The Effects of Brand Relationship Norms on Consumer Attitudes and Behavior
PANKAJ AGGARWAL*
The key premise underlying this work is that when consumers form relationships with brands they use norms of interpersonal relationships as a guide in their brand assessments. Two relationship types are examined: exchange relationships in which benefits are given to others to get something back and communal relationships in which benefits are given to show concern for other’s needs. The conceptual model proposes that an adherence to or a violation of these relationship norms influences the appraisal of the specific marketing action and also the overall brand evaluations. Results of three experiments provide converging evidence in support of the theory.

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randing and brand-based differentiation are powerful means for creating and sustaining competitive advantage. Prior research has examined differences in how consumers perceive and evaluate brands, for example, through investigating brand equity (Keller 1993; McQueen, Foley, and Deighton 1993), brand personality (Aaker 1997; Plummer 1985) and brand extensions (Aaker and Keller 1990; Nakamoto, MacInnis, and Jung 1993). More recently, researchers have noted that consumers differ not only in how they perceive brands but also in how they relate to brands (Fournier 1998; Muniz and O’Guinn 2001). This line of research has suggested that people sometimes form rela-

*Pankaj Aggarwal is an assistant professor of marketing at the Division of Management, University of Toronto, 1265 Military Trail, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada M1C 1A4 (aggarwal@utsc.utoronto.ca). This article was written as part of the author’s dissertation at the Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago. The author wishes to thank Ann L. McGill for her invaluable support and encouragement on the project, for having the patience and the energy to read the