Investigating global brand preference bias among low-status consumers
a study on the mechanisms of its accentuation and mitigation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5585/remark.v23i1.23567Keywords:
Global and local brands; Consumer global dispositions; System justification theory; Intersectionality awareness; Dual attitudes; Consumer disidentificationAbstract
Objective - This study reconciles system justification theory (SJT), intersectionality awareness (IA), and dual attitudes (DA) to determine the conscious-unconscious relationship between consumer identity and global brand preference bias in low-status consumers.
Method - We performed three experimental studies: First, we observed the discrepancy between explicit/conscious and implicit/unconscious (DA) global brand attitudes according to established social order (SJT), even if a status quo bias exerts influence. Second, we propose the moderation of the disidentification, which emphasizes the rejection of local elements in this process. Lastly, we propose the mitigation of the disidentification effects through status quo awareness, or Intersectionality Awareness (IA).
Relevance/originality – The literature of low-status consumers’ identity relation to brand preference is still developing when tapping multiple layers of perspectives, such as disidentification and identity awareness, and conscious and unconscious processes. The comprehension of this interaction allows a better understanding of the global brand preference bias.
Main results – We identified conflicting conscious and unconscious global brand attitudes, potentialized through disidentification with domestic values, those that represent the home country consumer, although their effect can be mitigated by intersectionality awareness.
Theoretical/methodological contributions – Theoretically, this study advances the knowledge about global brand preference, including the status quo/awareness theory to better understand the customer-brand relationship. Methodologically, we advanced by employing an unconscious-based technique to address the phenomenon.
Social/management contributions – The study explains brand preference bias through the mechanism of disidentification, and their control through social awareness, expanding practitioners’ horizons beyond brand strategies, to consider deep human identity mechanisms. For the individuals and the society, the study proposes understanding on the potential side effects of consumer-brand relationships, presenting coping strategies to deal with this phenomenon, promoting more equality and inclusion.
Downloads
References
Ackermann, C.-L., & Mathieu, J-P. (2015). Implicit attitudes and their measurement: Theoretical foundations and use in consumer behavior research. Recherche et Applications in Marketing, 30 (2), 55–77. https://doi.org/10.1177/2051570715579144
Ajzen I, & Fishbein M. (2000). Attitudes and the attitude-behavior relation: reasoned and automatic processes. European Review of Social Psychology, 11 (1),1-33. https://doi.org/10.1080/14792779943000116
Alden, D. L., Steenkamp, J-B., & Batra, R. (2006). Consumer Attitudes Toward Marketplace Globalization: Structure, Antecedents and Consequences. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 23 (3), 227-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2006.01.010
Balabanis G., & Diamantopoulos, A. (2016). Consumer Xenocentrism as Determinant of Foreign Product Preference: A System Justification Perspective. Journal of International Marketing, 24 (3), 58-77. https://doi.org/10.1509/jim.15.0138
Bartsch, F., Riefler, P., & Diamantopoulos, A. (2016). A Taxonomy and Review of Positive Consumer Dispositions Toward Foreign Countries and Globalization. Journal of International Marketing, 24 (1), 82-110. https://doi.org/10.1509/jim.15.0021
Batra, R., Ramaswamy, V., Alden, D. L., Steenkamp, J. B. E., & Ramachander, S. (2000). Effects of brand local and nonlocal origin on consumer attitudes in developing countries. Journal of consumer psychology, 9(2), 83-95.
Bizarrias, F. S., Cucato, J. D. S. T., Strehlau, V. I., & Strehlau, S. (2023). Can Individuals with Power Distance Consume Luxury? A Model for Inclusion Through Social Capital and Social Approval. Global Business Review, 09721509221145830. https://doi.org/10.1177/09721509221145
Cai, Y., & Wang, X. (2023). Perceived unfairness increases desire for unique products: The role of need for social status. Psychology & Marketing, 40(3), 469-483. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21751
Chen, T. T., Wang, S. J., & Huang, H. C. (2020). “Buy, buy most Americans buy”: country of reference (COR) effects and consumer purchasing decisions. International Marketing Review, 37(3), 533-558. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMR-04-2018-0130
Chernev, A. (2004). Goal orientation and consumer preference for the status quo. Journal of Consumer Research, 31 (1), 557–565. https://doi.org/10.1086/425090
Cleveland, M., Rojas-Mendez, J., Laroche, M., & Papadopoulos, N. (2016). Identity, culture, dispositions and behavior: A cross-national examination of globalization and culture change. Journal of Business Research, 69 (3), 1090-1102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.08.025
Cucato, J. D. S., Bizarrias, F. S., Strehlau, V. I., Rocha, T., & Silva, D. (2022). Xenocentrism, Ethnocentrism, and Global Culture Influence on Consumer Preference for Global and Local Brands. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/08961530.2022.2109231
Curtin, N., Stewart, A. J., & Cole, E. R. (2015). Challenging the status quo: The role of intersectional awareness in activism for social change and pro-social intergroup attitudes. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 39 (4), 512-529. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684315580439
Diamantopoulos, A., Davydova, O., & Arslanagic-Kalajdzic, M. (2019). Modeling the role of consumer xenocentrism in impacting preferences for domestic and foreign brands: A mediation analysis. Journal of Business Research, 104, 584-596. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.12.007
Diamantopoulos, A., Florack, A., Halkias, G., & Palcu, J. (2017). Explicit versus implicit country stereotypes as predictors of product preferences: Insights from the stereotype content model. Journal of International Business Studies,48 (8), 1023–1036. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-017-0085-9
Dimofte, C. V. (2010). Implicit Measures of Consumer Cognition: A Review. Psychology & Marketing, 27 (10), 921–937. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20366
Fazio, R. H. (2001). On the automatic activation of associated evaluations: An overview. Cognition and emotion, 15 (2), 115–141. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930125908
Fazio, R. H., Sanbonmatsu, D. M., Powell, M. C., & Kardes, F. R. (1986). On the automatic activation of attitudes. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 50 (2), 229-238. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.50.2.229
Gal, D., & Rucker, D. (2018). The Loss of Loss Aversion: Will It Loom Larger Than Its Gain? Journal of Consumer Psychology, 28 (3), 497-516. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1047
Gawronski, B., & Bodenhausen, G. V. (2014). The associative-propositional evaluation model: Operating principles and operation conditions of evaluation. In J. W. Sherman, B. Gawronski, & Y. Trope (Eds). Dual process theories of the social mind (pp.188-203). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Gawronski, B., & Payne, B. K. (2010). A History of Implicit Social Cognition: Where Is It Coming From? Where Is It Now? Where Is It Going? In Handbook of implicit social cognition: Measurement, theory, and applications. New York, NY: Guilford Press
Greenwald, A. G., & Lai, C. K. (2020). Implicit social cognition. Annual review of psychology, 71, 419-445. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010419-050837
Greenwald, A. G., & Banaji, M. R. (1995). Implicit Social Cognition: Attitudes, Self-Esteem, and Stereotypes. Psychological Review, 102 (1), 4-27. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.102.1.4
Greenwald, A. G., McGhee, D. E., & Schwartz, J. K. L. (1998). Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: The Implicit Association Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74 (6), 1464-1480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.74.6.1464
Greenwald, A. G., Poehlman, T. A., Uhlmann, E. L., & Banaji, M. R. (2009). Understanding and Using the Implicit Association Test: III. Meta-Analysis of Predictive Validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(1), 17–41. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015575
Greenwald, A. G., Rudman, L. A., Nosek, B. A., Banaji, M. R., Farnham, S. D., & Mellott, D. S. (2002). A unified theory of implicit attitudes, stereotypes, self-esteem, and self-concept. Psychological Review, 109(1), 3–25. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.109.1.3
Greenwood, R. M. (2008). Intersectional Political Consciousness: Appreciation for Intragroup Differences and Solidarity in Diverse Groups. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 32(1), 36–47. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2007.00405.x
Hayes, A. F. (2022). Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach. 3th ed. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Hayes, A. F., & Montoya, A. K. (2017). A tutorial on testing, visualizing, and probing an interaction involving a multicategorical variable in linear regression analysis. Communication Methods and Measures, 11 (1), 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1080/19312458.2016.1271116
Herz, M. F., & Diamantopoulos, A. (2013). Activation of country stereotypes: Automaticity, consonance, and impact. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 41 (4), 400–417. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-012-0318-1
Herz, M., & Diamantopoulos, A. (2017). I Use It but Will Tell You That I Don’t: Consumers’ Country-of-Origin Cue Usage Denial. Journal of International Marketing, 25 (2), 52-71. https://doi.org/10.1509/jim.16.0051
Josiassen, A. (2011). Consumer Disidentification and Its Effects on Domestic Product Purchases: An Empirical Investigation in the Netherlands. Journal of Marketing, 75 (2), 124-140. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.75.2.125
Jost, J T., Pelham, B. H., & Carvallo, M. R. (2002). Non-Conscious Forms of System Justification: Implicit and Behavioral Preferences for Higher Status Groups. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38 (6), 586–602. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1031(02)00505-X
Jost, J. T., & Banaji, M. R. (1994). The role of stereotyping in system-justification and the production of false consciousness. British Journal of Social Psychology, 33 (1) 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8309.1994.tb01008.x
Jost, J. T., Banaji, M. R., & Nosek, B. A. (2004). A decade of system justification theory: Accumulated evidence of conscious and unconscious bolstering of the status quo. Political Psychology, 25 (6), 881-919. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9221.2004.00402.x
Lawrence, S. J. (2012). Consumer Xenocentrism and Consumer Cosmopolitanism: The Development and Validation of Scales of Constructs Influencing Attitudes Towards Foreign Product Consumption (Doctoral dissertation), Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA. Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/606/
Lu, X. J. (2018). The impact of consumer's local-global identity on the evaluation of global versus local product. Journal of Discrete Mathematical Sciences and Cryptography, 21(6), 1241-1246. https://doi.org/10.1080/09720529.2018.1525907
Micevski, M., Halkias, G., & Herz, M. (2018). Multiple consumer identities and the crossover effect of the EU identity in predicting domestic and foreign product preferences. Journal of Business Research, 104, 622-631. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.11.026
Nevid, J. S. (2010). Introduction to the special issue: Implicit measures of consumer response-the search for the Holy Grail of marketing research. Psychology and Marketing, 27(10), 913-920. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20365
Ng, S., Faraji-Rad, A., & Batra, R. (2021). Uncertainty evokes consumers’ preference for brands incongruent with their global–local citizenship identity. Journal of Marketing Research, 58(2), 400-415. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022243720972956
Nie, X., Yang, Z., Zhang, Y., & Janakiraman, N. (2022). How Does Global–Local Identity Affect Consumer Preference for Access-Based Consumption? Investigating the Mediating Role of Consumption Openness. Journal of Marketing Research, 59(3), 555-577. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222437211055130.
Ordabayeva, N., & Lisjak, M. (2022). Perceiving, coping with, and changing economic inequality in the marketplace. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 32(1), 165-174. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1276
Ostafin, B. D., & Brooks, J. J. (2011). Drinking for relief: Negative affect increases automatic alcohol motivation in coping-motivated drinkers. Motivation and Emotion, 35 (3), 285-295. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-010-9194-5
Pino, G., Amatulli, C., Peluso, A. M., Nataraajan, R., & Guido, G. (2019). Brand prominence and social status in luxury consumption: A comparison of emerging and mature markets. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 46, 163-172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2017.11.006
Samuelson, W., & Zeckhauser, R. (1988). Status quo bias in decision making. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 1 (1), 7-59. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00055564
Saraiva, L. F. O., Rezende, J. C. O., Reis, J. V. S., Inácio, M. D., & Schucman, L. V. (2015). A "nova classe média": repercussões psicossociais em famílias brasileiras. Psicologia USP, 26 (1), 52-61. https://doi.org/10.1590/0103-6564D20140008
Steenkamp, J-B E. M., &de Jong, M. G. (2010). A Global Investigation into the Constellation of Consumer Attitudes Toward Global and Local Products. Journal of Marketing, 74 (6), 18-40. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.74.6.18
Steenkamp, J-B. E. M., de Jong, M. G., & Baumgartner, H. (2010). Socially Desirable Response Tendencies in Survey Research. Journal of Marketing Research, 47 (2), 199-214. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.47.2.199
Strizhakova, Y., Coulter, R. A., & Price, L. (2008). Branded Products as a Passport to Global Citizenship: Perspectives from Developed and Developing Countries. Journal of International Marketing, 16 (4), 57-85. https://doi.org/10.1509/jimk.16.4.57
Snyder, C. R., & Fromkin, H. L. (1980). Theory of Uniqueness. In Uniqueness (pp. 31-55). Springer, Boston, MA
Transue, J. E. (2007). Identity Salience, Identity Acceptance, and Racial Policy Attitudes: American National Identity as a Uniting Force. American Journal of Political Science, 51 (1), 78–91. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5907.2007.00238.x
Tseng, T. H., Balabanis, G., & Liu, M. T. (2018). Explaining inconsistencies in implicit and explicit attitudes towards domestic and foreign products. International Marketing Review, 35(1), 72-92. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMR-05-2013-0092
Wang, J. J., Torelli, C. J., & Lalwani, A. K. (2020). The interactive effect of power distance belief and consumers’ status on preference for national (vs. private-label) brands. Journal of Business Research, 107, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.10.001
Vantomme, D., Geuens, M., De Houwer, J., & De Pelsmacker, P. (2005). Implicit attitudes toward green consumer behaviour. Psychologica Belgica, 45 (4), 217-239. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12127/1881
Zerhouni, O., Bègue L., Duke, A., & Flaudias, V. (2016). Dynamic exposure to alcohol advertising in a sports context influences implicit attitudes. Alcoholism Clinical & Exerimental Research, 40 (2), 422-428. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.12966
Zhang, W., Jin, J., Wang, A., Ma, Q., & Yu, H. (2019). Consumers’ implicit motivation of purchasing luxury brands: an EEG study. Psychology research and behavior management, 913-929.
Zhang, Y., & Khare, A. (2009). The impact of accessible identities on the evaluation of global versus local products. Journal of Consumer Research, 36(3), 524-537. https://doi.org/10.1086/598794
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 ReMark - Revista Brasileira de Marketing
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
