The DOI matches its Crossref record; 16 of the 16 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Humanizing brands: When brands seem to be like me, part of me, and in a relationship with me
Open accessAbstract
We review a growing body of research in consumer behavior that has examined when consumers humanize brands by perceiving them as like, part of, or in a relationship with themselves. One research stream shows that sometimes consumers perceive brands as having human‐like forms, minds, and personality characteristics. A second stream identifies ways that a consumer perceives a brand as being congruent with or connected to the self. Finally, a third highlights that consumers can view brands in ways that are analogous to the types of relationships they have with people. We review research in these three areas and point out connections among these research streams. In part, we accomplish this by showing that factors associated with the SEEK model, which are designed to explain anthropomorphic tendencies, are also relevant to other ways of humanizing brands. We identify major propositions derived from this research and several areas for which additional research is needed. We conclude with recommendations for the many opportunities for expanding our conceptual and empirical understanding of this domain.
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Citations
Cites
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“…the domain of humanizing brands seem to be like me, part of me, and in a relationship with me, Journal of Drivers of Humanizing Brands (adapted from Epley et al., 2007) Types of Drivers Sociality Motivation Effectance Motivation Elicited Agent Knowledge Dispositional Chronic Loneliness Low…”
BackgroundInfluentialThe Ties That Bind: Measuring the Strength of Consumers’ Emotional Attachments to Brands
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BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citationHow Brand Community Practices Create Value
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Who Sees Human?: The Stability and Importance of Individual Differences in Anthropomorphism
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“Depicting a set of soda bottles as a “product family” induces greater tendencies to anthropomorphize compared to describing them as a “product line” (Aggarwal & McGill, 2007, study 2).”
BackgroundDirect and indirect effects of self-image congruence on brand loyalty
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Cited by
Blut, M., Wang, C., Wünderlich, N. V., & Brock, C. (2021) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-020-00762-y · Cited by 1,194
Customer service chatbots: Anthropomorphism and adoption
Sheehan, B., Jin, H. S., & Gottlieb, U. (2020) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.04.030 · Cited by 667
Kim, S. Y., Schmitt, B. H., & Thalmann, N. M. (2019) · Marketing Letters · doi:10.1007/s11002-019-09485-9 · Cited by 498
We ARe at home: how augmented reality reshapes mobile marketing and consumer-brand relationships.
Scholz, J., & Duffy, K. (2018) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.05.004 · Cited by 397
Novak, T. P., & Hoffman, D. L. (2019) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-018-0608-3 · Cited by 332
Alabed, A., Javornik, A., & Gregory-Smith, D. (2022) · Technological Forecasting and Social Change · doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121786 · Cited by 233
Jin, S. V., & Youn, S. (2023) · International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction · doi:10.1080/10447318.2022.2129277 · Cited by 201
Chatbots in frontline services and customer experience: An anthropomorphism perspective
Nguyen, M., Casper Ferm, L., Quach, S., Pontes, N., & Thaichon, P. (2023) · Psychology & Marketing · doi:10.1002/mar.21882 · Cited by 119
Doing Relationship Work: A Theory of Change in Consumer–Brand Relationships
Alvarez, C., Brick, D. J., & Fournier, S. (2021) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1093/jcr/ucab022 · Cited by 39
Service robot anthropomorphism on consumer usage intention: curvilinear and linear effect
Yang, M., Li, J., Feng, L., Chen, S.-C., & Tseng, M.-L. (2024) · Industrial Management & Data Systems · doi:10.1108/imds-08-2023-0538 · Cited by 33
Metadata
- Authors
- MacInnis, D. J., & Folkes, V. S.
- Venue
- Journal of Consumer Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2017-01-11
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 355-374
- ISSN
- 1057-7408 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-7663
- OpenAlex
- W2574739206
- Cited by
- 442
- References
- 16
- FWCI
- 55.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
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