When brand prominence mutes uniqueness: Deconstructing the prominence paradox with network science and machine learning

This study investigates the "Prominence Paradox": how market prominence paradoxically suppresses brand uniqueness signals. Grounded in dual-process theory, we posit a "shift in the locus of judgment" as the core mechanism. Using a large-scale survey (N = 38,986), we employ computational network analysis to derive prominence and use a dual-analysis strategy (LMM and XGBoost with SHAP) to test the framework. Findings reveal a stark asymmetry: prominence significantly attenuates the positive impact of differentiation (an identity signal), while the impact of perceived value (a transactional signal) remains robust. Quality and trust are also suppressed. This is the first study to deconstruct this paradox, contributing a novel "shift in judgment" process model.