The effect of brand activism on purchase intention

: what impact do mediators brand image and corporate image have?

Abstract

Corporations and brands are actively sharing their opinion on various global issues. Nike, which offers a lot of hedonic products, is known for its activism online and openly shares itsopinion regardless of how its consumers react. A recent example is the Black-Lives-Matter Movement, where brands shared their participation on social media. Statements such as this are categorized as “Brand Activism.” Brand Activism is a new term and includes the participation in many environmental, employment, and immigration issues. Notably, younger generations want to support brands that stand for specific purposes and want to know how the companies they are consuming from are reacting to such issues.Nevertheless, there is not much information about how the impact is on such brands that haveutilitarian products such as tissues and toilet paper. The underlying dissertation focuses on the effect of Brand Activism on utilitarian products. It also includes which roles Brand and Corporate Image take part in it and if there are any changes to their perception. The research includes 1-to-1 interviews and surveys based on eight different Brand Activism topics as a stimuli with the tissue brand Kleenex as an example. The results suggest that Brand Activism for utilitarian products has an impact on Purchase Intention. However, Brand Activism does not seem to have an impact on Brand and Corporate Image. Nevertheless, a better Brand and Corporate Image positively impacts the Purchase Intention. To conclude, Brand Activism also impacts utilitarian products, although there is no meaningful emotional connection to the products.

Date of Award	25 Jan 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Paulo Romeiro (Supervisor)