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Product meanings and consumer behavior in sport entertainment: the case of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
Abstract
Research question
This research examines consumer perceptions about the official merchandise of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), a leader in global sports entertainment. The goals of the study were to extend the Meanings of Sport Licensed Products (MSLP) scale (Papadimitriou & Apostolopoulou, 2018 Papadimitriou, D., & Apostolopoulou, A. (2018). Capturing the meanings of sport licensed products. Journal of Marketing Communications, 24(5), 433–449. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2015.1065900[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) to the sport entertainment domain and test the reliability and validity of the adapted scale and to propose a segmentation scheme of WWE consumers based on the meanings they attribute to the WWE products they own.
Research methods
The sample included United States-based shoppers of the online WWE store. A total of 1211 surveys were collected through an online questionnaire that captured information about consumers’ demographic profile and WWE identification levels, the official WWE merchandise they owned and post-purchase satisfaction, product meanings attributed to WWE items, and behavioral intentions. Data analysis included Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis as well as regression analysis.
Results and findings
The result of this research is the Meanings of Sport Entertainment Licensed Products (MSeLP) scale, a 21-item reliable and valid instrument comprised of four dimensions of product meaning: identification and connectedness, experience, esthetics and personal history. This study further explores relationships between product meanings and four outcome variables (identification with WWE, number of items owned, word-of-mouth and future buying behavior) and proposes three distinct clusters of sport entertainment consumers based on the meanings they attribute to their possessions (‘rationals,’ ‘vested’ and ‘enthusiastic’).
Implications
Those involved in the development, positioning and sale of licensed products in the sport entertainment domain would benefit from an understanding of the meanings that consumers attach to their possessions, especially meanings related to identity construction.
... The digital era has introduced new revenue opportunities, such as streaming services and online content creation. Likewise, marketing in professional wrestling involves promoting not just the events but also the wrestlers as brands (Papadimitriou et al., 2023). This includes traditional advertising methods and leveraging social media platforms for fan engagement. ...
Professional wrestling, a fusion of sport and entertainment, has evolved from 19th-century carnivals to a global spectacle. Central to its management are talent management, event production, and audience engagement. Wrestlers, often independent contractors, navigate strict contracts and maintain personas, while the creative direction shapes storylines and character arcs. Event production is complex, with tours and pay-per-views demanding meticulous planning. The business model relies on diverse revenue streams including ticket sales, merchandise, and digital content, with marketing focused on wrestler and event promotion. Audience engagement plays a crucial role, influencing storylines and wrestler popularity. However, ethical challenges abound, particularly regarding wrestler health and safety, and the balance between compelling storytelling and respectful representation. Management in this field requires adaptability and a deep understanding of its unique blend of athleticism, storytelling, and spectacle, ensuring its sustained growth and relevance in the entertainment industry.
This research highlights the importance of retailer-consumer identity congruence – the match between the retail brand identity and the consumers’ identity. Retailers can leverage identity congruence to forge meaningful consumer-brand relationships which will result in enhanced engagement, brand loyalty, and willingness to pay. The paper discusses how creative merchandise offerings and innovative merchandising strategies contribute to the creation of a unique retail brand identity and facilitate communication of this identity to consumers. Based on interviews with retail practitioners, we formulate five ways in which retailers can establish and communicate their brand identity through creative merchandise offerings (by focusing on unique and original merchandise, leveraging local merchandise to reflect the area, making their merchandise akin to art, offering sustainable merchandise, and a high fashion product assortment). In addition, we focus on five innovative merchandising strategies which help the retailer connect the brand to the customer (creating themes, reflecting the brand story, being playful, signaling exclusivity, and virtual merchandising). We then discuss how retailers can utilize social and technological tools to amplify the retailer identity to consumers, thus increasing the likelihood that a consumer will view their identity congruent with the retail brand.
This study examined the "emotion-satisfaction-behavior" model by synthesizing attribution theory (Weiner, 1985) and the transactional theory of coping (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Two moderators were included: (a) game outcome and (b) identification with the team. Data (N = 494) were collected from two sources: (a) a non-student sample provided by Amazon Mechanical Turk and (b) a student sample from a public university in the southeastern United States. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and partial least square (PLS) statistics were used to test the model. The latent moderated structural equations procedure (LMS) was used to examine the moderation effect of identification with the team. Results indicate that sport consumers' behavioral intention significantly differed based on game outcome. After a win, consumer emotions were related to both types of satisfaction (i.e., game and service), and game satisfaction mediated the relationship between emotions and behavioral intention. Consumer emotions resulting from a loss, however, did not influence service satisfaction. These findings can help sport organizations understand the emotion-satisfaction-behavior process of sport consumers and design appropriate recovery strategies, such as allocating resources and effort to deliver the highest level of ancillary services to help consumers cope after core service failure.
If service quality relates to retention of customers at the aggregate level, as other research has indicated, then evidence of its impact on customers’ behavioral responses should be detectable. The authors offer a conceptual model of the impact of service quality on particular behaviors that signal whether customers remain with or defect from a company. Results from a multicompany empirical study examining relationships from the model concerning customers’ behavioral intentions show strong evidence of their being influenced by service quality. The findings also reveal differences in the nature of the quality-intentions link across different dimensions of behavioral intentions. The authors’ discussion centers on ways the results and research approach of their study can be helpful to researchers and managers.
The primary purpose of this study was to examine the moderating role of team identification in the relationship between product meanings and the consumption of team licensed items. Past research has established causal relationships between the meanings embedded in team licensed merchandise and favorable consumer behaviors. The current study adds to existing literature by showing that team identification moderates the relationship between product meanings and consumers’ word-of-mouth communications as well as consumers’ intentions to purchase team licensed items in the future. Of particular importance are meanings tied to aesthetics, suggesting that sport marketers could benefit from a considerable investment in the design, features and overall appeal of their licensed products. Meanings related to socialization and experience were also significant predictors of word-of-mouth communications for those with low and high levels of team identification, respectively.
The current two-part study investigated the meanings embedded in sport
licensed products and aimed to develop and test the psychometric properties
of an instrument designed to capture those meanings. Data analysis resulted
in the development of the five-factor 17-item Meanings of Sport Licensed
Products (MSLP) scale that was found to be a reliable and valid instrument. It
is suggested that sport licensed items present value through their aesthetic
appeal and their contribution to sport consumers’ experience, socialization,
personal history, and sense of locality. Regression analysis showed that
the MSLP are a significant predictor of future behavior, specifically sport
consumers’ willingness to recommend these products to others and their
intention to buy them again in the future. Understanding how consumers
choose certain products and why those products become important to them
could lead to more effective strategies for the development, promotion, and
sale of sport licensed items.
This study broadens the understanding of brand management in sport by creating the Team Association Model, a scale that identifies dimensions of brand associations, a major contributor to the creation of brand equity. Utilizing Keller's (1993) theoretical framework of consumer-based brand equity, a thorough review of the sport literature was conducted which identified 16 potential dimensions. These 16 dimensions are derived with reference to Keller's categorization of brand associations into ATTRIBUTE (success, head coach, star player, management, stadium, logo design, product delivery, and tradition), BENEFIT (identification, nostalgia, pride in place, escape, and peer group acceptance), and ATTITUDE (importance, knowledge, and affect). In order to evaluate the applicability of each potential dimension, a scale is developed, pre-tested, and tested on a national sample of sport consumers. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis of provided support for this paper's theoretical notion that 16 distinct constructs underlie brand associations in sports.
The purpose of this study was to examine the role of multidimensional consumer values in the relationship
between team identification, purchase attitude, and purchase intention in the team-licensed merchandise
context. The study also tested the moderating effects of product category (utilitarian/hedonic) and performance priming (positive/negative). Fans of two college sport teams (N = 203) participated in the study. Both multidimensional consumer values (i.e., functional, emotional, and social) and team identification were
shown to influence purchase attitude. In turn, the attitude toward team-licensed merchandise had a direct
significant impact on purchase intention. Product category moderated the relationship between team identification and consumer values as well as the relationship between team identification and purchase attitude. More specifically, the relationship between team identification and perceived consumer values was significantly strong for hedonic products, while the impact of team identification on attitudes toward sport licensed merchandise was significantly pronounced for utilitarian products.
Purpose
– Tourists' special possessions are under-studied in consumer research despite their importance in self-identity development. Furthermore, extant studies about tourist souvenirs fail in providing an extensive and in-depth view of souvenirs, and in exploring both their functional and symbolic dimensions. This paper aims to better and deeply understand the symbols and meanings attached to tourist souvenirs as well as the functions they fulfil in contemporary consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
– A naturalistic interpretive approach has been privileged. A total of 19 informants have been interviewed and observed at home in a triangulation perspective. Interview transcripts, field notes, and pictorial material were analyzed and interpreted through the grounded theory approach.
Findings
– A new typology of four types of symbolic souvenirs including touristic trinkets, destination stereotypes, paper mementoes, and picked-up objects is developed. The typology is grounded on four major functions souvenirs may fulfil in terms of meanings and identity construction, that is: categorization, self-expression, connectedness, and self-creation.
Originality/value
– This study contributes to a better knowledge of tourist souvenirs, which is a typical case of consumers' special possessions that may be central in self-identity processes. Considered as powerful “messengers of meaning”, tourist souvenirs help consumers to maintain material links with cherished past experiences and to convey individual and cultural meanings to their broader existence. Typologies such as the one developed in this paper are crucial not only for researchers but also for marketers and retailers.
This study examined the motives driving the purchase of team licensed merchandise and the meanings embedded in those products. Data from 135 attendees at two National Football League (USA) games revealed that the primary motives for the display of team licensed merchandise were fans' desire to publicly show their affiliation with the team and to express their support for the organisation, while the need to belong in the group of team supporters was also a strong motive. Furthermore, study participants overwhelmingly attached symbolic meanings to their possessions, emphasising social relationships and connectedness as well as elements of personal history. To a lesser extent, experiential meanings were attached to team licensed products. This study makes original contributions to the relatively narrow in scope research on sport licensing by exploring the functional, experiential and symbolic meanings that create value for those products and for their owners.
Research on valued possessions tends to concentrate on only one phase of the consumption cycle at a time (acquisition, consumption or disposition) and largely neglects consumers' varying experiences of their special possessions over time. The present study uses phenomenological interviews to examine consumers' experiences with their valued possessions throughout the consumption cycle in order to address the gap in the understanding of the way the person–object relationship evolves. The life-story technique that the study follows helps informants unfold experiences and relationships over time and captures a sequence of respondents' experiences with their important possessions/products. Findings suggest that the way consumers experience their valued possessions over time depends on the possession's meaning. This article maps how the relationship of the self to the valued possession follows three main trajectories depending on the reason for valuing the possession. Possessions that consumers in this study value for representing affiliation tend to have increasing importance to the self, while possessions respondents value for differentiating the self from others tend to have declining importance to the self. Possessions informants value for associating them with recreation, security, nurturance and transitions regarding loved-ones, tend to have steady importance to the self. The trajectories often reflect life events and transitions in the consumer's life-story and do not necessarily reflect the object/product use-life.
We explore the meaning and histories of favorite objects in two cultures using surveys and photographs. Favorite object attachment is differentiated from the possessiveness component of materialism and from attachment to other people. Meanings of favorite objects derive more from personal memories in the U.S. and from social status in Niger than from object characteristics. Since favorite objects serve as storehouses of personal meanings, gender, age, and culture reflect differences in object selected as well as reasons for selection. In the U.S., photographs show greater proximity to objects that are symbols of others or experiences than to objects enjoyed for their own attributes.
Group identification is defined as member identification with an interacting group and is distinguished conceptually from social identity, cohesion, and common fate. Group identification is proposed to have three sources: cognitive (social categorization), affective (interpersonal attraction), and behavioral (interdependence). Inconsistent use of the term and problematic measurement mar existing literature on group identity and group identification. A new group identification scale, composed of three subscales that match the tripartite model for the cognitive, affective, and behavioral sources, is presented and its psychometric properties described.
This is an exploratory study of the meanings and functions of one aspect of Olympic consumption, the purchase of Olympic licensed products. More specifically, the present study attempted to examine the value Olympic licensed items hold for their owners by uncovering the meanings attached to those items. Using the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games as the setting, 280 consumers responded to questions regarding their reasons for purchasing Olympic licensed products as well as how they intended to use those products. Furthermore, an effort was made to assess what those products meant for their owners. The findings of this study point to the highly symbolic meanings embedded in the consumption of Olympic licensed products. The symbolic meanings revealed centered around three main themes: the Olympic Movement, national identity, and national political history and achievement. To a lesser extent, experiential and functional meanings attached to Olympic licensed items were also identified.
Constructed and tested a measure of sports team identification in 2 studies with a total of 546 undergraduates. Several behavioral, affective, and cognitive reactions among sports spectators were used to validate the team identification measure. Ss who strongly identified with a specific sports team, relative to those spectators moderate or low in identification, reported more involvement with the team, displayed a more ego-enhancing pattern of attributions for the team's successes, had more positive expectations concerning future team performances, exhibited greater willingness to invest larger amounts of time and money to watch the team play, and were more likely to believe that fans of the team they are identified with possess special qualities. (French, Spanish, German & Italian abstracts) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The tendency to "bask in reflected glory" (BIRG) by publicly announcing one's associations with successful others was investigated in 3 field experiments with more than 300 university students. All 3 studies showed this effect to occur even though the person striving to bask in the glory of a successful source was not involved in the cause of the source's success. Exp I demonstrated the BIRG phenomenon by showing a greater tendency for university students to wear school-identifying apparel after their school's football team had been victorious than nonvictorious. Exps II and III replicated this effect by showing that students used the pronoun we more when describing victory than a nonvictory of their school's football team. A model was developed asserting that the BIRG response represents an attempt to enhance one's public image. Exps II and III indicated, in support of this assertion, that the tendency to proclaim a connection with a positive source was strongest when one's public image was threatened. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the notion of “symbolic purchase” which has long been documented in the management and marketing literature. In particular, self‐congruity theory has been examined in various domains of consumer behavior. However, little attention has been paid to the area of sport. In sport business, licensed‐merchandise (i.e. team apparel) has become an increasingly important revenue source and it strengthens fan identity and brand loyalty. Therefore, based on the self‐congruity theory, the aim is to investigate the effect of self‐image congruence on sport team‐licensed merchandise evaluation and purchase.
Design/methodology/approach
A proposed model incorporates self‐image congruence (SIC), perceived quality, and purchase intention of team‐licensed merchandise. The reliabilities of the scaled measures were established in a pilot study ( n =66). Data ( n =260) for this study were collected at two professional basketball games using a convenient sampling method.
Findings
The results of the structural model indicated that the model fits the data well and constructs of self‐image congruence and perceived quality combined explained 43 per cent of the total variance in purchase intention. The findings revealed that both SIC and perceived quality had a direct positive effect on purchase intention while perceived quality also acted as a mediator between SIC and purchase intention.
Research limitations/implications
The findings imply that SIC can be useful in predicting sport fans’ quality perception and purchase decisions on the team‐licensed merchandise. Future studies need to replicate this study in different regions and using different sports (i.e. soccer, baseball, etc.).
Originality/value
The findings extend the literature by incorporating self‐image congruence and perceived product quality in the purchase decision‐making process. This is the first known effort to apply self‐congruity theory in the spectator sport consumption context.
Naïve subjective personal introspection includes the failure to recognize the confirmability of one's own attitudes and personal meanings learned explicitly from self-examining such topics and explaining one's own behavior. Unconscious/conscious theory of behavior explanation follows from unifying the research on unintended thought–behavior with folk explanations of behavior. This article describes advances in research confirming own attitudes and personal meaning and suggests the need for applying multiple methods to overcome the fundamental attribution error, inherent cultural prejudices, and the general bias toward self-fabrication. The discussion is valuable for achieving a deep understanding of how customers think, advancing from subjective to confirmatory personal introspection, and understanding the need to apply research tools useful for enlightening knowledge and overcoming the inherent bias within subjective personal introspection. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Social identity and self-categorization Social identity theory is one of the most influential and far reaching theories of intergroup relations and group processes. The theory addresses both group and intergroup processes and behavior, embodied in a variety of specific sub-theories, including self-categorization theory. These share a common meta-theoretical framework that links social structure and context with categorization and identity processes. The core process is transformation from categorizing and viewing the self and others as individuals to seeing the self and others in terms of their representativeness of contrasting social groups and categories. We first outline the theoretical background and history of social identity theory. We then describe (a) the nature of the transformation from individual to collective representations; (b) how social identity has been conceptualized more recently, in terms of its motivational implications; and (c) the consequences for biases in intragroup and intergroup behavior. This chapter describes the main features ...
Consumer research has long since acknowledged the symbolic character of commodities but only recently is semiotics being discovered as a possible source of approaches to study the signs of the marketplace. After a survey of the state of the art in related fields of research, a semiotic model is proposed to show that commodities are prototypically perceived within three semiotic frames as utilitarian, commercial and as socio-cultural signs. The meanings of these signs are not inherent in the physical products. They are generated in the producer's discourse about the product, in the consumer's interaction with it or in his or her evaluation of it against the background of the system of commodities.The system of commodities is a semiotic system (a language) par excellence, since competition tends to maximize differences and minimize similarities between products. In contradistincton to its marked paradigmatic structure, however, the semiotic system of commodities has only a weak syntagmatic dimension.
Product designers are expected to create products transferring certain
‘meanings’. Materials of products are used for supporting the intended
meanings in product design; one material may convey luxury, another
material can be associated with a particular culture. Designers who aim to
select a material that will contribute to the meaning they intend to convey
in a product are confronted with the difficulty that the materials universe
is immense. Moreover, traditional sayings such as ‘wood is cozy’, ‘metal
is aloof’ or ‘plastic is cheap’ are less relevant and strict in today’s design
practice. Without a doubt, having insights into the role of materials for
creating particular meanings has become more and more relevant in the
domain of design.
It is to be expected that materials are attributed different meanings in
different products and contexts, affected by certain key variables. How
do we experience materials around us? When do we think that a certain
material is modern, elegant, sexy, feminine, or professional? This paper
focuses on the main findings and implications of a Ph.D. research on
‘meanings of materials’. In this paper, the following two questions are
addressed: (i) can a meaning be embedded in a material? and (ii) what
are the key variables affecting the attribution of meanings to materials?
In answering these questions, results from a literature review and a study
conducted with 32 Dutch and Chinese participants are discussed. The
paper ends with a discussion on existing materials selection sources and
materials education in design.
In describing measures used in their research, authors frequently report having adapted a scale, indicating that they changed something about it. Although such changes can raise concerns about validity, there has been little discussion of this practice in our literature. To estimate the prevalence and identify key forms of scale adaptation, we conducted two studies of the literature. In Study 1, we reviewed the descriptions of all scales (N = 2,088) in four top journals over a 2-year period. We found that 46% of all scales were reported by authors as adapted and that evidence to support the validity of the adapted scales was presented in 23% of those cases. In Study 2, we chose six scales and examined their use across the literature, which allowed us to identify unreported adaptations. We found that 85% of the administrations of these scales had at least one form of adaptation and many had multiple adaptations. In Study 3, we surveyed editorial board members and a select group of psychometricians to evaluate the extent to which particular adaptations raised concerns about validity and the kinds of evidence needed to support the validity of the adapted scales. To provide guidance for authors who adapt scales and for reviewers and editors who evaluate papers with adapted scales, we present discussions of several forms of adaptations regarding potential threats to validity and recommendations for the kinds of evidence that might best support the validity of the adapted scale (including a reviewer checklist).
A model is proposed which expresses consumer satisfaction as a function of expectation and expectancy disconfirmation. Satisfaction, in turn, is believed to influence attitude change and purchase intention. Results from a two-stage field study support the scheme for consumers and nonconsumers of a flu inoculation.
What is the relationship between the psychological characteristics of a consumer and his purchase behavior? In this paper the authors briefly review pertinent research and lay theoretical foundations for a model of consumer behavior based upon an individual's self-concept and the symbolic value of the goods he buys.
Based on motivated identity construction theory (MICT; Vignoles, 2011), we offer an integrative approach examining the combined roles of six identity motives (self-esteem, distinctiveness, belonging, meaning, continuity, and efficacy) instantiated at three different motivational levels (personal, social, and collective identity) as predictors of group identification. These identity processes were investigated among 369 members of 45 sports teams from England and Italy in a longitudinal study over 6 months with four time points. Multilevel change modeling and cross-lagged analyses showed that satisfaction of four personal identity motives (individuals’ personal feelings of self-esteem, distinctiveness, meaning, and efficacy derived from team membership), three social identity motives (individuals’ feelings that the team identity carries a sense of belonging, meaning, and continuity), and one collective identity motive (a shared belief in group distinctiveness) significantly predicted group identification. Motivational processes underlying group identification are complex, multilayered, and not reducible to personal needs.
The statistical tests used in the analysis of structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error are examined. A drawback of the commonly applied chi square test, in addition to the known problems related to sample size and power, is that it may indicate an increasing correspondence between the hypothesized model and the observed data as both the measurement properties and the relationship between constructs decline. Further, and contrary to common assertion, the risk of making a Type II error can be substantial even when the sample size is large. Moreover, the present testing methods are unable to assess a model's explanatory power. To overcome these problems, the authors develop and apply a testing system based on measures of shared variance within the structural model, measurement model, and overall model.
Purpose
The purpose of the study was to predict intentions to purchase sport team licensed merchandise (STLM) using the theory of planned behavior (TPB).
Design/methodology/approach
Three constructs of the TPB such as attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control were used to predict purchase intention of STLM. In an effort to increase the level of prediction, additional elements – past behavior and role identity – were included. A total of 384 university students participated in the survey.
Findings
The results indicated that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control accounted for 64% of the variance in purchase intention of STLM. Past behavior and role identity explained an additional 9.3% of the variance in purchase intentions. Past behavior was the strongest predictor of purchase intention.
Originality/value
The results showed the efficacy of the TPB in predicting purchase intentions of STLM.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential mediating effect of perceived value in the relationship between team identification and intent to purchase collegiate team-licensed apparel. Direct effect, partially mediated, and fully mediated models were compared. The respondents were students (N =110) attending a large university in the southeastern United States. Participants first completed the Team Identification Scale and then viewed a slide depicting an article of licensed merchandise (t-shirt). Participants next completed the Perceived Value and Purchase Intention Scales. Goodness-of-fit statistics indicated that the direct effect model did not fit the data. The partially mediated and the fully mediated models fit equally well; the latter was more parsimonious and thus was chosen for further analysis. Team, identification explained 13.2% of the variance in perceived value: perceived value explained. 42.6% of the variance in purchase intentions. The findings indicate that team identification alone did not drive the purchase intentions in this study; it is important to take into account the perceived value of the team-licensed merchandise.
This two-stage study investigated a proposed model of impulse buying of sport team licensed merchandise among college students (N = 464) enrolled in a large Midwestern university. The proposed model included measures of impulsivity, psychological attachment to sport, and financial situation. The proposed model was tested with structural equation modeling. The results indicated that the proposed model (RMSEA = .058; NFI = .916; CFI = .947, χ 2/df = 2.57), along with the partial models of impulsivity (RMESA = .062, NFI = .96, CFI = .98, χ 2/df = 2.78) and psychological attachment (RMSEA = .057; NFI = .98; CFI = .988, χ 2/df = 2.50), fit the data with a degree of reasonable fit. This study illustrates how personal, psychosocial, and situational factors might interact to influence impulse buying of sport team licensed merchandise.
Research has shown that a significant relationship exists between sport consumers’ identification with the team and their purchasing/wearing of a team’s licensed apparel. This study examined the impact of identification with a sport team on consumption behavior by including other points of attachments with the institution (university, coach, player, level of sport/college, and sport/football). Data were collected from 501 (male: 235, female: 266) college students. Results of the multivariate multiple regression analysis indicated that identification with team, university, and sport were all significantly associated with the five different purchasing/wearing behaviors of sport-licensed apparel.
There is a great deal of evidence that method bias influences item validities, item reliabilities, and the covariation between latent constructs. In this paper, we identify a series of factors that may cause method bias by undermining the capabilities of the respondent, making the task of responding accurately more difficult, decreasing the motivation to respond accurately, and making it easier for respondents to satisfice. In addition, we discuss the psychological mechanisms through which these factors produce their biasing effects and propose several procedural remedies that counterbalance or offset each of these specific effects. We hope that this discussion will help researchers anticipate when method bias is likely to be a problem and provide ideas about how to avoid it through the careful design of a study.
What is the relationship between the psychological characteristics of a consumer and his purchase behavior? In this paper the authors briefly review pertinent research and lay theoretical foundations for a model of consumer behavior based upon an individual's self-concept and the symbolic value of the goods he buys.
The search for self-identity is a key determinant of postmodern consumption so it is essential for marketers to understand the concept and dynamics of self, the symbolic meaning of goods and the role played by brands. Building from the concept of advertising literacy, this paper outlines a model of the dialectical relationship between self-identity and social-identity, the domains of self-symbolism and social-symbolism, and the process of the mediated experience of advertising and the lived experience of products/services. Implications for brand strategy are discussed in relation to trust, deep meaning and the possibilities for mass-market brands to have personal meaning for the individual.
The extent to which a possession is linked to self is a critical determinant of whether a possession elicits grief if lost. We propose a framework for understanding the formation of the possession–self link, arguing that a possession's ability to represent the important domains on which a person bases her self-worth affects the possession–self link. We also show that dispositional tendencies to incorporate possessions into the self moderate this relationship, while the monetary value of the possession does not affect the strength of the possession–self link.
Brand managers are increasingly confronted with the option of licensing their brands when pursuing brand extensions. Such decisions are typically based on evaluation of the risks associated with such a contractual form, and with the nature of the asset at stake, i.e., the brand. Drawing on transaction cost economics and the brand extension literature, the authors investigate how managers balance the advantages of rapidly accessing new product categories through licensing with the risk of negative reciprocal effects and licensees' opportunistic behavior. Our results suggests that firms tend to be strategically conservative when examining how to extend their brands, as managers see the risk of negative effects on the parent brand as outweighing the advantages associated with licensing.
Explores the meanings women and men from different social-material strata in the UK attach to their personal possessions. 16 female and 20 male business commuters and 24 female and 26 male unemployed Ss listed their 5 most treasured possessions and wrote open-ended statements concerning the reasons why they considered each important. Men were mainly concerned with the instrumental and use-related features of possessions, whereas women equally emphasized that possessions symbolized emotional attachment and interpersonal relationships. Also, business commuters were mostly concerned with possessions as unique symbols of their personal history and self-development, in contrast to the unemployed Ss' focus on possessions' utilitarian aspects, financial value, and emotional, mood-adjusting features. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Does a relationship exist between a consumer's goals and the meaning associated with a product? Two product meaning categories are considered—a functional meaning that highlights the attributes and benefits associated with the product, and a symbolic meaning that captures more intrinsic and abstract notions about the purchase. A dynamic goal structure is considered that consists of three distinct levels of motivation—the having level, the doing level, and the being level. This article explores the relationship between both sets of constructs by utilizing a depth-interview methodology to focus on informants' motivations, thoughts and feelings, and underlying meanings associated with purchases. The data offer preliminary support for four distinct linking constructs. These findings exhibit a first step toward understanding the simultaneous impact of motivation, product meaning, and consumption context on consumers' decision making. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The present study examines the characteristics of possessions which consumers deem to be their most important. Two orthogonal dimensions emerged as an interpretive structure for possession meaning: A sacred/secular dimension, and a subjective/objective dimension. Examples of products falling into each quadrant (e.g., sacred-objective) are described and their implications for future research inquiry are discussed.
What consumers know and think consciously and unconsciously about a brand influences their attitudes and behaviors toward the brand and ultimately brand success. Therefore, keeping track of what consumers know is advisable. This article considers the value of using three approaches to assess brand knowledge: free association technique, storytelling, and collage-creation. Each method is suitable for tapping and reproducing different aspects of brand knowledge. The empirical study combines the three methods in an explorative setting to retrieve consumer brand knowledge regarding a major sports brand. The study compares knowledge that each method elicits and provides brand management with recommendations how to decide when to use each method and whether to employ one or more of these methods. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Despite the concern that has been expressed about potential method biases, and the pervasiveness of research settings with the potential to produce them, there is disagreement about whether they really are a problem for researchers in the behavioral sciences. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to explore the current state of knowledge about method biases. First, we explore the meaning of the terms "method" and "method bias" and then we examine whether method biases influence all measures equally. Next, we review the evidence of the effects that method biases have on individual measures and on the covariation between different constructs. Following this, we evaluate the procedural and statistical remedies that have been used to control method biases and provide recommendations for minimizing method bias.