Something underneath? Using a within-subjects design to examine schema congruity theory at an individual level

Previous research has shown that perceived incongruity affects product evaluations in an inverted U shape. However, it remains unclear whether this relation also occurs at individual levels with continuous incongruity measures, and for products with repurposed materials. Five within-subjects studies do not show the inverted U relation across all participants. Instead, consumer subgroups show a monotonic relation: higher congruity leads to higher product evaluations. This aligns with processing fluency theory. Additionally, we demonstrate that the degree of processing from raw to end materials and the extent to which materials fulfil product functions mediate the effect of repurposed materials on perceived incongruity.     

Antecedents and consequences of hotel customers’ psychological ownership

This study aims to broaden the current knowledge on the antecedents and consequences of customers’ psychological ownership (CPO) from new perspectives in the hotel context. Specifically, this study investigates how self-image congruity and functional congruity affect CPO through impression in memory based on self-congruity theory and also examines two types of customer engagement—customers’ social influence engagement and knowledge-sharing engagement—as new CPO outcomes. Using survey data collected from 433 Chinese hotel customers, this study finds that self-image congruity positively predicts CPO partially through impression in memory, whereas functional congruity positively influences CPO fully through impression in memory. Moreover, the findings indicate that CPO significantly drives customers’ social influence engagement and knowledge-sharing engagement. This study contributes theoretically to the CPO literature by further developing its linkages with congruity perceptions and customer engagement. Practical implications of the findings can help hotel managers effectively promote CPO and customer engagement.     

Multiple reference effects in service evaluations: Roles of alternative attractiveness and self-image congruity

Customer satisfaction and service evaluation research has examined the reference effect but largely adopted an expectancy-disconfirmation paradigm that focuses on referents centered on the product or service in question. This study examines two additional reference effects, alternative attractiveness and self-image congruity, and their interaction. The framework of multiple reference effects in service evaluations integrates insights from regret theory, the investment model of interpersonal relationships, and self-image congruity theory. An empirical study of a hairstyling service confirms that comparisons involving other-object and self-based reference points contribute significantly to consumer service evaluations. Self-image congruity has the most significant impact on both customer satisfaction and commitment judgments. In general, the negative effect of alternative attractiveness on both customer satisfaction and commitment becomes weaker as the level of self-image congruity increases; as long as consumers find a good fit between their self-image and the service image, they are less likely to consider alternative services. However, for consumers with high self-image congruity with the focal service, the presence of an attractive alternative may induce them to exhibit an enhancement bias or “play up” effect (i.e., report higher satisfaction with the focal service).     

Linking Travel Motivation,Tourist Self-Image and Destination Brand Personality

Abstract

Despite a growing body of work on destination branding, there has been little investigation of whether or not tourists attribute brand personality characteristics to tourism destinations and whether or not an emotional connection exists based on tourists' perceived self-image and the ‘brand personality’ of destinations. The aim of this study is to explore the links among four key constructs proposed for the destination branding and choice processtourist needs, destination brand personality, self-congruity, and intentions to visit and satisfaction with a visit. The results indicate that where tourists can make an association between a destination and a destination brand personality, and where this association is consistent with their desired holiday experience, a high level of congruity will exist between the tourists' self-image and their perceptions of the destination. In turn this self-congruity was related to satisfaction with a visit to the destination but not to intention to travel to the destination.     

Yesterday once more? Autobiographical memory evocation effects on tourists' post-travel purchase intentions toward destination products

When tourists return home from a remote tourism destination, it is not uncommon for them to encounter the destination's products being sold in their hometown. Autobiographical memory evocation is likely to affect their purchase intentions. This study aims to examine the effects of autobiographical memory evocation on behavioral responses. A conceptual model was developed to examine the causal relationships of product-destination congruity, travel satisfaction, autobiographical memory, evoked pleasure, destination attachment and purchase intention. Data were obtained from 342 tourists who had visited the heritage city of Lijiang, China. Autobiographical memory is found to lead to pleasure and a positive mood, higher levels of destination attachment, and greater purchase intentions for the product available in the tourist's hometown. Managerial implications are discussed.     

Effects of brand personality dimensions on consumers’ perceived self-image congruity and functional congruity with hotel brands

Brand personality plays a key role in consumer brand psychology, but researchers and practitioners lack an adequate understanding of the efficacy of individual brand personality dimensions. Drawing on the theory of self-congruity and an analysis of eight U.S. hotel brands, this study revealed the varying roles that brand personality plays in driving brand choice: in particular, consumers tend to express their self-images through the brand personality dimensions known as Excitement and Sincerity, while relying on Sincerity and Competence to evaluate how consistent a hotel's functions are with their own preferences. The study also indicates that business travelers are more likely than leisure travelers to value functional congruity, while self-image congruity is more important to leisure than business travelers. The paper offers hotel practitioners a better understanding of the personality dimensions they should position or strengthen for their hotel brands to deliver to customers based on each dimension's utility.     

Investigating the key drivers of traveler loyalty in the airport lounge setting

This study intended to examine the structural relationships among functional congruity factors, delight, well-being perception, brand identification, and traveler satisfaction in the formation of air traveler loyalty for airline lounges. The survey sample consisted of 394 air travelers who visited an airline lounge in airport in the U.S. during the past six months. Structural equation modeling was used to test the conceptual model. Results of the structural equation modeling indicated that functional congruity of the physical environments and facilities were significantly and positively associated with delight, which in turn, affected air travelers’ perceived well-being and satisfaction level in the lounge. It was also found that well-being perception significantly and positively affected brand identification and satisfaction, and loyalty was a positive and significant function of satisfaction. The mediation test showed that delight and well-being perception were significant mediators in the proposed theoretical framework. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.     

Effects of game‐product congruity on in‐app interstitial advertising and the moderation of media‐context factors

Advertising has become one of the major sources of game apps revenues and interstitial ads, in particular, are the most used monetization method among the types of in‐game mobile ad formats. Interstitial ads overlaid on top of a mobile game app have more obvious advertising intent and a higher degree of forced exposure and perceived intrusiveness. This study examined how the degree of congruity (high vs. moderate vs. low) between the promoted products in interstitial ads and the mobile game app environment affects consumers’ responses. The moderating effects of media‐context factors (i.e., excited– or calm–happiness game types and game immersion) were further assessed. The results of two experiments revealed that game‐product congruity lead to better consumers’ responses toward ads and advertised products. The positive effects of game‐product congruity were more salient when consumers played calm–happiness games and were less immersed in the game. Theoretical implications on integrating perspectives across disciplines such as schema theory, happiness, and immersion within the media‐context framework, as well as practical suggestions are discussed.     

The effects of schema congruity on consumer response to celebrity advertising

The trend of celebrity-branded products is on the rise, creating a new domain in which to explore the match-up hypothesis. Moving beyond the celebrity as an endorser, but rather, a brand promoting a brand extension, this article examines how perceived congruence between a celebrity's image and the brand image of products they have developed is related to attitudinal and behavioral measures of advertising effectiveness. Employing a 2 × 3 full factorial design, congruence between the celebrity's image and the brand's image was varied (less vs. more congruent), along with the use of the celebrity's image (present, absent, non-celebrity models) to determine how schema congruity influences consumer's response to celebrity advertising. The results of a multivariate analysis of covariance analysis indicating lower levels of congruence between the celebrity's image and the brand's image led to greater advertising effectiveness compared to higher levels of congruence. Specifically, the means of the attitudinal dependent variables in the less congruent condition were significantly higher than the means in the more congruent condition. These effects were more pronounced when a celebrity's image was featured in the advertisement compared to when it was not featured. The implication of the findings suggests that moderate violations in the consumer's celebrity schema may improve advertising effectiveness.