The Impact of Hair Salon Self-Image Consistency on Brand Attitude

Abstract

This study attempted to investigate the influence of self-image congruity on brand attitude in beauty salons. In this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted among customers of hair salons in the regions of Jeju, Seoul, and Gyeonggi-do. Among a total of 700 questionnaires distributed, 630 copies were collected. Excluding 10 poorly answered ones, 620 copies were used for final analysis. The collected data were analyzed, using SPSS 22.0., and the results found the followings: First, in terms of the influence of self-image congruity, ‘Social self-image’ was the largest, followed by ‘Ideal self-image’ and ‘Actual self-image’ with statistical significance. In terms of brand attitude, ‘Affective attitude’ was the highest, followed by ‘Intimate attitude’ with statistical significance. Second, in the influence of self-image congruity on brand attitude, as ‘Ideal self-image’, ‘Social self-image’ and ‘Actual self-image’ improved, both ‘Affective attitude’ and ‘Intimate attitude’ were higher. This study is meaningful in that it suggested a brand direction for beauty salons. Consumers’ self-image congruity is a critical element in an individual brand strategy. They tend to choose a favorable, positive and familiar brand as a means of expressing their emotions and desire. Therefore, it is required to develop marketing communication strategies which can induce more active brand attitude based on such consumer needs.