Table Of ContentSchriften aus der Fakultät Sozial- und Wirtschaftswissenschaften
3 der Otto-Friedrich Universität Bamberg
Brand Personalities and Consumer-brand
Relationships as Elements of Successful
Brand Management
von Katharina S. Güse
UNIVERSITY OF
BAMBERG
PRESS
Schriften aus der Fakultät Sozial- und
Wirtschaftswissenschaften der
Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg 3
Schriften aus der Fakultät Sozial- und
Wirtschaftswissenscha ften der
Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg
Band 3
University of Bamberg Press 2011
Brand Personalities and
Consumer-brand Relationships
as Elements of
Successful Brand Management
von Katharina S. Güse
University of Bamberg Press 2011
Bibliographische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der
Deutschen Nationalbibliographie; detaillierte bibliographische
Informationen sind im Internet über http://dnb.ddb.de/ abrufbar
Diese Arbeit hat der Fakultät Sozial- und Wirtschaftswissenschaften der Otto-Friedrich-Universität
als Dissertation vorgelegen
1. Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Björn Ivens
2. Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Brigitte Müller
3. Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Susanne Rässler
4. Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Sandra Praxmarer
Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 12. Januar 2011
Dieses Werk ist als freie Onlineversion über den Hochschulschriften-
Server (OPUS; http://www.opus-bayern.de/uni-bamberg/) der
Universitätsbibliothek Bamberg erreichbar. Kopien und Ausdrucke
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Herstellung und Druck: docupoint GmbH, Magdeburg
Umschlaggestaltung: Dezernat Kommunikation und Alumni
© University of Bamberg Press Bamberg 2011
http://www.uni-bamberg.de/ubp/
ISSN: 1867-6197
ISBN: 978-3-86309-000-5 (Druckausgabe)
eISBN: 978-3-86309-001-2 (Online-Ausgabe)
URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:473-opus-3085
Acknowledgements
Writing this thesis was a challenging and fascinating process – a life-
changing journey – and I would like to thank everyone who accompa-
nied me during the past years. Special thanks go to my advisor Bjoern
Ivens. There are many reasons for which I am extremely grateful to have
met him. He gave me the chance to start my project under optimal cir-
cumstances. His commitment, his constant support, and his empathy
eased some of the difficult moments that every life-changing journey
carries. His constant respect was always refreshing and created out-
standing working conditions from the very beginning. He introduced me
to the world of research and taught me what it means to become a mem-
ber of a faculty and research community. I am looking forward to con-
tinuing working with him on interesting and promising projects.
I would like to express my gratitude to Brigitte Muller who supported
me through various phases of my PhD studies. She kindly agreed to be
an external member of my dissertation committee and provided very
helpful feedback on my thesis. I sincerely hope that we will continue to
work on further promising questions. I am glad that Susanne Raessler
agreed to serve as an internal expert and I am grateful for her comments.
It also was a pleasure to have Sandra Praxmarer on my thesis committee.
I wish to thank my former colleagues at University of Lausanne for the
many stimulating discussions and the valuable comments during the
process of writing this thesis. The formalized PhD program of
Lausanne’s doctoral school was challenging, but it sparked my interest
in research. The strong research focus of the University of Lausanne had
a forming influence on my way and I am glad to have started under
these circumstances.
I am grateful to all of my friends for distracting me and enriching my
life in and outside the office and for their being there despite the dis-
tance that separated us most of the time.
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I also want to thank my fellow PhD students and colleagues at the chair
of Marketing in Bamberg. It was a pleasure to spend the last year of this
journey with them. I thank them for their support and the moments we
shared.
Last but not least, my thanks and sincerest gratitude go to my family.
They largely contributed to this thesis through their unconditional sup-
port and caring love. Thank you for being there for me at all times.
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Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................... 5
CONTENTS ...................................................................................... 7
LIST OF TABLES........................................................................... 11
LIST OF FIGURES......................................................................... 13
Chapter 1. Introduction.............................................................. 14
1.1 Brand management research ............................................... 14
1.1.1 Defining brands.......................................................... 14
1.1.2 Measuring brand value................................................ 16
1.2 Academic and managerial relevance................................... 18
1.3 Research Objective............................................................. 19
1.4 Epistemological position .................................................... 21
1.5 Research structure.............................................................. 22
Chapter 2. Customers’ Brand Personality Perceptions: A
Taxonomic Analysis.................................................. 23
2.1 Introduction ....................................................................... 23
2.2 A taxonomic analysis of brand personality perceptions ....... 25
2.2.1 Brand personality research.......................................... 25
2.2.2 A taxonomic perspective on brand personality styles ... 34
2.2.3 Brand personality patterns and brand evaluation.......... 35
2.3 Empirical study.................................................................. 36
2.3.1 Study design............................................................... 36
2.3.2 Measures .................................................................... 38
2.3.3 Data analysis .............................................................. 40
2.3.4 Cluster description...................................................... 41
2.3.5 Validation of the cluster solution................................. 46
2.3.6 Brand personality style, satisfaction, attitude, and
preference................................................................... 53
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2.3.7 Distribution of brands across clusters...........................56
2.4 Discussion ..........................................................................58
2.4.1 Summary of the research .............................................58
2.4.2 Theoretical implications ..............................................58
2.4.3 Managerial implications ..............................................59
2.5 Limitations and future research ...........................................61
2.6 Conclusion .........................................................................63
Chapter 3. An empirical comparison of the stereotype content
model and the Aaker scale of brand personality in
purchasing processes.................................................64
3.1 Introduction........................................................................64
3.2 The brand personality concept.............................................64
3.2.1 Origins and definition..................................................64
3.2.2 The five-factor model of brand personality...................65
3.2.3 Research based on the five-factor model ......................66
3.2.4 Difficulties related to the five-factor model and its
measurement ...............................................................66
3.3 Alternative perspective on the brand personality concept: the
stereotype content model.....................................................67
3.4 Model development ............................................................69
3.5 Empirical study...................................................................70
3.5.1 Study design................................................................70
3.5.2 Measures.....................................................................72
3.6 Results................................................................................72
3.6.1 Brand personality model..............................................72
3.6.2 Stereotype content model ............................................74
3.6.3 Model comparison.......................................................76
3.7 Discussion ..........................................................................78
3.7.1 Theoretical implications ..............................................78
3.7.2 Managerial implications ..............................................79
3.7.3 Limitations and future research....................................80
Chapter 4. Consumer-Brand Relationships: A State-of-the-Art
Review and Future Research Directions...................81
4.1 Introduction........................................................................81
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4.2 Article selection method..................................................... 82
4.3 Conceptual framework about consumer-brand relationships 84
4.4 Empirical Studies on consumer-brand relationships ............ 90
4.4.1 Characteristics of the empirical studies........................ 90
4.4.2 Empirical results........................................................103
4.5 Review of critical issues....................................................109
4.5.1 Conceptual issues ......................................................109
4.5.2 Methodological issues................................................111
4.6 Discussion ........................................................................114
Chapter 5. Do relational norms influence consumer behavior? An
analysis of mediating effects in consumer-brand
relationships.............................................................116
5.1 Introduction ......................................................................116
5.2 Relationship Quality Research...........................................118
5.3 Relational norms research..................................................122
5.3.1 Introduction to Relational Exchange Theory...............122
5.3.2 Applicability of Relational Exchange Theory .............123
5.3.3 Norms that Govern Consumer-brand Relationships ....124
5.4 Model Development..........................................................127
5.5 Empirical Study ................................................................134
5.5.1 Study Design .............................................................134
5.5.2 Measures ...................................................................136
5.6 Results ..............................................................................136
5.6.1 Measure Validation Procedure ...................................136
5.6.2 Hypotheses Testing....................................................140
5.7 Discussion ........................................................................145
5.7.1 Research Contribution ...............................................145
5.7.2 Limitations and Future Research Directions ...............147
5.7.3 Managerial implications.............................................149
Chapter 6. Discussion ................................................................152
6.1 Overview ..........................................................................152
6.2 Summary of the results......................................................152
6.3 Academic implications ......................................................155
6.4 Managerial implications ....................................................158
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