BRAND LATITUDE by AARON B. CHARLTON a DISSERTATION
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BRAND LATITUDE by AARON B. CHARLTON A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of Marketing and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2019 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Aaron B. Charlton Title: Brand Latitude This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of Marketing by: T. Bettina Cornwell Chairperson Joshua Beck Core Member Conor Henderson Core Member Gerard Saucier Institutional Representative and Janet Woodruff-Borden Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded June 2019. ii © 2019 Aaron B. Charlton iii DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Aaron B. Charlton Doctor of Philosophy Department of Marketing June 2019 Title: Brand Latitude This dissertation addresses the topic of brand latitude, defined herein as a public entity’s capacity to deviate from category norms or to transcend the normal function of a brand without incurring adverse responses from the public. The study of brand latitude is important because modern managers use brands to achieve much more than greater market share relative to similar competitors. Established brands are often leveraged to facilitate entry into new product categories, gain attention for social causes, and attract talent, among other uses. While managers hope every branding effort to be successful, these non-standard uses of brands may be received positively, negatively, or indifferently. This dissertation explores both the brand attributes and styles of approach that can lead to increased brand latitude. The first essay integrates various streams of literature to develop the concept of brand latitude, including predicted antecedents and outcomes. Additionally, potential moderators of these main effects are considered, including choice of narrative voice (first-person vs. third), a characteristic of the message. Essay 2 is an empirical investigation of both brand attributes (good character, innovativeness, altruism) and characteristics of the controversial message (use of first-person vs third-person narrative voice) as antecedents of brand latitude. iv CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Aaron B. Charlton GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene AriZona State University, Tempe, AriZona Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor of Philosophy, Marketing, 2019, University of Oregon Master of Business Administration, 2014, AriZona State University Bachelor of Arts, 2002, Brigham Young University AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Consumer Behavior Brand Strategy PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Research assistant, Department of Marketing, University of Oregon, Eugene, 2014-2019 Marketing consultant, Self-employed, Mesa, AriZona, 2007-2014 Army officer, U.S. Army, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, 2002-2006 GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: Graduate Teaching Fellowship, Marketing, 2014 to present Robin and Roger Best Research Award, 2016, 2018, 2019 AMA Sheth Doctoral Fellow, 2018 PUBLICATIONS Charlton, Aaron and T. Bettina Cornwell (2019), “Authenticity in HoriZontal Marketing Partnerships: A Better Measure of Brand Compatibility,” forthcoming at Journal of Business Research. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank my advisor, T. Bettina Cornwell, for providing her expertise, guidance, and motivation at every stage of the research process. I also thank my committee members, Professors Joshua Beck, Conor Henderson, and Gerard Saucier for their generous support in the development of this research program. I also wish to thank my supportive wife Mandy for all of her encouragement and support in helping me get through this process. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. OVERVIEW OF ESSAYS ........................................................................................ 1 II. ESSAY 1: BRAND LATITUDE: A CONCEPTUAL MODEL .............................. 3 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 4 Importance of Brand Latitude in Discussions of Brand Equity .............................. 8 Toward a Theory of Brand Latitude ........................................................................ 15 Manifestations of Brand Latitude ............................................................................ 20 Cultivating Brand Latitude ...................................................................................... 22 Outcomes of Brand Latitude ................................................................................... 33 Discussion ............................................................................................................... 35 Future Research ....................................................................................................... 36 III. ESSAY 2: HOW BRAND ATTRIBUTES AND CHOICE OF VOICE (FIRST- PERSON VS. THIRD) AFFECT BRAND LATITUDE IN CONTEXTS OF CONTROVERSIAL ADVOCACY ........................................................................ 38 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 39 Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................... 42 Overview of Studies ................................................................................................ 50 Study 1: Brand CitiZenship and Innovativeness Increase Latitude to Engage in Controversial Advocacy .......................................................................................... 51 Study 2: More Conservative Test of Innovativeness .............................................. 54 vii Chapter Page Study 3: Latitude Partially Derived from Communication Style (Type of Self- references) ............................................................................................................... 61 Study 4: Type of Self-reference (First vs. Third-person) Affects Desire to Affiliate with Brand for Liberal Respondents ....................................................................... 69 Study 5: Interaction Between Brand CitiZenship and Voice (First vs. Third) ........ 76 General Discussion .................................................................................................. 80 IV. OVERALL DISCUSSION AND SYNTHESIS OF ESSAYS ............................... 85 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 87 A. Marketing Crisis Buffers .................................................................................... 87 B. Measures ............................................................................................................. 89 C. Study Stimuli ...................................................................................................... 91 D. Keyword Pattern Selection ................................................................................. 97 REFERENCES CITED ................................................................................................. 101 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Conceptual Model (Essay 1) ..................................................................................... 15 2. Study 1 Effect of CitiZenship and Innovativeness (Essay 2) .................................... 54 3. Study 4 Effects of Public Advocacy on Recruiting (Essay 3) .................................. 74 ix LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Table 1 Empirically-demonstrated Antecedents of Various Manifestations of Brand Latitude ..................................................................................................................... 24 2. Study 2 Results of Regression Analyses ................................................................... 60 3. Study 3: Effects of Brand Voice on Sharing of Politically Controversial Content ... 67 4. Study 4 Effects of Voice (First-person Vs. Third) .................................................... 73 x CHAPTER I OVERVIEW OF ESSAYS This dissertation is comprised of two essays that address the topic of brand latitude, defined herein as a public entity’s capacity to deviate from category norms or to transcend the normal function of a brand without incurring adverse responses from the public. The study of brand latitude is important because modern managers use brands to achieve much more than greater market share relative to similar competitors. Established brands are often leveraged to facilitate entry into new product categories, gain attention for social causes, and attract talent, among other uses. While managers hope every branding effort to be successful, these non-standard uses of brands may be received positively, negatively, or indifferently. The present investigation explores both the brand attributes and styles of approach that can lead to increased brand latitude. The first essay is a conceptual paper that integrates various streams of literature to develop the concept of brand latitude. The essay first conceptualiZes brand latitude. It next proposes brand-level antecedents and outcomes of brand latitude, which are based on a thorough review of multiple literature streams that discuss situations when brands are given more latitude to deviate or to transcend their traditional role as signals of functional brand attributes. Additionally, potential moderators of these main effects are considered,