Is Donald Trump Authentic?
The aim of this work in progress is to provide some initial evidence to determine voter perceptions of the authenticity of Donald Trump at the 2016 USA Presidential Election. The leadership brand Trump (DJT). Please see the working papers below. I am not a Trump supporter or have any interest or involvement in the USA political system.
You can access my working papers here.
Yes, the data is 2016. I would argue that perceptions of Donald Trumps leadership would have been stronger in his first foray into office. Clean, clear and crisp. Virgin. Some 9 years later those perceptions have been bent and muddied.
Now here is the disclaimer.
Disclaimer: The findings expressed about Donald Trump in this research are expressed through the analysis of a dataset collected from USA voters. They are the views expressed by these voters. These findings do not represent my personal views or the views of my employer or any organization with which I am affiliated. My statements are made in my research capacity, using my own time and resources. Titles and affiliations are provided for identification purposes only and do not imply endorsement for or by any organization. The political participation of the author of this research is in the New Zealand Electoral Voting system only.
What is the Model?
This work posits a model that authenticity is a voter experience. It is a cognitive event of a voter who consumes presidential leadership. Hence, authenticity can be manipulated in different contexts (e.g., digital environments). Authenticity, while believes in what is real and original; this is entirely real but also subjective. Subjectivity based upon the context of the voter as a hermeneutic interpretive state.
To test the hypothesized model, 600 usable responses were collected using a questionnaire with randomly randomized questions for each respondent, deployed through Qualtrics to their USA consumer panel who were voters in the 2016 USA Presidential Election. In the sample used for this analysis related to Donald Trump, 238 usable responses were used representing voters who indicated that “I VOTED FOR THE FOLLOWING Presidential Candidate in the 2016 USA Presidential Election”, that is, Donald Trump. The macro dataset included the collection of data on both Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton. The data collection was funded by Massey University (New Zealand) and was approved by the Massey University Ethics Committee (Ethics Approval NO. 4000018813). The data collection and initial study was academic and non-commercial in nature.
Here is the start which I will add to over time covering the below elements of my authenticity model published here. Robert Davis, Kevin Sheriff, Kim Owen, Conceptualizing and Measuring Consumer Authenticity Online, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Volume 47, 2019, Pages 17-31, ISSN 0969-6989, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.10.002. Email me and I will send you a copy.
| Type | Construct | Definition | Authors |
| Iconic: Authentic reproduction of the original. | Time Origin | A feeling of connection to the original time of manufacture. | Grayson and Martinec (2004) |
| Identification: Identifying elements of authenticity in fantasy. | Everyday People | Consumers connect/identify with everyday people. | Rose & Wood (2005) |
| Practical Self/ Interpersonal Self-Authentication: Where self-referential behaviors reveal the consumers true self. | First Hand Experience | A positive first hand experience of the item assists the consumer to achieve personal goals of practical self-authentication. | Beverland and Farrelly (2010) |
| Independent Judgment | The independent judgment of other consumers of the item assists the consumer to achieve personal goals of practical self-authentication. | ||
| Instrumentality | Best performing or best value for money item or experience assists the consumer to achieve personal goals of practical self-authentication. | ||
| Verification | Testing to establish that required standards are met assists consumers to achieve personal goals of practical self-authentication. | ||
| Ubiquity | Mainstream, mass brands, or a “market leader” assist the consumer to achieve goals of inter-personal self-authentication. | ||
| Brand Proximity | Being close to you or part of your social community assists the consumer to achieve goals of inter-personal self-authentication. | Leigh, Peters, & Shelton (2006) | |
| Communal Norms | Laws that govern the community’s Behaviour in everyday life assist the consumer to achieve goals of inter-personal self-authentication. | ||
| Production/Situation: Consumers blend situations and production to construct authenticity from fantasy. | Scripted Narrative | Scripted narrative assists the consumer to construct production authenticity. | Rose & Wood (2005) |
| Situation Fantasy | Fantasy situations provide the consumer indexical elements with which he/she can construct situation authenticity. | ||
| Self-Relevant Goals | Self-relevant goals of a product/experience assist the consumer to construct situation authenticity. | ||
| Social: Use of product symbolism or self-efficacy to construct authentic personal or social identities. | Objective | Objective authenticity refers to the authenticity of the original article. | Leigh, Peters, & Shelton (2006) |
| Constructive | Constructive authenticity refers to the authenticity projected onto objects in terms of their imagery, expectations, preferences, beliefs, powers, etc. | ||
| Moral: Iconicity or indexicality to show higher moral status. | Consumer Values | Consumer values mirrored in the brand. | Beverland, Lindgreen, & Vink (2008) |
| Brand Values | Brand values assist the consumer to achieve moral self-authentication. | ||
| Pure Indexical: A factual or spatio-temporal connection to history and commitment and feeling to the original place of manufacture. | Commitment to Tradition | Love of the craft, process, or the involvement of the creators in the production process. | |
| Place of Origin | A commitment too, and feeling for, the original place of manufacture. | Grayson and Martinec (2004) | |
| Guarantee of Being Genuine | An in-situ guarantee of genuineness provided by a recognized authority. | Beverland, Lindgreen, & Vink (2008) | |
| Virtuous Self: Personal goals of virtuosity in self-authentication | Universal Norms | Laws that govern societies, these standards override other considerations. | Beverland and Farrelly (2010) |
| Purity of Motive | Consistent application of a set of morals. |
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