I, me, and mine—how products become consumers' extended selves

Mittal, Banwari

doi:10.1002/cb.202

Cited by 180 publications

(133 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Consumers can be connected to a brand because it represents who they are (e.g., an identity basis) or because it is meaningful in light of goals, personal concerns, or life projects (an instrumentality basis; Mittal 2006).…”

Section: / Journal Of Marketing November 2010mentioning

confidence: 99%

Brand Attachment and Brand Attitude Strength: Conceptual and Empirical Differentiation of Two Critical Brand Equity Drivers

Park

MacInnis

Priester

et al. 2010

Journal of Marketing

1,646

1,724

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Research has not verified the theoretical or practical value of the brand attachment construct in relation to alternative constructs, particularly brand attitude strength. The authors make conceptual, measurement, and managerial contributions to this research issue. Conceptually, they define brand attachment, articulate its defining properties, and differentiate it from brand attitude strength. From a measurement perspective, they develop and validate a parsimonious measure of brand attachment, test the assumptions that underlie it, and demonstrate that it indicates the concept of attachment. They also demonstrate the convergent and discriminant validity of this measure in relation to brand attitude strength. Managerially, they demonstrate that brand attachment offers value over brand attitude strength in predicting (1) consumers' intentions to perform difficult behaviors (those they regard as using consumer resources), (2) actual purchase behaviors, (3) brand purchase share (the share of a brand among directly competing brands), and (4) need share (the extent to which consumers rely on a brand to address relevant needs, including those brands in substitutable product categories).Keywords: brand management, consumer behavior, marketing strategy, brand attachment, attitude strength . As a construct that describes the strength of the bond connecting the consumer with the brand, attachment is critical because it should affect behaviors that foster brand profitability and customer lifetime value (Thomson, MacInnis, and Park 2005). At the same time, marketers have long invoked the constructs of attitude valence and strength as key antecedents to consumer behavior. We define attitude valence as the degree of positivity or negativity with which an attitude object (in the current context, a brand) is evaluated. We conceptualize brand attitude strength as the positivity or negativity (valence) of an attitude weighted by the confidence or certainty with which it is held (i.e., the extent to which it is considered valid; see Petty, Briñol, and DeMarree 2007). Strong attitudes result from effortful thought about the attitude object (Petty and Cacioppo 1986), most often because of its personal relevance. This effortful thought and the confidence with which the attitude object is held guide behavior. Prior research has shown that brand attitude strength predicts behaviors of interest to firms, including brand consideration, intention to purchase, purchase behavior, and brand choice (Fazio and Petty 2007; Petty, Haugtvedt, and Smith 1995;Priester et al. 2004).The rich history of research on brand attitude strength raises questions about the need for a construct such as brand attachment. Does attachment provide value beyond measures of brand attitude strength? The answer to this question is elusive because research to date has not verified how brand attachment and brand attitude strength differ conceptually or empirically. Nor has research differentiated what unique consumer behaviors, if any, each predicts.The current researc...

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Section: / Journal Of Marketing November 2010mentioning

confidence: 99%

Brand Attachment and Brand Attitude Strength: Conceptual and Empirical Differentiation of Two Critical Brand Equity Drivers

Park

MacInnis

Priester

et al. 2010

Journal of Marketing

1,646

1,724

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In the framework of psychological ownership (Pierce et al, 2003), a piece of clothing will often exemplify a strong bond between one"s self and an item. Clothing is a very personal type of possession, which undoubtedly plays a role in defining our identity (Kleine & Baker, 2004;Mittal, 2006). As such, a favourite sweater can be treated as an extension of one"s self and fulfil basic psychological needs.…”

Section: Valuationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The need to belong and the value of belongings: Does ostracism change the subjective value of personal possessions?

Walasek

Matthews

Rakow

2015

Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics

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A note on versions:The version presented here may differ from the published version or, version of record, if you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher's version. Please see the 'permanent WRAP URL' above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription. The first author"s contribution was supported by a grant from the Leverhulme Trust (RP2012-V-022) and a PhD studentship from the University of Essex.

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“…The latent raw 'I' (captured in the "roots" concept of 'Self Esteem') takes its meaning through socializing with "significant others" to form the 'ME', a process which (captured by the "trunk" concept of 'Realization of Self Image'). Mead then argues that the social negotiations of 'ME', bring the 'I' to the fore in the form of a novel\creative image, which Mittal (2006) identified as a third phase, "MINE". This is the acquisition of an object to represent the social self (ME) and is thus known as the 'extended self' (Belk, 1988), and is captured by the leaves concept of 'Freedom of Choice'.…”

Section: The Tree Roots: the Values Of Merchandise Consumptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling in branding: a critical ethnography approach

El-Amir

Burt²

2010

Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal

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Purpose-The paper aims to shed light on the potential of ethnography to provide a dialectical approach to modeling the process of branding as its focus widens from managerial to social.Design/methodology/approach-A critical approach to ethnography is adopted and implemented in light of the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu's ethnographic modeling technique of 'Participant Objectification' (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992).Findings-The paper demonstrates from the customer standpoint-of a case of a grocery retailer-the ability of critical ethnography to dialectically model the branding process as an organic cultural whole, which envelops an intricate set of different, yet interdependent, social and managerial systems, functioning in a coherent and complementary manner. Research limitations-The empirical evidence is limited to the area of grocery retailing. Thus, widening the application of the technique in other areas would be desirable. Practical implications-The dialectical nature of the critical approach to modeling yields a rich multi-faceted view of the branding process that could help remedy the problem of detachment from complex reality, which has often been a criticism of traditional approaches to modeling in marketing.Originality/Value-The suggested dialectical approach to modeling expands the potential use of ethnography within the critical orientation to theory building in marketing generally, and branding in particular through elaborating the process of cultural construction from textual via participant observation to dialectical via participant objectification.

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I, me, and mine—how products become consumers' extended selves

Cited by 180 publications

References 35 publications

Brand Attachment and Brand Attitude Strength: Conceptual and Empirical Differentiation of Two Critical Brand Equity Drivers

Brand Attachment and Brand Attitude Strength: Conceptual and Empirical Differentiation of Two Critical Brand Equity Drivers

The need to belong and the value of belongings: Does ostracism change the subjective value of personal possessions?

Modeling in branding: a critical ethnography approach

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