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. Pengyuan Wang & Guiyang Xiong & Jian Yang, 2019. "Frontiers: Asymmetric Effects of Recreational Cannabis Legalization," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 38(6), pages 927-936, November.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. Catherine E. Tucker, 2015. "The Reach and Persuasiveness of Viral Video Ads," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 34(2), pages 281-296, March.
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    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. Ahn, Suhyoung & Ellie Jin, Byoungho & Seo, Hyesim, 2024. "Why do people interact and buy in the Metaverse? Self-Expansion perspectives and the impact of hedonic adaptation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    4. 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.
    5. Shijin Yoo & Seh-Woong Chung & Jin Han, 2006. "A Durable Replacement Model for Symbolic versus Utilitarian Consumption: An Integrated Cultural and Socio-economic Perspective," Global Economic Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(2), pages 193-206.
    6. 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).
    7. 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.
    8. Jie Lou & Nianlong Han & Dong Wang & Xi Pei, 2022. "Effects of Mobile Identity on Smartphone Symbolic Use: An Attachment Theory Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-20, October.
    9. Sandikci, Ozlem & Jafari, Aliakbar & Fischer, Eileen, 2024. "Claiming market ownership: Territorial activism in stigmatized markets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    10. 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.
    11. Khalifa, Dina & Shukla, Paurav, 2021. "When luxury brand rejection causes brand dilution," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 110-121.
    12. Bassam Dalal & Ahmad Aljarah, 2021. "How Brand Symbolism, Perceived Service Quality, and CSR Skepticism Influence Consumers to Engage in Citizenship Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-18, May.
    13. Reed, Americus & Forehand, Mark R. & Puntoni, Stefano & Warlop, Luk, 2012. "Identity-based consumer behavior," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 310-321.
    14. Breazeale, Michael & Ponder, Nicole, 2013. "Get the picture? Visual servicescapes and self-image congruity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(7), pages 839-846.
    15. Ricardo Buettner, 2017. "Predicting user behavior in electronic markets based on personality-mining in large online social networks," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 27(3), pages 247-265, August.
    16. 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.
    17. Denis Guiot, 2001. "Tendance d'âge subjectif : quelle validité prédictive ?," Post-Print halshs-00167929, HAL.
    18. Barton, Belinda & Zlatevska, Natalina & Oppewal, Harmen, 2022. "Scarcity tactics in marketing: A meta-analysis of product scarcity effects on consumer purchase intentions," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 98(4), pages 741-758.
    19. 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.
    20. Katarzyna Dziewanowska, 2015. "Dimensions of Real and Virtual Consumer Experiences," Faculty of Management Working Paper Series 42015, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management.

    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.