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How Nationalistic Appeals Affect Foreign Luxury Brand Reputation: A Study of Ambivalent Effects

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Men (people) are rarely aware of the real reasons which motivate their actions.

—Edward L. Bernays, Propaganda, 1928

Abstract

Drawing from cognitive learning theories we hypothesize that exposure to nationalistic appeals that suggest consumers should shun foreign brands for moral reasons increases the general belief in consumers that buying foreign brands is morally wrong. In parallel, drawing from the theory of psychological reactance we posit that such appeals may, against their communication goal, increase the reputation of foreign luxury brands. We term the juxtaposition of these apparently contradictory effects the “Ambivalence Hypothesis.” Further, drawing from prior research on source-similarity effects we posit that foreign luxury brands that communicate cultural proximity to target consumers (i.e., a local brand positioning) reinforce psychological reactance (“Clean Conscience Hypothesis”). We test these hypotheses experimentally in the context of luxury car brand advertising in China, a market that is heavily dominated by foreign brands, and therefore provides a breeding ground for ambivalent consumer reactions. Results show that exposure to nationalistic appeals enhances consumers’ national identity dispositions (patriotism, local identity), which results in higher levels of consumer ethnocentrism. Further, nationalistic appeals enhance the social responsibility associations that consumers hold for foreign luxury brands and their countries of origin, which results in a higher brand reputation. Finally, effects of nationalistic appeals on foreign luxury brand reputation are positively stronger for brands using a local vs. a foreign or a global positioning. These findings suggest that nationalistic appeals are a double-edged sword with important implications for ethics in political communication and luxury brand marketing.

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Notes

  1. Stimuli are available on request.

  2. Following Hair et al.’s (2006, p. 128) guidelines for identifying significant factor loadings, factor loadings of .6 and above are considered significant (p < .05) with a sample of N = 85 or more subjects.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully thank Frank Figge for stimulating discussions and invaluable comments

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  1. KEDGE Business School, Domaine de Luminy, BP 921, 13288, Marseille Cedex 9, France

    Boris Bartikowski

  2. The York Management School, University of York, Freboys Lane, Heslington, YO10 5GD, York, UK

    Fernando Fastoso

  3. University of Augsburg, Universitätsstrasse 16, 86159, Augsburg, Germany

    Heribert Gierl

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  1. Boris Bartikowski
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Bartikowski, B., Fastoso, F. & Gierl, H. How Nationalistic Appeals Affect Foreign Luxury Brand Reputation: A Study of Ambivalent Effects. J Bus Ethics 169, 261–277 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04483-8

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