The role of values in the consumer brand selection process

Although consumers currently give increasing importance to the values brands represent, limited attention appears to be paid to this subject throughout marketing literature. Therefore, our research addresses the role of values in the brand selection process. Based on a literature study, a conceptual model is presented that incorporates values into the self-congruence theory (Sirgy, 1982) that describes the process by which consumers determine a match between their desires and what brands offer them. A first quantitative survey shows evidence for the relevance of value-congruence for some but not all product categories. We offer several explanations why this might be the case.