Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 9-25-2015 12:00 AM Exploring Consumer Relationships with Human Brands: How Reference Groups, Affiliation Motives, and Biological Sex Predict Endorser Effectiveness Jennifer A. Jeffrey The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Matthew Thomson The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Business A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Jennifer A. Jeffrey 2015 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Marketing Commons Recommended Citation Jeffrey, Jennifer A., "Exploring Consumer Relationships with Human Brands: How Reference Groups, Affiliation Motives, and Biological Sex Predict Endorser Effectiveness" (2015). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 3238. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/3238 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. EXPLORING CONSUMER RELATIONSHIPS WITH HUMAN BRANDS: HOW REFERENCE GROUPS, AFFILIATION MOTIVES, AND BIOLOGICAL SEX PREDICT ENDORSER EFFECTIVENESS (Thesis format: Monograph) by Jennifer Jeffrey Graduate Program in Business Administration A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Jennifer Jeffrey 2015 Abstract Using a human brand (commonly referred to in popular press as a celebrity) as a product endorser is a popular marketing tool, and a variety of factors have been shown to influence the effectiveness of this technique.