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Endorsement Theory: How Consumers Relate to Celebrity Models

Article  in  Journal of Advertising Research · December 2008

DOI: 10.2501/S0021849908080550

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 Endorsement Theory:
How Consumers Relate to Celebrity Models

ROGER MARSHALL The relationship of image congruity and postpurchase dissonance has been reported
Auckland University of
in the advertising iiterature. The reiationship among dissonance, dissatisfaction, and
Technology
[email protected] repeat-purchase behavior is a familiar subject as well. But the juxtaposition of all
three constructs has yet to be fully explored, in this research, the incongruity between
WOONBONG NA
self-image and the image projected by an advertisement is found to correlate to
Kyunghee University,
South Korea postpurchase dissonance in the purchasers of lipstick. A follow-up study tracks
[email protected] satisfaction and repeat purchase intentions, and through structural equation

GABRIEL STATE modeling, it is established that although satisfaction is not related directly to
Mediaring Ltd., dissonance, repeat purchase is dependent upon both satisfaction and dissonance.
Singapore
state_ga brie l@yahoo. com

SONALI DEUSKAR
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES factor that a number of assessable product and
Nanyang Technological
It has long been posited that congruency between service-related factors can easily measure.
University, Singapore
an individual's ideal self-image and the image of Satisfaction/dissatisfaction is a function of gaps
[email protected]
some consumer good will result in a motivation between the expected and actual performance of
to purchase {Sirgy, 1982; Sirgy, Johar, Samli, and a purchased product. When the expectation/
Claibome, 1991). Furthermore, it seems that it performance gap is small, such discrepancies are
does not matter if the gap between the actual usually ignored or psychologically absorbed some-
image and the desired image displayed in the how into the reality of the performance; but when
merchandise is large; aspirational advertising still the size of the gap moves beyond that level, a
enhances the motivation to purchase (Hong and reaction takes place. At that point, dissatisfaction
Zinkhan, 1995). may be strong enough to dissuade the customer
This powerful motivation to purchase con- from repeating the original purchase choice.
vinces marketers to make frequent use of attrac- Cognitive dissonance (Festinger, 1957,1999) also
tive spokespeople to promote a product or service is about gaps—in this case, the difference between
and, intuitively, act as role models for us—even pairs of cognitions. Festinger originally defined
though there may not be a chance that any cus- those cognitions as "any knowledge, opinion, or
tomer will realize the portrayed image simply hy belief about the environment, about oneself, or
using the promoted product. Makeovers fail, but about one's behavior" (Festinger, 1957, p. 3). One
sales still grow. of the initial (and still very influential) revisions
Repeat purchase is central to the marketing of this original theory was called the self-
concept that, in turn, supports the practice of consistency interpretation of dissonance (Aron-
celebrity endorsement. In most situations, it is not son, 1968), This theory assumes that situations
enough to make a single sale. Beyond that pur- evoking dissonance do so because they create
chase, companies also try to build lasting relation- inconsistency between the self-concept and a be-
ships with their customers that will resxolt in a havior. For marketers, the insights complete a
steady stream of revenue. Repeat-purchase behav- kind of analytical circle: the purchase of consumer
ior usually is strongly related to satisfaction—a products—cosmetics, clothing, and even motor cars

564 flDÜEeTISlOG RESEflnCH December 2 0 0 8 DOI: 10.2501/S0021849908080550

 ENDORSEMENT THEORY

Satisfaction/dissatisfaction is a function of gaps between purchase dissonance. To ascertain their

satisfaction and repeat-purchase inten-
the expected and actuai performance of a purchased tions, we followed up a few weeks later.
In the work that follows, we begin with a
product. When the expectation/performance gap is smaii, brief discussion of the latest marketing
ideas about self-image congruency and
such discrepancies are usuaiiy ignored or psychoiogicaiiy postpurchase dissonance. From that point,
we move into a detailed description of
absorbed somehow into the reaiity of the performance; the research method and findings.
The implicatior^s of this proposition are
but when the size of the gap moves beyond that levei, a far-reaching for marketers and advertis-
ers. If the primary intent of brand building
reaction takes piace. is that a strong customer relationship is de-
sired (rather than a single sale), more real-
istic models will present a more realistic
brand image. When the image portrayed
and houses—often are motivated primar- (see Figure 1). Although performance and in advertising is at least attainable, cus-
ily by the congruity between the image luxury criteria may influence the initial tomers will be encouraged to repeat their
promoted by the marketers of the prod- sale, the probable main motivation to buy purchase behavior as long as the physical
uct/service and the individual's ideal is related to a reluctance to give in to age product features are also satisfactory.
self-image. and a corresponding identification with
The central thesis in this article is that the youthful image of the car. Even if the THE SELF-REFERENCE THEORY AND
postpurchase dissonance may have little gap between actual self-image and the CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
to do with an expectation of product per- image projected by the car marketers is Rosenberg (1979) proposes a basic defini-
formance (which is more the domain of large, the sale may still take place. In that tion of self-concept as "the totality of the
satisfaction) and a great deal to do with event, some image congruity-driven dis- individual's thoughts and feelings having
prepurchase image congruency. More spe- sonance may set in after the sale; the next reference to himself as an object" (p. 7). In
cifically, image self-congruency is caus- car purchase may well be a more stan- other words, it is the way people look at
ally related to postpurchase dissonance, dard vehicle, with a more subdued image. themselves, and it serves as a reference
and repeat-purchase behavior is caused The second mechanism in operation for point when consumers relate themselves
by both low residual postpurchase disso- the older person buying a youthful car to other images or models.
nance and high satisfaction. is performance-based dissonance, which Similarly, Bumkrant and Unnava (1995)
If the purchaser's actual self-image is results in either satisfaction or dissatisfac- claim that self-concept refers to the pro-
close enough to the projected product im- tion. In this instance, no matter how ap- cessing of information by relating it to the
age, we believe the result will be a low propriate or personally satisfying the image self-structure, or aspects of it. Although
level of dissonance and, consequently, a of the new car may be, if it suffers me- this theory traditionally has had much
high chance of repurchase. Alternatively, chanical failure, dissatisfaction will occur— more importance in psychology than in
if the purchaser's actual self-image is far and, along with it, a powerful negative consumer behavior, its unpopularity may
removed from the projected product im- effect on the repurchase decision. The mal- have been reinforced by measurement dif-
age, but she or he is still motivated to functions may not be strong enough to ficulties, problems that now have been
purchase (Hong and Zinkhan, 1995), then push the buyer completely away from the largely resolved (Sirgy, 1982).
the opposite will happen: postpurchase sports-car category. But the driver may The basic premise of self-reference theory
dissonance will set in and repurchase is select a more reliable nameplate when the leads to the conclusion that if an image
unlikely. time comes for repurchase. portrayed by, say, a model in a cosmetics
For instance, when a senior citizen buys In our model (see Figure 1), we used a advertisement is congruent to the observ-
a luxury sports car, two mechanisms will longitudinal design: subjects were Erst sold er's ideal image, a high probability exists
drive a repurchase decision at a later date a product and we measured their post- of a positive attitude change . . . and, more

December 2 0 0 8 JDUeilfll OF HDöERTISinG RESEIIIICH 5 6 5

ENDORSEMENT THEORY

attractive models may have elevated Dissonance has been aptly described as
High Self-Congruency, consumers' standard of ideal physical ap- "a negative-toned affective state with drive-
Self-image, and image
pearance and made them increasingly like properties" (Gerald and White, 1983,
of Blitz
dissatisfied with their own looks (Richins, p. 111). Cognitive dissonance is said to
Point of 1991). When the self<oncept is far from occur only after a decision has been
Purchase
the glamorous product image, the over- made—a purchase decision, in marketing—
Low riding motive for consumption is lost. because one needs to be aware of incon-
Postpurchase HI Recent evidence (Hong and Zinkhan, sistency before dissonance sets in (Loudon
Dissonance -*. Repurchase 1995) shows that the self-esteem motive and Delia Bitta, 1993).
Intention has greater effect on purchase intention Most people like to view themselves in a
High ^— -»•

H2 than the self-consistency motive, regard- positive light. They like to see themselves
Satisfaction
less of the discrepancy between self- as "competent, moral, and able to predict
concept and product image. their own behavior" (Aronson, 1999, p. 36).
Figure 1 The Proposed No matter how far the portrayed image Foolish or immoral behavior is dissonant
Relationship between of the product differs from the self-image with their positive self-concept. The oppo-
Self-Congruency and Repeat of the consumer, advertising can still have site is true as well: people who have neg-
a positive effect on the consumer's atti- ative self-expectancies are uncomfortable
Purchase Behavior
tude {and purchase intention) as long as when confronted with their own successes
the image is different along the dimen- (Aronson and Carlsmith, 1962).
sion of some idea! image. This particular The link between image congruity and
to the point, of a positive purchase deci- aspect of self-reference theory provides postpurchase dissonance seems quite con-
sion (Sirgy, 1982). Self-concept can also be the rationale for using models of superla- gruent with the literature we have dis-
applied to promotional strategies: consum- tive, unattainable beauty, who apparently cussed above. If people still are motivated
ers tend to hold more favorable attitudes motivate lesser mortals to purchase some to purchase products/services to make
toward an advertisement if they feel it product or service that may make us re- them appear in a way that is actually
presents an image that is close to their semble them. unattainable, marketers may expect to en-
self-concept or one which they aspire to counter postpurchase dissonance. Al-
possess {Mehta, 1999). A model with an Dissonance or, "But I still don't iook like though there is no direct research that
appropriate image becomes identified with Claudia Schiffer .. . \" supports the corollary, it does follow quite
the product he or she uses and transfers Fesünger (1957) introduced the concept logically that repeat purchase intentions
the glamour to the product. of cognitive dissonance more than 50 years could be heavily influenced by the exis-
Image is based on generalizations, not ago. Since then, the theory has been ap- tence of unresolved dissonance at the time
specific logic. An old, plain man who wears plied in such fields such as sociology, of repurchase.
a roll-neck jersey logically knows that no psychology, organizational behavior, busi- This discussion gives rise to several hy-
one ever will mistake him for Sean Con- ness, and marketing. potheses, designed to offer the opportu-
nery, but he still gets a general, emotive A dissonant relationship exists between nity to test the relationships inherent to
feeling that he looks "Sean Connery-ish." two cognitive elements when "consider- the simple model in Figure 1.
Underlying consumption, in the self- ing these two alone, the obverse of one
reference context, are two self-concept mo- element would follow from the other . , . HI: The greater the perceived gap be-
tives: self-consistency and self-esteem. To X and y are dissonant if not-j: follows tween "actual" self and the ad-
preserve the stability of the self-concept, from y" (Festinger, 1957, p. 10), It is psy- vertising image (the "ideal" self),
the self<onsistency motive encourages con- chologically uncomfortable to be holding the greater will be the postpur-
sumption of products that appeal to the two pieces of conflicting thought about chase cognitive dissonance.
"actual" self. The conflicting self-esteem some important matter; dissonance will
motive drives consumption of products drive one to action to reduce this discom- H2: Repurchase intention is depen-
that symbolize personal aspirations, the fort and avoid situations and information dent upon both satisfaction and
"ideal" self. Constant exposure to highly that might increase it. postpurchase cognitive dissonance.

566 BOUEIITISIIIG RESEflflCH December 2 0 0 8

 ENDORSEMENT THEORY

Postpurchase dissonance may have little to do with an Materiais, image

A purpose-designed advertisement used
expectation of product performance and a great deal to was created with the help of an advertis-
ing agency. The young woman depicted
do with prepurchase image congruency. More specificaliy, in the advertisement is an appropriate
role model for the young women in the
image self-congruency is causally related to postpurchase target group, in terms of ethnicity and
age. But she most often is hired in sup-
dissonance, and repeat-purchase behavior is caused by port of highly sophisticated beauty prod-
ucts. It is to be expected that few of the
both low residual postpurchase dissonance and high women in the target audience could ever
attain her level of beauty, and the chances
satisfaction. of dissonance therefore are high. The prod-
uct is pictured in the advertisement, with
the brand name strongly featured.

RESEARCH METHOD help shape their public image. Second, Scaies, phase 1
Overview women buy lipstick reasonably frequently; In the first phase of the survey, at the
A tube of lipstick was sold to subjects in familiarity with the product, if not the point of purchase, the gap between the
the target market and their self-congruence specific brand, is likely to create a post- subjects' self-image and the ideal image
to an advertisement for the product was purchase dissonance situation. Finally, was measured. Respondents were primed
recorded. Immediately after purchase, their because the product is closely allied to self- by being asked to conjure personal adjec-
dissonance was measured. Some three image, it often features glamorous models tives ("stylish," "classy," "sexy," and
weeks later a follow-up interview deter- in its advertising. We selected "Diamond "athletic") to describe the model in the
mined the level of their satisfaction and Water Shine," a Maybelline new line, al- advertisement. They then were asked to
their repurchase intentions. though all brand names were replaced indicate how closely the advertising im-
with our own invented sticker name. The age matches up with their own self-
Sample lipstick is relatively innovative in its prod- image. The single item is phrased as a
The lipstick was bought by 148 young uct class, offering a shimmering coat at a Likert scale (i.e., "The image portrayed in
women in the lipstick marketer's target fairly low price point. By choosing an the advertisement is consistent with how
market (middle- and upper-middle-class innovative lipstick, we minimized consum- I see myself"). This method follows the
single women). Of these 148, only 113 ers' preconceptions because they had no validated work of Sirgy (1982). Respon-
could be reached for the follow-up study; prior exposure to a lipstick that offered dents' social and ideal image congruency
the earlier data for the dropouts were these product attributes. similarly was measured with single items
discarded. This sample is convenient and (i.e., "The image portrayed in the adver-
Because we were seeking feedback from
not random. But it is realistic and has tisement is consistent with how I would
purchasers, potential customers expected
external validity: it is drawn from the like to see myself" and "The image por-
a deep discount. This brand normally sells
target audience, who self-select to only trayed in the advertisement is consistent
for around U.S.$7; it was sold to our re-
those who regularly use the product with how I would like others to see
spondents for $2.50. The brand name was
category. me"). We also reversed the scale so that
disguised, both In the advertisement (de-
a high number on this scale represents
scribed below) and on the actual product.
high image congruity. Finally, the magni-
Stimulus We used "Blitz," a nonexistent brand name,
tude of postpurchase dissonance experi-
Lipstick was selected as an appropriate so that there would also be no preconcep-
enced by the subjects was captured
product for several reasons. First, the prod- tions about the product. Researchers did
using POSTDIS, another validated scale
uct represents a serious purchase decision explain, however, tbat the product was
(Montgomery and Barnes, 1993). On this
tor these young women: no matter how from "a well-known international cos-
scale, a larger number indicates lower
much they pay for it, the product will still metic company."

December 2 0 0 8 JOUBOHL OFflDUeñTISIflGBESEflRCH 5 6 7

ENDORSEMENT THEORY

dissonance. The researchers also collected If the primary intent of brand buiiding is that a strong
contact information from the respondents.
customer relationship is desired (rather than a single
Scales, phase 2
Subjects' level of satisfaction with the prod- sale), more realistic models will present a more realistic
uct was measured after a minimum of
three weeks and a maximum of four. The brand image. When the ¡mage portrayed in advertising is
scale used to measure satisfaction level
is a 7-point semantic differential scale at least attainable, customers will be encouraged to repeat
("strongly disagree," "slightly disagree,"
"disagree," "neutral," "agree," "slightly their purchase behavior as long as the physical product
agree," and "strongly agree"), similar to
the Delight-Terrible scale (Andrews and features are also satisfactory.
Withey, 1976). During the second phase of
the study, subjects also were asked to rate
the likelihood of their repurchasing the
product. A 7-point Likert-style two-item were asked to select the color that best items are highly correlated and hold the
scale was used to measure repurchase in- suited their taste and complexion. Imme- essence of satisfaction well.
tention (at full price). diately after completion of the purchase The two items measuring repurchase
transaction, postpurchase dissonance was intention are highly correlated (r ^ 0.79,
Procedure measured on the 10-item POSTDIS scale. p < 0.001) and so were both retained.
For the sake of the research, the authors Participants were not allowed to alter their
used intercept techniques to find "clients" responses on the previous questionnaire. Testing the hypotheses
in the target market from many different Finally, contact information was sought. The relationships in the conceptual model
walks of life and asked them to partici- After the three-week trial period was were tested by structural equation mod-
pate in a university survey. Although over, the phase 2 questionnaire was ad- eling, using AMOS, Version 5. The oper-
approaches were only made to young, mirustered either through email or via ationaiized model is shown in Figure 2.
smart-looking women, neither demograph- telephone (according to the preferences of First, a first-order confirmatory factor analy-
ics not psychographics were considered the respondent). During this phase, satis- sis was performed to establish the valid-
particularly relevant, as the respondents faction and repurchase intention (at the ity of the scales. The CFA model fit is not
self-selected through their willingness to full retail price) were gleaned. good, but satisfactory. The sample is rather
participate. It was made quite clear that small for structural equation modeling,
the survey was not being conducted with ANALYSIS scale reHability and validity so, in spite of the disrepute into which
or for any cosmetic company, and also The lO-item POSTDIS scale was expected such significance testing has fallen, the
that they would have to buy the product. to perform well as it is a validated scale. fact that the x^ value of 62 only ap-
It was also clearly stated from the begin- However, items 9 and 10 did not sit well proaches significance (p = 0.058) can be
ning that a second interview would be in the scale, and a marginal increase in taken as indicative of a satisfactory fit
conducted after at least three weeks of the Cronbach's alpha (to 0.83) was at- (i.e., no sigrüfícance difference between
using the lipstick. tained when they were removed. As far the postulated model and the data). How-
Respondents who agreed to be in- as the authors know, the scale has not ever, this is not a statistic usually given
volved were shown the advertisement for been validated in Asia. One item was also much credence in the face of the large
Blitz lipstick. We then administered the removed from the satisfaction scale, which samples usually used in this type of work.
short, simple phase 1 questionnaire. The improved the alpha from 0.57 to 0.84. The X^/df — 1.141; there is some dissension
preliminary three questions concerned self- deleted item is a reverse of the second about exactly what level of x^/^f is ap-
image, social image, and ideal image. The item, so the lack of a high item-total cor- propriate, but the level attained here is
respondents then were shown five differ- relation may merely represent a negativ- very acceptable to most authors (Marsh
ent colors of the same line of lipstick and ity bias of some sort. The two remaining and Hocevar, 1985; Wheaton, Muthén,

568 December 2008

 ENDORSEMENT THEORY

DISCUSSION
The relationship of image congruity to
cognitive dissonance has been investi-
Image gated before, so has that of postpurchase
Congruity cognitive dissonance to satisfaction and
PPDl
(repeat purchase) behavior. The relation-
PPD2 ships, however, have not previously been
juxtaposed in the present manner, nor em-
PPD3
pirically supported with data from a sin-
PPD4 Satl gle study. In terms of theory building,
then, the study is more confirmatory and
PPD5
Sat3 integrative than exploratory, but the em-
PPD6 pirical ramifications of the study do push
into new, more controversial territory and
PPD7
contradict some current thought. Before
PPD8 discussing the full implications of the ar-
Repeat Purchase
Intention ticle, the findings need further explication,

Understanding the relationships

RPl RP2
The relationship identified between im-
age incongruity and cognitive dissonance,
although significant, seems low. In fact,
this is to expected, as those potential pur-
Figure 2 Operationalized Structural Equation Model chasers with very high image congruity
had a low chance of purchasing (com-
pared to those who actually purchased)
and postpurchase dissonance would have
been subject to instant postpurchase re-
Alwin, and Summers, 1977). RMR - 0.058; tion (standardized regression coefficient = duction through {inter alia) attitude change
GFI - 0.922. The root-mean-square error 0.755) and postpurchase dissonance (stan- (Brehm, 1956; Harmon-Jones, 1999).
of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.056, be- dardized regression coefficient = 0.216). It Satisfaction is also unrelated to postpur-
low the optimal upward limit of 0.08 sug- is no surprise that satisfaction is the stron- chase dissonance, and this at first appears
gested by Browne and Cudeck (1993) and ger and more significant driver, but the counterintuitive. It must be remembered,
CFI = 0.974. The factor loadings (shown influence of low dissonance upon repeat though, that immediately after purchase
in Table 1) are strong for all the scales, purchase intentions cannot be denied. Fur- automatic psychological mechanisms can
offering evidence of scale validity. thermore, there is also a significant causal be expected to come into play, where at-
relationship shown between image incon- titude will be bought into line with pur-
Hypothesis testing gruity and postpurchase dissonance, as chase behavior (Aronson, 1999). Image
Modi'l f'if for the structural model shown hypothesized (standardized regression co- congruity and the psychological aspects
in Figure 1 is very similar to that of the efficient — 0.431). The nonsignificance of of purchase are not the only variables at
CFA model (55 degrees of freedom, x'^ = the path from image congruity to satisfac- play here. Sirgy has shown that func-
70.112, p - 0.082; x~/àf - 1.275; GFI = tion lends support to both the contention tional performance also plays a role (Sirgy,
0.905 and RMSEA - 0.050). The data in that postpurchase dissonance and satisfac- Johar, Samli, and Claiborne, 1991). In the
tion are separate (latent) constructs, with same article, as well as on a later occa-
Table 2 were obtained from the full struc-
different roots, and that it is postpurchase sion, Sirgy also found that functional as-
tural equation model. The data offer sup-
dissonance and not satisfaction that is pects have a more powerful effect upon
port for both hypotheses. Repeat purchase
driven by image congruency. purchase intentions than does self-image
is indeed dependent upon both satisfac-

December 2 0 0 8 JOURIlflL OFflDOEflTISIflG(lESEIll CH 5 6 9

ENDORSEMENT THEORY

TABLE 1 ^'^ interesting aspect of this image main-

Maximum Likelihood Estimates, Regression Weights, *'"'"'*' ''*"'^''"' * ' '""'^^ "^ ^^^ "'*"''
_ _, . , , , and celebrities in advertisements. A quick
CFA Model , , ,. , ,
' scan ot almost any medium reveals that
Estimate SE GR P *^^ success of celebrity endorsers and stun-
ning models in inducing sales is held to
Q8 ^PPCD 0.537 0.113 4.741 *** u I- i. s. v,-
be high. Yet, this success rarely is mea-
Q7 t:I^.9P. .9:^.^? 9:^91 ?.-.^^.? *..*.*. sured in terms of repeat sales. It seems
QQ <_ ppcD 0.540 0.088 6.159 *** intuitively obvious that a young person
Q5 ^ PP¿D ^628 0^129 4^8^ -'* " ^ ^ " ' " ' ' P ^ * ' " ^ ' ' '°'"'^*^' " ^ ' ^ " " '
immediately morph into a Gisèle Bund-
9^ ^.PPCD 0.878 0.094 9.364 - * ,hen or Tom Brady and therefore may
Q3 *-PPCD ^-^^^ 0.094 7.630 *** become disillusioned with the product.
Q2 <-PPCD 0.870 0.104 8.365 *** Yet, the work that shows that even a
very high image congruity gap, in the
Ql <-PPCD 1.000 • / ^- - .„
I'lght direction, still acts as a very seduc-
|^5.[^2 Í-- PI ^:9.99. '^'^^ purchase motivator, as the evidence
REPl <- PI 1.057 0.088 11.954 *** '^^ ^° many advertisements proudly (and
^^r]"''']^]''^^ expensively) proclaim.
^ I ^ 0.783 0.085 9.230 *** Further directions
Note; SE = standard error: CR = critical ratio; SAT = satisfaction; PPCD = postpHrchase cognitive dissonance: REP = This research supports a number of re
repurchasc: PI = purcha^ intenUon. tionships between variables that already
have been established in marketing liter-
ature. It is only descriptive, though, in the
congruency (Sirgy and Su, 2001), as they peat purchasing behavior is crucial to sense that many variables have been as-
do here on repeat purchase intentions. building lasting relationships with them. sumed (e.g., the level of involvement of a
This related finding encourages the A satisfactory functional performance is lipstick purchase), subsumed into another
speculation that it seems likely that the basic to the ongoing relationship, as is a variable rather than being separately mea-
postpurchase dissonance being displayed widening of the relationship through sured and included into the model (e.g.,
in the present experiment stems mainly broader communications. functional congruity), or controlled rather
from image aspects and that the un- This research has added a footnote to than treated (e.g., gender).
related satisfaction/dissatisfaction ex- the effect that the image portrayed in the The very nature of postpurchase dis-
pressed later stems from perceived advertising presented by the marketing sonance is that it is known to dissipate
functional performance. company not only must be congruent to over time, so there is also the interesting
the ideal image, but also it must not be issue of the applicability of these findings
Impiicatlons for theory too far removed from the real image of to different product/service categories.
The major theoretical contribution of this the target market if a lasting relationship Lipstick is a frequently purchased item,
research lies not with simply replicating is to be sustained. and the likelihood of dissonance at the point
effects concerning image congruity, dis- of repurchase is distinctly possible. For in-
sonance, and satisfaction, but with re- implications for practitioners frequently purchased items, however, it
directing the academic spotlight toward As is so often the case, the major practical may well be that the dissonance dissipates
repurchase rather than first-time purchase. implications for business flow directly from by the time for repurchase. The opportu-
Modern marketing thought has moved the theoretical—we have noted the impor- nity to conduct deeper research—with more
past the concept of transaction selling to tance of advertising an appropriate brand variables and a larger, more random,
the development of relationship market- ¡mage, not too far removed from the real generalizable sample—remains an im-
ing. An understanding of customers' re- image of the target consumers. portant part of fully understanding the

570 OF flOUEflTiSlfIG DESEflRCH December 2 0 0 8

 ENDORSEMENT THEORY

2 ARONSON, ELLIOT. "Dissonance Theory: Progress

Maximum Likelihood Structural Model, Regression Estimates " " ^ Problems." in neones of cognitive consis-
tency: A Sourcebook, R. P Abelson, E. Aronson,
Estimate SE CR P W. J. McGuire, T. M. Newcomb, M. J. Rosen-

PPCDZ'SELF 0A35 0^038 1 ^ 3 * - berg, and E H. Tarmebaum. eds. Chicago: Rand

McNally, 1968.
Sat i- SELF 0.110 0.123 0.895 0.371

^.' ^ ^.^.9Jr!. ?-?9.f. 9:^.^?. ?-.^.?? ^.-99.? • "Dissonance, Hypocrisy, and Self-
Pi Í - Sat 0.808 0 097 8 332 *** Concept." In Cognitive Dissonance: Progress on a
Pivotal Theory in Social Psychology, Eddie
Q8 <- PPCD 1.000
Harmon-Jones and Judson Mills, eds. Washing-
97..t:,.[*i!i".9 .^.-.9?.^ 9.:?^^. ?.-^9?: !.*.*. ton- DC: American Psychological Association,
Q6<-PPCC3 0.960 0.238 4.028 *** 1^99.

Q5 <- PPCD 1.160 0.301 3.855 ***

, and J. MERRILL CARLSMITH. "Perfor-
Q4*-PPCD 1.741 0.367 4.747 *** c . i^. - . t ^ ^ ,
^- manee Expectancy as a Determinant of Actual
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Q2 <- PPCD 1.782 0.389 4.577 *** Psychology 65,3 (1962): 178-^2.
Q l <- PPCD 1.769 0.381 4.643 ***
BREHM, JACK W. "Postdecision Changes in the
f^.^P2^_Pj .•^.•.99.9 Desirability of Alternatives." ¡ournal of Abnor-
REPl <-PI 1.064 0.094 11.336 *** mat and Social Psychology 52, 3 [1956): 384rS9.

SATl <-Sat 1.000

BROWNE, M . W . , and R. CUDECK. "Alternative
SAT3 <- S a t 0.815 0.089 9.203 *** ,., , . • K. ^ , c - . - . -r •• c.
Ways of Assessing Model Fit. In Test¡ng Struc-
Note: SE = standard errar; CR ~ critical ratio; SAT = satisßictioti; PPCD = poslpurchase cognitive dissonance: REP = tural Equation Models, K. A. Bollen a n d J. S.
n.r. PI = purchase intmtion; SELF = self-image congruency. Long, eds. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1993.

T, RoBERT E., and H. RAO UNNAVA.

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encouraging.
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1957.
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ROGER MARSHAU. is professof and chair of marketing
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WOONBOND NA is a professor of advertising and mar-
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