摘要
市场上存在着形形色色的品牌吉祥物或虚拟的品牌形象代言人,这种品牌拟人化的手段已广为实践采纳,本文将在品牌拟人化情境下探讨不同类型拟人化形象的作用。具体而言,文章借鉴刻板印象内容模型,提出热情型和能力型两种拟人化形象,并阐明个体的归属需要对消费者选择不同拟人化形象的影响机制。文章通过三个实验,采用不同方式启动消费者的归属需要,共同论证了在高(低)归属需要情境下,消费者更愿意购买热情型(能力型)的拟人化品牌;但上述效应只存在于低购买风险情境,当消费者遇到高感知风险时,无论个体处于何种归属需要水平,消费者都更倾向于购买能力型的拟人化品牌。本文推进了品牌拟人化与归属需要的研究进展,为品牌的拟人化形象设计和营销推广提供了相应的实践启示。
In the marketing practice, brand anthropomorphism has been nearly prevalent by featuring brand mascot or product spokesmen. Prior studies have examined how humanlike brands and products influence consumers' perception and evaluation. However, the research on the specific anthropomorphized brand image has been scant. On the basis of stereotype content model, the current research proposes two types of anthropomorphic brand image, warm image and competent image, and examines how the discrete anthropomorphized image affects consumers' purchase intention. Further, this article investigates how the need to belong would influence consumers' preferences for anthropomorphized brand image. In particular, when people possess greater need to belong, humanlike brand featuring warm image would be perceived as friendliness and can serve the function of social connectedness, consequently fulfilling their need to belong. In contrast, when consumers' need to belong has not been made salient, they are basically motivated to seek effectiveness and quality from products. In this case, anthropomorphized brands with competent image tend to bring more favorability. Across three studies, the present research provides evidences for such argument by using diverse ways of manipulation for the need to belong. In specific, we found that consumers are more likely to purchase warm(vs. competent) brand among those with high(vs. low) need to belong. What's more, this article identifies a boundary condition for the above moderation effect of need to belong. That is, such effect only emerges when consumers perceive that the risk is relatively low. Conversely, when faced with high risk, consumers tend to purchase competent brand, independent of their states of need to belong. This article takes a different theoretical approach in order to enhance our understanding of the multiple ways in which anthropomorphized brand image can affect consumers' purchase. In addition, the current research shed light on the literature on the need to belong and risk perception, as well as having implication for brand image design and marketing communication practice.
出处
《南开管理评论》
CSSCI
北大核心
2017年第3期135-143,共9页
Nankai Business Review
基金
国家自然科学基金项目(71572084
71572207)
关键词
拟人化形象
归属需要
社会排斥
自我建构
刻板印象内容模型
Brand Anthropomorphism
Need to Belong
Social Exclusion
Self-construal
Stereotype Content Model
