Too proud to please? When and why arrogant restaurant brands win consumers over

Abstract

Although arrogance is typically frowned upon in interpersonal interactions, it may signal unobservable competence. Prior research offers limited insight into when and why brand arrogance generates positive rather than negative consumer responses. Consequently, we conducted three vignette-based, between-subjects experiments with Prolific participants. Across studies, we manipulated arrogant message, brand expertise, and brand biography (top dog vs. underdog), measured consumer underdog tendency, and tested their effects on competence and visit intention using regression-based moderated mediation analyses. Study 1 shows that arrogant messages increase competence when the brand has high expertise. Study 2 reveals that arrogant messages increase (vs. decrease) competence of top-dog (vs. underdog) brands. Study 3 finds that consumers low in underdog tendency perceive greater competence after reading arrogant messages. Integrating signaling theory and congruity theory, this research shows that arrogant messaging can signal competence, but only under specific brand and consumer conditions.