Is Apple in my Inner Circle? The Brand Relationship Circle Method for Measuring Consumer-Brand Relationships
(A2023-114539)

AUTHORS

Csilla Horvath, Institute for Management Research, Radboud University; Paul H. Driessen, Institute for Management Research, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

ABSTRACT

Current dyadic methods for measuring consumer-brand relationships are limited in the number of brands that are evaluated and do not acknowledge that the relationship a consumer has with one brand can affect the relationships with other brands. This paper presents the Brand Relationship Circle as a new intuitive method for measuring consumer-brand relationships that overcomes these shortcomings and assesses validity and usability of the new method in two studies. The first study is a paper-and-pencil study that invites participants to think out loud. Results show that participants use self-referencing to position the brands and that positions of brands depend on other brands. The second study involves an online comparison of the current and new method. Results show that the new method evokes significantly more brands and that its resulting measure for consumer-brand relationships has predictive validity. The new method thus offers a valid and usable alternative to current methods.