The influence of emotional confidence on brand attitude: using brand belief as mediating variable

Abstract

The direct influence of emotional responses on thinking is firmly established in the literature. The assumption that emotion has primacy over cognition challenges conventional wisdom that both attitude and confidence are primarily cognitive in nature. In order to examine this particular assumption, an alternative conceptualisation has been introduced, called ‘emotional confidence’ (EC). This study is the first attempt to measure EC as a separate construct and to test whether EC can be a determinant of brand attitude (BA) and this relationship can be mediated by brand beliefs. The data was collected from Swansea University Students in context of car buying (N = 197) and analysed through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results indicated that EC can be primary determinant of BA and the relationship between the two is mediated by brand beliefs. Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are discussed in the light of the study’s limitations and areas for further research indicated.