Consumers’ Self-Connection to Group-Referent Brands Across Consumption Situations: A Cross-Cultural Study

Individuals self-enhance using brands that are associated with reference groups. The current study extends research on this phenomenon by examining the influence of consumption situations and cross-cultural differences. The study was conducted across two distinct cultural settings, namely, Norway and Zambia. In accordance with the theories of self-concept malleability, we find that Zambians have a higher inclination to construct and communicate their identities with group-referent brands in a public consumption situation compared to a private one. on the other hand, we find that Norwegians’ self-brand connections were consistent across consumption situations. findings indicate that self-concept stability is imperative in integration of brands into the self-concept.