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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Weisha Wang
This is the authors' accepted manuscript of an article that has been published in its final definitive form by Emerald Publishing Limited, 2020.
For re-use rights please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.
AbstractPurposeWith rising globalization, Western and Eastern brands are increasingly collaborating and co-branding. Drawing on the theory of dialectical self that captures the degree of cognitive tendency to tolerate conflicts, inconsistencies and ambiguities in self-concept, this paper investigates the effect of consumer dialectical self on co-branding that encompasses Western and East Asian cultural brand personality traits.Design/methodology/approachTwo studies were conducted using Chinese participants to examine the effects of the dialectical self on co-brand evaluation under single-and dual-personality conditions and to explore the mediating role of ideal social self-congruence and the moderating role of product type (high vs low conspicuous).FindingsThe findings suggest that counterintuitive to the received wisdom, the dialectical self negatively influences one's attitude towards a co-brand in the dual-personality condition only. Further, ideal social self-congruence mediates the relationship between the dialectical self and dual-personality co-brand evaluation in the high conspicuous product condition only.Practical implicationsImportant implications are offered to international marketing managers for managing the dialectical self that lead to positive co-brand evaluations. Moreover, managers should highlight ideal social self-congruence for co-branding success for particular product types.Originality/valueThis paper examines co-branding from a novel perspective of consumer dialectical self and shows the pivotal role it plays when brands carry varying cultural traits engage in co-branding. By identifying the role of the dialectical self and the important mediator and moderator, the paper fulfils an important gap in co-branding literature and offers key implications.
Author(s): Wang W, Chen C, Nguyen B, Shukla P
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: International Marketing Review
Year: 2020
Volume: 37
Issue: 6
Pages: 1155-1180
Print publication date: 07/12/2020
Online publication date: 02/06/2020
Acceptance date: 04/05/2020
Date deposited: 20/01/2022
ISSN (print): 0265-1335
ISSN (electronic): 1758-6763
Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
URL: https://doi.org/10.1108/IMR-01-2019-0012
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-01-2019-0012
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