The Effect of Smartphone Brand Personality on Purchase Intention: The Mediation Role of Brand Identification and the Moderating Role of Self-Construal

The booming market for smartphone devices in developing countries requires a better understanding of the factors that influence consumer's decisions. To bring light to the factors, this study explores the role of brand personality on consumer’s purchase intention. Further, the mediating role of brand identification and the moderating effect of self-construal in brand personality and purchase intention relationship using social-identification theory to explain the model. Through a convenient sampling technique, we tested our theoretical model with a sample of 285 smartphone consumers in Cameroon.The findings revealed that sincerity was positively related to purchase intention, whilst excitement did not. We further found that brand identification mediated excitement and purchase intention relationships and sincerity and purchase intention relationships. Additionally, self-construal moderated the relationship between excitement and purchase intention but did not moderatethesincerity and purchase intention relationship. Practical implications and future research directions of the findings have been discussed