Synergistic effect of matching corporate and product brand images on purchase intentions: Comparing the importance of functional and emotional value

Corporate brands convey unique information to consumers and promote their intention to use product brands, as it is possible for product brands to express the characteristics and mission of corporate brands. In this way, they exert a synergistic effect when corporate and product brand images overlap. This study hypothesises that matching these two brand images increases purchase intention in the automobile industry. Propensity score matching was applied to the results of online surveys conducted in four countries—China, Germany, Japan, and the US—and the effects were estimated by inverse probability weighting. The results supported the hypothesis. In particular, the effect on purchase intention was weak when matching brand images related to functional value, but a significant effect was confirmed when matching brand images related to emotional value. Accordingly, when adopting a strategy that aims to match corporate and product brand images, verifying in advance whether the target image will be effective is necessary. This study is the first to clarify the synergistic effect of matching the images of the corporate brand and product brand on consumers’ purchase intention.