The Mediating Role of Consumer Brand Identification in the Relationship between Word-of-Mouth and Purchase Intention

Abstract

Consumer brand identification can be established by factors such as brand prestige or satisfaction and it can enhance purchase intention The prior research only study consumer brand identification from company perspectives rather than consumer perspectives Nowadays as the rise of the internet word-of-mouth has become an important resource for consumers to evaluate the products or brands The evaluation of products and brands further influence consumers' purchase intention To provide a better understanding of consumer brand identification this study aims to understand how word-of-mouth influence consumer brand identification and purchase intention Based on self-verification theory and self-enhancement theory this study proposed a research model in which positive word of mouth indirectly influence purchase intention through actual and ideal consumer brand identification According to the multi-dimensionality of self-concept this study divides consumer brand identification into actual and ideal-level Since cars are related to one’s status consumers can express themselves through the brand of the car so the car choices are often related to consumer values Therefore consumers tend to identify with car brands and to deliver their self-concept through car brands With a focus on the automotive industry this study conducted an online survey on a sample of Taiwanese consumers and collected a total of 533 valid questionnaires Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesized research model Results indicated that: (1) Positive word-of-mouth has a positive influence on both actual and ideal- consumer brand identification (2) Both actual and ideal consumer brand identification have positive influences on purchase intention (3) Actual and ideal consumer brand identification mediate the relationship between positive word of mouth and purchase intention (4) In automobile industry actual-level consumer brand identification has stronger influence on purchase intention than ideal-level consumer brand identification

Date of Award	2019
Original language	English
Supervisor	Ya-Hui Kuo (Supervisor)