Journal of Product & Brand Management: Volume 29 Issue 6

Guest editorial

Julie Guidry Moulard, Kathrynn Pounders

A thematic exploration of human brands: literature review and agenda for future research

Maria Lucila Osorio, Edgar Centeno, Jesus Cambra-Fierro

The purpose of this study is threefold. First, human brands are conceptualized and the distinction between them and personal brands is established. Second, human-brand research is…

You are a brand: social media managers’ personal branding and “the future audience”

Jenna Jacobson

Social media management is an emerging profession that is growing as companies increasingly adopt social media. The purpose of this paper is to analyze social media managers’…

A study on the dynamics between the moral reasoning process and celebrity image and their impact on consumers’ support for celebrity comebacks after a transgression

Hosun Lee, Dae Ryun Chang, Sabine Einwiller

This study aims to examine how consumers use a moral reasoning process to defend preferred celebrity and celebrity brand images and specifically, the processes for supporting the…

“It’s good.” “says who?”: the mediating role of professional legitimacy on the relationship between film-extension performance and changes in directors’ human brand identity

Camille Pluntz, Bernard Pras

Building strong human brands inscribed in social and symbolic recognition is a strategic issue for branded individuals. In the context of film director human brands, this study…

Understanding the relationships between social media influencers and their followers: the moderating role of closeness

Brian J. Taillon, Steven M. Mueller, Christine M. Kowalczyk, Daniel N. Jones

The purpose of this paper is to better understand the role of closeness and the relationships between social media influencers and their followers, and, more specifically, how…

The impact of self-congruity and virtual interactivity on online celebrity brand equity and fans’ purchase intention

Chengchen Liu, Ya Zhang, Jing Zhang

There is growing interest among marketers in advertising and promoting their brands by adopting an online celebrity endorsement strategy. However, how online celebrities build…

What makes followers loyal? The role of influencer interactivity in building influencer brand equity

Sunghee Jun, Jisu Yi

This paper aims to present a mechanism that explains how followers become loyal to social media influencers. It suggests influencer interactivity as a unique feature of influencer…

The power of personal brand authenticity and identification: top celebrity players’ contribution to loyalty toward football

Wioleta Kucharska, Ilenia Confente, Federico Brunetti

In the current era of fake news, illusions, manipulations and other artificial attributes of virtuality and reality, authenticity is a virtue that people highly appreciate. This…

Consumers and their celebrity brands: how personal narratives set the stage for attachment

Bennie Eng, Cheryl Burke Jarvis

This paper aims to demonstrate how consumer attachment to celebrity brands is driven by perceived narratives about the celebrity’s persona, which triggers communal (i.e…