The Influence of Power in the Relationship between Consumers and Brand

Abstract

Belonging to the area of research concerning the relationship between consumers and brands, the objective of this study is to investigate the influence of brand power on consumers’ sense of power and the roles of dependency and trust as mediating and moderating variables, respectively, in this relationship. The first hypothesis states that in the presence of brands with high power, consumers will have the perception of low personal power. For a better understanding of this phenomenon, dependence emerges as a mediating variable. The amount of power refers to the degree of dependence between the parties; i.e., brands with high power generate greater dependence and therefore reduce the sense of personal power by the consumer, which increases the asymmetry of power, this statement is the second hypothesis of the study. Finally, research found that trust is an important variable in reducing asymmetry of power. This finding shows that high levels of confidence in the negative effect of brand power, mediated by dependence on personal power, is less intense compared to a low-trust condition. Three experiments were performed that confirm the proposed hypotheses. This research brings a significant advance in understanding the relationship between consumers and brands, and proposes a new model based on the power approach.

brand; power; dependence; trust