Consumers and Their Brands: Developing
Relationship Theory in Consumer Research
SUSAN FOURNIER*
Although the relationship metaphor dominates contemporary marketing thought
and practice, surprisingly little empirical work has been conducted on relational
phenomena in the consumer products domain, particularly at the level of the
brand. In this article, the author: (1) argues for the validity of the relationship
proposition in the consumer-brand context, including a debate as to the legitimacy
of the brand as an active relationship partner and empirical support for
the phenomenological significance of consumer-brand bonds; (2) provides a
framework for characterizing and better understanding the types of relationships
consumers form with brands; and (3) inducts from the data the concept of brand
relationship quality, a diagnostic tool for conceptualizing and evaluating relationship
strength. Three in-depth case studies inform this agenda, their interpretation
guided by an integrative review of the literature on person-to-person relationships.
Insights offered through application of inducted concepts to two relevant research
domains—brand loyalty and brand personality—are advanced in closing. The
exercise is intended to urge fellow researchers to refine, test, and augment the
working hypotheses suggested herein and to progress toward these goals with
confidence in the validity of the relationship premise at the level of consumers’
lived experiences with their brands.
R has focused on bona fide partnerships formed between
persons, with the bulk of published studies concerning
elationship principles have virtually replaced shortterm
exchange notions in both marketing thought
(Webster 1992) and practice (Peppers and Rogers 1993) , manufacturer-supplier and service-provider partnerships
precipitating what has been considered a paradigm shift as a result (Berry 1983; Dwyer, Schurr, and Oh 1987) .
for the field as a whole (Deighton 1996) . Despite in- The brand loyalty literature is perhaps most capable of
creased acceptance and relevance, it can be argued that informing theory concerning consumer-brand relationthe
relationship perspective has been vastly underrealized ships. This research stream has stagnated of late, however
in the marketing literature. The limited work that exists (Lehmann 1996) , with the majority of insights and contrilargely
informs relationship marketing practice as op- butions generated before the emergence of methods capaposed
to the development of relationship marketing theory ble of truly informing the phenomenology of consumer-
(Sheth and Parvatiyar 1995) . In a sense, the field has brand bonds (Sherry 1987) . Although ‘‘loyalty’’ itself is
leapt ahead to application of relationship ideas and the a fertile relationship concept, its nuances have been lost
assumption of relationship benefits without proper devel- in traditional brand loyalty research. Operationalizations
opment of the core construct involved. relying on sequence or proportion of purchase perhaps
Particularly lacking are relationship-inspired studies in better reflect a notion of inertia than loyalty with its full
consumer as opposed to business markets, especially relational significance. Even well-intentioned attempts to
those concerning the consumer product domain (Sheth consider loyalty as more than repeat purchase (Jacoby and
and Parvatiyar 1995) . Empirical research concerning re- Chestnut 1978) reduce the process to ‘‘narrowly cognitive
lationships formed at the level of the brand has been utilitarian decision-making,’’ thus failing to capture ‘‘the
especially scant. Understandably, relationship research talismanic relationships consumers form with that which
is consumed’’ (Belk, Wallendorf, and Sherry 1989, p.
31) . Conceptualizing loyalty as a long-term, committed,
*Susan Fournier is assistant professor of business administration at and affect-laden partnership has also constrained relation-
Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration, Cam- ship-inspired insight by implicitly encouraging ignorance bridge, MA 02163. This article evolved from the author’s dissertation
at the University of Florida. Special thanks are extended to the author’s of the many other potentially valuable relationship forms
thesis committee (Richard J. Lutz, chair ; Greg Neimeyer ; Alan Sawyer ; that may characterize consumer-brand bonds.
and Barton Weitz) , to David Mick, to the JCR reviewers and editors As a result, the basic questions of whether, why, and
who helped shape the manuscript, and, above all, to the three women in what forms consumers seek and value ongoing relationwho
shared the stories that inspired this work. ships with brands remain largely unanswered (Webster
343
q 1998 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc. Á Vol. 24 Á March 1998
All rights reserved. 0093-5301/98/2404-0001$03.00
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344 JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH
1992) . Valuable exceptions exist ( see, e.g., Blackston Three purposively selected case studies inform the re-
1993; McCracken 1993; Olsen 1993, 1995; Schouten and search agenda. Four core conditions that qualify relation-
McAlexander 1995) , yet existing work stops short of ships in the interpersonal domain (Hinde 1995) serve as
developing a grounded and fully articulated relationship- broadly construed, a priori themes by which the study is
based framework for the study of consumer-brand interac- designed, analysis is guided, and arguments are structions.
The interpersonal relationships literature capable of tured: (1) relationships involve reciprocal exchange beinforming
this task has been scarcely used in the con- tween active and interdependent relationship partners; (2)
sumer behavior field. While a significant literature on relationships are purposive, involving at their core the
people and their special possessions has evolved (Ahuvia provision of meanings to the persons who engage them;
1993; Belk 1988; Csikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-Halton (3) relationships are multiplex phenomena: they range
1981; Douglas and Isherwood 1979; Richins 1994; Wal- across several dimensions and take many forms, providlendorf
and Arnould 1988) , this work concerns relation- ing a range of possible benefits for their participants; and
ship theory only indirectly, if at all. Construct labels are (4) relationships are process phenomena: they evolve and
borrowed from the relationship paradigm without explicit change over a series of interactions and in response to
consideration of interpersonal theory to develop those fluctuations in the contextual environment.
constructs (see, e.g., Ball and Tasaki [1992] and Kleine, The sections below provide a selective review of the
Kleine, and Allen [1995] on attachment) . Others capital- literature that informs the a priori themes of reciprocity,
ize upon fundamental relationship tenets without explicit meaning provision, multiplicity, and temporality. First,
development of theoretic relationship implications per se theories of animism and impression formation are mar(
e.g., Blackston’s [1993] treatment of the brand as rela- shaled in support of an argument for the brand as a reciptionship
partner) . Researchers who have applied interper- rocating relationship partner. This argument is instrumensonal
relationship theories to the study of consumer-object tal to the article: it grants license to pursue the relationship
interactions have been highly selective in their treatments. proposition to its fullest conclusion and provides an anTheories
of love (Shimp andMadden 1988) , commitment chor around which a framework relationship strength is
(Dick 1988) , and trust (Hess 1995) receive the bulk of later structured. The literature review for conditions 2–4
researchers’ attention to the exclusion of other important exposes the reader to important relational concepts and
relationship constructs. None have yet offered a compre- propositions, grounding study design and analysis procehensive
relationship-oriented view of consumer-brand in- dures. Case stories are analyzed around these central tenteractions—
one that starts with basic relationship princi- ets, the exposition of which reveals the phenomenology
ples and builds an integrative framework to explain and of relationships in the consumer-brand domain.
explore the form and dynamics of those interactions in
everyday life. CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS The present article provides a framework for better
understanding the relationships consumers form with the The Brand as Relationship Partner
brands they know and use. The intent of the exercise is to
develop a solid conceptual foundation from which brand For a relationship to truly exist, interdependence berelationship
theory can be cultivated and to illustrate por- tween partners must be evident: that is, the partners must
tions of this framework as a way of demonstrating utility collectively affect, define, and redefine the relationship
of the consumer-brand relationship idea as a whole. To- (Hinde 1979) . The premise that consumer actions affect
ward this end, the author argues that (1) brands can and relationship form and dynamics is easily accepted. Comdo
serve as viable relationship partners; (2) consumer- fort in thinking about the brand not as a passive object
brand relationships are valid at the level of lived experi- of marketing transactions but as an active, contributing
ence; and (3) consumer-brand relationships can be speci- member of the relationship dyad is a matter more deservfied
in many ways using a rich conceptual vocabulary ing of note.
that is both theoretically and managerially useful. Collec- One way to legitimize the brand-as-partner is to hightively,
the arguments support the potential of theoretically light ways in which brands are animated, humanized, or
sound relationship applications in the brand context. The somehow personalized. The human activity of anthropothick
descriptions contained herei