TY - JOUR
T1 - I am Not What I Like: Endorsing Brands on Social Media Negatively Affects Consumers’ Self-Evaluation
AU - Bernritter, Stefan F.
AU - Loermans, Annemijn C.
AU - Eigenraam, Anniek
AU - Verlegh, Peeter W.J.
PY - 2022/2/15
Y1 - 2022/2/15
N2 - To what extent do consumers incorporate the identity of brands they endorse on social media into their self-concept? We argue that, contrary to popular belief, online brand endorsements may not necessarily lead to inclusion of the brand into the self and may, consequently, lead to contrast effects that negatively affect consumers’ self-evaluations. We test our hypotheses across five studies and find that consumers who endorse a brand on social media subsequently negatively adjust their self-evaluations on traits that reflect the brand’s key personality traits. This effect occurs only if they endorse the brand (i.e., by “liking” or “following” it), but not when they just visit the brand’s social media page. Moreover, the effect is moderated by brand symbolism, with stronger effects if the brand is perceived to have low brand symbolism. The downwards shift in consumers’ self-evaluations negatively affects brand outcomes. We also explore the role of incentives as counter mechanism. In conclusion, our findings reveal a dark side to promoting consumer endorsement of brands on social media, one with implications not only for consumers but also for brands.
AB - To what extent do consumers incorporate the identity of brands they endorse on social media into their self-concept? We argue that, contrary to popular belief, online brand endorsements may not necessarily lead to inclusion of the brand into the self and may, consequently, lead to contrast effects that negatively affect consumers’ self-evaluations. We test our hypotheses across five studies and find that consumers who endorse a brand on social media subsequently negatively adjust their self-evaluations on traits that reflect the brand’s key personality traits. This effect occurs only if they endorse the brand (i.e., by “liking” or “following” it), but not when they just visit the brand’s social media page. Moreover, the effect is moderated by brand symbolism, with stronger effects if the brand is perceived to have low brand symbolism. The downwards shift in consumers’ self-evaluations negatively affects brand outcomes. We also explore the role of incentives as counter mechanism. In conclusion, our findings reveal a dark side to promoting consumer endorsement of brands on social media, one with implications not only for consumers but also for brands.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85131626910&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/10949968221075993
DO - 10.1177/10949968221075993
M3 - Article
SN - 1094-9968
VL - 57
SP - 159
EP - 175
JO - JOURNAL OF INTERACTIVE MARKETING
JF - JOURNAL OF INTERACTIVE MARKETING
IS - 1
ER -