Measuring Consumer-based Brand Authenticity

Authenticity has historically been associated with transcending the self and the market (Beverland, 2005; Fine, 2003; Kozinets, 2002; Peterson, 2005; Thompson, Rindfleisch, & Arsel, 2006), yet an emerging stream of consumer research identifies that people attribute authenticity to brands. Research suggests that authenticity is central to brand status, equity and corporate reputation (Beverland, 2005; Gilmore & Pine, 2007), with some even suggesting it is one of the “cornerstones of contemporary marketing”, (Brown, Kozinets & Sherry, 2003, p. 21). Scholars have previously examined consumers’ quests for authentic experiences (Arnould & Price, 2000), rituals associated with the authentic self (Belk & Costa, 1998; Kozinets, 2002), the cues used to attribute authenticity to objects (Beverland, Lindgreen, & Vink, 2008; Grayson & Martinec, 2004; Leigh et al., 2006; Thompson et al., 2006), the processes used to assess an object’s authenticity (Rose & Wood, 2005), and the various forms that authenticity can take (Brown et al., 2003; Grayson & Martinec, 2004). We extend this line of inquiry by defining and measuring consumer-based brand authenticity. We do this through the development of a brand authenticity scale. Such research seeks to reduce the present fragmentation of research on the consumption of authenticity and assist managers create and maintain a brand’s authenticity—building on calls for more research in this area (Beverland, 2005; Leigh et al., 2006; Peterson, 2005).