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Chronic or situational self-construal moderates the effects of four self-congruity (SC) dimensions (i.e., actual, ideal, social, and ideal social) on brand evaluations. Past research has mainly focused on the actual and ideal SC effects; these effects have been found to be stronger than the social and ideal social SC effects. However, the findings of past research are based on samples from individualistic cultures. Individualists have a dominant independent self-construal. We conduct two experiments to show that the social and ideal social SC effects are stronger than the actual and ideal SC effects for individuals with a dominant interdependent self-construal. In Study 1, using samples from collectivistic cultures, four SC effects are compared. In Study 2, we examine how primed self-construal, whether independent or interdependent, impacts the four SC effects. This research documents the importance of the social and ideal social dimensions in SC research.

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Brand popularity as a descriptive norm has been used as an advertising cue by internet malls. It is based on the assumption that consumers prefer brands with popularity claims because they perceive the popularity claim results from superior quality. However, little research has been done on how popularity cues affect perceived quality in internet shopping contexts. Particularly, the interaction effect between brand popularity and price on the quality perception has never been investigated. This research presents the results of two experiments showing that brand popularity and price have an interaction effect on the estimation of sales, which in turn influences perceived quality. Only when consumers believe that the sales volume is high would the perceived quality increase. This research also analyzes the manner in which brand popularity reduces consumers' perceived risk in purchase decision-making.