Who am I to you? Self, reciprocity and emotional intimacy in brand relationships

Consumers engage in self-expansion processes that affect their selves, favouring identity formation and brand engagement. The mechanisms for maintaining healthy relationships as consumer–brand experiences unfold are unknown. Drawing on self-expansion theory, this study explores the effect of emotional intimacy and relational reciprocity as maintenance processes creating brand self-engagement and relationship quality as consumers’ self-concepts expand. Survey methodology on a US consumer sample across product categories assesses the effect of maintenance processes and self-expansion on brand engagement, as trust enhances relationship quality and loyalty. A theoretical model is tested through partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). This study shows that self-expansion, emotional intimacy and relational reciprocity bring brands into the self when experiences alone do not. Managers should design brand experiences grounded on deep, trustworthy, reciprocal and intimate emotional connections. Experiences alone do not build loyalty, but emotional and symbolic resources supporting the self and identity formation do. Managers should craft experiential touchpoints allowing for self-expansion as self-identity surfaces, reinforcing the actual or designing the ideal self.