BRAND PERSONALITY THEORY

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ATTITUDE, MOTIVATIONS, AND BEHAVIOUR

INTRODUCTION

This chapter continues to provide the theoretical foundation of this study. It discusses the relevant theories that relate to attitude, motivation, behavioural intent, and behaviour. These theories form the foundation upon which the hypotheses have been developed. The chapter discusses previous studies that explain the relationship between the constructs under investigation. Many theories in the literature seek to explain the study variables; but only those that best explain these variables are considered here.
The chapter unfolds in the following way: it begins by discussing the theories relating to attitudes, then discusses the theories of motivation and the theories of behavioural intent and behaviour. The chapter ends by developing the remaining research hypotheses that are explained by the theories (and supporting literature) discussed in this chapter.

THE THEORIES OF ATTITUDE

Attitude is a latent psychological construct that manifests itself through an individual’s beliefs, feelings, and behavioural intentions. The concept of attitude has proven to be essential in consumer behaviour, as it allows us to comprehend why we behave, feel, and think the way we do (Fazio & Olson, 2003:139). Attitude exists in the mind of a consumer and cannot be observed. Miller and Peterson (2004:847) indicate that “attitudes determine for each individual what he will see and hear, what he will think and he will do…”. This means that attitudes determine our decisions, guide the way we behave, and affect our perceptions with regard to the attitude object (Ajzen, 2001:42).
Attitudes are defined as « learned predispositions to respond to an object or class of objects in a consistently favourable or unfavourable way » (Fishbein, 1967:257). Malhotra (2005:477) defines an attitude as an abstract evaluation of an attitude object. This entails that individual consumers can form either a positive or a negative attitude towards products, services, ideas, people, and organisations. There is consensus that attitudes are responsible for generating an individual’s behavioural change (Wang & Chen, 2012:1596). Thus, whatever the kind of behaviour users of social media may display depends on the attitudes they have towards the platforms.
Since this study partly focuses on the effect that perceived brand personality has on the consumer attitude of social media users, it is prudent to discuss theories related to consumer attitude – namely, the tripartite theory of attitudes and the multi-attribute model.

The tripartite theory of attitudes

The concept of attitude comprises three major components: cognition, affect, and behaviour (Insko & Schoplar, 1967; Spooner, 1992).
According to Kwon and Vogt (2009:424), cognitions are formed when a consumer processes information that is related to the attitude object (such as a brand), and this usually results in the formation of beliefs. By definition, the cognitive component denotes the beliefs that an individual holds about the attitude object (Fazio & Olson, 2004:139; Solomon et al., 2006:140). From a marketing point of view, the beliefs that consumers have about the attributes of a brand have a significant effect on how they behave towards the brand as an attitude object.
Affect is defined as the feelings, emotions and moods that a consumer has towards an attitude object (Solomon et al., 2006:140; Walley, Custance, Orton, Parsons, Lindgreen & Hugley, 2009:262). It has largely been agreed that the affective component is founded on emotional experiences. This presupposes that affection can be influenced by either a positive or a negative experience with the attitude object (Kwon and Vogt, 2009:424). Affect may also stem from emotional reactions to the stimulus object.
Attitudes are defined as « learned predispositions to respond to an object or class of objects in a consistently favourable or unfavourable way » (Fishbein, 1967:257). Malhotra (2005:477) defines an attitude as an abstract evaluation of an attitude object. This entails that individual consumers can form either a positive or a negative attitude towards products, services, ideas, people, and organisations. There is consensus that attitudes are responsible for generating an individual’s behavioural change (Wang & Chen, 2012:1596). Thus, whatever the kind of behaviour users of social media may display depends on the attitudes they have towards the platforms.
Since this study partly focuses on the effect that perceived brand personality has on the consumer attitude of social media users, it is prudent to discuss theories related to consumer attitude – namely, the tripartite theory of attitudes and the multi-attribute model.

The tripartite theory of attitudes

The concept of attitude comprises three major components: cognition, affect, and behaviour (Insko & Schoplar, 1967; Spooner, 1992).
According to Kwon and Vogt (2009:424), cognitions are formed when a consumer processes information that is related to the attitude object (such as a brand), and this usually results in the formation of beliefs. By definition, the cognitive component denotes the beliefs that an individual holds about the attitude object (Fazio & Olson, 2004:139; Solomon et al., 2006:140). From a marketing point of view, the beliefs that consumers have about the attributes of a brand have a significant effect on how they behave towards the brand as an attitude object.
Affect is defined as the felings, emotions and moods that a consumer has towards an attitude object (Solomon et al., 2006:140; Walley, Custance, Orton, Parsons, Lindgreen & Hugley, 2009:262). It has largely been agreed that the affective component is founded on emotional experiences. This presupposes that affection can be influenced by either a positive or a negative experience with the attitude object (Kwon and Vogt, 2009:424). Affect may also stem from emotional reactions to the stimulus object.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER .
1. INTRODUCTION
1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT .
1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
1.6 RESEARCH DESIGN
1.7 PROPOSED CONTRIBUTION OF THE STUDY
1.8 DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
1.9 DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS
1.10 ORIENTATION OF THE STUDY
CHAPTER 2 BRAND PERSONALITY 
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 BRAND PERSONALITY THEORY
2.3 THE BRAND PERSONALITY MODEL
2.4 CONCEPTUAL MODEL AND HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT
2.5 CHAPTER SUMMARY
CHAPTER 3 ATTITUDE, MOTIVATIONS, AND BEHAVIOUR
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 THE THEORIES OF ATTITUDE
3.3 THE THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
3.4 THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOUR (TPB)
3.5 HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT
3.6 CHAPTER SUMMARY
CHAPTER 4 SOCIAL MEDIA AND SOCIAL NETWORK SITES 
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 SOCIAL MEDIA
4.3 SOCIAL NETWORK SITES
4.4 FACEBOOK
4.5 YOUTUBE
4.6 LINKEDIN
4.7 CHAPTER SUMMARY
CHAPTER 5  RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 RESEARCH PARADIGM
5.3 RESEARCH PROBLEM AND OBJECTIVES
5.4. RESEARCH DESIGN AND APPROACH
5.5 SAMPLE DESIGN
5.6 RESEARCH INSTRUMENT DESIGN
5.7 LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT
5.8 DATA COLLECTION AND PREPARATION
5.9 DATA ANALYSIS
5.10 MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS
5.11 Measurement model
5.12 CHAPTER SUMMARY
CHAPTER 6 RESEARCH RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION 
6.1 INTRODUCTION .
6.2 DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILES OF RESPONDENTS
6.3 USAGE PATTERNS OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS
6.4 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE CONSTRUCTS
6.5 MEASUREMENT SCALE VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
6.6 EXPLORATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS
6.7 ESTIMATION OF THE HYPOTHESISED RESEARCH MODEL
6.8 CHAPTER SUMMARY.
CHAPTER 7 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 
7.1 INTRODUCTION
7.2 SUMMARY OF THE STUDY
7.3 SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION OF EMPIRICAL RESULTS
7.4 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
7.5 CONTRIBUTION OF THE STUDY
7.6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
7.8 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
REFERENCES 
APPENDICES
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