Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The localness effect of family firm branding on consumer perceptions and purchase intention
T2 - An experimental approach
AU - Jaufenthaler, P.
AU - Kallmuenzer, Andreas
AU - Kraus, S.
AU - De Massis, Alfredo
PY - 2025/3/4
Y1 - 2025/3/4
N2 - Consumer preferences are changing, wherein brands with a pronounced local identity are garnering increased favorability. While family firms often embody this concept, there is limited consumer-focused research on its role in family firm management and branding. Drawing from consumer inference theory, we propose that consumers use a firm’s family status to infer its local character, including geographical reach, local iconness, national origin, and domestic production, to inform their purchase decisions. Our series of five experiments (N = 1,654) reveals that promoting family firm status generally enhances purchase intention. This is primarily due to the positive impact of perceived local iconness, overcoming the negative effect of perceived limited geographical reach. Amid ongoing debates on brand localness in a deglobalizing world, our study offers important theoretical insights into the local character of the most common global business form, with practical guidance for managers on leveraging the family firm status to enhance competitiveness.
AB - Consumer preferences are changing, wherein brands with a pronounced local identity are garnering increased favorability. While family firms often embody this concept, there is limited consumer-focused research on its role in family firm management and branding. Drawing from consumer inference theory, we propose that consumers use a firm’s family status to infer its local character, including geographical reach, local iconness, national origin, and domestic production, to inform their purchase decisions. Our series of five experiments (N = 1,654) reveals that promoting family firm status generally enhances purchase intention. This is primarily due to the positive impact of perceived local iconness, overcoming the negative effect of perceived limited geographical reach. Amid ongoing debates on brand localness in a deglobalizing world, our study offers important theoretical insights into the local character of the most common global business form, with practical guidance for managers on leveraging the family firm status to enhance competitiveness.
U2 - 10.1080/00472778.2024.2326581
DO - 10.1080/00472778.2024.2326581
M3 - Journal article
VL - 63
SP - 590
EP - 619
JO - Journal of Small Business Management
JF - Journal of Small Business Management
SN - 0047-2778
IS - 2
ER -