Drivers and mechanisms of consumer attitudes toward global brand activists: a mediated approach
基于功能态度理论，通过英国全国代表性样本调查，研究了政治意识形态、消费者民族中心主义、全球品牌态度和感知动机如何直接或间接影响消费者对全球品牌行动主义的态度。
Purpose The phenomenon of global brands taking a stance on crucial, yet polarizing, socio-political issues, namely global brand activism, is rising. However, how consumer views on this practice are shaped when global branding elements are factored in remains unclear. Drawing from the functional theory of attitude formation, this study investigates the relationships of consumer characteristics (political ideology, consumer ethnocentrism) and brand factors (global brand attitudes and perceived motivation of global brand activists) with attitudes toward global brand activists. Design/methodology/approach Using a survey of a UK nationally representative sample ( n = 439), we test our hypothesized model via structural equation modeling and mediation analysis. Findings Our findings reveal direct and indirect effects of political ideology on attitudes toward global brand activists (AttGBACTIVs). While consumer ethnocentrism and global brand attitudes do not directly drive AttGBACTIVs, they do influence them indirectly. Perceived motivation of global brand activists emerges as a key mechanism activating these effects and affecting AttGBACTIVs. Originality/value First, this study constitutes a novel examination of consumer views of brand activism through a global branding lens. Second, our investigation uniquely combines important determinants of brand activism outcomes with key international marketing factors (namely consumer ethnocentrism and global brand attitudes). Third, the concurrent exploration of individual and brand factors in our mediated model reveals the complex mechanisms through which attitudes toward global brand activists are formed.