Sammendrag
The symbolic effect of brands has often been studied via two constructs: self-congruity and brand personality. Though both constructs have received much examination in the past, few, if any, comparisons of the concepts and their measures have been reported. The present study is an effort to fill this void by comparing these constructs conceptually and empirically. Based on a study of Swedish female consumers, it was found that self-congruity and brand personality are empirically discriminant and have positive, independent effects on retail brand attitudes. Thus, the two constructs appear to be complementary to one another. Socially desirable responding (SDR) was evaluated for its effect on measures of self-congruity and brand personality. It was found that SDR tends to moderate the effects of both self-congruity and brand personality on brand attitudes. Importantly, SDR showed signs of having a negative, biasing, effect on the relationship between self-congruity and brand attitudes. As respondents moved from lower to higher levels of SDR, there was less impact of self-congruity on attitudes. Conversely, SDR had a positive, non-biasing, effect on the relationship between brand personality and brand attitudes. As respondents moved from lower to higher levels of SDR, there was more impact of brand personality on brand attitudes. The implications for marketing theory and for measurement of symbolic brand effects are discussed.
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