BRAND ENGAGEMENT ACCORDING TO GENDER IN SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE BRANDS* Abstract: The aim of the research work is to analyze whether there are gender differences in the perception of socially responsible brands, and how this difference affects the engagement of consumers to the brand. Men and women, in general, tend to perceive brands differently. The brands whose companies practice social responsibility tends to create a stronger engagement with the consumer. The brand engagement to socially responsible brands can be affected by whether the gender of the consumer. Is used a quantitative methodology. Data collection was done through a survey, using validated scales in the literature for the estimation of a multinominal logistic model to substantiate the assumptions made. The relevance of the work is justified by the use of more effective communication by the socially responsible companies who wish to segment the market by gender. Keywords: Brand Engagement, Social Responsibility, Consumer, Multinominal Logistic Model *The work reported in this paper was co-financed by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal (PestOE/EUE/UI4005/2011) and carried out within the research centre Centro Lusíada de Investigação e Desenvolvimento em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial (CLEGI). BRAND ENGAGEMENT ACCORDING TO GENDER IN SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE BRANDS By joining images of celebrities, models and scenarios, managers can add different meanings to the brand, helping to create an identity. This identity in turn may be influenced by gender. There are several brands that are associated with female images, for example, the clothing brand Carolina Herrera and other associated brands with images that are distinctly masculine, such as Hugo Boss. Thus, one might think that brands have a gender identity (Jung and Lee, 2006). Till and Priluck (2001) argue that one of the aspects of culture that can be transferred to brands is gender. There are several studies that suggest that gender may be important for the consumer in the process of brand choice and that the degree of masculinity or femininity of a brand can influence their purchasing behavior (Alreck, Settle, and Belch, 1982; Bellizi and Milner, 1991; Maldonado et. al., 2003; Grohmann, 2009). On the other hand, many academic studies maintain that the attitude towards a brand can be conditioned (Shimp et. al., 1991, Kim et. al., 1996, 1998), and these constraints may be the gender. A number of authors (McCraken, 1986; Priluck and Tell, 2001, Blair and Shimp, 1992) suggest that consumers are interested in products that allow them to express their place in society. Thus, brands can help to categorize individuals according to age, gender and social class. Gender is one of the variables most used in the segmentation of markets (Patterson and Hogg, 2004). However, the concept is quite difficult to be operationalized in the research of consumer behavior (Palan, 2001) and its interpretation can not be the most correct when applied to the consumption variables. The gender identity can be seen as the degree to which an individual identifies with masculine or feminine traits (Palan, 2001, Maldonado et. al., 2003). In this work, by gender means the perspective that an individual has over their own sex, incorporating a set of psychological characteristics and emotional and that influences their perception of brands. The attachment to the brand is defined as individual differences that represent the tendency of a consumer to include important brands as part of themselves (Sprott, Czellar and Spangenberg, 2009). The interest in examining the attachment with the consumer brands lies in the fact this connection is strong, lead to the creation of a favorable attitude to the brand and soon the interesting behavior from the point of view of the managers. However there are few studies that examine the development of brand connection through the gender difference. It is known that men tend to prefer brand men's and women tend to experience more feminine brands leading to the conclusion that individuals prefer brands associated with their gender (Alreck et. al., 1982; Debevec and Iyer, 1986; Bellizzi and Milner,1991). H1: Men and women have different connection to social responsible brands. *The work reported in this paper was co-financed by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal (PestOE/EUE/UI4005/2011) and carried out within the research centre Centro Lusíada de Investigação e Desenvolvimento em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial (CLEGI). Has been studied over time the difference of ethical behavior by men and women (Dobson and White, 1995; Whitley et. al., 1999, and Vermeir Kenhove, 2008). Women have been perceived as more sensitive and less competitive than men, so with greater ethical and social responsibility (Simga-Mugan et. al., 2005; Beu et. al., 2003, Roxas and Stoneback, 2004) . This is due to the fact that males and females having different values and features which tend to create moral different orientations, and therefore, differently influence their preferences for socially responsible brands (Vitell, 2003; Roxas and Stoneback, 2004). Despite current market conditions seem restricted, nowadays many companies develop their communication practices of social responsibility as a way to distinguish themselves from the competition. According to the main results of the literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR), consumers are interested in the social behavior of companies and are influenced in their purchases by these behaviors. Often, there are authors who argue that the profile of a company on corporate social responsibility is important in the selection and purchase of certain brands (Castaldo et. al., 2009). There are several approaches that have emerged over the years about the concept of social responsibility and has therefore, been defined in various ways, depending on the school management (Castaldo et al., 2009). However, most of the definitions of the concept is inherent stakeholders. The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility in academic research has to do on the one hand, with the involvement of business in a network of social relations in the identification of more detailed management tools, on the other hand, in an effort to market policies and stakeholders in translating the idea of socially responsible behavior (Perrini et. al., 2006). From the rational point of view, if stakeholders perceive the company with a responsible social behavior, consider the company as preferred to transact. On the supply side, socially responsible companies can attract and retain consumers can make themselves or charge for a premium price for their products (Barnett, 2007). There are several studies where it supports the idea that consumers are willing to pay a price premium for products that are derived from companies with a profile of social responsibility, however, can not relate the perceptions of consumers with their purchasing behavior (Page and Fearn , 2005). Also Boulstridge and Carrigan (2000) argue that there is a difference between consumer attitudes and behavior, that is, despite consumers' willingness to pay a premium price for a product from a company with social responsibility, corporate social responsibility is not is a criterion that consumers have in mind when they go shopping. Numerous authors consider that the most desirable outcome of the activities that can be developed in terms of marketing strategy of any company, is a loyal consumer (Chaudhuri, 1999, Mittal and Lassar, 1998; Friege and Strauss, 1999; Oliver, 1999; Punniyamoorthy and Raj, 2007, Johnson et. al., 2006; Chandrashkaran et. al., 2007; Palmatier et. al., 2007). The most common consequences of loyalty are less sensitive to price increases, greater efficiency in implementation of marketing and better business results. *The work reported in this paper was co-financed by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal (PestOE/EUE/UI4005/2011) and carried out within the research centre Centro Lusíada de Investigação e Desenvolvimento em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial (CLEGI). A more complete definition of the concept of loyalty is given by Jacoby and Chestnut (1978) who argues that brand loyalty translates repetition is not a random purchase behavior, the same brand or same set of brands, part of a individual with decision-making capacity. Moreover, Punniyamoorthy and Raj (2007: 223) said that “brand loyalty might be viewed as a special case of relationship marketing, where the consumer has a significant psychological attachment to the brand entity consumed”. There are discrepancies in the literature on the concept of brand loyalty. This divergence is basically two distinct approaches to analyze. One is the stochastic approach, in which behavior is considered fair. The other approach treats loyalty as an attitude (Odin et. al. 2001). The first is concerned with the buying behavior of a consistent brand over time - behavioral approach and, second, binds to favorable attitudes towards the brand - perceptual approach. Thus considering the brand loyalty performed as a behavioral response over time for one or several alternative brands within a set of brands, loyalty may be seen as a function decisionmaking psychological, a process evaluation performed over time. H2: Men and women linked to socially responsible brands have different loyal behaviors. In the literature of the brand, the price premium has been studied by several authors, among which are, Holbrook (1992), Kamakura and Russell (1993), Park and Srinivasan (1994), Netemeyer et. al. (2004). In terms of marketing can be considered that the availability of a consumer to pay a price premium is defined as the amount he is willing to pay for their preferred brand, compared with a similar product without the brand. For Aaker (1996), the price premium is a strong indicator of brand loyalty. To Blonde (2000), the price premium is a basic criterion of brand loyalty, to indicate how the buyer is willing to pay for the brand compared to another brand, which has a similar offer. H3: Men and women linked to socially responsible brands are different willing to pay a higher price for the brand. Methodology Initially we performed a pretest where they asked a group of students at a University in North Portugal (N = 147) to classify a wide range of brands on the gender and the practice of social responsibility policies. The analysis of these results we selected two brands classified as socially responsible: Ikea perceived as a feminine brand and Nike brand perceived as a male. Once selected brands for the study was conducted a second survey (N = 211) to collect *The work reported in this paper was co-financed by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal (PestOE/EUE/UI4005/2011) and carried out within the research centre Centro Lusíada de Investigação e Desenvolvimento em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial (CLEGI). information necessary for the estimation of multinomial regression models and validation of hypotheses. The gender difference in perception of socially responsible brands chosen was based on a set of statements used adjectives opposites of masculinity and femininity (Till and Priluck, 2001). Thus, in the survey were asked to each of its assessment inquired about "brand product corresponds to a male / female", "brand is a marked characteristic of hardness / softness scheduled", "brand is characterized by a tendency to be male / female tendency, " brand corresponds to a product with a strong personality / delicate "," brand corresponds to a character male / female. " The collection of information on connecting to the brand was made resorting to the scale of Sprott, and Spangenberg Czellar (2009) with eight items. Thus, we considered issues such as “I have a special bond with the brands that I like”, “I consider my favorite brands to be a part of myself”, “I often feel a personal connection between my brands and me”, “Part of me is defined by important ”, “I feel as if I have a close personal connection with the brands I most prefer”, “I can identify with important brands in my life”, “There are links between the brands that I prefer and how I view myself”, e “my favorite brands are an important indication of who I am”. The collection of information from other constructs for the estimation of the model was made using scales of social responsibility of Roberts (1996), loyalty of Yoo and Donthu (2001), price premium of Chauduri and Halbrook (2001). Results and Validation of Hypotheses We surveyed 211 students at a university in northern Portugal. The sample is composed mainly of individuals with less than 25 years. Of the respondents 53% are male and 47% female. This is a sample of convenience, in an exploratory study the importance of gender differences In the link to socially responsible brands. *The work reported in this paper was co-financed by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal (PestOE/EUE/UI4005/2011) and carried out within the research centre Centro Lusíada de Investigação e Desenvolvimento em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial (CLEGI). Was used a Likert scale of five points (1 - strongly disagree to 5 - strongly agree) to measure the degree of agreement of the respondent against each set of items of the constructs. It was done an factor analysis the scale used to evaluate the structure of the proposed set of items in each of the constructs having three factors is obtained for the measurement scale of the kind or brand Ikea or the Nike. The first factor of the Nike brand was considered the most important and which comprises 39.351% of variance explained, includes items on the masculinity of the brand (EG1, EG3 and EG5). The first factor of the brand Ikea, explains 36.932% of explained variance and includes items on the femininity of the brand (EG6, and EG8 EG9). For other constructs, factor analysis confirmed the existence of a single factor. The factors considered were the values that had eigenvalues greater than unity. *The work reported in this paper was co-financed by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal (PestOE/EUE/UI4005/2011) and carried out within the research centre Centro Lusíada de Investigação e Desenvolvimento em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial (CLEGI). The probability of occurrence of each of the hypotheses was determined by use of multinomial regression models. The models were fitted with the software as described in PASW Statistic Maroco (2010). The model was used to estimate the probability of men and women have different behavior towards socially responsible brands (1 - men with concerns about the social responsibility of brands; 2 - women with concerns about the social responsibility of brands), in particular as regarding the brand engagement (1 - no brand engagement, 2 - weak brand engagement, 3 average brand engagement; 4 - good brand engagement; 5 - excellent brand engagement), the face of brand loyalty (1 - no loyalty; 2 - weak fairness, 3 - average loyalty; 4 - good fidelity; 5 excellent loyalty) and given the willingness to pay a price premium for the brand (1 - nothing 2 - poor layout, 3 - average disposition; 4 - good disposition; 5 - excellent disposition). The fitted model is statistically significant (G2 (4) = 17,483; p = 0,002) and estimates of the coefficients for each of the categories considered in relation to the reference class "men with concerns about the social responsibility of brands" are given in the following table: Table 1 – Estimation of Multinominal Logistic Model Gender β Std. Error Wald df Sig. eβ Intercept 1,335 0,503 6,789 1 0,034 LM1 0,658 0,792 7,865 1 0,124 0,126 LM2 0,756 0,490 6,987 1 0,212 0,342 LM3 0,987 0,735 7,345 1 0,311 0,453 LM4 1,455 0,467 7,865 1 0,004 0,465 LM5 1,458 0,734 7,456 0 0,007 0,345 LL1 -0,453 0,303 7,789 1 0,734 0,066 LL2 -0,476 0,593 5,865 1 0,562 0,092 LL3 -0,783 0,592 6,587 1 0,521 0,023 LL4 -1,152 0,532 6,545 1 0,454 0,035 LL5 -1,152 0,564 6,895 0 0,347 0,005 PP1 -0,354 0,484 6,281 1 0,271 0,006 PP2 -0,451 0,603 7,162 1 0,242 0,002 PP3 -0,537 0,762 6,482 1 0,121 0,073 *The work reported in this paper was co-financed by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal (PestOE/EUE/UI4005/2011) and carried out within the research centre Centro Lusíada de Investigação e Desenvolvimento em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial (CLEGI). PP4 -1,252 0,456 6,241 1 0,234 0,065 PP5 -1,156 0,835 6,897 0 0,307 0,045 According to the fitted model can be concluded that women are more connected to brands of men (βLM4 = 1,455; p =0,004 e βLM5 = 1,458; p =0,007). The odds ratio of the difference between men and women is 46.5% for a good engagement to the brand and 34.5% for an excellent engagement to the brand. Of hypotheses only confirms that men and women have different engagements to socially responsible brand. Women have a greater engagement to the brands socially responsible. General Discussion and Conclusions The results show that still have differences, in consumer behavior, when it comes to gender. The importance of further research in this field is related to the adequacy of communication strategies and brand management through social responsibility practices. 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