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“Make an Effort and Show Me the Love!” Effects of Indexical and Iconic Authenticity on Perceived Brand Ethicality

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Abstract

This article uncovers an important yet overlooked antecedent of brand ethicality that lies beyond the predominant focus on environmental and social actions in the literature: perceived brand authenticity. Perceived authenticity and brand ethicality strongly drive consumer decision making, but the link between the two has not been closely scrutinized. This article examines how two types of authenticity cues (indexical and iconic) differently influence consumers’ perceptions of brand ethicality. Across five studies and four different product categories, the findings show that indexical authenticity cues (i.e., an original product by a brand) lead to greater perceived brand ethicality than iconic authenticity cues (i.e., an authentic reproduction by the same brand). The underlying mechanism is that indexical authenticity cues (compared to iconic authenticity cues) prompt people to perceive that a product is made with more effort; this increases their perception that it is crafted with love, which then enhances their perception of brand ethicality. The findings also indicate that lower perceived brand ethicality when using iconic authentic cues (versus indexical authentic cues) can be offset by the notion that developing the product involved intense effort.

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Notes

  1. https://www.adidas-group.com/en/sustainability/products/chemical-footprint/.

  2. https://goodonyou.eco/how-ethical-is-stella-mccartney/.

  3. We thank one of the anonymous reviewers for suggesting to include different control variables throughout our studies.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Mario Pandelaere for his comments on earlier versions of the paper.

Funding

This research was funded by the French National Research Agency ANR-16-DUNE-0004.

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  1. IESEG School of Management, LEM-CNRS (UMR 9221), 3 Rue de la Digue, 59800, Lille, France

    Gwarlann de Kerviler, Nico Heuvinck & Elodie Gentina

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Appendices

Appendix A. Manipulations in Study 1a

Indexical Authenticity

figure a

Iconic Authenticity

figure b

Appendix B. Manipulations in Studies 1b and 4 (without Control Condition)

Indexical Authenticity

figure c

Iconic Authenticity

figure d

Control: General Authenticity (in Study 1b Only)

figure e

Appendix C. Manipulations in Study 2

Indexical Authenticity

figure f

Iconic Authenticity

figure g

Appendix D. Manipulations in Study 3

Indexical Authenticity: Control

figure h

Indexical Authenticity: High Effort

figure i

Iconic Authenticity: Control

figure j

Iconic Authenticity: High Effort

figure k

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de Kerviler, G., Heuvinck, N. & Gentina, E. “Make an Effort and Show Me the Love!” Effects of Indexical and Iconic Authenticity on Perceived Brand Ethicality. J Bus Ethics 179, 89–110 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04779-3

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