• 유통과학연구
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• 제14권9호
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• pp.73-83
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• 2016

Purpose - Previous studies have not paid attention to global self-corporate brand congruity and affective approach from the viewpoint of global self. This study explored an inducement of gratitude that, under the circumstance of corporate association, consumers feel toward corporate's responsible activities, pride related to corporate's ability, and global self congruity. Current researches also have examined positive behavior effects of global self-corporate brand congruity and the feelings on corporate products. Research design, data, and methodology - This research theoretically reviewed that corporate ability and social responsibility association would influence global self-corporate brand congruity, that corporate ability association could induce consumers' sense of pride, and that social responsibility association might induce gratitude. This study, furthermore, examined theoretically whether global self-corporate brand congruity, pride and gratitude could make consumers behave positively toward corporate products, and developed hypotheses. For the empirical analysis with the questionnaires, 231 employees and common people completed the questionnaires, and structural equation model of AMOS 18.0 was used. Results - From the empirical analysis, the outcomes are as followings. First, corporate ability association makes consumers feel proud. Second, corporate social responsible association makes consumers feel grateful. Third, both corporate ability association and social responsibility association let consumers be aware of global self-corporate brand congruity. Fourth, being conscious of each of pride, gratitude and global self-corporate brand congruity prompts consumers to behave positively toward corporate products. Fifth, mediation effects of pride and the congruity in the roles of corporate ability association on the positive behavior, and those of gratitude and the congruity in the roles of corporate social responsible association on the positive behavior are identified. Conclusions - Based on the results, it can be said that a marketing manager should endeavor to make consumers associate the corporate ability and social responsibility. However, the degree of consumers' feelings such as pride and gratitude can differ according to their cultural backgrounds. It is, therefore, needed to be explored by the types of feelings that can be caused more from the difference in cultural backgrounds by corporate association, and to be investigated differently and positively with behavioral effects on the corporate's products between the types.