Moderators of the self-congruity effect on consumer decision-making: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Value-expressive brands’ success stem largely from self-congruity between their brand personalities and targeted consumers’ self-concepts (Aaker, 1997). Over 100 conceptual and empirical articles highlight self-congruity's effect on consumer decision-making. The following meta-analysis identifies key theoretical and managerial issues of the self-congruity effect. Study results reinforce the self-congruity effect's robustness (r=.31). Moderation analysis sheds theoretical insights about self-congruity's motivational and cognitive underpinnings. The findings suggest self-congruity effects are a function of underlying self-motive “socialness,” degree of self-enhancement sought, the brand personality facet, the judgment object's abstraction level, cognitive elaboration, and the underlying impression formation process. These findings generate methodological and theoretical recommendations for future self-congruity research, as well as recommendations for marketing practitioners.