Perceptions of large Korean corporations from a social cognition perspective

Abstract

Large corporations can be important symbols in the lives of Korean consumers, but little is known about the way their corporate imagery might be seen by the public. The imagery of 10 such companies was found to be described by and grouped around three theorized image dimensions: warmth, competence, and status. The same dimensions predicted satisfaction and brand-person congruence. We tested competing theories of whether status associations are independent of competence evaluations or are their antecedents. Our data supported the former view. We also tested the theory that warmth evaluations best predict satisfaction and brand-person congruence and found only qualified support.