Do brands make consumers happy?- A masstige theory perspective

By Ajay Kumar, Justin Paul, Slađana Starčević. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 2021

122 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract Happiness has been topic of research since ancient times. This study explores the theory of consumer happiness grounded in the tenets of mass prestige (Masstige), self-consciousness and social ideal self by linking it with brand-induced happiness (Brand Happiness). The relationship is explored in light of self-consciousness and social ideal self by taking them as moderators. Data was collected from a European country using a standard questionnaire measuring brand happiness, masstige, self-consciousness and social ideal self from 346 respondents for three mobile phone brands from America, South Korea and China – iPhone, Samsung and Huawei. Exploratory Factor Analysis, Structural Equation Modelling, and Moderation Analysis revealed that the consumption of masstige brands lead to brand happiness. This relationship is moderated by self-consciousness, whereas social ideal self is not moderating the relationship. The study also revealed that only iPhone is a masstige brand. Implications of the findings and managerial applications along with theoretical contributions are discussed.

Subfields: Literature and Literary Theory, Marketing

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/9f6e76c9874eef0e1ed5f2216719515bd44bb020