The impact of envy on brand preference: brand storytelling and psychological distance as moderators
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-08-2018-2004 |
| Pages | 515-528 |
| Date | 15 July 2019 |
| Published date | 15 July 2019 |
| Author | Danny Tengti Kao |
| Subject Matter | Marketing |
The impact of envy on brand preference:
brand storytelling and psychological
distance as moderators
Danny Tengti Kao
National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
Abstract
Purpose –While envy has been widely explored in psychology literature, theoretical understanding of the effects of envy on consumers’emotional
responses to brands is promising but under explored. Therefore, this study aims to apply cases of envy and psych ological distance to consumers to
examine whether the style of brand storytelling can moderate brand preference.
Design/methodology/approach –Three experimental studies were conducted to test the hypotheses. Experiment 1 investigated the effect of envy
on consumer evaluations of an advocated brand, through viewing a series of advertisements that varied in brand storytelling styl es. A total of 104
working students were randomly assigned to a 2 (brand storytelling: underdog vs top dog) single factorial design. Experim ent 2 investigates the
effect of envy on consumer evaluations of the advocated brand through viewing advertisements that varied in psychologi cal distance. A total of 108
working students were randomly assigned to a 2 (psychological distance: proximal vs distant) single factorial design. Experiment 3 investigated the
effect of envy on evaluations of the brand through viewing advertisements that varied in brand storytelling style and psychological distance. A total
of 208 working students were randomly assigned to a 2 (underdog vs top dog) 2 (proximal vs distant psychological dista nce) between-subject
factorial design.
Findings –Results demonstrate that for consumers experiencing benign and malicious envy, advertisements characterized by brand storytelling
(underdog vs top dog) and psychological distance (proximal vs distant) will elicit differential brand preferences.
Originality/value –This research takes up the call to address the limited attention given to envy in the context of brand advertising. Specifically,
this research aims to explore how consumer envy influences brand preference and the role of moderating effects such as brand storytelling and
psychological distance in this context.
Keywords Brand preference, Envy, Brand storytelling, Psychological distance
Paper type Research paper
The wicked envy and hate; it is their way of admiring. Victor Hugo
From an anthropological standpoint, history and culture are
learned and refined through stories and storytelling (Escalas,
2004). People tell stories to contribute to and sustain their
cultural heritage. As storiesaccumulate in the mind, they shape
people’s thought and judgments (Loebbert, 2005). In recent
marketing research, brand storieshave been leveraged to create
brand preference, which is a critical element in forming a
consumer’s attachmentto a brand. One of the biggest strengths
for brand marketing is brand preference, where consumers are
loyal to a specific brand (Kao, 2016).Therefore, a core issue in
branding strategyis how to build and maintain consumer brand
preferences. However, marketers across many industries are
faced with a common challenge, which is the shifting of brand
preferences. Apart from monitoring these preference changes,
marketers are also interested in understanding the drivers of
preference over time (Sriram et al., 2006), which leads to the
rationale for this research.This research will start by examining
how brands emotionally connect with consumers through
brand storytelling.
Recent research has indicated that brand storytelling has
been acknowledged as an effective advertising strategy to
attract customers (Woodside, 2010;Herskovitz and Crystal,
2010;Freeman, 2014;Kao et al., 2017b) and to create or
sustain a brand’s competitive advantage. Woodside (2010)
further indicates that the central principle of creating good
brand stories is to construct indices, such as locations,
decisions, actions, attitudes, quandaries, decisions or
conclusions. Indices in brand stories can arouse automatic
awareness, comprehension and empathy among consumers
(Woodside, 2010). In addition, good storytelling manifests the
struggle between expectation and reality in all its nastiness
(Woodside, 2010). Kao et al. (2017b) also argue that a good
brand story can resonate with consumers’hearts and elicit
favorable consumerperceptions of this brand.
However, striking a responsive chord with consumers is a
challenge for advertisers. Based on the social identity theory
formulated by Tajfel and Turner (1986), people tend to
associate themselves with a successful person or a group, as it
sustains or reinforces theirself-esteem. People often attempt to
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on
Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
28/4 (2019) 515–528
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/JPBM-08-2018-2004]
Received 31 August 2018
Revised 7 November 2018
23 January 2019
Accepted 25 January 2019
515
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