Negative brand personality:the construct, its antecedents and outcome variables

By evolving brands and building on the importance of self-expression, Aaker (1997) developed the brand personality framework as a means to understand brand-consumer relationships. The brand personality framework captures the core values and characteristics described in human personality research in an attempt to humanize brands. Although influential across many streams of brand personality research, the current conceptualization of brand personality only offers a positively-framed approach. To date, no research, both conceptually and empirically, has thoroughly incorporated factors reflective of Negative Brand Personality, despite the fact that almost all researchers in personality are in agreement that factors akin to Extraversion (positive) and Neuroticism (negative) should be in a comprehensive personality scale to accommodate consumers’ expressions. As a result, the study of brand personality is only half complete since the current research trend is to position brand personality under brand image. However, with the brand personality concept being confused with brand identity at the empirical stage, factors reflective of Negative Brand Personality have been neglected. Accordingly, this thesis extends the current conceptualization of brand personality by demarcating the existing typologies of desirable brand personality and incorporating the characteristics reflective of consumers’ discrepant self-meaning to provide a more complete understanding of brand personality. However, it is not enough to interpret negative factors as the absence of positive factors. Negative factors reflect consumers’ anxious and frustrated feelings. Therefore, this thesis contributes to the current conceptualization of brand personality by, firstly, presenting a conceptual definition of Negative Brand Personality in order to provide a theoretical basis for the development of a Negative Brand Personality scale, then, secondly, identifying what constitutes Negative Brand Personality and to what extent consumers’ cognitive dissonance explains the nature of Negative Brand Personality, and, thirdly, ascertaining the impact Negative Brand Personality has on attitudinal constructs, namely: Negative Attitude, Detachment, Brand Loyalty and Satisfaction, which have proven to predict behaviors such as choice and (re-)purchasing. In order to deliver on the three main contributions, two comprehensive studies were conducted to a) develop a valid, parsimonious, yet relatively short measure of Negative Brand Personality, and b) ascertain how the Negative Brand Personality measure behaves within a network of related constructs. The mixed methods approach, grounded in theoretical and empirical development, provides evidence to suggest that there are four factors to Negative Brand Personality and, tested through use of a structural equation modeling technique, that these are influenced by Brand Confusion, Price Unfairness, Self- Incongruence and Corporate Hypocrisy. Negative Brand Personality factors mainly determined Consumers Negative Attitudes and Brand Detachment. The research contributes to the literature on brand personality by improving the consumer-brand relationship by means of engaging in a brandconsumer conversation in order to reduce consumers’ cognitive strain. The study concludes with a discussion on the theoretical and practical implications of the findings, its limitations, and potential directions for future research

The role of digital in the town centre experience

To date, omnichannel activity is studied between consumers and an individual retail brand or within a single retail setting, whereas consumer search activity and customer shopping journeys regularly involve multiple brands and multiple channels, both offline or online. This is particularly important for consumer choice consideration of a retail channel and shopping location. Town centres have been impacted visibly by the growth of online shopping resulting in reduced footfall and store vacancies. However, scope exists for an integrated digital high street to deliver an enhanced, seamless customer experience. While individual brands and major retail organizations are developing their digital capabilities, similar evidence is scarce for retail agglomerations and town centres. This paper seeks to explore the role of digital in the town centre customer experience. Specifically, the research examines consumers’ attitudes and behaviours regarding the use of digital in town centre journeys. To achieve this objective, a multi-method research approach involving focus groups, diaries and telephone interviews is developed to capture in-depth understanding of the factors that encourage or disrupt consumer town centre experiences. The research draws from a combined sample of 234 respondents. The empirical findings reveal respondents use digital channels for various purposes before, during and after their town centre visits. However, consumers’ restricted access to dynamic information limits the scope, enjoyment and quality of their town centre experience. The lack of free and consistent Wi-Fi in town centres is but one barrier to successful multichannel experiences, resulting in a fragmented physical and virtual customer experience

Online Private Self-Disclosure’s Potential for Experiential Value Co-creation

Purpose: This study aims to integrate and extend existing approaches from self-identity literature by examining the underexplored aspects of online private self-disclosure. The study first explores the experiential value co-created when consumers voluntarily self-disclose on public platforms. Second, it sheds light on what motivates such consumers to disclose private self-images and experiences, thus giving up some degree of privacy on an unrestricted platform. Design/methodology/approach: This study conducted 65 laddering interviews and observed the profiles of ten consumers, who actively posted self-images on Instagram, through a netnographic study. Then, this study implemented a means-ends chain analysis on interview data. Findings: This study found that online private self-disclosure can involve a co-created experiential value that consists of consumers’ self-affirmation, affective belief and emotional connection. These value components derive from three higher-order psychological consequences – empowerment, buffering offline inadequacy of self-worth and engagement – and four functional consequences – opportunity to learn, online control, self-brand authenticity and impression management. Implications: Operationally, this study proposes that Instagram could be configured and synched with other social networking sites to provide a more complete representation of the online self. Using algorithms that simultaneously pull from other social networking sites can emotionally connect consumers to a more relevant and gratifying personalized experience. Additionally, managers could leverage the findings to tailor supporting tools to transfer consumers’ private self-disclosure skills learned during online communication into their offline settings. Originality: This research contributes to the extant marketing literature by providing insights into how consumers can use private self-disclosure to co-create experiential value, an emerging concept in modern marketing that is key to attaining satisfied and loyal consumers. This study shows that, even in anonymous online settings, consumers are willing to self-disclose and progress to stable intimate exchanges of disclosure by breaking their inner repression and becoming more comfortable with releasing their desires in an emotional exchange

Understanding the town centre customer experience (TCCE)

This research enhances the understanding of consumer behaviour and customer experience in the context of town centres. First, it defines town centre customer experience (TCCE) as a multifaceted journey that combines interactions with a diverse range of public and private organisations, including retailers and social and community elements; this results in a unique experience co-created with the consumer across a series of functional and experiential touchpoints. Second, combining qualitative and quantitative insights, this research reveals a series of specific functional and experiential TCCE touchpoints, which underpin the consumer internal response (motivation to visit) and outward behaviour (desire to stay and revisit intentions) in the town centre. In addition to enhancing town centre and customer experience knowledge, these findings offer important new insights to those managing town centres and seeking to retain customer loyalty in the high street. Above all, these findings can help identify the touchpoints that need to be reinforced and/or improved to differentiate a town from its competing centres and to create tailored marketing strategies. Taken together, such initiatives have the potential to positively impact the revitalisation of the high street and the town centre economy

Online Private Self-Disclosure’s Potential for Experiential Value Co-creation

Purpose: This study aims to integrate and extend existing approaches from self-identity literature by examining the underexplored aspects of online private self-disclosure. The study first explores the experiential value co-created when consumers voluntarily self-disclose on public platforms. Second, it sheds light on what motivates such consumers to disclose private self-images and experiences, thus giving up some degree of privacy on an unrestricted platform. Design/methodology/approach: This study conducted 65 laddering interviews and observed the profiles of ten consumers, who actively posted self-images on Instagram, through a netnographic study. Then, this study implemented a means-ends chain analysis on interview data. Findings: This study found that online private self-disclosure can involve a co-created experiential value that consists of consumers’ self-affirmation, affective belief and emotional connection. These value components derive from three higher-order psychological consequences – empowerment, buffering offline inadequacy of self-worth and engagement – and four functional consequences – opportunity to learn, online control, self-brand authenticity and impression management. Implications: Operationally, this study proposes that Instagram could be configured and synched with other social networking sites to provide a more complete representation of the online self. Using algorithms that simultaneously pull from other social networking sites can emotionally connect consumers to a more relevant and gratifying personalized experience. Additionally, managers could leverage the findings to tailor supporting tools to transfer consumers’ private self-disclosure skills learned during online communication into their offline settings. Originality: This research contributes to the extant marketing literature by providing insights into how consumers can use private self-disclosure to co-create experiential value, an emerging concept in modern marketing that is key to attaining satisfied and loyal consumers. This study shows that, even in anonymous online settings, consumers are willing to self-disclose and progress to stable intimate exchanges of disclosure by breaking their inner repression and becoming more comfortable with releasing their desires in an emotional exchange