective Two......................................................................................38

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3 METHODOLOGY .....................................................................................................40
Brand Selection...........................................................................................................40
Questionnaire Development .......................................................................................43
Brand Attitude Operationalization ......................................................................43
User Image Self-Congruity (UIC) Operationalization ........................................44
Brand Personality Self-Congruity (BPC) Operationalization .............................45
Pilot Tests ...................................................................................................................47
Primary Survey ...........................................................................................................48
Description of Data Analysis......................................................................................48
4 RESULTS...................................................................................................................50
Brand Familiarity and Attitude...................................................................................50
Brand Personality........................................................................................................51
Research Questions.....................................................................................................53
Actual-BPC vs. Actual-UIC ................................................................................54
Abercrombie & Fitch ...................................................................................55
Birkenstock...................................................................................................56
Banana Republic ..........................................................................................57
Nike ..............................................................................................................58
Ideal-BPC vs. Ideal-UIC .....................................................................................59
Abercrombie & Fitch ...................................................................................59
Birkenstock...................................................................................................60
Banana Republic ..........................................................................................61
Nike ..............................................................................................................62
Simultaneous Comparison of Congruity Types ..................................................63
Abercrombie & Fitch ...................................................................................64
Birkenstock...................................................................................................66
Banana Republic ..........................................................................................67
Nike ..............................................................................................................69
Summary of Results....................................................................................................71
5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ........................................................................74
Theoretical Implications .............................................................................................75
Research Question One .......................................................................................75
Research Question Two.......................................................................................76
Research Question Three.....................................................................................77
Theoretical Summary ..........................................................................................79
Professional Implications............................................................................................80
Limitations and Future Research ................................................................................81
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................84
APPENDIX
A QUESTIONNAIRE ....................................................................................................85
vi
B DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS: INDEPENDENT VARIABLES ..............................92
LIST OF REFERENCES...................................................................................................93
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .............................................................................................98

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LIST OF TABLES
Table page

2-1. Independent variables: self-brand congruity indicators............................................37
3-1. Top twenty-five publicly consumed brands .............................................................41
3-2. Brand Personality Scale (BPS) dimensions and indicators ......................................46
4-1. Brand attitude indices: desirability, impression, and purchase intentions................51
4-2. Brand personality......................................................................................................52
4-3. Respondent actual and ideal BPS self measures ......................................................53
4-4. Abercrombie & Fitch correlation matrix: actual BPC and actual UIC.....................55
4-5. Abercrombie & Fitch stepwise regression: actual BPC and actual UIC ..................55
4-6. Birkenstock correlation matrix: actual BPC and actual UIC....................................56
4-7. Birkenstock stepwise regression: actual BPC and actual UIC .................................57
4-8. Banana Republic correlation matrix: actual BPC and actual UIC............................57
4-9. Banana Republic stepwise regression: actual BPC and Actual UIC........................58
4-10. Nike correlation matrix: actual BPC and actual UIC ..............................................58
4-11. Nike stepwise regression: actual BPC and actual UIC............................................59
4-12. Abercrombie & Fitch correlation matrix: ideal BPC and ideal UIC .......................60
4-13. Abercrombie & Fitch stepwise regression: ideal BPC and ideal UIC.....................60
4-14. Birkenstock correlation matrix: ideal BPC and ideal UIC ......................................61
4-15. Birkenstock stepwise regression: ideal BPC and ideal UIC....................................61
4-16. Banana Republic correlation matrix: ideal BPC and Ideal UIC..............................62
4-17. Banana Republic stepwise regression: ideal BPC and ideal UIC............................62
viii
4-18. Nike correlation matrix: ideal BPC and ideal UIC..................................................63
4-19. Nike stepwise regression: ideal BPC and ideal UIC ...............................................63
4-20. Abercrombie & Fitch correlation matrix: actual/ideal BPC and UIC .....................64
4-21. Abercrombie & Fitch stepwise regression: actual/ideal BPC and UIC...................65
4-22. Birkenstock correlation matrix: actual/ideal BPC and UIC ....................................66
4-23. Birkenstock stepwise regression: actual/ideal BPC and UIC..................................67
4-24. Banana Republic correlation matrix: actual/ideal BPC and UIC ............................67
4-25. Banana Republic stepwise regression: actual/ideal BPC and UIC..........................68
4-26. Nike correlation matrix: actual/ideal BPC and UIC................................................69
4-27. Nike stepwise regression: actual/ideal BPC and UIC .............................................70
4-28. Summary of variance explained in brand attitude by congruity indicators.............71
4-29. Summary table: actual congruity indicators ............................................................72
4-30. Summary table: ideal congruity indicators..............................................................73

ix
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure page

2-1. Illustration of the image congruence hypothesis ........................................................17
2-2. Self-brand congruity scales example..........................................................................18
2-3. Absolute simple-difference model..............................................................................21
2-4. Brand personality framework .....................................................................................30
2-5. Cognitive and affective brand image factors..............................................................34
3-1. Selected brands and image descriptors.......................................................................42
3-2. Difference squared model...........................................................................................47

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