| Abstract [eng] |
Over the last two decades, in today's consumer society, there has been a rise in the level of insecurity, defined as uncertainty, vulnerability and fear. Rindfleisch (2009) argues that as the influence of traditional sources of security, such as family, community or religion, diminishes, brands have become increasingly important in their function as providers of security by creating a bond that provides consumers with a sense of security. Although brand attachment and brand authenticity have been studied separately in the context of different disciplines for some time, the interrelationship between the two, including another construct - authentic personality - has been studied relatively recently. It is suggested that a deeper understanding of these phenomena and their interrelationships may be useful in brand marketing, communication, sales promotion and other contexts related to the brand and the company. An analysis of the literature has revealed that the influence of authentic personality on brand loyalty is determined by brand authenticity (Carroll et.al., 2022). This relationship implies that the link between an authentic personality and an authentic brand may also be associated with a strong consumer attachment to the brand. The identification of the relationships provides a precondition for a more in-depth examination of the links between consumers' authentic personality, brand authenticity and consumer brand attachment. Guèvremont et. al. (2016) found that authentic brands that help consumers connect and feel genuine and true to their ideas can create better relationships in the form of strong emotional brand attachment. According to Gilmore and Pine (2007), authentic brands foster intergenerational connections and provide consumers with a sense of continuity and shared identity (Napoli et.al., 2014). Much research attention (Södergren et.al., 2021; Arya et.al., 2019; Morhart et.al., 2015) has focused on the impact of brand authenticity on consumers' experience, behavioural change, brand trust and quality, and purchase intention, but there is a dearth of studies that analyse the relationship between brand authenticity, authentic personality attachment in the context of brand attachment. An exception is the study by Carroll ́ is et.al. (2022), who found a relationship between self- authenticity and brand-authenticity in relation to brand loyalty. It is observed that currently many companies still do not focus enough on building authenticity as a brand value, even though they are aware of how important this element is in shaping consumers' minds when building a relationship with a brand (Peterson et.al., 2005). Subject of the project - the project focuses on the relationship between self-authenticity, brand authenticity and brand attachment. Objective of the project - the aim of the project is to theoretically substantiate and empirically test the relationship between self-authenticity, brand authenticity and brand attachment. Tasks of the project: 1. To reveal the influence of self-authenticity and brand authenticity on consumers' brand attachment, the relevance and the problematics of research. 2. To present the phenomenon of brand attachment and the theories explaining it. 3. To present the conceptual meaning of brand authenticity. 4. Provide a conceptualisation of self-authenticity. 5. Justify the link between self-authenticity, brand authenticity and brand attachment by reflecting them in a conceptual model. 6. Develop a research methodology to study the influence of personality and brand authenticity on consumer brand attachment. 7. To empirically test the relationship between self-authenticity, brand authenticity and consumer brand attachment. 8. To provide practical implications and directions for further research on the influence of authentic personality and brand authenticity on consumer brand attachment. Main results of the project. The results of the study revealed that brand authenticity has a positive effect on consumer brand attachment. It was also found that individual dimensions of brand authenticity (continuity, symbolism-integrity) have a statistically significant relationship with brand attachment. Data analysis revealed that self-authenticity does not have a statistically significant effect on brand authenticity. Analyzing the elements of self-authenticity and their relationship with brand authenticity, it was found that elements such as self-alienation and acceptance of external influences do not have a statistically significant influence on brand authenticity. However, a very weak relationship was observed between the authentic life element and brand authenticity and its continuity and symbolism-integrity elements. There was also no statistically significant indirect effect of self-authenticity on brand attachment through brand authenticity. This means that greater self-authenticity is not associated with greater brand authenticity, which in turn does not increase brand attachment. |
