Abstract

With the growing ubiquity of internet social-media venues, chief executive officers’ (CEO) exposure to consumers has increased dramatically. This article explores the mechanism of CEO influence on brand trust examining 420 Japanese and U.S. consumer data. The findings reveal how CEO influence can change brand trust. In particular, this article finds that the indirect positive effect of CEO influence on brand trust is mediated by symbolic and environmental product perception in the U.S. and Japan. However, the direct effect of CEO influence on brand trust is not confirmed. This study discovered the country differences in the effect of CEO influence on consumer product perceptions. In the U.S., symbolic product perception is more affected by CEO influence than environmental perception, which is more influential in Japan.

摘要

随着互联网社交媒体场所的日益普及，首席执行官 (CEO) 与消费者的接触急剧增加。本文通过考察 420 个日本和美国的消费者数据，探讨 CEO 影响品牌信任的机制。研究结果揭示了 CEO 的影响力如何改变品牌信任度。特别是，本文发现在美国和日本，CEO 影响力对品牌信任的间接正向效应是通过符号和环境产品感知来调节的。然而，CEO影响力对品牌信任的直接影响尚未得到证实。这项研究发现了 CEO 影响对消费品认知的影响的国家差异。在美国，象征性的产品认知比环境认知更受 CEO 影响，而环境认知在日本的影响更大。