Employing autobiographical memory perspective to influence self-congruence and brand preference

摘要

This paper advances our understanding of consumer behavior by examining the influence of autobiographical memory perspective on consumer's self-congruence. While extant research has primarily restricted itself to the consequences of self-congruence, this work focuses on an antecedent, by examining the psychological processes associated with the consumer's autobiographical memory perspective and the resulting impact on self-congruence. Through three experiments, we demonstrate that visualizing autobiographical memories from a first-person versus a third-person perspective impacts consumers' self-brand congruence differently under varied circumstances. Specifically, differing degrees of self-brand congruence are experienced when consumers focus on differences (vs. similarities) between their present and recalled selves, combined with distinct autobiographical memory perspectives. The autobiographical memory perspective is identified as a key determinant of consumers' perceived change in self-image, which, in turn, has a cascading effect on their self-brand congruence. Thus, consumers' perceived change in self-image is identified as the mechanism underlying the main effect. Furthermore, as an important component of self-image, this research determines and examines a moderating influence of self-esteem in the relationship between autobiographical memory perspective and self-congruence. Collectively, these results facilitate our understanding of the autobiographical memory perspective as an antecedent of consumer's self-congruence, with implications for nostalgia advertising and retro branding.