The Brand is Mine: Development and Validation of a Measure of Brand Ownership

Brand research has developed many constructs and measurements that depict different forms of relationships between consumers and brands. However, a conceptualization and scale for measuring consumers’ feelings of ownership towards brands has not yet been developed. Building on psychology of ownership and endowment effect literature, I develop a measure of brand ownership and conceptualize it as a psychological state in which people feel possessive of a brand and as if they have control over the brand. Using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, my dissertation demonstrates that brand ownership is a reliable and valid measure and distinct from existing brand constructs. Specifically, through six studies, I show that (1) consumers can develop feelings of ownership towards a brand, (2) brand ownership is a multi-dimensional construct comprising of four dimensions: possessiveness, belongingness, accountability, and dependability, (3) a measure of brand ownership is developed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, (4) brand ownership is a valid and reliable measure through validity and reliability tests, (5) brand ownership mediates the relationship between self-brand connection and brand loyalty and purchase intention.

Many thanks to Hua’s Final Defense committee: Hyokjin Kwak Ph.D. (Chair), Associate Professor, LeBow College of Business, Drexel University Rolph Anderson Ph.D., Royal H. Gibson Sr. Professor, LeBow College of Business, Drexel University Trina Larsen Andras Ph.D., Professor, LeBow College of Business, Drexel University Bert Rosenbloom Ph.D., Rauth Chair Professor, LeBow College of Business, Drexel University Charles R. Taylor Ph.D., John A. Murphy Professor, College of Business, Villanova University Marina Puzakova Ph.D., Assistant Professor, College of Business, Oregon State University