The way to authenticity is grounded – role of marketing communication cues in driving authenticity perceptions

• Published in: International journal of retail & distribution management Vol. 53; no. 6; pp. 522 - 536
• Main Authors: Mathur, Shipra, Nayak, Jogendra Kumar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Publishing Limited 29.05.2025; Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Subjects: Affect (Psychology); Authenticity; Communication; Consumers; Culture; Hypotheses; Marketing; Nostalgia; Perceptions; Retail stores; Social responsibility; Storytelling; Sustainability; Authenticity; Marketing communication cues; Groundedness; Perceived price fairness
• ISSN: 0959-0552; 1758-6690; 1758-6690
• DOI: 10.1108/IJRDM-02-2024-0090

PurposeThe current article demonstrates how marketing communication cues can affect authenticity perceptions by making consumers feel grounded, which means making them feel emotionally connected to their physical, social or historical environment and points to some boundary conditions.Design/methodology/approachFour experimental studies (n = 624) employing within-subject and mixed factorial designs were used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe findings show that marketing communications cues of storytelling, nostalgia and sustainability make consumers feel grounded and affect authenticity perceptions for cultural products.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, the current work is the first to examine the role of groundedness in affecting authenticity perceptions of cultural products.