How brand self‐disclosure helps brands create intimacy with customers: The role of information valence and anthropomorphism

Abstract

Although the notion of self-disclosure has received wide attention since the new millennium, most studies on this topic focus on consumer disclosure, leaving unexamined if brands could benefit from self-disclosure. Therefore, the question remains unanswered if the positive effects of brand self-disclosure on important relational and transactional variables observed in other contexts than consumer-brand relationships would be observed if self-disclosure was made by brands. This study addresses this question, specifically discussing if brand self-disclosure can enhance brand trust and willingness-to-buy (WTB) through the mediating effect of brand intimacy. Results from two scenario-based experiments indicate that engaging in self-disclosure-that is, disclosing some information that was kept unknown so far-helps brands create intimacy and trust with consumers, leading these individuals to exhibit higher WTB. Further, results show that all selfdisclosures are not equal, and it is when the brand engages in the disclosure of positive (vs. negative) information that consumers perceive more brand intimacy, and this even more when such information is disclosed in an anthropomorphic manner. These findings thus provide consistent empirical evidence showing that brand self-disclosure-if providing positive information in an anthropomorphic manner-can serve as a critical tool for brands in their relationships with customers.brand anthropomorphism, brand intimacy, brand self-disclosure, brand trust, willingness-to-buy (WTB) | INTRODUCTIONBrands have more than ever started sharing information that was previously not released to consumers. One particular type of such information pertains to the way products are made or what raw materials comprise them. This trend is particularly salient in the food service industry, with, for instance, McDonald's having revealed in the United States in 2014 how they make their French fries and nuggets. In 2015 in France, Ferrero divulged how they manufacture their Nutella products.Restaurants also have shared information about recipes and ingredients of dishes. For example, in the United States, in New Haven, Trinity Bar & Restaurant shared its butternut squash soup recipe and, in Wilmington, Goat Restaurant shared its mushroom soup recipe. Considering that it is not common for consumers to receive such information from brands about how their products are made, this deliberate brand self-disclosureor the act of revealing product information about the production process, which is usually kept private (Collins & Miller, 1994)-of such information might influence consumer perceptions and eventually consumer-brand relationships.

Effect of AI chatbot emotional disclosure on user satisfaction and reuse intention for mental health counseling: a serial mediation model

“…The major contribution of this paper is that it has clarified the psychological mechanism underlying the CASA framework by examining the serial mediation of user emotional disclosure and perceived intimacy. Social penetration theory supports our findings that emotional disclosure compels a conversational partner to have the same level of disclosure to maintain reciprocity (Carpenter & Greene, 2016), which then leads to higher intimacy with the conversational partner (Carpenter & Greene, 2016;Fehr, 2004;Lee et al, 2020) and various beneficial outcomes such as lower depression (Reis & Franks, 1994) and higher social support satisfaction (Johnson et al, 1993), perceived understanding (Reis et al, 2017), enjoyment of self-insight and personal growth (Reis & Shaver, 1988), purchase intention (Yin et al, 2019), continuous intention (Lin et al, 2021), and repurchase intention (Huaman-Ramirez et al, 2022). Uncertainty reduction theory further supports the effect of initial emotional disclosure in reducing uncertainty in an early-stage relationship and increasing the level of emotional exchange (Berger & Calabrese, 1975), which can lead to a feeling of being understood and successful psychotherapeutic alliances (Elliott et al, 2011), satisfaction and behavior change (Sanford, 2006), and other benefits (Reis et al, 2017).…”

“…359, 368). Extant research has found a positive effect of emotional disclosure on perceived intimacy with a conversational partner (Carpenter & Greene, 2016;Ho et al, 2018;Lee et al, 2020), which then leads to several positive outcomes such as lower depression (Reis & Franks, 1994), and higher social support satisfaction (Johnson et al, 1993), perceived understanding (Reis et al, 2017), enjoyment of self-insight and personal growth (Reis & Shaver, 1988), purchase intention (Yin et al, 2019), continuous intention (Lin et al, 2021), and repurchase intention (Huaman-Ramirez et al, 2022).…”

Relationship (breakup) reminders drive online advertising effectiveness

“…Notably, Huxhold et al (2022) posit that relationship reminders are often used to develop emotional closeness in social ties. In the context of marketing, because consumers show favorable responses to brands with whom they have emotional closeness (Huaman‐Ramirez et al, 2022), relationship reminders can be beneficial to cultivating positive outcomes for brands (Cavanaugh, 2014; Senyuz & Hasford, 2022). Relationship reminders can help brands increase the desire for conspicuous consumption (Liu et al, 2020), create a connection with consumers (Shen et al, 2016; Wuchty, 2009), and build emotional closeness with consumers (Fiori et al, 2020).…”

The influence of frontline employee self‐disclosure about products in a retail store on customer trust in the retailer in the context of service encounters

“…Thereby, frontline employee self-disclosure may lead customers to appreciate that the employee has the ability to deliver promised values. Also, feelings of closeness may develop an emotional connection and attach special meaning between interaction partners (Huaman-Ramirez et al, 2022). Customers who find the self-disclosing employee close to them are thus likely to believe that the employee has a genuine concern about them (Güse & Haelg, 2009) and feel a sense of benevolence from the employee.…”

“…The current research contributes to the self-disclosure literature from a marketing perspective in the following ways. As shown in a recent review of Huaman-Ramirez et al (2022), the majority of prior research has focused on consumers' motivation to reveal private information in human-computer interactions (e.g., Cheung et al, 2015;Chou et al, 2009) and the effect of corporate self-disclosure on stakeholder responses (e.g., Fennis & Stroebe, 2014;Hegner et al, 2018), but relatively little attention has been given to how self-disclosure influences customer responses in service encounters.…”