IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/jconrs/v49y2022i1p25-45..html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Influencer-Generated Reference Groups
[Nonprofits Are Seen as Warm and For-Profits as Competent: Firm Stereotypes Matter]

Author

Listed:
  • Jeffrey K Lee
  • Enric Junqué de Fortuny

Abstract

This article explores the idea that consumer influencers can shape reference group meanings in social media. Through a survey in which over 5,000 participants provided open-ended reference group associations for 25 major brands, the authors find that social media influencers can either strengthen or change brand reference group associations. Specifically, the typicality of the influencer (relative to a brand’s stereotypical consumer) can shape ideas about the perceived homogeneity of the brand’s consumers, which ultimately influences the strength and tightness of brand associations. This research combines seminal theories regarding cultural and sociological influences on branding, concepts relating to stereotype change, and a multi-method approach to assess new digital flows of cultural meaning from consumer influencers to brands.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeffrey K Lee & Enric Junqué de Fortuny, 2022. "Influencer-Generated Reference Groups [Nonprofits Are Seen as Warm and For-Profits as Competent: Firm Stereotypes Matter]," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 49(1), pages 25-45.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:v:49:y:2022:i:1:p:25-45.
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jcr/ucab056
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Solomon, Michael R. & Buchanan, Bruce, 1991. "A role-theoretic approach to product symbolism: Mapping a consumption constellation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 95-109, March.
    2. Uribe, Rodrigo & Buzeta, Cristian & Velásquez, Milenka, 2016. "Sidedness, commercial intent and expertise in blog advertising," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 4403-4410.
    3. Sirgy, M Joseph, 1982. "Self-Concept in Consumer Behavior: A Critical Review," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 9(3), pages 287-300, December.
    4. Pengyuan Wang & Guiyang Xiong & Jian Yang, 2019. "Frontiers: Asymmetric Effects of Recreational Cannabis Legalization," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 38(6), pages 927-936, November.
    5. Katherine White & Jennifer J. Argo & Jaideep Sengupta, 2012. "Dissociative versus Associative Responses to Social Identity Threat: The Role of Consumer Self-Construal," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 39(4), pages 704-719.
    6. Catherine E. Tucker, 2015. "The Reach and Persuasiveness of Viral Video Ads," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 34(2), pages 281-296, March.
    7. Bernd Schmitt, 2019. "From Atoms to Bits and Back: A Research Curation on Digital Technology and Agenda for Future Research," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 46(4), pages 825-832.
    8. Katherine White & Darren W. Dahl, 2007. "Are All Out-Groups Created Equal? Consumer Identity and Dissociative Influence," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 34(4), pages 525-536, June.
    9. Solomon, Michael R, 1983. "The Role of Products as Social Stimuli: A Symbolic Interactionism Perspective," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 10(3), pages 319-329, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Angle, Justin W. & Forehand, Mark R., 2016. "It's not us, it's you: How threatening self-brand association leads to brand pursuit," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 183-197.
    2. Maystre, Nicolas & Olivier, Jacques & Thoenig, Mathias & Verdier, Thierry, 2014. "Product-based cultural change: Is the village global?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(2), pages 212-230.
    3. Heffner, Reid R., 2007. "Semiotics and Advanced Vehicles: What Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) Mean and Why it Matters to Consumers," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt9mw1t4w3, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    4. Song, Hanqun & Yang, Huijun & Ma, Emily, 2022. "Restaurants’ outdoor signs say more than you think: An enquiry from a linguistic landscape perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    5. Jerónimo, Rita & Ramos, Tânia & Ferreira, Mário B., 2018. "Trait transference from brands to individuals: The impact of brand-behavior congruency," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 54-65.
    6. Lee, Jaeha & Nguyen, Minhthu Jill, 2017. "Product attributes and preference for foreign brands among Vietnamese consumers," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 76-83.
    7. Khalifa, Dina & Shukla, Paurav, 2021. "When luxury brand rejection causes brand dilution," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 110-121.
    8. Zheyin (Jane) Gu & Xinxin Li, 2023. "Social Sharing, Public Perception, and Brand Competition in a Horizontally Differentiated Market," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 34(2), pages 553-569, June.
    9. Denis Guiot, 2001. "Tendance d'âge subjectif : quelle validité prédictive ?," Post-Print halshs-00167929, HAL.
    10. Sangeeta Devanathan, 2020. "Indian Consumers’ Assessment of ‘Luxuriousness’: A Comparison of Indian and Western Luxury Brands," IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review, , vol. 9(1), pages 84-95, January.
    11. Lee, Michael S.W. & Motion, Judith & Conroy, Denise, 2009. "Anti-consumption and brand avoidance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 169-180, February.
    12. Zhou, Xiaochen & Hanlon, Clare & Robertson, Jonathan & Spaaij, Ramon & Westerbeek, Hans & Hossack, Allison & Funk, Daniel C., 2018. "Dress for fit: An exploration of female activewear consumption," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 403-415.
    13. Stokburger-Sauer, Nicola & Ratneshwar, S. & Sen, Sankar, 2012. "Drivers of consumer–brand identification," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 406-418.
    14. Thomas, Veronica L. & Yeh, Marie & Jewell, Robert D., 2015. "Enhancing valuation: the impact of self-congruence with a brand on the endowment effect," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 178-185.
    15. Artigas, Enrique Marinao & Moraga, Eduardo Torres & Yrigoyen, Coro Chasco, 2014. "Satisfação: determinante da familiaridade do destino turístico," RAE - Revista de Administração de Empresas, FGV-EAESP Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo (Brazil), vol. 54(4), July.
    16. Ekinci, Yuksel & Sirakaya-Turk, Ercan & Preciado, Sandra, 2013. "Symbolic consumption of tourism destination brands," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(6), pages 711-718.
    17. (Monroe) Meng, Lu & Kou, Sining & Duan, Shen & Bie, Yongyue, 2024. "The impact of content characteristics of Short-Form video ads on consumer purchase Behavior: Evidence from TikTok," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    18. Breno Giovanni Adaid Castro & Claudio Vaz Torres & Thiago Gomes Nascimento & Gisela Demo, 2015. "Are Men More Rational than Women when Purchasing Cars?: A Comparison of Cultural Influences on Product Judgment in Brazil and the United States of America," Brazilian Business Review, Fucape Business School, vol. 12(6), pages 72-99, November.
    19. Debra Grace & Mitchell Ross & Ceridwyn King, 2018. "Brand fidelity: a relationship maintenance perspective," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 25(6), pages 577-590, November.
    20. White, Katherine & Stackhouse, Madelynn & Argo, Jennifer J., 2018. "When social identity threat leads to the selection of identity-reinforcing options: The role of public self-awareness," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 60-73.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:v:49:y:2022:i:1:p:25-45.. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://academic.oup.com/jcr .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.