Contingency consumer brand evaluations during recessions: a meta-analysis and systematic review

Purpose This study aims to conduct a meta-analysis and literature review on the effects of recessions on consumer brand evaluations. It examines how downturns influence various evaluation dimensions through the lens of Skinner’s contingency theory. Design/methodology/approach This study reviewed literature from January 2000 to December 2023 for a psychometric meta-analysis, incorporating 155 effect sizes and 4,025,156 observations. It applied psychometric corrections and random-effects estimation. The literature review includes 47 studies. Findings Recessions negatively affect consumer brand evaluations. Significant and predominantly negative relationships are observed between general brand impressions and brand-related consumer activity. This effect is significant and positive for brand commitment and not significant for brand-specific impressions. Brand familiarity, brand type and product convenience, considered contextual moderators, show a smaller and significantly negative effect on brand evaluations for familiar brands, real brands and low-convenience products. Methodological moderators have a significant and less negative effect in studies with study settings, data type and methodology. Originality/value This study analyses the fragmented empirical literature on how changes in the economic environment affect firm and consumer behaviour towards consumer brand evaluations during recessions. It extends prior isolated meta-analyses of recessions and branding by introducing a novel theoretical framework based on Skinner’s contingency theory, offering new research directions.