明星还是普通人--不同目标追逐阶段消费者对品牌群体标签的偏好差异研究

Celebrities or Ordinary People?Research on the Differences in Consumer Preference for Brand Group Label in Different Goal Pursuit Stages

在目标追逐中,消费者往往通过购买产品来帮助实现目标。目标追逐是一个动态过程,具有阶段性;目标追逐者的心理状态和关注点将随着目标阶段的变化而变化。企业常常借助特定群体的影响力来彰显其帮助消费者实现目标的能力。基于此,本研究聚焦参照群体对不同目标追逐阶段消费者所产生的影响,探讨处于目标追逐初期和后期的消费者对不同品牌群体标签的偏好。本研究通过4个实验得到以下结果:当处于目标追逐初期时(相比后期),消费者更倾向于选购具备成员群体标签(相比渴望群体标签)的产品;工具性价值在其间扮演中介变量的角色,目标可实现性调节了这一中介过程。当目标可实现性低时,在目标追逐后期,消费者对不同群体标签品牌的购买意愿无差异;当目标可实现性高时,在目标追逐初期,消费者对不同群体标签品牌的购买意愿无差异。本研究丰富了目标追逐、品牌群体标签和工具性价值等领域的理论研究,为企业塑造品牌群体标签提供了相应的管理启示。

In the process of goal pursuit,consumers often purchase goal-related products to achieve their own goals.Goal pursuit is a dynamic process with stages,and the psychological state and focus of the goal pursuers will change with the change of the goal stage.Enterprises often use the influence of specific groups to demonstrate their ability to help consumers achieve their goals.In market-ing activities,considering the importance of reference groups to consumers,enterprises often strive to create a positive connection between themselves and consumer reference groups,giving specific group labels(membership groups or aspiration groups)to brands or products,so as to gain the attention of consumers.For example,in 2015,the BBK point reading machine selected an ordinary little girl,Gao Junyu(membership group),as its spokesperson.However,unlike Bubugao,in 2016,the Youxuepai point reading machine invited star Guan Xiaotong(aspiration group)to endorse their product in its advertisement.As the same point and reading machine,why do enterprises choose different brand group labels?Is there any difference in consumers’preference for brand group labels when they are in different stages of goal pursuit?Previous studies have discussed the impact of reference groups on consumers,but there is a lack of research on consumers’label brands of different groups in the context of goal pursuit.On this basis,this paper focuses on the influence of reference groups on con-sumers in different stages of goal pursuit and contrasts consumers’preferences for label brands of different groups in the initial and later stages of goal pursuit.This paper believes that in the process of goal pursuit,consumers may avoid certain social information in order to reduce self-threat and the difficulty of goal realization.In addition,in the process of goal pursuit,the psychological state and focus of goal pursuers will also change with the change of the goal pursuit stage.Therefore,the social information and reference points that consumers are con-cerned about may change with the advancement of the goal pursuit process for consumers.The value of the information provided by reference groups determines consumers’perception of instrumental value and then affects consumers’preference for label brands of different groups.In this paper,two pre-experiments and four formal experiments are used to verify the hypothesis.In the pre-experiment,the member-ship groups and aspiration groups in the formal experiment are selected.Through four formal experiments,this paper validates the above hypothesis and further examines the moderating effect of instrumental value and the mediating effect of goal achievability.In Experiment 1,a group of college students who were losing weight are recruited from a university.The results show that consumers in the initial and later stages of goal pursuit have different purchase intentions in the face of label brands of different groups.Experiment 2 manipulates the variable of the goal stage to test the mediating effect of instrumental value.The results show that consumers at the initial and later stages of goal pursuit have significant differences in the perception of the instrumental value of the group,which further leads to differences in the consumers’purchase intention of the brand group label.Experiment 3a selects a new experimental goal(CET-4 and CET-6)and manipulates the goal achievability to verify that instrumental value is a regulated intermediary variable.In addition,Experiment 3b takes ordinary office workers as the subjects and changes the specific situation of goal pursuit to further verify the regulated intermediary mechanism,thus improving the generality of the experimental conclusion.Through the above four experiments,this paper obtains the following results.In the initial stage of goal pursuit(compared with the later stage),consumers are more inclined to buy products with a membership group label(compared with an aspiration group label);and instrumental value plays the role of intermediary variable,and goal achievability adjusts this intermediary process.When the goal achievability is low,in the later stage of goal pursuit,consumers have no difference in the purchase intention of label brands of different groups;and when the goal achievability is high,in the initial stage of goal pursuit,consumers have no difference in the pur-chase intention of label brands of different groups.This paper enriches theoretical research in the fields of goal pursuit,goal pursuit stage,brand group label,and instrumental value,and provides corresponding management implications for enterprises to shape brand group label.