Does consumers' personal involvement have an influence on store brand buying proneness?

Purpose: This study's aim is to apply the personal involvement approach to store brand products' buying proneness. With respect to the conflicting perspectives of narrow "latitudes of acceptance" and "extensive search", are presumed different levels and different types of personal involvement. The aim is to formulate a conceptual framework integrating three types of relevant consumer values: functional involvement, symbolic involvement and economic involvement, along with two well established mediating variables, and two consumer characteristics as exogenous variables. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected through a survey of 914 shoppers randomly recruited from 11 grocery stores. The study employs an exploratory factor analysis method following path analysis, using structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings: The results show the significance of a multifaceted perspective of consumers' personal involvement in grocery shopping conditions. This perspective leads to the possibility of high personal involvement in grocery products shopping. Regarding consumers' store brand buying intention, personal involvement facets have only a marginal effect, while the direct substantial effects are derived from familiarity and value for money. Practical implications: Retailers are advised to go beyond their efforts to persuade consumers that their products have economic value; they should encourage consumers to compare and evaluate the functional attributes of their store brands. For the social-symbolic consumer, they should employ different products' quality layers and different appealing brand names. Originality/value: The originality of this study lies in the multifaceted alternative approach of consumers' personal involvement in grocery shopping processes, and the conceptual framework proposed to examine the effect of personal involvement facets on store brand buying intentions.