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Journal of Marketing Communications


Publication details, including instructions for authors
and subscription information:
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rjmc20

Celebrity endorsement: How


celebrity–brand–user personality
congruence affects brand attitude
and purchase intention
Debasis Pradhana, Israel Duraipandiana & Dhruv Sethib
a
Xavier School of Management, XLRI Jamshedpur, India
b
Boston Consulting Group, New Delhi, India
Published online: 13 Jun 2014.

To cite this article: Debasis Pradhan, Israel Duraipandian & Dhruv Sethi (2014): Celebrity
endorsement: How celebrity–brand–user personality congruence affects brand attitude and
purchase intention, Journal of Marketing Communications, DOI: 10.1080/13527266.2014.914561

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2014.914561

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Journal of Marketing Communications, 2014
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2014.914561

Celebrity endorsement: How celebrity – brand– user


personality congruence affects brand attitude and purchase
intention
Debasis Pradhana, Israel Duraipandiana* and Dhruv Sethib
a
Xavier School of Management, XLRI Jamshedpur, India; bBoston Consulting Group, New Delhi,
India

The present study provides and tests a conceptual framework aimed at comparing the
relative effectiveness of celebrity– user, brand– celebrity, and user– brand personality
congruence on brand attitude and brand purchase intention (BPI) thereafter. The data
collection was done via an online survey of a representative group of consumers
(n ¼
431) located across India. Hypotheses were tested using regression analysis with
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mediation approach. The results indicate that while user– brand and brand– celebrity
personality congruence have a significant impact on brand attitude and purchase
intention, celebrity– user congruence does not. Further, brand attitude is found to be a
partial mediator on the relationship between the pair-wise personality congruence on
BPI. The findings have major implications for marketers in understanding the
significance of personality congruence among celebrity– brand– user in the formation
of brand attitude and purchase intention that can be used in positioning and in
increasing the advertising effectiveness of brands using celebrity endorsement. The
present study is a pioneer in contributing to the celebrity endorsement literature by
investigating the relative impact of three pairs of personality congruence: celebrity–
brand, brand– user, and celebrity– user, on brand attitude and BPI, thereby supporting
the applicability of McCracken’s Meaning Transfer Model [McCracken (1989), The
Journal of Consumer Research, 16 (3) 310 – 321) and the Hierarchy-of-effects
model
(Lavidge and Steiner (1961), Journal of Marketing, 25 (6) 59 – 62].
Keywords: celebrity– brand personality congruence; celebrity– user personality
congruence; brand– user personality congruence; brand attitude; brand purchase
intention; India

1. Introduction
The celebrity endorser enjoys public recognition and uses this quality on behalf of a
consumer good by appearing with it in an advertisement (McCracken 1989). The
popularity of celebrity endorsement among practitioners has been well documented for
its success in achieving major communication effects/objectives such as brand
recognition, brand recall (components of brand awareness), brand attitude and
purchase intention, as well as marketing objectives such as profit and sales (Agrawal and
Kamakura 1995; Elberse and Verleun 2012; Erdogan, Baker, and Tagg 2001; Erdogan
1999; Hung, Chan, and Tse 2011; Kaikati 1987; Mathur, Mathur, and Rangan 1997). In
recent years, celebrities have appeared in nearly 14% of advertisements aired in the USA,
while the number is as high as 24% in India and 45% in Taiwan (Creswell 2008). In such
a scenario, it is important for marketers and advertisers to understand how celebrity
endorsements work and what factors must be kept in mind to create successful ad
campaigns using celebrities.

*Corresponding author. Email: disrael@xlri.ac.in

q 2014 Taylor & Francis


2 D. Pradhan et al.

Celebrities provide a range of cultural meanings to products or brands (McCracken


1989). This meaning, or personality of the brand, is then transferred to the user as he or
she uses the brand to achieve the ideal or aspirational self-image that is congruent to that
of the celebrity. According to the ‘Meaning Transfer Model’, the effectiveness of
celebrities as endorsers stems from the cultural meanings which they embody
(McCracken 1989). This gets anchored in the work of literary theorist, Barthes (1977),
‘The voice loses its origin, the author (celebrity) enters into his own death, writing
(consumption) begins’. Marketers also try and establish a distinct personality for their
brands so as to give the brand a unique meaning or identity (Aaker 1997; Plummer
1985). In contrast to product-related attributes, which tend to serve a utilitarian function,
brand personality tends to serve a symbolic or self-expressive function (Keller 1993). It
embodies product (brand) knowledge which shapes perceptions about the product
(brand) and influences the processing of product (brand) information (Freling and Forbes
2005), thus providing a better understanding of the celebrity– brand– user personality
congruence.
The ‘Self-Congruity Theory’ (Sirgy 1982) suggests that the favorability of brand
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attitudes and motivation to purchase the brand increases as the similarity or congruence
between one’s self-image and a brand’s image increases (Gould 1991; Graeff 1996; Sirgy
1986). Other studies covering a wide range of products and services have also shown
support for the self- brand congruity hypothesis. In addition, they have indicated that this
congruence also affects brand satisfaction (Achouri and Bouslama 2010; Jamal and Al-
Marri 2007), emotional attachment (Mala¨r et al. 2011), preference (Branaghan and
Hildebrand 2011; Dolich 1969), purchase intentions (Erickson 1996), and choice
(Malhotra 1988).
As the theories mentioned above suggest, the transfer of cultural meaning from the
celebrity to the user via the brand, as well as the significance of user– brand image
(personality) congruence, all three of these personality constructs – user, brand, and
celebrity – and the relationship between them seem to be important factors that affect
purchase intention and must be considered in determining advertising effectiveness.

2. Research objectives
Extant research has indicated the importance of the personality congruence between the
brand, its users, and the celebrity that endorses the brand in creating a positive brand
attitude and purchase preference. Yet, most of the work has focused on the congruence
between only two of these entities being considered separately: user– brand personality
(UP– BP) congruence (Govers and Schoormans 2005), brand– celebrity personality (BP–
CP) congruence (DeSarbo and Harshman 1985; Kamins and Gupta 1994), and CP– UP
congruence (Rossiter and Percy 1989). While a majority of the work has empirically
tested the impact of UP– BP and BP– CP congruence on the consumer purchase decision, the
role and importance of CP– UP is often overlooked and has evaded the attention it
deserves from the researchers. The present research recognizes this gap and thus aims at
testing the impact of all three pairs of personality congruence viz., UP– BP, BP– CP, CP–
UP on brand attitude (BA) and brand purchase intention (BPI), thereby expanding the
current literature on celebrity endorsement effectiveness. In doing so, the paper attempts
to contribute to the literature (Ladik and Stewart 2008) on celebrity endorsement by
shedding light on the neglected aspect of CP– UP congruence.

3. Hypothesis development
Celebrity endorsements and congruity theory have attracted extensive research by both
academicians and practitioners owing to the importance and managerial relevance of
these
concepts. The section below outlines the research conducted in this sphere, which also
forms the basis of the hypotheses that are laid out in this study to form the model
explaining the effect of personality congruence on BA and BPI.

3.1 Definitions
For the purpose of this study, UP is defined as certain persistent qualities in human
behavior that an individual (here the buyer) exhibits (Kassarjian 1971). BP is defined as
the set of human characteristics associated with a brand (Aaker 1997). CP is the set of
persistent qualities of human behavior exhibited by the celebrity. BA is defined as an
individual’s relatively lasting internal evaluation of the brand (Mitchell and Olson 1981).
BPI is defined as an individual’s conscious plan to make an effort to purchase a brand
(Spears and Singh 2004).

3.2 UP– BP congruence and BA


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Researchers have focused on how the personality of a brand enables a consumer to


express his or her own self (Belk 1988), an ideal self (Malhotra 1988), or specific
dimensions of the self (Kleine, Kleine, and Kernan 1993) through the use of a brand.
Studies have also demonstrated that brand personality can evoke positive emotions in
consumers (Aaker and Biel 1993). A favorable brand personality that the consumer
relates to is expected to result in favorable product evaluations and brand associations
(Freling and Forbes 2005). In addition, consumers have a preference for brands that are
consistent with their conception of themselves (Ross 1971). Consumers are more likely
to hold favorable attitudes toward those brands that match their personality (Lee 2009).
Furthermore, research has indicated that users tend to prefer brands which have an image
that matches their self-image (Govers and Schoormans 2005). The self-congruence
theory (Sirgy 1982) also states that the congruence between the self-image of the user
and the product (brand) image leads to a favorable attitude toward the product (brand).
This is because the use of products with a congruent image is a means by which an
individual can express self- image. This leads to the following hypothesis:
H1: UP– BP congruence leads to a favorable BA.

3.3 UP– BP congruence and BPI


A favorable brand personality is believed to accentuate the preference for the brand as
well as escalate its usage (Sirgy 1982). A positive brand personality is also thought to
increase levels of trust, loyalty, and purchase intention (Freling and Forbes 2005) and
provide a basis for product differentiation (Aaker 1996). Furthermore, a positive
relationship between the user and brand personality is shown to influence attitudinal and
purchase loyalty (Matzler, Bidmon, and Grabner-Kra¨uter 2006). For example,
extraversion and openness were found to be positively related to hedonic product value,
and personality traits influenced brand effects such as purchase intent or loyalty. Research
has also shown that consumers prefer or often tend to purchase those products (brands)
whose product images match with their self-image (Ericksen and Sirgy 1989; Jamal and
Goode 2001; Lee 2009; Malhotra 1988; Wu, Tsai, and Lo 2011). The effect of UP– BP
congruence can, therefore, be seen on the consumers’ preference to purchase the brand.
Hence, we posit the following hypothesis:
H2: UP– BP Congruence leads to a favorable BPI.
3.4 BP– CP congruence and BA
A match between the endorsed brand and the celebrity endorsing it increases the
endorsement’s ability to influence consumers and create a positive effect on BA (Till and
Busler 2000). The celebrity– product (brand) fit or match-up is thought to function as a
key determinant of endorsement effectiveness and positively influences it (Batra and
Homer 2004; Erdogan and Baker 2000; Erdogan, Baker, and Tagg 2001; Friedman and
Friedman 1979; Friedman, Santeramo, and Traina 1978; Kamins and Gupta 1994; Till and
Busler 2000). This is because congruence between the celebrity and brand allows
communicating the intended or suitable brand image to the consumer. Studies in the
context of attractiveness-related products show that congruity between the product
(brand) and celebrity personality leads to the enhancement of the credibility of the
communication and a favorable BA (Kahle and Homer 1985; Kamins 1990). This leads
us to posit the following hypothesis:
H3: BP– CP Congruence leads to a favorable BA.
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3.5 BP– CP congruence and BPI


The fit between certain personality attributes of the brand and the celebrity has been
shown to have a positive effect on the consumers’ intention to purchase the brand (Till
and Busler 2000). Celebrity personality traits such as celebrity attractiveness and
expertise, correctly matched to the brand, are thought to influence purchase intent (Kahle
and Homer 1985; Kamins 1990; Wiener and Mowen 1985). For instance, an attractive
celebrity would have a positive effect on the BPI for a cosmetics (attractiveness-related)
brand due to match-up effects. Generalizing the logical arguments to the overall
personality of the brand and celebrity, we can suggest that the greater the match between
them, the greater the effectiveness of the endorsement in terms of it leading to enhancing
the purchase intention or the preference of the brand. Therefore, we posit the following
hypothesis:
H4: BP– CP congruence leads to a favorable BPI.

3.6 CP– UP congruence, BA and BPI


While discussing the choice of presenter approach for formation of a positive BA, it has
been suggested that in high involvement or transformational advertising, similarity
(congruence) between the presenter (celebrity) and the target audience is more important
than the former’s likability (Rossiter and Percy 1989). Celebrity endorsers, who have
demographic characteristics similar to those of the target audience, are viewed as more
viable and persuasive (Kamins and Gupta 1994). Such congruence in the demographic
characteristics such as age and ethnicity helps the consumer to better relate to the
celebrity and, therefore, may help in developing a positive attitude toward the brand
which in turn, increases the consumer’s inclination to purchase it. On the other hand, if a
celebrity who is quite different from the target group of consumers endorses a brand,
then the consumers may not be much influenced by the brand communication. Extending
the same line of reasoning to the congruence between the personalities of the celebrity
and the target group, we may suggest that for the endorsement to have a greater impact on
BA and BPI, CP– UP congruence is important. This leads us to the following two
hypotheses:
H5: CP– UP congruence leads to a favorable BA.
H6: CP– UP congruence leads to a favorable BPI.
3.7 Brand attitude and Brand Purchase Intention
Brand attitudes cause a greater impact on purchase intentions as the motivation of the
consumer is increased (Mackenzie and Spreng 1992). The ‘Elaboration Likelihood
Model’ (ELM; Petty and Cacioppo 1986) specifies that BPI is a function of BA. In
addition, research in the context of advertising effectiveness has also shown that BA is
an antecedent affecting the purchase intention (Homer 1990; MacKenzie and Lutz 1982;
MacKenzie, Lutz, and Belch 1986). Furthermore, the ‘Theory of Reasoned Action’
(TRA; Ajzen and Fishbein 1970, 1973; Fishbein and Ajzen 1975) provides endorsement
for the paradigm that BA leads to the formation of BPI. It suggests that a person’s
behavioral (purchase) intention depends on his or her attitude about the behavior as well
as the subjective norms associated with it, thereby suggesting that BPI is an outcome of
the attitude the consumer holds about the brand. In addition, the ‘Technology Adaptation
Model’ (TAM; Davis 1985) also lends support to the paradigm of attitude leading to
purchase intention. It suggests that attitude toward using a technology system determines
the behavioral intentions to its use.
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The ‘Hierarchy of Effects Model’ (Lavidge and Steiner 1961) or the standard
learning hierarchy, represented as the cognition– affection– behavior hierarchy, also
supports the paradigm of how the presence of congruence can lead to formation of
attitude toward the brand, which in turn affects subsequent purchase intention (Holbrook
1986). According to the hierarchy of effects, attitude or feelings are formed based on
cognitive information processing which subsequently leads to a response or behavior
from the consumer as feelings stimulate desires in the consumer. Hence, we can argue
that purchase intention arises as a result of the attitude formed toward the particular
brand. This is especially true for products that are neither low-involvement nor
experiential in nature, where alternate learning hierarchies may also be followed
(Holbrook and Hirschman 1982). This leads to the next hypothesis for our study:
H7: Favorable BA leads to a favorable BPI.
Combining the hypotheses listed above, a holistic model explaining the effect of
user– brand personality congruence, brand– celebrity personality congruence, and
celebrity– user personality congruence has been presented in Figure 1. It is hypothesized
that these individual congruence measures affect BPI through BA. Hence, the higher the
congruence

Figure 1. The effect of UP– BP, BP– CP, and CP– UP congruences on BPI with BA as a
mediator.
between each pair of the three constructs, the more favorable is the brand attitude which
in turn leads to a favorable purchase intention or brand preference.

4. Method
The present study employed survey research to compare the predictability and relative
impact of UP– BP, BP– CP, and CP– UP congruences in determining BPI, and in
addition, to establish the mediating influence of BA as per the model hypothesized.

4.1 Product and brands studied


Sports footwear brands were chosen for the purpose of the study, as standard learning
hierarchy or medium involvement (Zaichkowsky 1985) is observed in the purchase of
this product category (as against a high involvement purchase such as a car). Another
reason for choosing sports footwear was that celebrity endorsements are common in this
category and the brands it includes are well-known. This ensured that the effect of
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celebrity personality congruity with user and brand personality could be easily studied,
and that respondents had a high level of familiarity with the brand. Preliminary research
was carried out to determine the set of brands which are popular among the target
segment and would, therefore, be relevant for the purpose of the study. This involved
carrying out a small survey of 42 post-graduate management students to determine their
preference for a sport shoes brand. The respondents chosen for the pretest were similar in
terms of their demographic profile to those who would be used in the final study. The four
brands of sport shoes which emerged from the preliminary research as popular choices (in
terms of response frequency) were Adidas, Nike, Puma, and Reebok.

4.2 Respondents
A sample of 447 adult consumers comprising full-time MBA students and participants of
various executive management programs offered by XLRI Jamshedpur, a well-known
Indian business school, were chosen for the purpose of the final survey, as they were
considered to be the main buyers of the product chosen for the study, namely, sport
shoes. An incentive in terms of providing credit toward the coursework was given to the
respondents for participating in the study; this resulted in a 100% response rate.
Although we obtained responses from all the respondents, data were collected from 431
usable responses (27.85% from full-time students and the remaining 72.15% from
executives employed in different cities across India) which were retained for the purpose
of the analysis, while 16 had to be discarded owing to non-familiarity of the respondent
with the celebrity endorser
¼ (n 5) or lack of purchase inclination for the product
category
¼ (n 11). This yielded a response rate of 96%. Adequate measures were taken to
ensure respondent seriousness during the survey process in terms of administering the
online survey questionnaire to the respondents in a classroom environment under the
supervision of the authors. Table 1 presents the profile of the respondents for the study.

4.3 Questionnaire and survey administration


The questionnaire was divided into seven sections. Section 1 was used for the collection
of basic demographic information about the respondents including their age and sex. The
respondents were asked to choose one out of the four brands (Adidas, Nike, Puma, and
Reebok). In case of brands using more than one celebrity to endorse their product (e.g.
Reebok using Mahendra Singh Dhoni, captain of the Indian cricket team, and Bipasha
Basu, an Indian movie star for endorsements), the respondents were asked to choose the
celebrity who they were most familiar with, while rating the celebrity personality.
In addition, to ensure that all subjects were well exposed to the celebrity who carried out
the brand endorsement, subjects were asked to indicate on a 5-point Likert scale
(1 ¼Unfamiliar, 5 Familiar)
¼ ‘How familiar are you with , celebrity name . who
endorses , brand name . ?’ This check helped exclude those respondents (n ¼ 5) who
were not familiar with the celebrity and, therefore, would not be in a position to rate the
personality of the celebrity correctly. Data regarding purchase of shoes by the respondent
in the recent past or the intention to purchase in the near future were also recorded so as
to exclude the set of respondents (n ¼ 11) who had neither bought a pair of shoes in the
recent past nor were planning to do so and hence were not relevant for the purpose of the
study. Items to measure user personality were also incorporated in this section.
Section 2 was used to collect information regarding BA. Section 3 included dummy
questions so that induced similarity in responses for the three personality constructs due
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to a recency bias could be avoided. Section 4 was used to collect information regarding
brand personality. Section 5 included a short social desirability bias scale to check for
bias in the responses. In Section 6, the respondent selected the endorser (s)he was
familiar with and rated the level of familiarity (s)he had with the celebrity. Information
regarding the celebrity personality was also recorded in this section. The final section
was used to collect information regarding BPI. A sample questionnaire used in the
survey is provided in the Appendix.
Other manipulation checks, to avoid respondent biases, were also taken while
designing the research survey. Dummy questions were included in the questionnaire so
as

Table 1. Profile of the respondents.


Frequency (n ¼ 431) Percentage
Gender
Male 369 86
Female 62 14
Age
20 – 29 227 53
30 – 39 146 34
40 – 49 54 13
50 – 59 4 1
Course studied
Two-year Business Management Program 130 30
One-year Executive Management Program 301 70
Brand chosen
Adidas 100 23
Nike 134 31
Puma 68 16
Reebok 129 30
Celebrity chosen
Bipasha Basu 26 6
Chitrangada Singh 68 16
Mahendra Singh Dhoni 103 24
Sachin Tendulkar 92 21
Sania Mirza 8 2
Virat Kohli 134 31
to divert the attention of the respondents from the main theme of the research and ensure that
respondents do not provide similar responses for user, brand, and celebrity personality,
owing to a recency bias. The dummy questions included asking the respondents about
their views on the political system in the country in addition to a short form of the
Marlow– Crowne social desirability scale (Reynolds 1982) which was incorporated into
the questionnaire. The data collected were tested for social desirability bias and the
Pearson correlation coefficients between the social desirability total score and each of the
construct total scores – UP– BP congruence, BP– CP congruence, CP– UP congruence, BA,
and BPI
– were insignificant with the ‘r’ values ranging between a meager 0.000 and 0.048. This
signified that social desirability bias was not a threat to the data collected.

5. Measures – user, brand, and celebrity personality


Malhotra’s scale (Malhotra 1981) was used to measure the user, celebrity, and brand
personalities. It uses fifteen 7-point semantic differential scale items (e.g. rugged–
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delicate, excitable– calm, uncomfortable– comfortable) and has been used widely in
research for the purpose of determining user, celebrity, or brand personalities and
ascertaining the congruence between them (Ekinci and Riley 2003; Faircloth, Capella,
and Alford 2001; Goldsmith, Moore, and Beaudoin 1999; Lau and Lee 1999). Although
several scales are available for the measurement of user, brand, or celebrity personality
(Aaker 1997; Ohanian 1990; Sirgy et al. 1997), Malhotra’s scale was felt appropriate for
coordinating the person– product (brand)– celebrity image (Malhotra 1981; 463), and it
is this image that is often conceptualized in terms of personality traits ( Rekom, Jacobs,
and Verlegh 2006). Additionally, the brevity of Malhotra’s scale consisting of 15
personality traits against the 42-item personality scale of Aaker (1997) was considered
instrumental in its choice for use in the present study, as the respondents were needed to
rate the traits from three spheres, namely, celebrity, brand, and the self.

5.1 Congruence scores


The congruity calculations were operationalized using the squared Euclidean distance or
the distance squared model of congruity calculation. This approach has been used widely
in literature for the purpose of congruity calculation (Parker 2009; Ross 1971; Sirgy and
Danes 1982). The squared distance model for calculation of congruence scores between
user, brand, and celebrity personalities is shown below. The lower the score obtained,
the greater the congruence between the two personality constructs.

Xn
UP– BP congruity : 2
i¼1
UP ij 2 BP ;

Xn
BP– CP congruity :
2
i¼1 BP ij 2 CP ;
Xn
CP– UP congruity :
i¼1 2
CP ij 2 UP ;

where UPij represents the ith user personality item as rated by the jth respondent; BPij
represents the ith brand personality item as rated by the jth respondent; CPij represents
the ith celebrity personality item as rated by the jth respondent.
5.2 Brand attitude
The measurement of BA was carried out using a five item, 7-point semantic differential
scale (bad/good, unfavorable/favorable, unlikeable/likeable, poor quality/high quality,
and unpleasant/pleasant), developed by combining items from scales used for BA
measurement in existing literature (Berger and Mitchell 1989; Faircloth, Capella, and
Alford 2001; MacKenzie and Lutz 1989; MacKenzie, Lutz, and Belch 1986; Mitchell
and Olson 1981). Examination of the internal consistency of responses for the items used
in the BA scale, via Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient, showed high reliability (a ¼
0.91).

5.3 Brand purchase intention


The measure for BPI was operationalized using a 5-point Likert scale (1¼ Definitely will
not buy, 5 ¼Definitely will buy), in response to a single item question ‘What is the
likelihood that you would purchase a pair of , brand name . shoes in the future?’ This
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one-item purchase intention scale has been widely used in prior research (Friedman and
Friedman 1979; Kamins and Gupta 1994).

6. Analysis and results


The initial testing of the data included determining the skewness and kurtosis of each of
the 51 variables – scale items of user ¼ ( 15), brand (¼15) and celebrity ( ¼ 15)
personality, BA (¼5) and BPI ( ¼ 1). This was done to test the normality of the data.
Skewness of all the variables was within the acceptable limits ofþ 2 to 22 (ranged from
21.823 to 1.543). The kurtosis of the majority variables was within the acceptable limits
of þ4 to 24 (ranged from 2 1.422 to 3.864).
This was followed by a three-stage approach for testing the hypothesis of the model
presented in the study. The mediation testing approach described in Baron and Kenny
(1986) was used for this purpose. In this approach, three regression equations are
computed. First, the final outcome variable is regressed against the independent variables
to yield the first regression equation. The independent variables must be significant as
per this equation. Second, the mediating variable is regressed against the independent
variables. The independent variables must be significant as per the regression equation
obtained. Finally, the final outcome variables are regressed against the independent and
mediating variables. The mediating variable must be significant while the independent
variables may or may not be significant as per the regression equation obtained. If the
independent variables are not significant, it indicates full mediation, whereas if they are
significant and the regression coefficients are less than those obtained in the first regression
equation, it indicates partial mediation.
In the first stage, BPI was regressed against the independent variables UP– BP
congruence, BP– CP congruence, and CP– UP congruence. The results are mentioned
as per Equation (1) in Figure 2 (mentioned above the path lines connecting the respective
variables). The results indicate that the UP– BP and BP– CP congruences are significant in
explaining BPI. This provides support for Hypotheses 2 and 4. However, the CP– UP
congruence is not significant in explaining BPI.
In the second stage, BA was regressed against the independent variables UP– BP
congruence, BP– CP congruence, and CP– UP congruence. The results are mentioned
as per Equation (2) in Figure 2. The results indicate that UP-BP congruence and BP– CP
congruence are significant in explaining BA. This provides support for Hypotheses 1 and
Figure 2. Effect of UP– BP, BP– CP, and CP– UP congruences on BPI with BA as mediator:
research results$. Notes: $ Standardized regression coefficients are shown along the path.
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*Significant at p¼0.05 level, nsNot Significant at p ¼0.05 level. Equation 1 is represented by


values above the path-line joining congruence scores to BPI. Equation 2 is represented by values
above the path-line joining congruence scores to BA. Equation 3 is represented by values below
the path-line joining congruence scores and BA to BPI.

3. However, CP– UP congruence is not significant in explaining BA. This shows that CP–
UP congruence did not have a significant impact on either BA or BPI.
In the third stage, the mediation effect of BA was tested. BPI was regressed against
the independent variables UP– BP congruence, BP– CP congruence, CP– UP congruence, and
BA. The results are mentioned as per Equation (3) in Figure 2 (mentioned below the path
lines connecting the respective variables). The results indicate that UP– BP congruence,
BP– CP congruence, and BA are significant in explaining BPI. This provides support for
Hypothesis 7 as BA significantly explains BPI. However, the CP– UP congruence was not
seen to be significant in explaining BPI.
In addition, on comparison of the standardized beta scores of UP– BP and BP– CP
congruence on BPI in Equations (1) and (3) in Table 2, we found that the standard
coefficients were lesser in Equation (3) as compared to Equation (1) (i.e. 0.223 vs.0.113
for UP– BP congruence to BPI in Equations (1) and (3), respectively; and 0.196 vs. 0.102 for
BP– CP congruence to BPI in Equations (1) and (3), respectively). This indicates the
partial mediation effect of BA. The statistical significance of BA was also calculated
using Sobel’s z-statistic which indicated that it is significant at the 0.01 level for UP– BP
congruence to BPI and BP– CP congruence to BPI ¼ (z 2 2.41 and 2 2.68, respectively).
Table 2 provides a compendium of results of this model based on mediation testing.
Table 3 provides the correlation and descriptive statistics for the study variables.
Overall, it was established that BA mediates the relationship between UP– BP
congruence and BPI and also between BP– CP congruence and BPI. It was interesting to
observe that we did not find any statistical significance of the CP– UP congruence to either
BPI or BA, as was earlier hypothesized. To probe the possible existence of a spurious
relationship between UP– BP and BP– CP, we performed a partial correlation, controlling
for CP– UP congruence. A perusal of zero-order correlation among the pairs of congruity
measures indicated a moderate correlation (‘r’ ranging from 0.52 to 0.57) indicating no
threat of multicollinearity amongst the measures of UP– BP, BP– CP, and CP– UP pairs.
Having ensured that the measures were free from multicollinearity, we then proceeded to
assess the partial correlation coefficients between UP– BP and BP– CP. The partial
Table 2. Regression results for testing the mediating effect of BA between UP– BP, BP– CP, and
CP– UP congruence scores on BPI.
Independent variable Standardized b F-Statistic R 2 Values
Equation (1) (BPI as dependent variable) 27.28 0.352
UP– BP congruence (Hypothesis 2) 0.223*
BP– CP congruence (Hypothesis 4) 0.196*
CP– UP congruence (Hypothesis 6) 0.050
Equation (2) (BA as dependent variable) 12.85 0.083
UP– BP congruence (Hypothesis 1) 0.180*
BP– CP congruence (Hypothesis 3) 0.153*
CP– UP congruence (Hypothesis 5) 0.004
Equation (3) (BPI as dependent variable) 110.29 0.509
UP– BP congruence 0.113*
BP– CP congruence 0.102*
CP– UP congruence 0.053
BA (Hypothesis 7) 0.616*
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Note: *Significant at p ¼ 0.05 level.

correlation results indicated that even after controlling for CP– UP congruence, the
correlation between UP– BP and BP– CP was found to be significant (rUP– BP,BP–CP.CP –
UP ¼ 0.284; p , 0.001), thus suggesting that the relationship between UP– BP and BP–
CP was not due to the confounding effect of CP– UP.

7. Discussion
According to the results obtained in the research, it was seen that the UP– BP congruence
influenced BA and BPI the most, and the BP– CP congruence also had considerable
influence on BA and BPI. However, the effect of the CP– UP congruence was not
significant on either BA or BPI. It was also clear that BA played a mediating role
between the user, brand, and celebrity personality congruence and the consumers’
purchase intention for the brand.
The observed insignificant influence of the CP– UP congruence may be explained as per
the implications of the ‘Meaning Transfer Model’ (McCracken 1989). According to the
theory, celebrities provide cultural meanings or associations to brands which are passed on
to the user through them. Hence, the celebrity helps in creating a desire or a sense of
aspiration for the user to achieve an ideal self-image that has a likeness to the personality
of the celebrity. It is important for the brand to create this sense of aspiration in the minds
of the consumers, so

Table 3. Descriptive statistics and correlation for study variables.

Variables Mean SD Age Gender UP BP CP BA BPI


Age 30.304 8.044 1.000
Gender 1.144 0.351 20.175* 1.000
UP 58.780 5.791 0.088 20.035 1.000
BP 52.673 6.312 20.041 20.080 0.384* 1.000
CP 52.360 7.306 20.065 20.044 0.206* 0.473* 1.000
BA 29.557 3.819 0.089 0.046 20.002 20.222* 20.163* 1.000
BPI 4.114 0.843 0.048 20.016 20.002 20.137* 20.063* 0.680* 1.000
Notes: *Significant at p ¼ 0.01 level (two-tailed).
Gender coded as 1 ¼ Male, 2 ¼ Female.
that the brand is used as a means to move from their current self-image to the ideal self-
image which is akin to that of the celebrity (Hong and Zinkhan 1995).
The celebrity personality, therefore, will have lesser congruence with the user
personality, in comparison to the UP– BP and BP– CP congruence, as the basis of the
endorsement itself is to showcase a celebrity whose image is superior to that of the user
and to which the user would want to migrate. As shown in Figure 3, the UP– BP and BP–
CP congruence would be greater as they appear as adjacent links in the meaning transfer
process and the brand is the means which the user adopts to carry out this migration
toward the superior celebrity personality. Hence, the similarity in the personalities
associated with these adjacent constructs (UP– BP and BP– CP) would be greater and,
therefore, congruence between UP– BP and BP– CP will have a greater influence on creating
a favorable BA and subsequent BPI, in comparison to the CP– UP congruence. Another
plausible explanation for the insignificance of the effect of CP– UP congruence on BA and
BPI might be the interaction of the UP– BP and BP– CP congruence scores with the CP–
UP congruence scores. This interaction effect or overlap of the CP– UP scores, which were
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already represented through the UP– BP and BP– CP scores, might have caused the CP–
UP congruence to insignificantly influence BA and BPI. However, a post hoc analysis of
interaction among the standardized scores of UP– BP, BP– CP, and CP– UP, did not reveal
any significant effect on the outcome variable of either BA or BPI.

8. Implications for practitioners


As per the results of the research, the UP– BP congruence significantly influenced the
consumers’ attitude toward the brand and their BPI. This has direct implications for
managers in terms of the positioning of their brands. Managers must make sure that the
brands are positioned in such a manner that they communicate a personality that is
similar to their personalities, to their target group. This would enable the target group to
better associate or connect with the brand, leading to the development of a favorable
attitude toward the brand and subsequent purchase intention.
The research results also demonstrated a significant influence of the BP– CP
congruence on BA and BPI. Hence, while selecting a celebrity for endorsement,
managers must ensure that the celebrity’s personality is in sync with the personality of
the brand. Greater fit of the celebrity with the brand would help make the communication
more credible and thus effective (Kahle and Homer 1985; Kamins 1990), thereby
positively affecting consumers’ attitude toward the brand and their BPI. At the same
time, it is important that the celebrity’s personality have an aspirational element
associated with it for the target group of consumers so that consumers have a desire to
use the brand to move toward the aspired personality of the celebrity.

9. Limitations and future research


Although adequate efforts were made to adhere to the elements to characterize a rigorous
and publishable research (Ladik and Stewart 2008), the present study has a few
limitations

Figure 3. Meaning transfer process.


and throws open avenues that are still to be explored to fully understand the impact of the
congruence between the user, brand, and celebrity personalities on the formation of
attitude toward the brand and subsequent purchase intention.
One of the limitations of this research was in terms of the calculation of the congruity
score using the squared distance model. However, the other methods of congruence score
calculation (Sirgy and Danes 1982; Sirgy et al. 1997), which have better predictive
validity, may be used for future studies to establish the consistency of the results.
Another limitation of the research may be the use of a single item scale for the purpose of
recording the purchase intention of the consumers. The purchase intention of consumers
may be better measured using different means such as a multi-item scale (Colliander and
Dahle´n 2011; Li, Daugherty, and Biocca 2002).
In terms of future studies that may be carried out in this area, it is important to
understand the impact that certain moderating variables have on the model tested in this
study. First, future research may establish whether the effects of the congruence
described above would be different for male and female respondents and what, if any,
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would be the degree of difference in effect among these two groups (Grohmann 2009).
This would help in establishing whether customized communications are needed for
consumers based on their gender. As the current research had a skewed respondent base
with a higher proportion of males, it was difficult to establish a result which could be
generalized regarding such gender-based differences in this study.
Second, some of the often-tested variables in celebrity endorsement research that
would affect the model tested in the study, communication or source credibility (Kamins
1990; Ohanian 1991; Spry, Pappu, and Cornwell 2011), motivation or involvement in the
purchase (Mackenzie and Spreng 1992), familiarity with the brand (Miller, Mazis, and
Wright 1971; Paasovaara et al. 2012), familiarity with the endorser (Dubey and Agrawal
2011; McGuire 1985), and attitude toward the endorser (Silvera and Austad 2004), may
be built into the model as moderating variables and their effect may be tested in future
research. It would also be interesting to see how the results of the present model differ
across different time periods especially for celebrities who have had formerly positive and
then negative image/likability (e.g., Tiger Woods, Oscar Pistorious), involving a
longitudinal design.
Third, the present model may be expanded to incorporate brand trust (Bendapudi and
Berry 1997; Lau and Lee 1999) and brand loyalty (Achouri and Bouslama 2010). It
would be important for practitioners and academicians alike to understand how
congruence between the three personality constructs may lead to the subsequent
development of brand trust and brand loyalty and how these fit into the model presented
in terms of their respective positions in the chain from congruence to a positive attitude
formation to a favorable purchase intention.
Fourth, it may be established if the model described in this study shows similar
results across different brands, and product and service classes, which have different
consumer involvement (Krohmer, Mala¨r, and Nyffenegger 2007), so that the
findings and the implications of the study may be generalized and used in those domains
as well. Future research can test the model for different levels of purchase involvement
wherein alternate learning hierarchies may be applicable.
Fifth, the influencing power of celebrities can be studied further in the context of the
model tested in this study. The influencing power of male versus female celebrities and
the effect of celebrity background (Dubey and Agrawal 2011), in terms of being, say, a
sports personality or a movie star, can be studied as factors moderating the influence of
personality congruence on BA and BPI. This will help practitioners to select the celebrity
to endorse their products.
Sixth, although personality in the present study was measured using Malhotra’s
(1981) scale, future research should aim at determining the stability of the results of the
current model by using different measures of personality, say Aaker’s (1997) personality
dimensions, to assess the impact of the congruence between celebrity– user– brand on the
outcome variables of BA and BPI. Doing so will enable generalizing the results, thus
improving confidence about the validity of the findings on the impact of celebrity– user–
brand personality congruence on BA and BPI. This may be essential for certain product
categories where consumers may give more significance to some personality traits while
evaluating the brand and celebrity personalities, and hence the effect of these traits would
be higher in determining the overall congruity. For instance, attractiveness-related
personality attributes may be more important for cosmetics and beauty products (Kahle
and Homer 1985; Till and Busler 2000) while ruggedness-related traits may be
significant to consumers while evaluating sports and fitness products.
Seventh, the interaction effect of the UP– BP and BP– CP congruence scores can be
studied in future research to explore the possible explanation for the insignificant impact
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of the CP– UP congruence on BA and BPI. Although in the present study, the post hoc
analysis revealed no significant interactive effect among these variables, the mediating
effect of one of UP– BP or BP– CP on the outcome variables of BA and BPI is worth
examining by researchers in this field. In this context, we recommend the application of
Heider’s Balance Theory (Heider 1946) involving interaction effects among these pairs
of congruence; this may bring out more insights on the fit of the findings of the present
study.
Finally, future research may aim at generalizing the model presented in this study and
its implications across different cultures to reinforce and further substantiate its
predictive ability. In addition, such research may attempt to understand, how, if required,
the model may be tweaked by managers to incorporate consumer trends and variations
local to their markets.

Notes on contributors
Debasis Pradhan is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Xavier School of Management, XLRI
Jamshedpur. His academic interests include congruence research in celebrity endorsement, U&G
theory in social media, retail brand equity measurement and impulse buying. His papers and cases
have been published in Asian Case Research Journal, International Journal of Rural Management,
South Asian Journal of Management, among others. His award-winning business cases have been
published by London Business School. His Asia-centric Casebook, published by Cengage Learning
Pvt. Ltd., captures the essence of business practices of firms operating in different parts of Asia. He
has also presented papers at INFORMS Marketing Science Conferences held at Singapore
Management University, University of Michigan, University of Cologne in Germany, Rice
University at Houston, and Academy of Management [Philadelphia].
Israel Duraipandian is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Xavier School of Management,
XLRI Jamshedpur, India. He teaches research methods, consumer behavior, and marketing
research for the postgraduate and doctoral program students in management. He has authored/co-
authored the
following books: Data Analysis in Business Research (Sage: New Delhi, 2008) and Marketing
Research: A South Asian Perspective (Cengage: New Delhi, 2009). He has presented papers in the
national/international conferences. His research works are published/accepted in International
Journal of Mobile Marketing, Journal of Services Marketing and The Learning Organization
among others.
Dhruv Sethi is a Senior Associate, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), New Delhi, India. His research
interests include celebrity endorsement, social media, and other aspects of marketing
communications.
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