How Brand Names and Linguistic Style Influence Consumer Trust: An Integrated Mixed-Methods Investigation with Empirical Evidence

Abstract

Linguistic aspects of a brand name and brand communication have an impact on consumer perception and consumer trust, but the two branches of research have developed independently of each other. This study proposes and empirically validates an integrated model with sound-symbolic congruence (SSC), processing fluency (PF), and concreteness (LS) as the three phonetic and structural properties of the brand name that mediate between the brand name and brand credibility (BC), as well as between the brand name and brand personality (BP), on the one hand, and consumer trust (CT) on the other hand. Based on the theories of signaling theory, brand personality theory, and processing-fluency theory, five hypotheses were proposed and tested on a sample of N = 320 urban consumers in an emerging multilingual market – Pakistan. The study used a sequential exploratory mixed methods design in which Phase 1 consisted of conducting semi-structured interviews and focus groups to further develop constructs and stimuli and Phase 2 involved a 2 (name fluency: high vs. low) × 2 (linguistic style: concrete vs. abstract) between-subjects factorial experiment within an online survey. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed good reliability and validity of all constructs. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and bootstrapped mediation analysis (5,000 resamples) supported the significant and positive relationship between sound-symbolic congruence and consumer trust (β = 0.142, p < .001), processing fluency (β = 0.113, p < .01), and linguistic concreteness (β = 0.106, p < .01) on consumer trust. The SSC–trust relationship was also mediated by brand credibility (indirect effect = 0.213, 95% CI [0.164, 0.268]), and brand personality provided an even bigger mediated path (indirect effect = 0.199, 95% CI [0.152, 0.252]). Hypothesised boundary conditions (category risk, brand familiarity and language proficiency) did not result in significant interactions in moderation analyses with this sample, indicating that the core linguistic–trust pathway is reasonably stable across consumers. The study has three theoretical contributions: it connects naming research with linguistic-style research in the same framework (signaling and fluency); it proposes trust as a criterion variable instead of preference or satisfaction, thus bringing the perspective of naming research into the relationship marketing theory; and it extends the results of the study to a multilingual emerging-market context. Practical tips on how to name a brand, how to write copy, and localization strategy are offered.