Abstract
Brand Transparency is a relatively new concept that emerged in the 1980s (Kelley & Michela, 1980). It has become increasingly influential in determining a brand’s key business operations and is perceived as a significant driver in business today. The purpose of the study was to determine “How can brand transparency be utilised to affect consumer purchase intention?” while investigating the perceived motives of brands. The study generated insight into consumer behaviour and purchasing intention by investigating the role of brand transparency and the perceived motive for incorporating it into a brand’s communication. The study furthermore sought to investigate the perceived motives of a brand for implementing brand transparency by utilising the four motives of CSR implementation by Leonidou and Skarmeas (2017) derived from Attribution Theory (Kelley & Michela, 1980). For methodology, the study applied the constructivist perspective to regard the nature of truth as subjective, as it depended on the opinions of the individual consumer. The study was conducted using a qualitative mono-method approach. Three focus-group interviews were conducted utilising a sociodemographic segment of Millennial, Scandinavian consumers. Key findings: The study's results suggest that several key factors must be present for brand transparency to affect consumer purchase intention. These key factors include reciprocal trust, accountability, and holistic brand transparency. If these factors are present, the level of trust will suggest a decrease in perceived scepticism and subsequently have the potential to affect purchase intention positively. The study furthermore suggested that consumers tend to perceive the motives of brands to be mainly value-driven and altruistic, but also egoistic- and strategic-driven. The data collection of this thesis supports the suggestion of elongated scepticism if brands are perceived as having extrinsic motives, such as profit-driven, egoistic motives, rather than altruistic, value-driven motives. If consumers perceive brands to be value-driven, brand transparency will affect them positively.
Uddannelser | Cand.merc.emf Økonomisk Markedsføring, (Kandidatuddannelse) Afsluttende afhandlingMSc in Economics and Business Administration Sales Management, (Kandidatuddannelse) Afsluttende afhandling |
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Sprog | Engelsk |
Udgivelsesdato | 2022 |
Antal sider | 189 |
Vejledere | Milena Micevski |