The Role of Self-Brand Connections in Brand Evaluation

Our research investigates the role that self-brand connections (SBC) play in brand evaluations. In study 1, we find that those with high SBC evaluate poor brand extensions more favorably than those with low SBC, regardless of extension typicality. We suggest that when consumers make a SBC, brand-evaluation becomes an important component of self-evaluation. Consequently, consumers evaluate poor extensions favorably in order to maintain a positive self-evaluation. In support of this notion, study 2 demonstrates that when consumers complete an unrelated self affirmation task, thereby reducing the need to self-affirm, the effect of high SBC on brand evaluations is attenuated.

Citation:

Shirley Cheng, Tiffany White, and Lan Nguyen Chaplin (2007) ,"The Role of Self-Brand Connections in Brand Evaluation", in E - European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 8, eds. Stefania Borghini, Mary Ann McGrath, and Cele Otnes, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 438-440.