The Challenge of Being a Challenger: Social Dominance Orientation Shapes the Impact of “Challenger vs. Leader” Comparisons

The current research investigates when and how comparative advertising effectiveness is shaped by social dominance orientation (SDO), that is, the degree to which one desires to maintain the status quo in social hierarchies. We examine these issues with regard to “challenger vs. leader” comparisons that seek to change the relative standing of competitors in a product category by documenting the superiority of challenger brands over market...