The formation of consumers' warmth and competence impressions of corporate brands : the role of corporate associations

Gidaković, Petar (author), Žabkar, Vesna (author)

Despite a growing body of evidence showing how consumers' impressions of corporate brands' warmth and competence lead to managerially relevant outcomes, the cognitive processes by which consumers form such impressions remain poorly understood. This study draws on theories from the cognitive and social psychology fields to develop a conceptual model that explains the formation of differentiated (i.e., nonstereotypical) warmth and competence impressions based on specific dimensions of corporate associations. These impressions transform consumers' information about a company into trust. The conceptual model was tested in a randomized between-subjects experiment that manipulated the different dimensions of corporate associations and established the causal and mediating relationships (Study 1). To increase the external validity of Study 2, the participants rated real companies using a survey. The implications of the findings for consumer impression formation theory are discussed, and managerial recommendations for both influencing warmth and competence impressions and fostering consumer trust are provided.

• Language: English
• Keywords: corporations, brands, consumer behaviour, consumer trust, corporate associations, corporate branding, impression management, warmth and competence
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: EF - School of Economics and Business
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2022
• Number of pages: Str. 639-653
• Numbering: Vol. 19, iss. 4
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-135656
• UDC: 339.138
• ISSN on article: 1740-4754
• DOI: 10.1111/emre.12509
• COBISS.SI-ID: 99454979
• Publication date in RUL: 23.03.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: European management review
• Publisher: Wiley, European Academy of Management
• ISSN: 1740-4754
• COBISS.SI-ID: 512928537

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
• Description: A creative commons license that bans commercial use, but the users don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: korporacije, blagovne znamke, vedenje potrošnikov

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: N5-0084
• Name: Spremljanje preferenc potrošnikov skozi potrošniške stereotipe

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P5-0128
• Name: Izzivi vključujočega in trajnostnega razvoja v prevladujoči paradigmi ekonomskih in poslovnih znanosti