Authenticity in branding – exploring antecedents and consequences of brand authenticity

Abstract

Purpose Consumer demand for authentic brands is steadily rising. With increased pressure to accommodate this demand, researchers and marketers seek to understand how to influence a brand’s perceived authenticity. The purpose of this paper is to build a link between previous research on authenticity and thus gain a deeper understanding of the influencing factors of brand authenticity and its consumer outcomes. Design/methodology/approach Building on an extensive literature review, the authors identify various antecedents of brand authenticity that are closely connected with the brand’s past, its virtuousness, consumers’ self-identification with the brand perceiver’s own self and individuals representing the brand, as well as relational outcomes as consequences of a brand’s perceived authenticity. As brand authenticity is a subjective construct, the authors include brand involvement to test for moderator effects. For data collection, they conduct an online survey that generates 509 datasets. To test the hypotheses, the authors use structural equation modeling. Findings The results demonstrate that brand authenticity can be influenced by the identified variables (i.e. brand heritage, brand nostalgia, brand commercialization, brand clarity, brand’s social commitment, brand legitimacy, actual self-congruence and employee’s passion). Moreover, brand authenticity positively affects brand relationship quality, which in turn positively influences consumers’ behavioral intentions. The analyzed relationships do not vary due to consumer-specific characteristics (i.e. brand involvement). Originality/value In sum, the results regarding the antecedents of brand authenticity demonstrate that a company can influence brand authenticity through different approaches, and that it is therefore important to analyze which of the identified antecedents brand management should manipulate to positively impact the perception of the brand’s authenticity. In addition, the findings confirm the positive consequences on consumer behavior ascribed to the authenticity concept by marketing literature.

Creating and interpreting brand authenticity: The case of a young brand

“…Schallehn et al () highlight the role of brand consistency and continuity in infusing a brand with authenticity. Based on an extensive literature review, Fritz et al () validate antecedents of brand authenticity as the latter relate to a brand's past (e.g., brand nostalgia), values (e.g., brand social commitment), and consumer self‐identification with a brand (e.g., brand self‐congruence).…”

“…Second, the process through which brand authenticity is created by brands remains underexplored. Although some work provides for an understanding of the antecedents of brand authenticity (Fritz et al, ; Morhart et al, ), researchers shed little or no light on how brands can use this knowledge to develop coherent practices intended to shape perceptions of authenticity, especially in the early stages of brand development. In reaction to these observations, this research poses the following questions: How do consumers develop perceptions of authenticity as the latter relate to young brands?…”

“…Second, the process through which brand authenticity is created by brands remains underexplored. Although some work provides for an understanding of the antecedents of brand authenticity (Fritz et al, 2017;Morhart et al, 2015) (Fournier, 1998) and focuses on the Three Times a Day (hereafter referred to as TTD) brand to uncover new theoretical insights leading to a better understanding of the nature of brand authenticity and its underlying process for a young brand.…”

The Brand Authenticity Scale: Development and Validation

“…According to Hochschild (1983), workers in airline cabins seek control in order to reaffirm their identity as professional, skilled individuals. Fritz et al (2017) found that authenticity has positive consequences for products' success. Napoli et al (2016) indicated that authenticity cues of quality commitment, heritage and sincerity have differential effects on a brand's position along the authenticity continuum and, consequently, authenticity strategies.…”

Blinds up or down?

“…Customers are well-known to value the extra effort made by a company to help them in their decision-making process (Fritz et al, 2017;Park et al, 2010;Pechmann, 1992;Trifts and Häubl, 2003). As customers see that a company's interests and perspectives are aligned with their own, they may begin to view the company as part of their self (Aron et al, 1991;Park et al, 2016).…”