When brand anthropomorphism alters perceptions of justice: The moderating role of self-construal

This research investigates the interplay between brand anthropomorphism and self-construal on evaluations of distributive and procedural justice. We show that consumers with independent self-construal, who value equitable exchanges in their relationships with others, react more negatively to instances of distributive injustice when a brand is anthropomorphized (vs. non-anthropomorphized). In contrast, we find that consumers with interdependent...