Being popular and attractive, celebrities are often considered as the idol of people. People often follow celebrities’ advice for brands or products recommendation (Hollensen and Schimmelpfennig, 2013). Research findings showed that marketers and companies are willing to pay celebrities in advertising or promotional activities to attract more attention from consumers and stimulate consumption (Fink et al., 2004). Effective celebrity endorsement has many benefits for the brand and company. Effective celebrity endorsement can attract consumers’ attention, buff brand image, expand brand awareness (Ding et al., 2011), and induct purchase intentions (Belch and Belch, 2004). Effective celebrity endorsement can also help company remove …show more content…
The present dissertation aims to contribute to the understanding of the relationship between negative information about celebrity endorsers and Chinese consumers’ purchase intention. In doing so, the research question was defined as, “How does negative information about celebrity endorsers influence Chinese consumers’ purchase intention for international sports brands.” The rationale for exploring international sports brands was that clothing and shoes are treated as high-involvement products (Solomon, 1986). For high-involvement products, consumers’ purchase intension has a strong relationship with brand attitude and products (Petty et al., 1983). In China market, international sports brands pay more attention to brand marketing (He, 2011). In order to cater to Chinese consumers’ tastes, international sports brands often choose well-known Chinese and Western athletes as brand endorsers (Chen, 2013). With different cultural backgrounds, Chinese and Western celebrity endorsers may be treated differently by Chinese consumers when evaluating their negative information. Therefore, it is worth of exploring Chinese consumers’ reaction to Chinese and Western athletes’ negative information. The research question would be meaningful for both theoretical and managerial