| Summary: | This research assesses whether controversial brands are more risk-takers, powerful and leader-like than non-controversial. Moreover, it analyses whether controversy fuels perceptions of dominance or prestige, which in turn affect purchase intentions. Drawing from compensatory consumption theory, I predict that powerless consumers show higher (vs. lower) purchase intentions from prestigious (vs. dominant) controversial brands. Through an experimental study, where controversy was manipulated, I showed that a controversial (vs. control) brand is more risk-taker, powerful and that it signals both prestige and dominance. Even though I found significant positive effects of prestige on purchase intentions, these were not moderated by personal power.
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