Consumers frequently express themselves by posting about products on social media. Because consumers can use physical products to signal their identities, posting about products on social media may be a way for consumers to virtually signal identity. The authors propose that there are conditions in which this action can paradoxically reduce a consumer’s subsequent purchase intentions. Five experiments demonstrate that posting products on social media that are framed as being identity-relevant can reduce a consumer’s subsequent purchase intentions for the same and similar products, as this action allows consumers to virtually signal their identity, fulfilling identity-signaling needs. Fortunately for retailers, the authors suggest theoretically and managerially relevant moderators that attenuate this negative effect on intent to purchase. These findings have important implications for how firms can conduct social media marketing to minimize negative purchase outcomes.
AquinoKarlReedAmericusII (2002), “The Self-Importance of Moral Identity,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83 (6), 1423–40.
2.
ArboreAlessandroSosciaIsabellaBagozziRichard P. (2014), “The Role of Signaling Identity in the Adoption of Personal Technologies,” Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 15 (2), 86–110.
3.
BackMitja D.StopferJuliane M.VazireSimineGaddisSamSchmukleStefan C.EgloffBoris. (2010), “Facebook Profiles Reflect Actual Personality, Not Self-Idealization,” Psychological Science, 21 (3), 372–74.
4.
BeckerGordon M.DeGrootMorris H.MarschakJacob (1964), “Measuring Utility by a Single-Response Sequential Method,” Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 9 (3), 226–32.
5.
BelkRussell W. (1988), “Possessions and the Extended Self,” Journal of Consumer Research, 15 (2), 139–68.
6.
BelkRussell W. (2013), “Extended Self in a Digital World,” Journal of Consumer Research, 40 (3), 477–500.
7.
BelkRussell W.BahnKenneth D.MayerRobert N. (1982), “Developmental Recognition of Consumption Symbolism,” Journal of Consumer Research, 9 (1), 4–17.
8.
BellezzaSilviaKeinanAnat (2014), “Brand Tourists: How Non–Core Users Enhance the Brand Image by Eliciting Pride,” Journal of Consumer Research, 41 (2), 397–417.
9.
BemDaryl J. (1972), “Self-Perception Theory,” in Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 6, BerkowitzLeonard, ed. Cambridge, MA: Academic Press, 1–62.
10.
BergerJonahHeathChip (2007), “Where Consumers Diverge from Others: Identity-Signaling and Product Domains,” Journal of Consumer Research, 34 (2), 121–34.
11.
BergerJonahHeathChip (2008), “Who Drives Divergence? Identity Signaling, Outgroup Dissimilarity, and the Abandonment of Cultural Tastes,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95 (3), 593–607.
12.
BergerJonahWardMorgan K. (2010), “Subtle Signals of Inconspicuous Consumption,” Journal of Consumer Research, 37 (4), 555–69.
13.
BhattacharjeeAmitBergerJonahMenonGeeta (2014), “When Identity Marketing Backfires: Consumer Agency in Identity Expression,” Journal of Consumer Research, 41 (2), 294–309.
14.
BodnerRonitPrelecDrazen (2003), “Self-Signaling and Diagnostic Utility in Everyday Decision Making,” in The Psychology of Economic Decisions, BrocasIsabelleCarilloJuan, eds. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 105–26.
15.
BoltonLisa E.ReedAmericusII (2004), “Sticky Priors: The Perseverance of Identity Effects on Judgment,” Journal of Marketing Research, 41 (4), 397–410.
16.
BrewerMarilynn B. (1991), “Optimal Distinctiveness Theory: Its History and Development,” in Handbook of Theories of Social Psychology, Vol. 2, LangePaul A.M. VanKruglanskiArie W.Tory HigginsE., eds. London: SAGE Publications, 81–98.
DeightonJohnGoldenbergJacobStephenAndrew T. (2017), “Introduction to Special Issue: The Consumer in a Connected World,” Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2 (2), 137–39.
19.
DharRaviWertenbrochKlaus (2012), “Self-Signaling and the Costs and Benefits of Temptation in Consumer Choice,” Journal of Marketing Research, 49 (1), 15–25.
EscalasJennifer Edson (2005), “Self-Construal, Reference Groups, and Brand Meaning,” Journal of Consumer Research, 32 (3), 378–89.
22.
EscalasJennifer EdsonBettmanJames R. (2003), “You Are What They Eat: The Influence of Reference Groups on Consumers’ Connections to Brands,” Journal of Consumer Psychology, 13 (3), 339–48.
23.
FerraroRosellinaKirmaniAmnaMatherlyTed (2013), “Look at Me! Look at Me! Conspicuous Brand Usage, Self-Brand Connection, and Dilution,” Journal of Marketing Research, 50 (4), 477–88.
24.
ForehandMark R.DeshpandéRohitReedAmericusII (2002), “Identity Salience and the Influence of Differential Activation of the Social Self-Schema on Advertising Response,” Journal of Applied Psychology, 87 (6), 1086–99.
25.
GodesDavidMayzlinDina (2009), “Firm-Created Word-of-Mouth Communication: Evidence from a Field Test,” Marketing Science, 28 (4), 721–39.
26.
GollwitzerPeter M.SheeranPaschalMichalskiVerenaSeifertAndrea E. (2009), “When Intentions Go Public: Does Social Reality Widen the Intention-Behavior Gap?” Psychological Science, 20 (5), 612–18.
27.
GoslingSamuel D.GaddisSamVazireSimine (2007), “Personality Impressions Based on Facebook Profiles,” in proceedings of 2007 International Conference on Weblogs and Social Media, ICWSM 2007, Boulder, CO, (March 26– 28),https://www.icwsm.org/papers/3--Gosling-Gaddis-Vazire.pdf.
28.
HayesAndrew F. (2013), Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis. New York: Guilford Press.
JohnLeslie K.EmrichOliverGuptaSunilNortonMichael I. (2017), “Does ‘Liking’ Lead to Loving? The Impact of Joining a Brand’s Social Network on Marketing Outcomes,” Journal of Marketing Research, 54 (1), 144–55.
31.
KrausMichael W.ChenSerena (2009), “Striving to Be Known by Significant Others: Automatic Activation of Self-Verification Goals in Relationship Contexts,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97 (1), 58–73.
32.
LambertonCaitStephenAndrew T. (2016), “A Thematic Exploration of Digital, Social Media, and Mobile Marketing: Research Evolution from 2000 to 2015 and an Agenda for Future Inquiry,” Journal of Marketing, 80 (6), 146–72.
33.
LaverieDebra A.Kleine IIIRobert E.KleineSusan Schultz (2002), “Re-Examination and Extension of Kleine, Kleine, and Kernan’s Social Identity Model of Mundane Consumption: The Mediating Role of the Appraisal Process,”Journal of Consumer Research, 28 (4), 659–99.
34.
LevySidney J. (1959), “Symbols for Sale,” Harvard Business Review, 37 (4), 117–24.
35.
MalärLuciaKrohmerHarleyHoyerWayne D.NyffeneggerBettina (2011), “Emotional Brand Attachment and Brand Personality: The Relative Importance of the Actual and the Ideal Self,” Journal of Marketing, 75 (4), 35–52.
36.
MalhotraNaresh K. (1988), “Self Concept and Product Choice: An Integrated Perspective,” Journal of Economic Psychology, 9 (1), 1–28.
OysermanDaphna (2009), “Identity-Based Motivation: Implications for Action-Readiness, Procedural-Readiness, and Consumer Behavior,” Journal of Consumer Psychology, 19 (3), 250–60.
39.
ReedAmericus II (2004), “Activating the Self-Importance of Consumer Selves: Exploring Identity Salience Effects on Judgments,” Journal of Consumer Research, 31 (2), 286–95.
40.
ReedAmericusForehandMark R.PuntoniStefanoWarlopLuk (2012), “Identity-Based Consumer Behavior,” International Journal of Research in Marketing, 29 (4), 310–21.
41.
ShavittSharonNelsonMichelle R. (2000), “The Social Identity Function in Person Perception: Communicated Meanings of Product Preferences,” in Why We Evaluate: Functions of Attitudes, MaioGregory R.OlsonJames M., eds. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 27–57.
42.
ShuSuzanne B.PeckJoann (2011), “Psychological Ownership and Affective Reaction: Emotional Attachment Process Variables and the Endowment Effect,” Journal of Consumer Psychology, 21 (4), 439–52.
43.
SirgyM. JosephGrewalDhruvMangleburgTamara (2000), “Retail Environment, Self-Congruity, and Retail Patronage: An Integrative Model and a Research Agenda,” Journal of Business Research, 49 (2), 127–38.
44.
SpencerSteven J.ZannaMark P.FongGeoffrey T. (2005), “Establishing a Causal Chain: Why Experiments Are Often More Effective than Mediational Analyses in Examining Psychological Processes,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89 (6), 845–51.
45.
StephenAndrew T. (2016), “The Role of Digital and Social Media Marketing in Consumer Behavior,” Current Opinion in Psychology, 10, 17–21.
46.
StephenAndrew T.GalakJeff (2012), “The Effects of Traditional and Social Earned Media on Sales: A Study of a Microlending Marketplace,” Journal of Marketing Research, 49 (5), 624–39.
47.
SwannWilliam B. Jr. (1983), “Self-Verification: Bringing Social Reality into Harmony with the Self,” Social Psychological Perspectives on the Self, 2, 33–66.
48.
ToubiaOlivierStephenAndrew T. (2013), “Intrinsic vs. Image-Related Utility in Social Media: Why Do People Contribute Content to Twitter?” Marketing Science, 32 (3), 368–92.
49.
TrusovMichaelBucklinRandolph E.PauwelsKoen (2009), “Effects of Word-of-Mouth Versus Traditional Marketing: Findings from an Internet Social Networking Site,” Journal of Marketing, 73 (5), 90–102.
50.
WardMorgan K.BroniarczykSusan M. (2011), “It’s Not Me, It’s You: How Gift Giving Creates Giver Identity Threat as a Function of Social Closeness,” Journal of Consumer Research, 38 (1), 164–81.
51.
WardMorgan K.DahlDarren W. (2014), “Should the Devil Sell Prada? Retail Rejection Increases Aspiring Consumers’ Desire for the Brand,” Journal of Consumer Research, 41 (3), 590–609.
52.
WhiteKatherinePelozaJohn (2009), “Self-Benefit Versus Other-Benefit Marketing Appeals: Their Effectiveness in Generating Charitable Support,” Journal of Marketing, 73 (4), 109–24.
53.
WilcoxKeithStephenAndrew T. (2013), “Are Close Friends the Enemy? Online Social Networks, Self-Esteem, and Self-Control,” Journal of Consumer Research, 40 (1), 90–103.
54.
ZhangYuchiTrusovMichaelStephenAndrew T.JamalZainab (2017), “Online Shopping and Social Media: Friends or Foes?” Journal of Marketing, 81 (6), 24–41.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
