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Time will tell: managing post-purchase changes in brand attitude

  • Original Empirical Research
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Abstract

In this research, four longitudinal studies investigate changes in post-purchase brand attitude. Following predictions based on adaptation theory, Studies 1a & 1b reveal that brand attitude declines over time after purchase. This research further identifies moderators that counteract post-purchase brand attitude decline. In the first two studies, long-term (versus short-term) temporal orientation is associated with relatively more positive post-purchase brand attitudes. In Studies 2 and 3, brand singularization exerts a similar effect. These studies also point to an important congruence effect such that brand attitude change is relatively more positive when consumers’ long-term (short-term) time orientations are concordant with affiliative (autonomous) brand singularization. The positive congruency effect is mediated by self–brand connections. Overall, our study results advance theoretical and applied understanding of the understudied area of post-purchase brand attitude management.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Business and Economics, California State University, East Bay, 25800 Carlos Bee Boulevard, Hayward, CA, 94542, USA

    Yi He

  2. Shidler College of Business, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2404 Maile Way, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA

    Qimei Chen & Dana L. Alden

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  1. Yi He
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  2. Qimei Chen
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  3. Dana L. Alden
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Correspondence to Yi He.

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He, Y., Chen, Q. & Alden, D.L. Time will tell: managing post-purchase changes in brand attitude. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. 44, 791–805 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-015-0444-7

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