Understanding Consumer Behaviour towards the Underdog Positioning of Service Providers

An underdog in business, with humble origins and limited resources, demonstrates passion and determination to challenge dominant competitors. Marketing literature identifies the underdog effect, wherein people tend to support underdogs, increasing consumer preference. As firms adopt the underdog positioning strategy to effectively engage consumers, it becomes important to explore the causes behind consumers’ strong attraction towards underdogs in the context of individual service providers. In addition to examining how consumer perceptions of the underdog’s efforts lead to the underdog effect, this thesis delves into how underdog positioning shapes consumers’ perceived self-efficacy and, consequently, influences their expectations for specific task outcomes.