# Motivation and emotion/Book/2015/Brand name product purchase motivation

* Multimedia presentation (3 min)

## Overview

Motivation influences behaviour through internal, intrinsic motivation, and external, extrinsic motivation (Domuschieve-Rogleva, 2015; Mirabela-Constana & Maria-Madela, 2011). Motivation is what influences consumer behaviour, and whether or not consumers will buy brand or generic goods. People avoid generic products in order to avoid a potential loss (Richardson, Dick, & Jain, 1994) and dissociate themselves from an undesired out-group (White, Simpson, & Argo, 2014). Consumers are motivated to buy brand products through advertisement, intrinsic and extrinsic forces, the self, social acceptance, past experience with a brand, the availability of goods, brand awareness, attitudes and their culture. Motivational theories such as the Cue Utilisation Theory and the Social Identity Theory also explain why consumers are motivated to buy brand named goods.

## Motivation

Motivation is the reason one acts and behaves a certain way. It is the precursor to behaviour. There are two primary sources of motivation, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation (Domuschieve-Rogleva, 2015; Mirabela-Constana & Maria-Madela, 2011). Intrinsic motivation comes from within us as the internal source of motivation derived from the satisfaction of behaviour without an external influence; we do it because we want to (Mirabela-Constana & Maria-Madela, 2011). Extrinsic motivation is the opposite, here behaviour is externally regulated (Domuschieve-Rogleva, 2015), focusing on an outcome influenced by external forces (Mirabela-Constana & Maria-Madela, 2011). Extrinsic motivation can decrease intrinsic motivation through rewards. This means that if a consumer is extrinsically motivated to buy a brand product, their intrinsic motivation to buy a generic product can be overridden.
RESET QUIZ BEFORE CONTINUING

## Consumer behaviour

Consumer behaviour involves shoppers' actions. Consumers use extrinsic sources like brand name, price, and store when purchasing (Richardson et al., 1994). Brands are important for consumers (Dommer, Swaminathan, & Ahluwalia, 2013), as they are used as an informational chunk, giving instant details about products (Richardson et al., 1994). Consumers like associating with the in-group, meaning they avoid products associated with a dissociative out-group.
A brand product is one made by a particular company, with a defining name, slogan or logo, that helps consumers identify their products from another manufacturer (Chowdhury & Khare, 2011). Many brands differentiate their products (Chowdhury & Khare, 2011), allowing consumers to fit in (Dommer et al., 2013), and express themselves through socio-economic status (SES) etc. (Kim & Drolet, 2009).
Generic is a characteristic relating to something; it is not specific. Characteristics of a generic brand relate to a product, often the original brand. Brands on the other hand are specific, consumers know what they are getting. Although most generic products are often on par with a branded product, many people avoid buying them (Richardson et al., 1994). This chapter will discuss what motivates these decisions.
RESET QUIZ BEFORE CONTINUING

## What motivates consumer purchases?

The reasons people are motivated to buy branded products are broad. Motivators discussed in this chapter include cultural influence, attitudes towards brands and others, brand awareness, availability of goods, one’s past experience with the brands and generics, the self, social acceptance, extrinsic and intrinsic forces, and importantly, the influence of advertisement and theories.

### Culture

One motivational force influencing consumers is their culture. Cultures differ in lifestyle choices and defining the self, and these differences lead to processing information differently (Kim & Drolet, 2009; Ng, 2010). There are two kinds of cultures: individualistic, generally Western societies who do things for themselves, identifying as individuals, and collectivist cultures, generally Eastern societies who do things for others, identifying in groups. Kim and Drolet (2009) assessed culture through their study of Asian Americans and European Americans, finding that Asian Americans are more likely to choose brand options, as they like to please others. This was explained by the difference in social status concerns. They found that Asian Americans were more motivated to increase their SES and maintain a positive self-image. This supports culture as motivation as a consumer influence as brand products make Asian Americans please others and feel more comfortable in their surroundings.

### Attitudes

Attitudes also influence consumer motivation. Attitudes are a set way of thinking and feeling about something, and most commonly result from advertising exposure (Coulter & Puni, 2004). Attitudes are one's beliefs about the potential outcome of a behaviour, and Zhou, Rau, Zhang and Zhuang (2012) finds attitudes to be the main predictor influencing actions. Zhao, Li, Teng, and Lu, (2014) suggest induced nostalgia about a brand is positively related to brand attitude. Brands activate nostalgia through advertisement. Nostalgia is the consumers desire to return to the past due to their insufficient now. The more uncertain they find the now, the more likely it is they will try and make up for this uncertainty by returning to the past through brands, re-establishing the ideal-self. Our attitude towards something motivates us to behave in a way consistent with our beliefs, and nostalgia effects this through the ideal-self.

### Brand awareness

Brand awareness is a major precursor influencing loyalty of consumers (Umit Kucuk, 2011). Marketing defines awareness as the simple recognition of brand names, the strength of a brand's presence, or consumer’s ability to recall goods. Distribution and product availability can influence brand awareness (Umit Kucuk, 2011), and brand awareness can be enhanced through media advertisement. In Yoo’s (2014) study, consumers' brand knowledge was assessed and key word search ads were examined. Top searched ads for an unknown brand was suggested to create stronger recognition and favourable views for these unknown brands, so much that they were in the top search list along with well-known brands, showing that the recognition of brands creates a favourable view of their products, influencing consumers' motivation to by a perceived better product.

### Availability

Availability is the consumer’s ability to use or buy a product at their disposal. Availability is influenced by the retailers merchandise supply, and influences brand awareness (Umit Kucuk, 2011). It is found that consumers make their purchasing decisions in store, rather than going elsewhere to find the product (Umit Kucuk, 2011). Jeong and Kwon (2012) tested this with an online popularity study. Consumers were offered products of low stock/low availability, along with a good customer review of the product i.e. A+ product, would recommend. The combination of the low availability and good reviews found consumers significantly more likely to buy the product. Because consumers prefer to make their decision in store, they may buy a low stock brand product out of fear of missing out, or buy the brand product over the generic, due to motivation by convenience of the product supplied in store (Umit Kucuk, 2011).

### Experience

Past experience with a brand and its products are essential in keeping consumers returning and winning over new customers. If a consumer knows what they’re getting, they are more likely to buy again. Consistent experiences ensures consumers will shop again and inform others about their purchase. If another brand has an equivalent product, consumers may take their business elsewhere (Thompson & Sinha, 2008). Attachment to a brand can be increased through a brand delivering on its promises (Thompson & Sinha, 2008). Dunn and Hoegg (2014) suggest that fear is the main ingredient of emotional attachment to a brand. Consumers affiliate with a trusted brand, and the findings from Dunn and Hoegg’s (2014) study, where participants were shown clips relating to different emotions found that those who were exposed to a fear provoking clip were significantly more likely to attach to a familiar brand product after the clip. This motivates the consumer to buy the comforting brand they affiliate with, over the less enticing generic brand.

### The self

Consumers use brand products to please their needs in order to create their self by strengthening and conveying their identity with brand products (Zhao et al., 2014). The self-schema is the way one organises and processes self-related information (Chowdhury & Khare, 2011). It can be used to describe the consumer’s social identity (Zhao et al., 2014). In order to avoid dissonance - anxiety resulting from thoughts and feelings inconsistent with the self - people are motivated to behave in ways consistent with their self-belief. Zhao et al. (2014) found that people are motivated to buy products that support their self-schema. Chowdhury and Khare’s (2011) research found that brands with functional products are more likely to match the self-schema, and these are more often assumed to be the well-known brands, therefore consumers are motivated to buy these brands (Ji Kyung & Roedder John, 2014). In a study by Ji Kyung and Roedder John (2014), students were assigned either a branded pen or a generic pen for their task. Students assigned the branded pen had an increased performance outcome, providing that the self is satisfied with brand products and this is a motivating factor for best results in consumers.

### Social acceptance

Social acceptance is made up from one's desire to fit in or belong to a certain group. Consumers use brands to integrate themselves with groups, and they avoid buying certain brands, including generic brands to remove their association from undesired groups (Dommer et al., 2013), as people avoid behaviour associated with out-groups (White et al., 2014). Brands that represent the desired in-group i.e. brands that the group uses, help consumers identify with the group through their purchase (Dommer et al., 2013), by giving them a sense of belonging, coolness and prosperity (Zhao et al., 2014). Those who feel they are excluded from the desired in-group grow a stronger attachment to brands associated with the group due to their desire to fit in (Dommer et al., 2013). Jeong and Kwon (2012) see this desire as the band-wagon effect, simply doing what everyone else is doing. The use of brands to impress a desired group can also be a reflection of one’s SES (Kim & Drolet, 2009). The use of luxury brand products can be seen to show the difference between the in-groups and out-groups (Jiang, Gao, Huang, DeWall, & Zhou, 2014). A study by Jiang et al., (2014) had participants evaluate people based on brand information, and without this information. In a subsequent study these people were assigned to two groups, luxury adverts and non-luxury adverts. Results found that rejection was higher in the luxury adverts. Upon watching luxury adverts participants experienced a decreased life satisfaction, and were more likely to feel rejected later on. People are more likely to be more motivated to buy items in the luxury adverts in order to avoid rejection, raise perceived SES and join or remain in a desired in-group, while avoiding the undesired out-group.

### Intrinsic and extrinsic forces

Extrinsic and Intrinsic motivation are the external and internal factors influencing motivation (Domuschieve-Rogleva, 2015; Mirabela-Constana & Maria-Madela, 2011). Both intrinsic and extrinsic forces play a role in determining motivation. Richardson et al. (1994) found the way consumers evaluated products in store was through external influences. A study by Priilaid and van Rensburg (2010) gave participants a generic and a brand wine. Participants stated the aspects of the wine were the same, and they would be internally motivated to buy either, however external factors would influence their actual purchase decision in store. Truong (2010) suggests that extrinsic motivation is related to obvious consumption rather than the product itself, proposing that consumers who are extrinsically motivated are more likely to buy brand products. Intrinsic motivation however, is related to self-pleasure and quality of goods. It proposes that consumers who are intrinsically motivated are concerned with products that do the job, whether they be brand or generic goods. This suggests that brands should remember consumers are intrinsically and extrinsically motivated while shopping.

### Advertisement

Advertisement is the most important factor influencing consumer motivation, therefore it is essential in determining whether a consumer will buy a generic or a brand product. Advertisements are a sort of public announcement promoting products, services, and events etc. Attitudes towards manufacturers and brand products are determined by advertisement (Kwon, Kim, & Mondell, 2008). There are many advertisement models and theories, including the Dual Mediation Model (DMM), the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and Cause Related Marketing (CRM).

#### The Dual Mediation and Elaboration Likelihood Model

The DMM links attitudes towards adverts and brands, advert and brand cognitions, and purchase intention to determine the best methods of advertising (Coulter & Puni, 2004). The DMM is empirically supported, and the ELM is developed based on this. The ELM predicts motivation strength influencing consumers through elaborating the message given in adverts, finding an increased message strengthens persuasion of consumers when the message is strong, and weakening persuasion when the message is poor (Coulter & Puni, 2004). In Coulter and Puni’s (2004) study, results supported the theoretical explanation of the ELM through their manipulation of information availability to consumers. Showing consumers are motivated by information exposure in advertising.

#### Cause Related Marketing

CRM is a brands strategy involving support and contribution from consumers (Chowdhury & Khare, 2011). When brands and manufacturers donate profit to charities etc. consumers are more likely to find the product matches their self-schema. Chowdhury and Khare (2011) found that 84% of US citizens would switch to a brand with a cause. This type of advertisement allows companies to promote and help charities while promoting and increasing sales. Consumers are more likely to be motivated to buy these products as they feel they are directly helping such causes.
The advertisement of brands makes them well known, because of this, consumers perceive their products to be efficient and one of the best available. Knowing about a brand and its causes motivates consumers to buy brand products, and the best way to keep consumers in the know is through advertisement, making advertisement they key motivating factor influencing why consumers buy brand products over generic goods.
RESET QUIZ BEFORE CONTINUING

## Why don't consumers buy generic products?

Many factors contribute to why consumers prefer to buy the branded product over the just as useful, and cheaper generic brand. White et al. (2014) state that consumers are likely to avoid and give poor evaluation on a product's performance or a brand associated with an out-group. Therefore they are motivated to buy a brand product as far away from the dissociative out-group.
According to the prospect theory, losses are seen as a bigger problem than gains (Richardson et al., 1994), therefore consumers who are comfortable with a brand may not be happy to take a risk in buying a generic product out of fear of loss. This is associated with consumers' past experience. Consumers who have had a poor past experience with a generic brand are far less likely to try another (Thompson & Sinha, 2008).
Using a generic product over a brand product has been found to undermine self-worth. Studies looking at counterfeit products found participants who used counterfeit products felt less authentic and had lower self-worth than those wearing the real brand.
These factors and many others deter consumers from buying generic products, instead, motivating them to buy the brand name option.

## Theory

There are many theories supporting marketing, advertisement and brand product influences and motivations. This article has focused on two important theories, the Cue Utilisation Theory, where cues are essential in purchasing influence, and the Social Identity, where identifying with a brand or product is essential in purchasing influence.

### Cue Utilisation Theory

The Cue Utilisation Theory states that goods are made up of a variety of cues that serve as substitute demonstrations of quality to consumers (Richardson et al., 1994). There are four standard cues, the predictive value of a cue (PV), the confidence value of a cue (CV), extrinsic cues, and intrinsic cues:
* The PV is how well consumers think they can link a given cue and product quality, and how well they can actually do so.
* The CV of a cue is how confident one is in their prediction, and how well they believe they can judge and use a product cue, and how they really do so.
* Cues high in PV and CV have the highest influence on consumer’s assessment of a good.
* Extrinsic cues are characteristics unrelated to the product, including brand, price, packaging and so on. Extrinsic cues relate to the product, but are not part of the product themselves.
* Intrinsic cues are the product related characteristics.
The prominence of extrinsic or intrinsic cues in consumer assessment is dependent on their PVs and CVs. The Cue Utilisation Theory shows how motivation arises and is influences through product cues and characteristics.

### Social Identity Theory

The Social Identity Theory is based on who a person believes they are according to the group they identify with (Carlson & Donavan, 2008). The theory says that people organise the world by categorising themselves and others into groups i.e. students and lecturers, to contribute to social identity (Carlson & Donavan, 2013). Social Identity Theory is strongly linked with the self and the social acceptance influences on consumers purchase motivation. When a consumer identifies with the advertiser they are more likely to buy their product (Carlson & Donavan, 2008). Carlson and Donavan (2008) assessed this by looking at the benefits brands had when their product was endorsed. They found that when an athlete endorsed a product and a fan found a match in their self-schemas, the fan was more likely to buy the product due to identification, assessed by an online computer survey. Carlson and Donavan’s (2013) next study supports this, finding that after one finds an overlap in the self with their idol, the more they identify and form and emotional attachment to the endorser, product and brand. The stronger one identifies with the product, brand, ad or endorser, the more likely they are to buy the product. This attachment and identification through the self is an essential factor influencing consumers to buy brand products over the generic.

## Limitations

There is a lot of research regarding what motivates consumers to buy a brand product over the just as useful generic; however, studies have not covered everything. Richardson et al. (1994) looked at two brands, a generic and a well known brand. They proposed that results might be different if research looks at Brand vs. Brand, i.e. Nike vs. Adidas or LG vs. Panasonic, would motivation still be the same in this Brand vs. Brand situation, or would another motivating factor arise?
White et al. (2014) looked at the dissociative out groups as a motivator to avoid buying a generic brand, however, we may ask what the case is when it is simply just an out group using the generic brand? Surely we don’t want to be associated with them? Research should delve into how consumers would be motivated if a simple non-relevant out group was buying either a brand product or a generic product in order to further study motivation on consumers purchase decisions.

## Conclusion

Motivation is the force that influences ones[grammar?] behaviour, both internally, through intrinsic motivation, and externally, through extrinsic motivation (Domuschieve-Rogleva, 2015; Mirabela-Constana & Maria-Madela, 2011). Consumer behaviour is determined by motivation and decides whether a consumer will buy a brand name or a generic product. People avoid buying brands to dissociate themselves with an out group (White et al., 2014), avoid a potential loss in a poor generic product (Richardson et al., 1994), and avoid another bad experience. On the other hand, people are motivated to buy brand products due to their cultural influences, their attitudes towards both brand and generic products, their awareness of brands and generics, the availability of goods, past experience with a product, the self-schema and social acceptance, extrinsic and intrinsic forces, and advertising, most importantly. Motivational theories such as the Cue Utilisation Theory and the Social Identity Theory also explain why consumers are motivated to buy brand goods.
The research in this area is strong and has few limitations. It is clear that motivation to buy a brand product is strong and stems from many aspects in consumers lives. As advertising is the most essential motivational force, brands must steadily advertise to ensure brand awareness and positive attitudes are maintained, and, ensure that consumers identity with products. In order for generic products to gain the popularity that brand products have they must follow advertising principles and theories brand products use in order to motivate consumers to buy their goods.