The interactive effect of power and self-construal on consumers’ preferences for brand-logo size

Abstract

A logo reflects a brand's face and is an indicator of the brand’s personality and identity. Therefore, its importance has been long established among marketers. This article develops marketers' understanding on how logo size preference can be affected by consumers' psychological power and self-construal. Through six studies, we show that larger brand logos are preferred by low-power (vs. high-power) consumers when an independent self-construal is salient because of a greater tendency to engage in self-deceptive enhancement—the tendency to see oneself in exaggerated and glorified terms. In contrast, a smaller brand logo is preferred by low-power (vs. high-power) consumers when an interdependent self-construal is salient because of a greater tendency to engage in impression management—the tendency to be modest and normatively appropriate. These findings provide meaningful insights for managers in terms of logo size decisions and marketing communications.