The influence of branded business gifts on consumer reciprocity and purchase intention

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how the presence of brand elements (i.e. brand name, logo) on a business gift influences reciprocity motivation among gift-receiving consumers. Design/methodology/approach Across five experiments, the effect of branded (versus unbranded) business gifts on reciprocity motivation was tested. Mediation of the effect through brand motive and brand warmth (Studies 1–3), moderation of self-brand connection (Study 4) and the downstream effect of reciprocity motivation on purchase intent (Study 5) were also tested. Findings Branded (versus unbranded) business gifts result in lower reciprocity motivation. This is explained by increased perceived egoistic (over altruistic) brand motive, followed by decreased brand warmth. Self-brand connection moderates the effect, such that the effect attenuates for consumers with high self-brand connection. Furthermore, branded (versus unbranded) business gifts reduce purchase intent through reduced reciprocity motivation. Practical implications This paper suggests that there are situations in which unbranded business gifts will be more effective than branded gifts in eliciting reciprocity in consumers. This paper provides managerial guidance on the benefits of gifting unbranded versus branded gifts while also providing a relevant boundary condition of self-brand connection. Originality/value Prior research has not examined the effect of business gift branding on consumer reciprocity. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first paper to show that branded (versus unbranded) gifts can have a negative effect on reciprocity.