| Abstract: | This paper examines the relationship between adolescent girls' self‐esteem, self‐monitoring, and social groups (i.e., susceptibility to peer influence and group identification/differentiation) on one hand, and their perception of brand symbolism on the other. There is particular interest accorded to adolescent girls living in a transitional society. A single model is proposed to test the hypothesized relationships using structural equation modeling. The research findings reveal the existence of two categories of adolescents in a transitional society: modern and conservative. The former's perception of brand symbolism is found to be significantly influenced by their self‐esteem. The latter's, however, is affected by their self‐monitoring. Additionally, self‐monitoring has an indirect impact on both conservative and modern teenage girls' perception of brand symbolism via their susceptibility to peer influence and group identification. This latter was the only social group factor to have a direct effect on both groups' perception of brand symbolism. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. |
