Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-16-2023

Publication Title

Psychology and Marketing

Volume

40

Issue

12

Pages

2539-2558

Publisher Name

Wiley

Abstract

Consumer-brand relationships are highly valued as brand-committed consumers are thought to deliver many positive outcomes for affiliated brands. However, in addition to connections between individuals and brands, consumer-brand relationships also involve relationships between individuals and other brand users. Little attention has been given to the potential consequences associated with commitment to other brand users as compared to the brand itself. Therefore, our framework establishes two distinct types of consumer-brand relationships (i.e., self-brand relationships vs. self-group relationships) that differentially influence brand commitment versus group commitment, leading to contrasting effects on both desirable and undesirable brand outcomes. Specifically, our studies illuminate that while brand commitment is largely associated with favorable brand-related outcomes, group commitment does not protect against brand switching and is negatively related to willingness to pay price premiums and positive word-of-mouth. Our main contribution is uncovering how consumer-brand relationships face tradeoffs between brand and group attachments, whereby commitment provides both conditional benefits as well as unintended consequences.

Comments

Author Posting © The Authors, 2023. This article is posted here by permission of Wiley Periodicals LLC for personal use. This article was published open access in Psychology & Marketing, VOL.40,ISS.12, (September 16, 2023), https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21901

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