The Effect of CEO Endorsement on Consumers’ Brand Attitude
Shaoqing Zhang, Yuan Zhang

Abstract
In advertising practice, there is an increasing number of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) endorsing their own products, which has been lack of attention on theoretical research. Based on the attribution theory and source model theory, we conducted a 2 (CEO endorsement: yes vs. no) ×2 (brand reputation: high vs. low) × 2 (cognitive need: high vs. low) between-subject design to investigate the mechanism and boundary of effects of CEO endorsement on consumers’ brand attitude. The results of current empirical research indicate that: (1) CEO endorsement significantly increase consumers’ brand attitude; (2) perceived trust plays a mediating role in the effect of CEO endorsement on consumers’ brand attitude; and (3) compared with consumers’ cognitive needs, brand reputation can significantly modify the effect of CEO endorsement on consumers’ brand attitude. The present research enriches the CEO endorsement theory and provides certain theoretical guidance for companies when applying the theory to advertising practice.

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