Abstract
Numerous studies have explored the relationship between consumer purchase decisions as a function of the match between the consumer’s self-image and perceived product image. This phenomenon has been termed “image congruence” and essentially implies that people are what they buy. The abundance of image congruence studies have produced a mixture of findings due, in part, to variations across research designs. This paper provides a meta-analysis of the empirical findings in the image congruence literature to explore the generalizability of the image congruence effect and moderators of the effect. Additionally, because of the idiosyncrasy of the research paradigm used to investigate self-image congruence, particular attention is paid to research design issues, such as type of sample used, types of traits used in image congruence measurement, data collection methods, brand name use, image congruence operationalization, and type of scale used. Combined effects across empirical studies show that the effect of image congruence across consumer outcomes, such as attitude toward the product, product preference, and purchase intention, is robust (effect correlation coefficient=.34). Recommendations for future research are discussed.
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Academy of Marketing Science
About this paper
Cite this paper
Rodriguez, A.A. (2015). The Image Congruence Hypothesis: A Meta-Analytic Review. In: Spotts, H. (eds) Marketing, Technology and Customer Commitment in the New Economy. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11779-9_60
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11779-9_60
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-11778-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-11779-9
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsBusiness and Management (R0)