Moderating Effect of Self-Brand Congruity on Purchase Intention of Luxury Brands

This study examines moderating effect of self-brand congruity on purchase intention of luxury brands. A cumulative approach to analyze purchase intention of luxury brands is presented by combining the behavioral aspects of consumers and personality of the brand. The driving forces that lead to a brand purchase are very important. The question arises that what are the drivers of the luxury brand purchase intention considering the fact that in many cases the same benefits can be acquired from an ordinary brand. Certainly, the functional benefits are the same but there might be some drivers or attitudes that derive luxury brands purchase. This paper identifies those factors (self-expression attitude and self-presentation attitude) and empirically investigates their relationship with consumer’s purchase intention of luxury brands. This study also examines mediating role of affective attitude in relationship between social function attitudes and purchase intentions towards luxury brands. Data is collected from 400 customers living in Lahore and Gujranwala cities, Pakistan. Multiple regression is employed to test relationship between social function attitudes and purchase intention. Bootstrapping method has been used to check the mediation and moderation. Findings show that social function attitude (self-expression & self-presentation attitude) positively influence the purchase intentions towards luxury brand. Moreover, findings confirm mediating role of affective attitude and moderating role of self-brand congruity. This shows that brand personality is very important factor in brand positioning specially for luxury brands where symbolic benefits are far more important than functional benefits.