Self-Congruency Effects of Brand Personality and Country Personality on Consumer Behavior in Germany

Abstract

In face of increasingly diverse product offerings, consumers consider numerous extrinsic as well as intrinsic product features to make buying decisions. Personality constructs regarding a brand — and even a country-of-origin — have been shown to be intrinsic features with strong effects on consumer behavior. Therefore, this study aims at shedding light on the intersection of three highly relevant research fields in consumer behavior: brand personality, country personality and self-congruency. Employing an online questionnaire with a sample of more than 500 respondents, the perception of brand personality was investigated regarding a set of eight brands (Nintendo, Toyota, Bertolli, Gucci, L’Oreal, Peugeot, Apple, Coca-Cola) as well as the country personalities assigned to the four countries-of-origin of these brands. In a conclusive step, the effects of brand personality, country personality as well as self-congruency (with respondents’ own personalities) on buying intention were examined utilizing regression analysis. Findings show that self-congruency with brand personality is positively related to buying intention. Moreover, product experience and involvement work as moderators on the relationship between self-congruency with brand personality and buying intention. The same effects could not be retrieved for self-congruency with country personality. Further results, however, indicate that self-congruency with a brand’s personality is significantly related to self-congruency with the personality of the country-of-origin of that brand. This study contributes to the under-researched strands of brand personality and country personality. The examined interdependencies and interactional effects by other variables give further hints on the determinants of personality constructs in consumer behavior. Moreover, findings stress the role of self-congruency in consumer behavior and support self-congruency theory backed by empirical data.