乐趣还是约束？品牌仪式对消费者行为的双刃剑效应

Ritual is so widespread that people are always involved in these activities. In the same vein, consumers would create and prefer rituals in the brand as the number and frequency of brand consumption has risen currently. This is because that people expect that the brand could not only satisfy their functional needs, but also play a symbolic role in shaping one’s self identity and social status. Integrating theoretical and empirical conceptualizations of rituals, brand ritual refers to a predefined sequence of symbolic actions often characterized by formality and repetition that lacks direct instrumental purpose. By considering positive effects and negative effects, the current project aims to shed light on the effects of brand rituals on consumer behaviors, including both short-term behaviors and long-term behaviors, and its underlying mechanism through psychological reaction and consumer attitude. The current project conducts three parts of research, aiming at four purposes. First, we will demonstrate the double-edged sword effect of brand ritual on consumer attitude. We postulate that this effect is driven by two countervailing processes, such that brand ritual increases perceived enjoyment but simultaneously decreases perceived autonomy. In addition, based on this rationale, we will investigate how brand rituals influence consumer short-term and long-term behaviors. Furthermore, we will examine the moderating effects of ritual style and brand personality on the double-edged sword effect of brand ritual. Lastly, we will reveal the conceptualization model of brand ritual effect. In general, the current project offers novel insights on brand and branding theories and social psychology literature, while providing practical marketing implication for companies how to build and manage their brands effectively.

人类是一种追求仪式的物种，日常生活中处处可寻仪式的踪迹。同样在品牌消费中，随着生活水平的提高，人们期望品牌不仅满足其功能性需求，还能成为其建构自我概念和社会身份的象征性工具，将品牌消费作为追逐仪式化生活的重要手段。由此，品牌仪式应运而生，即一系列围绕品牌活动的正式的、具有可重复模式、表达价值和意义的互动活动。基于此，本项目拟从“正面+负面”和“短期+长期”结合的视角，深入揭示品牌仪式影响消费者行为的效应和机制，阐明品牌仪式、心理、态度和行为间的连锁反应。项目拟达到：（1）建立品牌仪式既提升感知乐趣又降低感知自主性的“双刃剑”路径；（2）探索品牌仪式对消费者短期和长期行为的作用；（3）挖掘仪式类型和品牌风格对品牌仪式效应的调节效应；（4）构建品牌仪式效应的整合理论模型。本项目将有效促进品牌管理和社会心理学的相关理论，在实践上也可为企业提升品牌建设提供有效指导。

人类是一种追求仪式的物种，日常生活中处处可寻仪式的踪迹。同样在品牌消费中，随着生活水平的提高，人们期望品牌不仅满足其功能性需求，还能成为其建构自我概念和社会身份的象征性工具，将品牌消费作为追逐仪式化生活的重要手段。由此，品牌仪式应运而生，即一系列围绕品牌活动的正式的、具有可重复模式、表达价值和意义的互动活动。据此，本项目构建了品牌仪式的基本框架，分析了其对消费者行为的影响，探索了消费者的“正面+负面”的双刃剑心理机制，提出品牌仪式有效性的依赖条件。本项目通过对企业和消费者的实体调研和深度访谈，以及实验方式和机器学习方法，运用了社会心理学、社会学和统计学等相关理论和方法，解决了以下问题：（1）根据仪式的内涵，构建品牌仪式的关键维度，从而建立理论基础。（2）从“正面+负面”的两个角度，剖析品牌仪式两条心理机制——感知乐趣和感知自治性，一方面品牌仪式会提升消费者的感知乐趣，而另一方面品牌仪式会降低消费者的感知自治性，进而感知乐趣和感知自治性均正向影响消费者购买。（3）在品牌仪式的影响框架下，探索品牌仪式的营销设计因素，如从性别联想的角度构建“仪式=女性化”联想，探讨品牌仪式在营销沟通中设计的关键点之一——女性化元素，以及分析仪式对其他后效行为的溢出效应，如消费者分享行为。（4）在项目内容基础上延伸研究方案，如探讨消费者行为中品牌与数量的特殊效应、采用大数据方法在消费者行为研究中的应用、挖掘消费者心理与行为的相关研究。本项目的研究成果包括研究论文、专著、获奖与会议参与，研究结果将有效促进品牌管理和社会心理学的相关理论，在实践上也可为企业提升品牌建设提供有效指导。