The role of brand image congruity in Chinese consumers ... - Emerald

The role of brand image congruity in Chinese
consumers’ brand preference
Jing Hu and Xin Liu
Department of International Business and Marketing, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Pomona, California, USA
Sijun Wang
Department of Marketing and Business Law, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California, USA, and
Zhilin Yang
Department of Marketing, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR
Abstract
Purpose – This study aims to examine the role of functional and symbolic image congruity in Chinese consumers’ brand preferences in the auto
market, and the role of brand familiarity in moderating the relationship between brand image congruity and consumers’ preferences.
Design/methodology/approach – A one-on-one survey was administered to 1,440 consumers by market research specialists on two popular auto
brands in China.
Findings – While confirming existing findings concerning functional image congruity, the results revealed that symbolic image congruity had a
negative impact on Chinese consumers’ brand preference when a brand’s perceived symbolic image is higher than consumers’ ideal expectations
(i.e. upward incongruity), and brand familiarity does not moderate the role of symbolic image congruity in Chinese consumers’ brand preference.
Originality/value – The paper’s findings could help managers to improve their brand management and enhance consumer satisfaction.
Keywords Brand image, Brand preference, Brand management, Auto market, Symbolic and functional congruity, China
Paper type Research paper
An executive summary for managers and executive
readers can be found at the end of this article.
Introduction
Brand image management has received much attention from
both academia and practitioners in the Western world since
the seminal work of Park et al. (1986). Previous research in
this field suggests that consumers organize a cluster of
attributes and create an image association related to the brand
around both functional and symbolic dimensions (Park et al.,
1986; Sirgy and Samli, 1985). Such brand images are
compared against various reference points, be it an ideal
point, product category image, social image, ideal social
image, self image, or ideal self image, to influence consumers’
reactions to a given brand, including brand attitude, brand
preference, and brand loyalty (Sirgy et al., 1991; Sirgy and Su,
2000). Scholars term the similarity or consistency between a
brand’s perceived image and the consumers’ adopted
reference point as “brand image congruity” (e.g. Broniarczyk
and Alba, 1994; Bhat and Reddy, 2001; Lynch and Schuler,
1994; Park et al., 1991). Brand image congruity has been
proposed and shown to play an essential role in consumers’
brand behavior in various models (cf. Czellar, 2003).
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
21/1 (2012) 26–34
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/10610421211203088]
It appears that brand carriers should strive for brand image
congruity to obtain more positive brand attitude and brand
behavior. Given the fact that such brand management
“wisdom” is based on studies in mature Western markets,
its applicability to emerging markets cannot be assumed
without further examination. This study’s goal is to examine
the existing findings regarding the role of brand image
congruity in an emerging market, i.e. China.
China is quickly becoming an economic powerhouse and its
trade with the rest of the world, particularly with the USA, is
steadily increasing. Approximately 1.3 billion people inhabit
the nation of China, making it the world’s most populous
country, encompassing a staggering 20 percent of the global
population. Its population magnitude, economic growth, and
gradual change from a centrally planned economy to a
market-driven economy are indicative of its growing
importance to business communities worldwide (McNeal
and Yeh, 1997). Although the behavior of Chinese consumers
is increasingly relevant to the global marketplace, relatively
scarce academic research has focused on this subject (Hsee
et al., 2008). In particular, China is the world’s second-largest
auto market, offering considerable potential for global
automakers (Oster and Fairclough, 2007). Meanwhile,
Chinese consumers choose among an increasing number of
car models priced from less than $10,000 to over $100,000.
This complex market situation calls for well-communicated
brand images. Understanding how brand image influences
consumers’ choices in China helps practitioners develop
effective branding strategies, but also extends brand image
The authors gratefully acknowledge a research grant from City University
of Hong Kong (SRG Project No. 7002182).
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Brand image congruity in Chinese consumers’ brand preference
Jing Hu, Xin Liu, Sijun Wang and Zhilin Yang
theories from Western markets to emergent markets.
Specifically, through integrating the social reference and
national socio-cultural literature into the current brand image
management literature, this study proposes and tests the role
of functional and symbolic image congruity in Chinese
consumers’ brand preferences in the auto market. Further,
this study examines the role of brand familiarity in moderating
the relationship between brand image congruity and
consumers’ preferences. The organization of our paper is as
follows. Initially, we provide an overview of the brand image
and brand image congruity literature, focusing on several
major findings, their theoretical underpinnings, and suggest
differences based on the social reference and national sociocultural
literature. Then, we address our research method,
data analysis and results. We conclude with implications,
limitations, and future research directions.
Literature review
Brand image congruity
Brand image is generally defined as consumers’ perceptions of
a brand (Keller, 1993). This perception influences the brand’s
positioning in the market. A good brand image establishes a
brand’s position and improves the brand’s market
performance (Shocker and Srinivasan, 1979; Wind, 1973).
Brand image congruity happens when a brand image
matches consumers’ expectations. Schema congruity theory
asserts that congruity positively influence consumers’ brand
preferences (Fiske, 1982; Fiske and Pavelchak, 1986;
Pavelchak, 1989). A schema is a hypothetical memory
structure that helps people organize new information
relative to existing information (Solso, 1989). For example,
consumers’ expectations of a product can be viewed as
existing schema. Based on schema congruity theory (Fiske,
1982; Fiske and Pavelchak, 1986; Pavelchak, 1989), schema
congruity determines consumers’ affective responses. When
the brand image matches expectations, positive evaluation
results. The schema theory was originally developed and
applied in the social science area (Fiske, 1982). Later, many
marketing studies borrowed Fiske’s theory to explain issues
including judgments about consumer products (Aggarwal and
McGill, 2007; Meyers-Levy and Tybout, 1989), brand
extension evaluations (Broniarczyk and Alba, 1994), and
advertisement evaluations (Houston et al., 1987).
We define congruity, in this context, as the perceived
difference between an actual brand image and a consumerdesired
image. According to Park et al. (1986), brand image has
two dimensions: functional and symbolic. A brand positioned
with a functional image highlights the tangible and productrelated
utilitarian attributes. Symbolic needs are internally
generated for self-expression (Park et al., 1986). Symbolic
brands are prestige-oriented for status appeal. Several later
studies (Bhat and Reddy, 1998; Chernatony and Harris, 2000;
Mowle and Merrilees, 2005) supports that the functionality/
symbolism constitutes a two-dimensional construct, and a
brand can have the two dimensions at the same time.
The two dimensions of brand image generate two types of
brand image congruity: functional and symbolic image
congruity. Functional image congruity takes place when a
brand matches the utilitarian set of criteria that consumers
prefer. This utilitarian set is related to a brand’s tangible
attributes, reflecting its functional performance. For example,
functional attributes of an automobile brand will include the
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Volume 21 · Number 1 · 2012 · 26–34
degree of comfort, engine performance, safety and so forth.
Functional image congruity results when a brand’s
performance on these attributes matches a consumer’
desired level. In a similar vein, symbolic image congruity
occurs as a brand’s performance on symbolic attributes match
consumers’ desired level. Based on the schema theory, both
types of congruity will generate consumers’ affective
responses. Therefore, we propose:
H1a. Functional image congruity positively influences
consumers’ brand preference.
H1b. Symbolic image congruity positively influences
consumers’ brand preference.
Relationship between symbolic and functional image
congruity
From the accessibility-diagnosticity perspective, symbolic
information is more accessible, and will be processed prior
to functional information. First, accessibility was defined by
Feldman and Lynch (1988) as “the degree to which a piece of
information can be retrieved from memory for input into a
judgment, and diagnosticity is the degree to which that piece
of information is relevant for that judgment”. Symbolic image
is related to intangible attributes, such as attractiveness,
friendliness and etc, and is more abstract than the functional
one. The abstract information requires less cognitive effort to
process than concrete information (Abelson, 1976; Anderson,
1980). In other words, symbolic information is more
accessible than functional information because the former is
easier to be retrieved from memory.
Second, a basic assumption of the accessibility-diagnosticity
argument is that consumers are “cognitive misers”, and will
not retrieve all information at a time (Wyer and Scrull, 1986).
Among information that is diagnostic to the judgment,
consumers choose to retrieve the most accessible one first
(Feldman and Lynch, 1988; Wyer and Scrull, 1986). In other
words, the information most accessible would be chosen first
to make the judgment. Since symbolic information is more
accessible than functional ones, we propose that the
processing result of symbolic image congruity will prime the
judgment of the functional image congruity. The proposed
relationships are shown in Figure 1.
H2. Consumers’ perceived symbolic image congruity has a
positive impact on the perceived functional image
congruity.
Role of brand familiarity
Brand familiarity indicates consumers’ prior knowledge of
and experience with a brand (Alba and Hutchinson, 1987;
Campbell and Keller, 2003). Consumers familiar with a
brand have a set of knowledge about the brand, including its
tangible/intangible attributes and the relationships among
them (Sujan and Bettman, 1989). We suggest that the brand
familiarity moderates the relationship between the brand
image congruity and brand preference in two ways. First,
familiarity changes the weights of congruent and incongruent
information in product evaluations. Fiske and Taylor (1991)
point out that people with well-developed knowledge are able
to notice both schema-congruity and incongruity information
whereas those with little knowledge are likely to be especially
sensitive to schema incongruity information. In this context,
consumers familiar with a brand will judge the brand based on
27

Brand image congruity in Chinese consumers’ brand preference
Jing Hu, Xin Liu, Sijun Wang and Zhilin Yang
Journal of Product & Brand Management
Volume 21 · Number 1 · 2012 · 26–34
Figure 1 Conceptual framework
both congruity and incongruity information. When
incorporating both sides of the information, its impacts on
brand preference are likely to be offset. As for those with low
brand familiarity, the incongruity information plays a
dominant role in forming the brand preference. Therefore,
the schema-congruity effect is more obvious among groups
with low-brand familiarity than those with high-brand
familiarity.
Second, familiarity helps consumers resolve the incongruent
information, reducing its negative impact on brand preference
(Fiske and Pavelchak, 1986). When encountering incongruity,
consumers who are familiar with the brand already have the
prior knowledge to process the information and resolve the
incongruity. As for those who have little prior knowledge about
the brand will have difficulty in doing so. According to H1,
incongruent information negatively affects brand preferences.
Therefore, we propose that when viewing the discrepancy,
consumers who are less familiar with the brand are likely to
respond more negatively to brand preference.
H3a. Consumers’ brand familiarity moderates the
relationship between functional image congruity and
brand preference such that at a lower level of brand
familiarity, functional image congruity has a stronger
impact on brand preference than at a higher level of
brand familiarity.
H3b. Consumers’ brand familiarity moderates the
relationship between symbolic image congruity and
brand preference such that at a lower level of brand
familiarity, symbolic image congruity has a stronger
impact on brand preference than at a higher level of
brand familiarity.
Method
Product stimulus
To test the hypotheses, a survey was administered in the
Chinese automobile market. Automobiles were chosen as the
product stimulus because automobiles are high in value,
especially as compared to average income in China, and
purchasing an automobile is usually a comprehensive
purchase decision. We have reason to believe that
consumers would initiate a relatively more intensive
information search and thought process when making their
decision, which makes their responses to our survey research
more reliable.
For this research, we limited our study to medium-priced
sedan market (price ranges from CNY120,000 to 300,000,
which is roughly from $US15,000 to 37,000). Specifically, we
chose Bora and Mazda 6 as our product stimuli, two very
popular brands in this range in China. Bora is from FAW-
Volkswagen Automobile Co. Ltd (a large-scale joint venture
passenger car manufacturer between FAW Group
Corporation and Volkswagen AG) and Mazda is from FAW
Car Co. Ltd in corporation with Mazda. A new Bora is priced
at somewhere between CNY120,000 and 160,000
($US15,000-20,000) and a new Mazda6 is priced between
CNY190,000 and 230,000 ($US23,750-28,750). We will
examine responses on Bora first in the following analysis.
Procedure and sample
A one-on-one survey was administered to 1,440 selected
Chinese consumers by market research specialists using a predesigned
questionnaire. The Chinese automobile market has
only been booming in the last few years, and automobiles are
still unaffordable to most consumers. To ensure the
knowledge of the target respondents, only those who had
made the purchase decision and bought a medium-priced
sedan within the last three years or planned to buy one within
the next three months were allowed to participate in this
survey. Respondents were evenly distributed in seven major
cities throughout China, including large cities like Beijing,
Shanghai, and Guangzhou, mid-sized cities like Chengdu and
Shenyang, and smaller cities like Hangzhou and Qingdao. All
of the respondents were adults above 20 years old (20-30,
24.8 percent; 31-40, 36.1 percent; 41 and above, 39.1
percent). About half were female (50.1 percent) and half male
(49.9 percent). Of the 1,440 respondents, there were 317 new
buyers (22 percent) who were looking for a sedan at the time
of the investigation; 735 who had previously bought a sedan
once (51 percent); and 388 who had previously bought sedans
more than once (26.9 percent). This sampling is deemed to
be representative of consumers in the Chinese automobile
market.
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Brand image congruity in Chinese consumers’ brand preference
Jing Hu, Xin Liu, Sijun Wang and Zhilin Yang
Measures
The questionnaire items were developed based on an
extensive review of consumer behavior decision literature
and focus group studies. The survey instrument consisted of
two parts. The first part was designed to collect demographic
information. The second part was designed to elicit consumer
opinions. Scales used to measure the key constructs in this
study are reported in Table I.
To avoid responses from those who did not possess much
knowledge about the brand addressed, a validity check item
was included in the questionnaire at the beginning of the
second part. Subjects were asked to rate their familiarity with
the brands addressed on a seven-point scale (1 ¼ “extremely
unfamiliar,” 7 ¼ “Extremely familiar”). Subjects were only
allowed to continue on the survey if their answer on the
familiarity scale equaled or exceeded 4.
Table I Research constructs
Factors and items
No. of
items
Familiarity 1
Loadings
on factor
Perceived level of performance in
functional values 14 0.942
1. Appealing modern design 0.732
2. Intelligent engineering 0.762
3. Reliable and durable 0.785
4. Safe 0.760
5. Superior service and support 0.720
6. Top-tier quality 0.811
7. Advanced technology 0.798
8. Roominess 0.757
9. Practical 0.726
10. Comfortable 0.765
11. Fully loaded with fringe features
such as sun-roof, seat-heating) 0.734
12. Good resale value 0.703
13. Excellent engine 0.753
14. Good handling 0.776
Perceived level of performance in
symbolic values 14 0.952
1. Refined 0.752
2. Attractive 0.784
3. Thoughtful 0.820
4. Approachable 0.810
5. Self-assured 0.794
6. Trustworthy 0.775
7. Confident 0.780
8. Prestige 0.817
9. Sporty 0.740
10. Modern 0.790
11. Proud 0.779
12. Optimistic 0.784
13. Elegant 0.786
14. Human-oriented 0.787
Brand preference 3 0.874
1. Overall evaluations 0.897
2. Suitable for me 0.895
3. Attractive to general consumers 0.890
a
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Volume 21 · Number 1 · 2012 · 26–34
Functional image congruity
This construct captures the match between perceived level
and desired level of performance in functional attributes of
automobiles. To measure the performance in functional
attributes, a fourteen-item Likert scale was created for
automobiles as this is very object specific and there is no
existing comprehensive scale to measure it. Subjects were
asked to indicate how properly they thought the listed items
could be used to describe the brand (see Table I for a detailed
list of items). Factor analysis produced a single-factor solution
with all items loaded high on the factor (.0.70) and the scale
was reliable (Cronbach’s a ¼ :942; Nunnally and Bernstein,
1994). The subjects were also asked to indicate their desired
level of performance on these 14 items.
According to Sirgy et al. (1991), absolute difference
congruity has been demonstrated to be better than other
distance models in predicting product preference and
purchase intention. Therefore, we used the absolute value of
the difference between perceived level and desired level of
performance to measure the functional image congruity. We
calculated the functional image congruity score for each
individual respondent based on the following formula:
FC ¼ 2 X jPFA i 2 DFA i j;
where FC is the functional image congruity, PFA i perceived
level of performance in the ith functional attributes, and DFA i
is the desired level of performance in the ith functional
attributes.
Higher values on the congruity construct represent greater
congruity, which means greater proximity between the
subjects’ perceived value (higher congruity) and desired
value in functional attributes with zero as the maximum.
Symbolic image congruity
Likewise, a 14-item Likert scale was developed to measure the
performance of automobiles in symbolic attributes. Factor
analysis produced a single-factor solution with all items
loaded high on the factor (.0.70) and the scale was reliable
(Cronbach’s a ¼ 0:952) as well. The same subjects also
responded to indicate their desired level of performance on
these items. The symbolic image congruity score was
calculated for each individual respondent in the same
fashion as for functional image congruity. Higher values on
the symbolic image congruity construct represent greater
symbolic image congruity.
SC ¼ 2 X PSA j 2 DSA j
;
where SC is the symbolic image congruity, PSA j is the
perceived level of performance in the jth symbolic attributes,
and DSA j is the desired level of performance in the jth
symbolic attributes.
Brand preference
This construct was measured as a factor score derived from
the following items scored on a seven-point scale:
.
“What do you think of this car overall (1 ¼ “very
unfavorable”, 7 ¼ “very favorable”)”;
.
“How do you think this car is suitable to you (1 ¼ “not at
all suitable”, 7 ¼ “very suitable”)”; and
.
“How attractive do you think this car is to general
consumers (1 ¼ “attractive to very few consumers”, 7 ¼
“attractive to most consumers”)”.
29

Brand image congruity in Chinese consumers’ brand preference
Jing Hu, Xin Liu, Sijun Wang and Zhilin Yang
All three items loaded highly (.0.80) on one factor and the
construct showed sufficient reliability (Cronbach’s
a ¼ 0:874).
Analysis and results
Regression analysis
The first hypothesis posits that brand preference is positively
influenced by functional image congruity and symbolic image
congruity. Because all the constructs are continuous variables,
regression analysis is appropriate. Regression of brand
preference on functional image congruity and symbolic
image congruity produced a significant model (we call it
Model 1; R 2 ¼ 0:032, F ¼ 13:497, p , 0:001) as shown in
Table II. Results indicate that coefficients of both predictors,
functional image congruity (standardized b ¼ 0:212,
p , 0:001) and symbolic image congruity (standardized
b ¼ 20:158, p , 0:001), are significant. As H1a predicted,
functional image congruity has a positive influence on brand
preference. However, contrary to what H1b predicted,
symbolic image congruity has a negative influence rather
than a positive influence on brand preference. Therefore, H1a
is supported, and H1b is not supported.
To understand more about the relationship between
symbolic image congruity and brand preference, we further
examined symbolic image congruity data. Data show that the
average distance between subjects’ ideal levels of symbolic
attributes and perceived levels was 20.8729. In fact, 430 out
819 subjects (52.5 percent) believed that their perceived levels
of symbolic attributes of the product were higher than their
desired ones, as compared to 366 (44.7 percent) who thought
the opposite. Incongruity resulting from well-perceived values
seems to lead to positive brand preference.
To test the above idea, we conducted a simple regression of
brand preference on functional and symbolic image congruity
for those who have upward symbolic incongruity (perceived
level of performance higher than desired level of performance)
and those who have downward symbolic incongruity
(perceived level of performance lower than desired level of
performance) respectively. Results from both regressions
suggest significant models as shown in Table III (upward:
R 2 ¼ 0:031, F ¼ 6:876, p , 0:01; downward: R 2 ¼ 0:020,
F ¼ 3:726, p , 0:05). In both regressions, functional image
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Volume 21 · Number 1 · 2012 · 26–34
congruity remains a positive predictor of brand preference
(standardized b ¼ 0:189 and 0.173, respectively, p , 0:01).
However, as we thought, only the upward symbolic incongruity
has a negative influence on brand preference (standardized
b ¼ 20:195, p , 0:01). In the condition of downward
symbolic incongruity, symbolic image congruity is not a
significant predictor (standardized b ¼ 20:081, p . 0:1).
The second hypothesis proposes that functional image
congruity is influenced by symbolic image congruity. As
predicted, linear regression of functional image congruity on
symbolic image congruity shows that the model fits the data
(R 2 ¼ 0:320; F ¼ 386:036, p , 0:001) and symbolic image
congruity is a significant predictor of functional image
congruity (standardized b ¼ 0:566, p , 0:001). Therefore,
H2 is supported.
The third hypothesis predicts that consumers’ familiarity with
the brand moderates the relationship between functional image
congruity and brand preference (H3a), and that between
symbolic image congruity and brand preference (H3b). We used
stepwise linear regression to test the relationships. Two meancentered
interaction terms (Fam*FC and Fam*SC) were
created to test the moderation effect. Table II shows the results
of the model without moderator (Model 1: R 2 ¼ 0:032,
F ¼ 13:497, p , 0:001) and the model with moderator
(Model 2: R 2 ¼ 0:214, F ¼ 44:336, p , 0:001). Both models
fit the data, but the model with familiarity as a moderator is
better fitting (higher F value) and has greater explanatory power
(higher R 2 ), which suggests that the addition of the interaction
term increase explained variance in brand preference.
In Model 2, the interaction effect between functional
congruity and familiarity is significant (standardized
b ¼ 0:133, p ¼ 0:024) as shown in Table II. However, the
interaction effect between symbolic congruity and familiarity is
not significant (standardized b ¼ 20:036, p ¼ 0:566). Hence,
the proposed moderating effect of familiarity on relationship
between brand preference and functional image congruity
(H3a) is supported, and that between brand preference and
symbolic image congruity (H3b) is not supported.
Replication with a second brand
To confirm the identified relationship, the same group of
subjects was also investigated relative to their responses
concerning Mazda, using the same scales and data collection
Table II Regression results: impacts of functional image congruity (FC), symbolic image congruity (SC), and familiarity (FAM) on brand preference
Brand 1 Brand 2
Model Standardized b t-value F R 2 Standardized b t-value F R 2
Without moderator
13.497 * 0.032 9.255 * 0.022
FC 0.212 5.078 * 0.176 4.251 *
SC 20.158 23.784 * 20.075 21.826 ***
With moderator
44.336 * 0.214 53.889 * 0.245
FC 0.082 1.439 0.056 1.156
SC 20.096 21.589 0.001 0.023
FAM 0.424 13.561 * 0.473 15.549 *
FAM*FC 0.133 2.266 ** 0.098 2.049 **
FAM*SC 20.036 20.574 20.043 20.849
Notes: Dependent variable: brand preference; * p , 0:01; ** p , 0:05; *** p , 0:10
30

Brand image congruity in Chinese consumers’ brand preference
Jing Hu, Xin Liu, Sijun Wang and Zhilin Yang
Journal of Product & Brand Management
Volume 21 · Number 1 · 2012 · 26–34
Table III Regression results: relationship between functional image congruity, symbolic image congruity, and brand preference in upward symbolic
incongruity and downward symbolic incongruity
Upward symbolic incongruity
Downward symbolic incongruity
Model Standardized b t-value F R 2 Standardized b t-value F R 2
6.876 * 0.031 3.726 ** 0.020
FC 0.189 3.238 * 0.173 2.702 *
SC 20.195 23.344 * 20.081 21.267
Notes: * p , 0:01; ** p , 0:05
procedure. A regression involving brand preference as the
dependent variable, with symbolic and functional image
congruity as two independent variables, suggests that these
two independent variables satisfactorily explain variance in
brand preference (Model 1: R 2 ¼ 0:022, F ¼ 9:255,
p , 0:001). Table II also shows results of this analysis. Like
the results of analysis on Bora, here functional image
congruity positively affects brand preference (standardized
b ¼ 0:176, p , 0:001) and symbolic image congruity
negatively affects brand preference (standardized
b ¼ 20:075, p ¼ 0:068); H1a is supported, and H1b is not
supported. As hypothesized in H2, the results of the
regression analysis suggest that symbolic image congruity is
a significant predictor of functional image congruity
(R 2 ¼ 0:311, F ¼ 376:805, p , 0:001); H2 is supported.
After adding two mean-centered interaction terms Fam*FC2
and Fam*SC2, the model is significantly improved (Model 2:
R 2 ¼ :241, F ¼ 53:889, p , 0:001). Fam*FC2 is significant
(standardized b ¼ 0:098, p ¼ 0:041) and Fam*SC2 is not
significant (standardized b ¼ 20:043, p ¼ 0:396); H3a is
supported, and H3b is not supported.
Discussion
Great challenges and opportunities that today’s brand carriers
are facing have moved well beyond the decision-making stage;
companies have to make hard choices as they enter the global
market: should they maintain the same image worldwide, or
adapt it to different geographic areas This challenge is
immediate, especially in the automobile market, as major
manufacturers actively seek opportunities outside the USA
(Kiley, 2008). Our study is another “wake-up call” for brand
carriers who seem to prefer adhering to conventional wisdom,
obtained from long mature Western markets, and who may
wish to misapply it to newly emerging markets or different
cultures.
Based on a large-scale field study with Chinese consumers,
we uncovered at least two surprising findings while confirming
three existing ones. Specifically, we found that symbolic image
congruity had a negative impact on Chinese consumers’
brand preference when a brand’s perceived symbolic image is
higher than consumers’ ideal expectations (i.e. upward
incongruity). That is, the farther the upward distance is
from consumers’ ideal expectations (i.e. incongruent), the
stronger the brand preference is. This surprising finding,
obviously, contradicts Sirgy et al. (1991)’s finding in the US
market, within the context of our study. Sirgy et al. (1991)
reported in their three studies that a symbolic image match
with consumers’ ideal social image has a positive impact on
store loyalty. Although we acknowledge that symbolic image
congruity was measured differently in our study as compared
with their symbolic-self image congruity, the same logic
should hold. Upon close examination of their study, we
actually found a similar surprising finding in their replication
of study one; they also found a negative relationship between
symbolic-self image congruity when replicating their study in
a discount department store with a clothing department store
(Sirgy et al., 1991, p. 367). We speculate that the clothing
department store in their study is more related to conspicuous
consumption than a discount department store; thus, upward
reference points could more likely serve as an ideal point in
forming consumers’ perceived symbolic image congruity. In
our study context, automobile products are still perceived as
conspicuous consumption among Chinese consumers.
Therefore, consumers display an upward tendency to prefer
products with brand image higher than expected. Chinese are
acutely sensitive to having and maintaining face in all aspects
of social and business life (Yau et al., 1999; Ho, 1975; Hsu,
1963). Based on this finding, it appears that a brand carrier
should avoid promoting its brand’s symbolic fit to Chinese
consumers’ ideal expectations. Instead, the symbolic brand
image should be promoted to be higher than consumers’
current ideal expectations in order to appeal to Chinese
consumers. In other words, brand barriers should take one
step further from what their Chinese consumers inform them
about what is ideal. The unique culture context in China and
the developing stage of its automobile market leads to
disconfirmation of existing western congruity theory and
requires marketers to localize their strategies in some aspects.
Further, we found that brand familiarity does not moderate
the role of symbolic image congruity in Chinese consumers’
brand preference. This, again, is in contrast to the current
consumer knowledge literature (Fiske and Taylor, 1991). We
believe that failure to find support for the moderating role of
brand familiarity could be explained by the abstract nature of
symbolic image. Because symbolic image relates to valueexpressive
imagery association of a brand (Sirgy et al., 1991),
its impact on brand preference may not require as many
itemized analyses as may functional brand image. Rather, the
symbolic image congruity could exert its influence on brand
preference in a higher abstract process without referring to a
lower constructural level (Kardes et al., 2006). We found that
high familiarity did not reduce the effect of symbolic image
congruity on consumers’ brand preference, unlike that of
functional image congruity. On the other hand, as high
familiarity leads to better brand image (Sujan and Bettman,
1989), we could use marketing activities to enhance brand
familiarity and develop superior symbolic image in order to
increase brand preference. From a managerial perspective, we
believe this finding could help managers to improve their
brand management and enhance consumer satisfaction.
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Brand image congruity in Chinese consumers’ brand preference
Jing Hu, Xin Liu, Sijun Wang and Zhilin Yang
Finally, consistent with the schema-congruity theory (Fiske
and Taylor, 1991), we have found that functional image
congruity increases brand preference and such a relationship
is even stronger when consumers have lower brand familiarity.
These findings suggest that when we manage functional
attributes, previous Western wisdom is transferable.
Replication of these three findings in an emerging market
further demonstrated the robustness of the functional image
congruity-brand behavior (brand preference, brand loyalty)
link. Given the fact that most congruity-loyalty studies are in
retail store contexts, our extension to auto products, and
confirmation of such findings, should be treated as substantial
evidence for future theoretical development in this congruitybrand
behavior context.
Limitations
There are several limitations inherent in this study and its
findings. First, this study does only look at China as an
emerging market. Emerging markets in other parts of the
world may have a different cultural heritage, economic
development paths or levels of consumer sophistication.
Differences in these attributes may lead to different brand
perception and associations between brand image congruity
and brand preference. Future research could use the findings
of this study to determine if they hold for emerging markets in
other countries.
Second, in this study, we compared consumers’ ideal points
with their perceived points to calculate brand congruity. The
main reason we did this was to accommodate the unique
cultural dimension (suppression of self) of Chinese culture. In
other cultures, other reference points may work better such as
industry-wide standards, self-identity, etc. Future research
can also attempt to use other reference points to
operationalize the congruity construct and to further
investigate the consistency of the findings.
Third, expanding the study to other product categories can
also help generalize the results. We limit our investigation to
medium-priced automobiles, which are more of a symbolic
product than a functional one. The displayed negative
relationship between symbolic image congruity and brand
preference may be due to the choice of products. Future
research may also test this finding on everyday products, more
luxurious products, or even automobiles at different price
ranges to see if the theory still holds.
Despite these limitations, we made significant contributions
in extending the congruity theory tested in the retailing
contexts to consumer decision-making in an emerging
market. It appears that not all Western brand image
management wisdom is transferable to emerging markets. It
is our hope that our study will spawn further research on this
important topic.
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About the authors
Journal of Product & Brand Management
Volume 21 · Number 1 · 2012 · 26–34
Jing Hu is Assistant Professor of Marketing at California State
Polytechnic University, Pomona. She received her PhD in
Marketing from New Mexico State University. She has
research interests in consumer decision making and crosscultural
consumer behavior and has published in Journal of
Business Ethics, Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Education
for Business, and International Journal of Internet Marketing and
Advertising, among others. Jing Hu is the corresponding
author and can be contacted at: hu@csupomona.edu
Xin Liu is Assistant Professor of Marketing at California
State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She received her PhD
in Marketing from Kent State University. Her research
focuses on brand leverage strategies and financial
performance of branding activities.
Sijun Wang received her PhD in Marketing from University
of Alabama. She is currently Associate Professor in the
Department of Marketing and Business Law, Loyola
Marymount University. She studies services marketing and
relationship marketing. Her works have appeared in
Organization Science, European Journal of Marketing, Journal
of Business Research, Journal of Services Marketing, Journal of
Interactive Marketing, and others.
Zhilin Yang is Associate Professor of Marketing at City
University of Hong Kong. He received his PhD in Marketing
from New Mexico State University. He has published in
Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Business
Research, Information & Management, International Marketing
Review, Journal of Advertising Research, Marketing Research,
and Psychology & Marketing, among others. His main research
interests include customer product review in electronic
commerce, customer satisfaction, value, and loyalty, and
network analysis and governance strategies in marketing
channels.
Executive summary and implications for
managers and executives
This summary has been provided to allow managers and executives
a rapid appreciation of the content of the article. Those with a
particular interest in the topic covered may then read the article in
toto to take advantage of the more comprehensive description of the
research undertaken and its results to get the full benefit of the
material present.
Many studies have been conducted in the Western world into
the significance of brand image. A general consensus is that
image is created through various attributes and associations
that consumers hold about a brand. These images are
functional and symbolic, and consumer response to them is
triggered by how they compare to different real and ideal
product, self and social reference points. Response impacts on
consumer attitude, purchase intention and loyalty relevant to
that particular brand and how it performs in the market.
Brand image congruity is the term afforded to the
association between a brand’s image and a consumer’s
chosen references. When a brand’s image is congruent with
what the consumer desires and expects, a positive evaluation
occurs. The functional image of a brand concerns “tangible
and product-related” attributes that determine how it
performs. Symbolic needs are internal and reflect an
individual’s self-expression indicated by such as
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Brand image congruity in Chinese consumers’ brand preference
Jing Hu, Xin Liu, Sijun Wang and Zhilin Yang
attractiveness and prestige. For both dimensions, image
congruity occurs when consumer expectations are satisfied by
brand performance.
According to one perspective, consumers adopt a
hierarchical approach to information processing. They will
process symbolic information before functional information
because the former is easier to retrieve from memory. This
view further purports that consumers are somewhat selective
in what they choose to retrieve and will also primarily consider
information which bests aids judgment.
Having previous experience with a brand moderates the
relationship between brand image congruity and brand
preference. Being familiar gives people knowledge about a
brand and how its tangible and intangible attributes connect.
The premise here is that brand familiarity alters the relative
impact of congruent and incongruent information on product
evaluation. Incongruence has a greater influence for those
whose familiarity is low. However, incongruent information is
less likely to determine preference when consumers are well
versed with the brand. Familiarity serves to counter its effect.
Essentially, those equipped with prior knowledge are better
placed to resolve discrepancies posed by incongruent
information.
Hu et al. examine the issues in a study involving the
automobile market in China. The country was selected as the
study context for reasons that include its economic growth,
huge population and increasing importance to the global
marketplace. That China is the second biggest auto market
adds further significance. Average income levels make
automobiles a major purchase decision for most Chinese
consumers. The search for information is therefore assumed
to be comprehensive.
The study concentrates on medium sedans and for product
stimuli uses Bora and Mazda 6, two popular brands in this
market. Surveys were administered to 1,440 consumers
familiar with the two brands and who had previously bought a
medium-priced sedan or intended to in the near future.
Subjects for the study were recruited in seven major Chinese
cities of varying size. The gender split within the sample was
virtually equal.
Demographic information was collected and participants
were asked to indicate perceived and desired levels of
performance for both functional and symbolic image based
on 14 different attributes. Brand familiarity and brand
preference were also measured.
Analysis revealed that:
.
Functional image congruity positively impacts on brand
preference. This effect is stronger still for consumers
whose familiarity with the brand is low.
.
Symbolic image congruity influences functional image
congruity.
.
Familiarity moderates the relationship between brand
preference and functional image.
Findings about the effect of symbolic image congruity on
brand preference were somewhat contrary to expectation. It
was not significant when perceived level of performance was
Journal of Product & Brand Management
Volume 21 · Number 1 · 2012 · 26–34
higher than desired performance level. And in the condition
when desired level of performance exceeded the perceived
level, a negative impact on brand preference was recorded.
That familiarity did not moderate the relationship between
symbolic image congruity and brand preference was likewise
unanticipated.
The same relationships were evident in the separate
investigations that were conducted in respect of the Bora
and Mazda brands.
Differences between this study and an earlier one in the
USA were noted. However, those researchers also discovered
a negative relationship between symbolic image congruity and
brand preference in relation to clothing department stores.
The authors believe that the connection between the two
studies is that both purchase situations reflect “conspicuous
consumption”. This might have special significance in
Chinese culture, where attaining and preserving honor in
social contexts is paramount. It is therefore proposed that
greater appeal to Chinese consumers can be achieved by
promoting symbolic brand image as being higher than what
consumers ideally expect. A key assumption here is that
marketers should strive to “localize their strategies” to a
certain extent in order to enhance performance in potentially
diverse markets. Advancing the same image globally appears
risky by comparison.
Hu et al. put forward a reason for the apparent lack of
moderating effect of brand familiarity on the relationship
between symbolic image congruity and brand preference
among Chinese consumers. The suggestion is that the effect
of symbolic image congruity operates at a higher abstract level
and therefore demands fewer “itemized analyses” than
functional brand image. Nevertheless, the authors
recommend marketing campaigns that strengthen brand
familiarity as it helps build a more favorable brand image.
Brand preference can be increased if superior symbolic image
is also developed.
Relationships found in the current study between functional
image congruity, brand preference and brand familiarity
mirror those found by Western scholars. Most of these earlier
studies were conducted in retail store contexts and extending
these findings to auto products further indicates their
reliability. The importance of effectively managing
functional attributes is therefore emphasized.
Future research might explore other emerging markets that
differ to China in terms of such as cultural heritage, economic
development or consumer refinement. Another possibility is
to measure congruity using reference points different to
perceived and ideal levels. Industry standards or self-identity
are possible alternatives among others. A consideration of
other product categories is likewise proposed. Automobiles
from different price brackets could be examined, as might
luxury items or products of a more everyday nature.
(A précis of the article “The role of brand image congruity in
Chinese consumers’ brand preference”. Supplied by Marketing
Consultants for Emerald.)
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