Ethical attribute and brand concept congruity enhances brand evaluations

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to examine to what extent congruity between ethical attributes (i.e. product attributes with positive implications for the environment, human rights, social issues and animal welfare) and brand concept (i.e. the unique meaning associated with a brand in consumers’ minds) influences consumers’ evaluations of brands offering ethical attributes. Design/methodology/approach Four studies involving North American consumers empirically tested the moderation effect of brand concept on consumer evaluations of ethical attributes and the mediating role of perceived congruity. Findings This research finds an interactive effect of ethical attribute type and brand concept on brand evaluations, such that congruent ethical attribute–brand concept pairings (i.e. a utilitarian [symbolic] ethical attribute offered by a brand with a utilitarian [symbolic] brand concept) result in more favorable brand evaluations (Studies 1, 2, 3 and 4). Consumers’ perceptions of congruity between ethical attributes and brand concepts mediate this interactive effect (Studies 2 and 3). Moreover, a positive congruity effect of ethical attributes and brand concepts emerges at higher levels of conspicuous brand consumption (Study 4). Research limitations/implications It is important to acknowledge that the current research did not specifically consider the case of utilitarian and symbolic ethical attribute offerings by luxury brands. This is a question that is left to future investigations. Practical implications For marketing managers, findings indicate that brands gain from ethical attribute introductions only when these attributes are congruent with the brand concept. In addition, brands benefit to a greater extent from offering congruent ethical attributes when brand consumption is conspicuous. Originality/value The findings of this research contribute to the literature on the effect of ethical attributes on consumers’ responses to brands and highlight the importance of brands’ choice of ethical attributes.

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“…Although convenience sampling restricts the generalisability of the result, yet previous studies (Chauhan et al , 2019; Yadav and Pathak, 2016) have recommended adopting this technique owing to the lack of a proper sampling frame. In concurrence with Tofighi et al (2020) and Sadiq et al (2020), data for this research was collected through the online survey using Amazon Mechanical Turk platform on 7th January 2020. The inclusion criteria for selection of the respondent was that he/she should be an adult, i.e.…”

When helping is risky: The influence of ethical attributes on consumers’ willingness to buy farmer-assisting agricultural products online

“…and symbolic ethical attributes (such as public welfare, social responsibility, etc. ; Bodur et al, 2014;Tofighi et al, 2020). Consumers' purchasing decisions are based on evaluations and needs for product-specific attributes.…”

“… Bezençon et al (2020) have revealed that purchasing products with ethical attributes (e.g., EcoConscious or No Child Labor statement) can reflect their concerns and support for social or ethical issues, but has nothing to do with the function of the product itself. Thus, ethical attributes also refer to symbolic ethical attributes to a certain extent ( Peloza et al, 2013 ; Sama et al, 2018 ; Hindsley et al, 2020 ; Tofighi et al, 2020 ; Das et al, 2021 ; Wang et al, 2021 ; Salam et al, 2022 ; see Table 1 ). Unlike previous research, Bodur et al (2014) believed that products with ethical attributes also have functional benefits at the same time.…”

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