Abstract (EN)

Drawing from an anthropomorphic view of consumption and a socio-psychological perspective, this paper defends the idea that a brand is perceived by consumers as having a sex, a sexual state and a gender. An exploratory qualitative analysis based on sixteen semi structured interviews was conducted. The results of this present paper strongly confirm this interpretation and point towards a crucial distinction between those three constructs. Constructs conceptualizations are developed, definitions are suggested and antecedents of brand sexual associations are studied. Findings have important theoretical and managerial implications that are discussed.