Abstract

Products and brands are multi-layered and involve utilitarian (functional), hedonic (enjoyment-related), and symbolic (ego-significant) aspects. Although the symbolic function of brands has been investigated in the literature, there is no unifying dimension or measurement instrument available to evaluate brand symbolism. The purpose of this research was to resolve this gap in the literature and develop a valid, reliable and parsimonious scale measuring the symbolic dimension of consumer attitudes toward product categories and brands within categories. Drawn from a comprehensive review of extant literature on branding, self-concepts and consumer behavior, an initial set of items was developed and refined to create a single-dimension scale composed of 34 items. Two additional studies were conducted to establish the unidimensionality, reliability, and validity of the scale. The symbolic dimension of consumer attitudes proved to be unidimensional and independent to the utilitarian and hedonic dimensions of consumer attitudes. The scale was also discriminated from other brand-related constructs, such as self-connection and brand engagement. It also successfully predicted several consumers’ responses. As such, it unveiled the mediating role of self-connection between the symbolic dimension of consumer attitudes and brand attitude. It confirmed, as well, the mediating role of the symbolic dimension of consumer attitudes between both consumers’ need for uniqueness and brand engagement and overall brand attitude. Limitations, managerial implications and future avenues of research are discussed.