The health halo of morality- and purity-signifying brand names
Journal of Product & Brand Management
ISSN: 1061-0421
Article publication date: 27 January 2021
Issue publication date: 12 November 2021
Abstract
Purpose
Past research has demonstrated a health halo for food product labels (e.g. organic), resulting in inflated perceptions of a product’s healthfulness (e.g. low fat). While past studies have focused on labeling and related health claims, the health halo of brand names has scarcely been investigated. This study aims to address this gap by investigating the health halo of brand names featuring morality- and purity-signifiers.
Design/methodology/approach
The current research uses two experiments to examine the health halo of morality- and purity-signifying brand names on perceptions of nutritional and contaminant attributes. Mediation analysis is performed to investigate perceived naturalness as the mechanism for the brand name effects while moderated mediation analysis examines this mechanism across product types (healthy vs unhealthy).
Findings
The findings reveal that both the morality- and purity-signifying brand names produce a health halo on nutritional and contaminant attributes, regardless of product healthiness. Further, mediation and moderated mediation analysis provide evidence for perceived naturalness as the underlying mechanism driving these effects.
Social implications
This research highlights unwarranted consumer inferences made based upon food brand names and, thus has implications for consumers, public policy and marketing managers.
Originality/value
While much health halo research has focused on labeling, this research examines the health halo of two brand name types which symbolically convey either morality or purity. This research provides additional contributions by investigating perceived naturalness as the underlying mechanism for the effects and is one of the few studies to investigate the health halo for both healthy and unhealthy products.
Keywords
Citation
Amos, C., King, J. and King, S. (2021), "The health halo of morality- and purity-signifying brand names", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 30 No. 8, pp. 1262-1276. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-06-2020-2947
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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