Abstract

Brand biographies trace a brand’s evolution to position it as an underdog (i.e., passion and determination that lead to success despite of limited resources) or a topdog (i.e., success based on abundance of resources) brand. This research examines how consumers’ risk perceptions associated with brand choice influence brand biography effects. In two studies, the authors demonstrate that when perceived risk associated with brand choice is low, consumers process brand biographies narratively, and underdog (vs. topdog) brand biographies lead to higher levels of narrative transportation, resulting in more favorable brand evaluations. When perceived risk associated with brand choice is high, however, consumers respond more positively to topdog (vs. underdog) brand biographies, which signal brand’s ability to reduce the risk associated with brand choice. Importantly, the topdog effect observed at higher levels of perceived risk reverses when consumers have the opportunity to process the brand biography prior to receiving high risk information, as this allows for narrative transportation into the brand biography. This research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of consumer reactions to brand biographies and suggests that perceived risk should be an important determinant in the marketers’ choice of emphasizing the topdog or underdog characteristics of their brand biography.