This study examines the effect of brand morality and brand competence on explicit and implicit brand attitude and whether identification mediates this effect. The study has a two (morality: low x...Show moreThis study examines the effect of brand morality and brand competence on explicit and implicit brand attitude and whether identification mediates this effect. The study has a two (morality: low x high) by two (competence: low x high) factorial experimental between-subjects design. The experiment was conducted with the Qualtrics Domain of Leiden University. The results of four ANOVA’s showed that both brand morality and brand competence affect consumers’ explicit and implicit brand attitude, with a larger effect of brand morality. The first regression analysis showed that identification influences the effect of both brand morality and brand competence on explicit brand attitude, with a slightly larger effect of brand morality. The second regression analysis showed that identification influences the effect of brand competence on implicit brand attitude but does not influence the effect of brand morality on implicit brand attitude. Theoretical and practical implications, limitations, and suggestions for further research are discussed.Show less
An understanding of how brand traits influence brand evaluation and positive eWOM intentions is important for companies because it could help them to optimize their brand for success. Based on...Show moreAn understanding of how brand traits influence brand evaluation and positive eWOM intentions is important for companies because it could help them to optimize their brand for success. Based on social perception literature, this study (N = 179) investigated the effect of perceived brand morality, sociability and competence on brand evaluation and positive eWOM intentions. The study also looks at the role of product type. This was investigated using an online survey on six existing brands. The results indicated that morality, sociability and competence together predict a positive brand evaluation. Yet, there is no clear individual contribution from any one of these three brand traits. Additionally, brand competence was the only trait that predicted positive eWOM intentions concerning the brands. No effect for product type was found. The results did not clearly support the hypotheses, but suggest that morality in brand perception is not as important as in social perception. Further research is needed to get a better understanding of the influence of brand traits on consumer behavior.Show less
Knowing how perceived brand traits influence consumers could give companies essential insights to improve their strategies and campaigns. Previous research has shown perceived brand personality...Show moreKnowing how perceived brand traits influence consumers could give companies essential insights to improve their strategies and campaigns. Previous research has shown perceived brand personality traits to affect consumer behavior. This study aims to determine the relation between perceived competence and perceived morality on consumer purchase intention and brand evaluation, including a possible moderating role of perceived brand gender cues. An online survey was conducted with 178 participants. The results showed that morality predicted consumer purchase intention as well as brand evaluation. Competence only positively influenced consumer purchase intention. Surprisingly, a contradicting negative interaction was found between competence and morality on consumer purchase intention. Furthermore, competent perceived companies have more purchase intention when they are perceived as masculine. The findings of this study confirm the importance of perceived brand traits and introduce perceived morality, consumer brand evaluation and perceived brand gender cues as new valuable variables in these relations.Show less
Creating value is a fundamental skill during dyadic negotiations. Negotiators who ask themselves the question: ‘how can we expand the pie instead of sharing it’ reach better agreements. This...Show moreCreating value is a fundamental skill during dyadic negotiations. Negotiators who ask themselves the question: ‘how can we expand the pie instead of sharing it’ reach better agreements. This research was affected by the measurements resulting of COVID-19 and therefore partly executed the way it was intended. The experiment (N = 74) tested value creation amongst negotiations with unequal power distribution. Negotiators participated in a role playing game where they had to negotiate about four issues and had the possibility to add 3 more optional issues. The challenge to expand the pie for both players was found in the mandatory-optional paradigm, a payoff schedule specially designed for this research. Participants were divided into two benefit conditions (powerful could add more value or the powerless could add more value). Results were analyzed out of our two control conditions and showed that the powerful players reached higher outcomes than the powerless players and thus seemed better in adding more value. This however, was not found. The difference in adding more value to the agreement between the two players was not significant. Reasons, limitations and implications are discussed and suggestions for further research are proposed.Show less
Morally responsible and ethical conduct has become more important for companies in recent years. The present study (N = 178) examines whether perceived brand traits differentially influence the...Show moreMorally responsible and ethical conduct has become more important for companies in recent years. The present study (N = 178) examines whether perceived brand traits differentially influence the purchase intentions of consumers. Additionally, the moderating effects of type of organization (for-profit versus non-profit) and gender are examined. The results partly support the hypotheses and indicate that perceived competence and perceived morality both relate to purchase intentions. In addition, for non-profit organizations, purchase intentions are mostly predicted by morality, whereas for for-profit organizations, competence most strongly predicts purchase intentions. The results further show that women’s purchase intentions are most strongly related to perceived morality, whereas men’s purchase intentions are related to perceived competence. Lastly, organization type and gender seem to have important moderating influences on the relationship between brands’ trait dimensions and consumers’ purchase intentions. Importantly, advertising organizational morality and competence appears to be an effective strategy for companies to keep consumers interested.Show less
