The Effect of Self-image Congruence on Rejuvenated Brand among Generation Y Consumers in Thailand: Moderating Effects of Social Personality and Social Context

Abstract

Brand is like human. When time passes by, it gets old. If company ignores the brand’s age problem, the brand may decline or even disappear from the market. As a result, many companies endeavor to make a brand look younger by doing the brand rejuvenation. Although this is not a new issue in business, few studies, if any, have put efforts to examine what factors affect consumers’ attitude toward a rejuvenated brand. This study intends to fill in the gaps in literature. Specifically, the research employs the self-image congruence theory to explore the effects of self-image congruence, self-brand connection, and brand heritage on Y-generation consumers’ attitude toward rejuvenated brands. Moreover, by drawing the social contextual concepts, the moderating effects of social personality, i.e. self-monitoring, and membership group are examined as well. Research results based on a sample collected from 255 Y-generation respondents in Thailand show that brand heritage exerts a positive effect on favorable attitude toward rejuvenated brand. Moreover, membership group positively moderates the relationships between self-image congruence, as well as brand heritage, and favorable attitude toward rejuvenated brand. The study contributes to the brand literature by empirically examining the rejuvenated brand issue and its antecedents from the perspective of self-brand connection. Implications and limitations are discussed as well.