This study aims to examine the effects of brand authenticity and perceived quality of personalization on brand trust in the pharmaceutical context and the effect of brand trust on patients’ medication adherence intention and brand advocacy. The moderating influence of health literacy is also studied to see if the strength of these relationships is conditioned by consumers’ capacity to process health information.
A conceptual model was developed based on constructs from relational exchange theory, branding research and ability-based information processing models. Data were gathered through a structured online survey of UK consumers who had used prescription medication in the last few months. Structural models were evaluated using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and significance was assessed using bootstrapping.
The results show that brand authenticity and quality of personalization have significant and positive effects on brand trust and the effect of brand authenticity is stronger. Finally, brand trust is predicted to influence both medication adherence intention and brand advocacy, supporting its key role in healthcare branding. Health literacy was found to positively moderate the authenticity – trust relationship, but did not significantly moderate the personalization – trust relationship. Overall, the model showed a significant amount of variance in trust (58%), intention to adhere (35%) and advocacy (43%).
This paper extends branding research by showing how authenticity and personalization quality function in the sensitive and high-stakes context of pharmaceuticals. It examines brand trust as a bridge between branding cues and medication adherence intention and brand advocacy, while incorporating health literacy as a boundary condition.
