Abstract

Brand polarization represents a somewhat unorthodox approach to brand management. Rather than foster support and minimise opposition towards a brand, polarization maintains strong emotions at both ends of the spectrum, concurrently attending to the antipodes of brand love and brand hate. Although some emerging insights suggest that this paradoxical approach can effectively support brands, academic research on polarization in marketing is in its infancy. Integrating insight from political science, psychology and marketing, the study develops an enhanced theoretical conception of brand polarization and operationalises it through a multi-step procedure. Specifically, the paper builds on qualitative and quantitative data from six empirical studies in two contexts (UK and Colombia) to offer a 23-item scale for brand polarization. The new concept and the validated scale contribute to branding theory and marketing practice in several important ways.

Introduction

Brand polarization represents a somewhat unorthodox approach to brand management. Accepted wisdom dictates that managers should strive to enhance positive attitudes towards brands in order to develop deep and rewarding relationships with customers (Ahmad et al., 2021, Banerjee and Shaikh, 2022, Veloutsou, 2023). Conversely, management effort should actively prevent or minimise negative feelings and opposition towards a brand, as these undermine positive outcomes such as trust, satisfaction or loyalty (Curina et al., 2020). A polarizing brand is one which simultaneously invokes fervent support and equally intense opposition. Brand polarization entails strong emotions at both ends of the spectrum and denotes management’s concurrent attention to, and maintenance of, passionate feelings on the antipodes of brand love and brand hate.

Paradoxically, some emerging empirical insights suggest that this positioning needs not be avoided because stoking hate can increase support for a brand (Osuna Ramírez et al., 2019). Moreover, polarization has become a deliberate strategy for some brands (Kavilanz, 2021, Luo et al., 2013a) being beneficial for segmentation and targeting, and for building engagement and loyalty and in the design of the product offering (Weber et al., 2021). Although historically polarization was limited to political (Banda and Kirkland, 2018, Pich et al., 2020, Spears et al., 1990) or football brands (Cobbs et al., 2017, Dalakas and Phillips-Melancon, 2012, Davies et al., 2006), now it seems to extend to other categories. In fact, evidence seems to point to a growing number of polarizing brands (Segran, 2021) which draw large numbers of lovers and haters simultaneously (Luo et al., 2013a, Thompson et al., 2006).

Discussion and theoretical contribution

This study offers a novel operationalisation of the brand polarization phenomenon as a multi-dimensional construct. Given the importance of brand relationships in today’s competitive marketplace and the existence of brand polarization, the study offers a non-brand-specific approach to polarization, which facilitates comparative study of the phenomenon that moves away from objects, such as polarizing brands (Monahan et al., 2017) or polarizing products (Rozenkrants et al., 2017). Through an extensive scale development process, the study enhances the conceptualisation and operationalisation of brand polarization, providing new theoretical and applied directions.

Overall, this research contributes to the branding literature in three significant ways. The first contribution concerns a novel operationalisation of an emerging concept. Integrating insights from diverse literature including psychology, political science, and marketing, the study conceptualises brand polarization and identifies its distinct dimensions. In doing so, the study constitutes a first attempt to develop a comprehensive and multidimensional conception of brand polarization. Admittedly, two of the originally suggested dimensions comprising brand polarization – brand passion and generation of strong feelings for the brand’s achievement/misfortune – were amalgamated during the scale development engagement. Nonetheless, the resulting four-dimensional concept, including brand passion, self-brand benchmarking, intra-group identification and inter-group dissociation, encompasses the intended theoretical domain. Compared to existing conceptions (Luo et al., 2013b, Monahan et al., 2017, Rozenkrants et al., 2017), a key headway concerns its robust and comprehensive nature.

Abstract

Marketers use augmented reality (AR) to place virtual brand-related information into a consumer’s physical context. Grounded in the literature on AR, brand love, metaphor theory, and closeness as interpreted by the neural theory of language, the authors theorize that branded AR content can reduce the perceived physical, spatial distance between a consumer and a brand. This perceived closeness subsequently drives the closeness of the emotional relationship in the form of brand love. Two empirical studies validate this framework. Study 1 shows that using an AR app (vs. non-AR) increases the perceived physical closeness of the brand, which in turn drives brand love (i.e., relationship closeness). Study 2 replicates this finding in a pre-/post-use design. Here, high levels of local presence (i.e., the extent to which consumers perceive a brand as actually being present in their physical environment) drive perceived physical closeness, which leads to brand love. We also find that AR’s power to generate brand love increases when the consumer is already familiar with the brand. We discuss managerial implications for AR marketing today and in a metaverse future in which AR content might be prevalent in consumers’ everyday perceptions of the real world.

Introduction

When consumers use augmented reality (AR), they have a hybrid experience consisting of the real physical environment around them and virtual objects that appear to have been placed within that world (Flaviàn et al., 2019; Peddie, 2017). The main distinctive factor between AR and other digital presentation formats is contextual embedding (von der Au et al., 2023), which means that the virtual content is integrated into the user’s physical environment (Rauschnabel, Felix, et al., 2022). For instance, Pokémon Go users perceive virtual creatures sitting on their streets, IKEA Place users explore virtual couches in their living rooms, and car enthusiasts can experience virtual cars as if the vehicles were in their driveways using the Mercedes Benz cAR app.

The growing importance of AR marketing has been reflected in an increase in academic publications. However, as recent bibliographic analyses by Du et al. (2022), Jayaswal and Parida (2023), and Kumar (2022) reveal, only a few studies have tackled issues in brand management. Such studies typically focus on how AR can drive cognitive brand attitudes (e.g., Gatter et al., 2022; Zanger et al., 2022) or brand engagement and advocacy (Kumar et al., 2023b). What has not been sufficiently considered in relation to AR marketing is the potential to enhance brand love or other aspects of consumer–brand relationships (Scholz & Duffy, 2018). The present research is among the first to establish a link between AR marketing and brand love.

Conclusion

As we envision a future where AR plays a dominant role in consumers’ lives, the question of what is real and what is not becomes relevant. Our research shows that the question of what is near and what is far may also arise because AR can trigger closeness perceptions between a user and a virtual object. Marketers can benefit from this perceived physical closeness—especially in brand management—as this research shows. We hope that this research will inspire scholars to understand how AR can be used to solve personal, business, or societal problems. Using AR to create closeness between a user and a specific subject (e.g., a brand, a product, a topic, a societal problem, etc.) could be an effective strategy across disciplines.

Abstract

A blue jeans brand committed to the environmental cause could position itself as unique and socially responsible and attract environmentally driven consumers. This research study examines the relationship between brand love and consumers’ environmental cause knowledge and their willingness to recommend and pay a premium for sustainable blue jeans. To this end, this cross-sectional study comprises a snowball convenience sample of 978 Portuguese respondents, whose data were collected from December 2022 to January 2023. Positive associations between self-expression, brand love, loyalty, environmental cause knowledge, positive word-of-mouth, and willingness to pay a premium for sustainable blue jeans stand out. There are differences in the willingness to pay a premium among generations, education levels, and consumers who are aware of sustainable line extensions and those who are not. The results may be helpful for brands, suggesting their communication should focus on creating increased proximity to consumers by enhancing their values and seeking to link their brands to intrinsic benefits and environmental stakes. This is the first study to incorporate knowledge of the environmental cause into a model linking brand love, brand loyalty, positive word-of-mouth, and willingness to pay a premium for sustainable blue jeans.

Introduction

The environmental impacts of the fashion industry are widespread and significant, as the industry is a heavy water consumer (approximately 79 trillion liters per year), producing 8 to 10 percent of the global CO2 emissions and large amounts of textile waste, most of which ends up in landfills or is incinerated, including unsold products [1].

In addition to being globally popular, blue jeans are associated with somewhat problematic sustainability and social responsibility issues [2]. The traditional jeans production process uses excessive amounts of water, chemicals, and energy, thereby generating a negative impact regarding the carbon footprint [3]. In order to remove excess dyes and achieve the desired color, blue jeans are washed at least twice before being sold; globally, approximately 3% of the water used in agriculture goes into cotton production [4] to produce more than 2 billion units per year [5]. Another factor contributing to environmental degradation comprises the chemical products used throughout the production process (from insecticides and pesticides), even in cotton production, which accounts for 2.4% of the world’s arable land use; other chemicals are used to dye and paint the jeans, which have a significant environmental impact if not properly handled and disposed of in the environment [6].

Conclusions

The work carried out in this study allowed us to find a model that fit the data for 978 respondents to verify the results reported in the literature among Portuguese consumers of blue jeans, namely the positive associations of identification with brand love; of brand love with brand loyalty, positive word-of-mouth, and willingness to pay a premium for sustainable blue jeans; and of knowledge of the environmental cause with willingness to pay a premium for sustainable blue jeans. It was also concluded that there were no significant gender differences in terms of positive word-of-mouth and willingness to pay a premium for sustainable blue jeans. Members of generation Z and consumers with higher education levels are more willing to pay a premium for sustainable blue jeans than their counterparts.

It was also found that consumers who were aware of sustainable blue jeans alternatives from their preferred brands had significantly higher scores for all variables in the model, suggesting that this awareness may be associated with greater knowledge of the environmental cause, which is critical in explaining the greater levels of identification, brand love, and brand loyalty, and the resulting intention to spread the good word and willingness to pay a premium for sustainable blue jeans.

The positive impacts of brand love on brand loyalty, word-of-mouth, and willingness to pay a price premium was further acknowledged according to the literature findings. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to incorporate knowledge of environmental causes in a model that relates brand love to brand loyalty and the latter to positive word-of-mouth and willingness to pay a premium, as tested by Caroll and Ahuvia [27] and Albert and Merunka [24], applied here to the Portuguese market and focused on sustainable blue jeans. This approach, thus, incorporates Bagozzi et al.’s [26] suggestion to develop models in which brand love is central to other dimensions, thereby contributing to the academic literature. The findings also have practical implications for blue jeans brands as they enhance the importance of creating awareness of the existence of sustainable extension lines, as well as of conveying a true environmental concern to capture environmentally driven consumers that would be willing to pay a premium for sustainable blue jeans, namely by focusing on creating increased proximity to consumers by enhancing their values and seeking to link the brand to intrinsic benefits and environmental stakes.

Abstract

Despite the corona-virus pandemic, Korean cosmetics maintain brand attachment in the Chinese market. This study identifies critical influencing and outcome factors of brand attachment within this consumer phenomenon. Specifically, it investigates the relationship between Chinese consumers’ perceived brand authenticity and brand attachment, brand loyalty, willingness to pay a premium, and forgiveness. To this end, it uses AMOS 21.0 to analyze data collected through a questionnaire, testing the research model. The study reveals several key findings. Firstly, it assesses brand authenticity based on the following five sub-factors: consistency, naturalness, originality, advertisement truthfulness, and reliability. According to the assessment results, originality shows the most significant impact, followed by reliability, consistency, and naturalness. Furthermore, brand attachment significantly enhances brand loyalty, willingness to pay a premium, and forgiveness toward the brand. Higher levels of brand attachment lead to increased brand loyalty. In addition, greater brand attachment correlates with consumers’ increased willingness to pay more for products and greater forgiveness towards the brand.

Introduction

1.1 Practical background
Economic development, income improvement, and cultural factors, such as valuing beauty, have significantly influenced consumers’ purchasing behavior [1,2]. In China, consumption behaviors have considerably changed due to rapid economic growth and improved income levels. In particular, in the Chinese cosmetics market, the overall interest in beauty has increased alongside the middle class’s income growth, enhancing purchasing power. For example, while the Chinese cosmetics market plunged in February 2020 with the outbreak of COVID-19, it demonstrated a sharp recovery since March 2020 [3,4]. Specifically, the skincare market has shown an upward trend, with the sales of Korean cosmetics brand Huwa SK-II increasing by about 300 % in 2019. Simultaneously, mask pack sales also grew dramatically [5].

The Chinese cosmetics market promotes thousands of products using various pricing strategies, brand positioning, and unique functional ingredients [6]. This market involves premium and mid-to low-end segments. As of 2018, premium brands accounted for about 29.9 % of the total cosmetics market in China, with major global beauty brands leading the premium segment [5]. The remaining 70 % constitutes the mid-to low-end general market, where many Chinese native brands have launched new products. Recently, local Chinese brands have started closely following imported premium brands regarding price competitiveness and product quality, intensifying market competition. According to a survey of Chinese consumers’ use of cosmetics, 57 % of consumers use foreign cosmetics brands, showing their marked preference for overseas brands [7]. A survey of preferences for overseas cosmetic brands, based on the number of searches on Baidu in 2016, revealed that all top 10 brands were international. LANCOME and Estee Lauder ranked first and second in this list, respectively. Korean brands in the top 10 included Innisfree, Sulwhasoo, and Laneige [7]. To survive in the competitive Chinese cosmetics market, which has become a battleground for global brands, more than simple functional differentiation, pricing policies, and exaggerated image advertisements are required. In an era of distrust toward excessive commercial messages, cosmetics brands must emphasize authenticity. Consumer awareness of brand authenticity is a critical element of brand authenticity and differentiated competitive advantage as it expands into the realm of truth, introducing brand value as a critical factor for products and services.

Conclusions

4.1 Implications
4.1.1 Theoretical implications
Even during the COVID-19 crisis, the cosmetics market in China has demonstrated a continuous growth trend. In particular, Chinese consumers’ brand attachment to Korean cosmetics has steadily increased. The results of this study offer the following theoretical implications:

First, our results demonstrate that four sub-factors of Korean cosmetic brand authenticity (consistency, naturalness, originality, and reliability) positively affect brand attachment. These findings suggest that maintaining the intrinsic value of a cosmetic brand fosters positive consumer emotions. Specifically, higher consistency in the brand’s core values and attributes significantly influences consumer attachment. Moreover, greater naturalness in non-artificial cosmetics enhances brand attachment. Brand originality is crucial in capturing consumer attention, while brand reliability significantly precedes and influences brand attachment. Once established through consistent positive experiences, trust becomes a critical factor in strengthening the consumer-brand relationship and positively impacts attachment.

However, our results indicate that advertisement truthfulness could be more effective in the authenticity of Korean cosmetic brands. This finding suggests that excessively high levels of advertisement truthfulness may decrease consumers’ brand attachment.

Abstract

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Abstract

Purpose: Unprecedented communication features of social media noticeably reinforce the active role of consumers in the value co-creation (VCC) of offline and online brands including social media. From the consumer perspective, this study examines a contribution of VCC behavior to consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) and consequent intention to use social media based on Instagram as the most popular platform in Kazakhstan. Methodology: A web-based survey provided data from 550 Instagram users in Almaty city. Empirical analysis includes testing statistical assumptions using SPSS 23, conducting confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM) using Warp PLS 7.0. Findings: With the result of this study investigation, the paper develops the model that explains the effect of VCC on continuous usage intention to use social media through CBBE comprising brand associations, brand loyalty and brand perceived quality. Originality: Even though the importance of social media in the brand VCC process is widely recognized, a brand equity view of social media brands with users’ participation is under-investigated. However, brand equity’s importance for firm sustainability in terms of long-term business strategy is indisputable. This research enhances brand equity theory and VCC concept with the empirical data within the modern social media context. Practical implications: Owners and managers of social media brands can use the conceptual model to grow, maintain and assess their brands’ equities through their marketing efforts on the consumer motivation for brand VCC activities driving continuous usage of the brands.

1. Introduction

Social media proven to be one of the most active online platforms worldwide with more than 3.6 billion users in 2020 anticipated to hit about 4.4 billion people in five years [1]. One of the outstanding features of social media is the unprecedented facilitation of peerto-peer communications and seller–buyer relationships, which is a part of a marketing strategy to meet the long-term brand objectives, including a vital target of higher consumer purchase intention [2]. Another significant utility of social media is the unique way to promote sustainable customer behavior through a sustainable business strategy [3,4].

From the brand perspective, social media noticeably increase consumers’ voice and power to influence the creation, promotion, and consumption of current brands activating customer participation in brands’ value creation. Sales-Vivo et al. [5] demonstrate this role in the example of business-to-business activities, where value co-creation (VCC) is an essential antecedent of a manufacturer’s economic satisfaction. Social media have become the integrative resource contributor to VCC on par with customers and firms reviving VCC theory born in the offline business era [6]. This study explores the impact of consumers’ co-creation behavior on brand value building of social media as the modern digital media, which are widely used for achieving various business aims including sustainability as a growing prominent global trend.

Abstract

Introduction

Literature review

Brand loyalty

Theoretical background

Potential moderators

Methodological moderators

Questionnaire type

Economic and social development moderators

Human development index

Level of globalization

Country Brand ranking

Connectivity level

Methods

Search strategy

Inclusion criteria

Coding procedure

Meta-analysis procedure

Results

Discussion

Implications for practitioners

Limitations and future studies

Reference

Abstract

     This research investigates the robustness of the relationship between social media marketing activities (SMMA) and brand loyalty (BL). This relationship is examined based on six contextual factors classified into three categories: methodological, economic, and social variables. A quantitative meta-analysis is conducted to test the study hypotheses, and 11 effect size from the article published between 2010 and 2019 are examined for the final sample size (n = 3,535). The meta-analysis results indicate a positive correlation between SMMA and BL at the cumulative level of 0.49, demonstrating a medium to large effect size. Potential moderating effects have been investigated for three types of study characteristic variables; the methodological (sample type and survey type), social (human development index [HDI] and level of globalization), and economic variables (country brand ranking and connectivity level). These relationships are moderated by sample type, survey type, and the country’s brand ranking, among other factors. However, the levels of globalization and connectivity, and the HDI, have no significant moderating effects on the SMMA–BL link. More importantly, the study indicates the factors that moderate these relationships. No prior meta-analysis of this fundamental relationship has been conducted

Introduction

     In today’s competitive global market, managers strive to improve marketing effectiveness by identifying new marketing metrics linked to business performance. Marketing campaigns on social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) are considered to be one of the metrics used to promote corporate products, build strong brand awareness, and strengthen the relationships between companies and customers (Boyd & Ellison, 2007; Chan & Guillet, 2011; Erdo
gmus¸&C¸ic¸ek, 2012). Marketing through social media is defined as the process of using social media platforms to create, communicate, deliver, and exchange corporate offerings that have value for corporate stakeholders (Tuten & Solomon, 2016). Furthermore, social media is a communication tool: it enables users and their peers to communicate and add networks of friends, particularly among their peer groups (Filo et al., 2015; Ho, 2014; Whitla, 2009; Zhang & Daugherty, 2009).

Results

     Our bivariate meta-analysis’s outcomes exhibited a strong positive correlation between SMMA and BL at the cumulative level of 0.49, demonstrating a medium to the large effect size of the SMMA–BL linkage based on Cohen’s rule of thumb. As shown in Table 3, the confidence interval (CI) does not comprise the value zero (95%-CI [.32, .65]), so SMMA has a significant effect on BL. Hence, our assumption about the positive impact of SMMA on BL is strongly supported. Thus, Hypothesis 1 is accepted.

     Tables 3 and 4 report our findings of the subgroup analysis and metaregression. Our selected moderators (methodological, social, and economic variables) could clarify 73% of the variance in the relationship between SMMA and BL. For the moderating effect of sample type, the result of our subgroup analysis revealed that studies that comprised nonstudent-based samples reported large effect size (q ¼ .60) compared to those that used student-based samples, which stated small effect size (q ¼ .33), based on Cohens’ rule of thumb. The r-to-Z conversion result showed significant differences between the studies with student-based and nonstudent-based samples. Moreover, our meta-regression analysis exhibited a significant moderating effect of sample type on the SMMA–BL linkage. Thus, Hypothesis 2 is accepted. The corrected correlation coefficient of the studies that used an offline-based survey showed a more substantial value (q ¼ .57) than that of the studies that used an online-based survey (q ¼ .45). The outcome of our initial r-to-Z conversion and the meta-regression showed a significant moderating effect of survey type on the relationship between SMMA and BL. Thus, Hypothesis 3 is accepted.

Abstract

Keywords

1. Introduction

2. Theoretical background

2.1. Brand communities

2.2. Brand identification

2.3. Private vs public loyalty

3. Theoretical framework and hypothesis development

4. Methods

4.1. Research context

4.2. Data collection approach

4.3. Measures

5. Analysis and results

5.1. Hypothesis testing

5.2. Additional analysis

6. Discussion

6.1. Limitations and future research avenues

6.2. Conclusion

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Declaration of Competing Interest

References

Vitae

Abstract

This research examines the role that brand community plays in the relationship between brand identification and brand loyalty. A theoretical framework was developed and tested using an online survey in the brand community of a UK professional basketball team. Study results reveal that consumers’ brand community identification has a significant direct relationship on both public and private brand loyalty. It also shows that brand community identification fully mediates the relationship between brand identification and consumer behavior towards the brand, which is enacted both publicly and privately. The study adds to academic understanding of brand identification, brand community theory, and the importance of the differentiation of public and private brand loyalty, whilst providing guidance for branding practitioners.

1. Introduction

Brand community research has enabled academics and practitioners to understand the complex networks that exist among admirers of specific brands (McAlexander et al., 2002, Muniz and O’Guinn, 2001). However, the downstream effect of brand communities, such as their potential to build consumer loyalty, remains unknown (Bhattacharya and Sen, 2003, Kuenzel and Vaux Halliday, 2008, Stokburger-Sauer et al., 2012, Tuškej et al., 2013). This has meant that practitioners are left with little understanding regarding the role of brand communities and the vast effect that they have upon the consumers’ overall relationship with the brand.

The lack of understanding of the power of brand communities has been further exacerbated during the global pandemic with the importance of community becoming even more prevalent in society (Stansfield et al., 2020). Throughout the pandemic, brands have looked to harness the power of community in their marketing communications (Sobande, 2020). Therefore, understandably, the extant research has called for a more nuanced understanding of brand community to be developed (Habibi et al., 2016). Our research aims to shed light on the mechanism under which (a) brand communities are developed, and (b) brand loyalty is strengthened. To achieve this, a theoretical framework is developed explaining how brand identification is the key driver of brand community development and that brand community identification, in turn, affects both private and public brand loyalty. The model is empirically tested in the brand community of a professional basketball team.

Abstract

     This research aims to investigate the impact of social media marketing activities (SMMa) on brand loyalty directly and through mediating variables community engagement and lovemark. To propose a research model, we used the theories including lovemark theory, engagement theory and brand equity theory. As a result, this research investigates the impact of SMMa, community engagement, and lovemark on brand loyalty. Using an online survey, we collected data from 464 female participants who are following luxury fashion brands on major social networking sites including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. Results using PLS revealed that SMMa positively influences community engagement and lovemark. Moreover, we find positive relationships between community engagement, lovemark and brand loyalty. However, we find that SMMa has no direct influence on brand loyalty.

Introduction

     Social networking sites (SNSs) provide challenges and opportunities to luxury fashion brands industry. Furthermore, SNS platforms have transformed the way in which luxury fashion brands interact with customers (Algharabat, 2017; Kim & Ko, 2012; Mirkovski et al., 2019). Many of the luxury fashion brands have adapted different SNS platforms due to the benefits that such companies can gain (Kim & Ko, 2010, 2012). Such benefits include interacting with current and potential consumers (Koivisto & Mattila, 2018), increasing customer engagement (Alalwan et al., 2020; Liu et al., 2021), building stronger brand relationships (Alalwan et al., 2019; Algharabat, 2017; Dwivedi et al., 2021; Kelly et al., 2010), improving brand image and brand equity (Kim & Ko, 2012), and eventually enhancing customer experience and positive responses (Arenas-Gaitan et al., 2013; Godey et al., 2016). In addition, Godey et al. (2013) assert that regardless of the purchase motivation a consumer might go for luxury fashion brands, the brand’s mere presence on SNS influences customers’ attitudes and perceptions in subtle ways because the brand remains the focal point. According to Godey et al. (2013), such positive influence may occur due to enhanced awareness and image perceptions, which in turn shape consumer preferences for linking consumers as such the brand often influences customers’ attitudes and perceptions in different ways, including consumers’ awareness of the brand, their image perceptions, and hence their preferences. Consumers’ decision to buy luxury brands rely on three motivations, (i) their pleasure, (ii) symbol of achievement and success, or (iii) as a gift. Therefore, luxury fashion brands success rests on the balance between the three motivations (Kapferer, 2012).

Conclusions

     The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of SMMa on community engagement and lovemark and their further influence on brand loyalty. Prior research (e.g., Godey et al., 2016) investigated the use of only two SNSs namely Facebook and Twitter. However, we contend that collecting data from customers on a specific SNS may not match consumer behavior in real life as consumers have accounts on various SNSs and some of these are more preferable compared to others. Therefore, we examined the influence of SMMa on community engagement and lovemark using social networking sites (such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter), which have pages for luxury fashion brands. The proposed research model was based on the underlying theories including lovemark theory, engagement theory and brand equity theory. The findings indicated that SMMa positively influences community engagement and lovemark. Moreover, we find positive relationships between community engagement, lovemark and brand loyalty. However, it was also found that SMMa has no direct influence on brand loyalty.

Abstract

Keywords

1. Introduction

2. Theoretical background

3. Method

4. Results

5. Discussion

6. Conclusions

7. Implications, limitations and future lines of research

Declarations

References

Abstract

Brand perception is a key element in achieving business success: how a brand is perceived by current and potential users determines what they think and their disposition towards the brand. The users’ perception also determines whether they will perceive the sports service as offering a greater quality or value than other services, whether they will be more loyal, or whether they will recommend the service. This paper analyses the brand perception of users of a public sports service, creating a model of structural equations that analyses how credibility and trust influence a user’s congruence with the brand and the generation of positive attitudes towards the brand and how these variables influence loyalty levels and recommendations. The results indicate that the proposed model can explain the variables of trust, congruence, attitudes, loyalty and word of mouth by more than 60%. The study finds that credibility influences trust but that credibility in itself does not cause a congruence with the brand, whereas trust does. Similarly, trust does not generate attitudes towards the brand but credibility and congruence do. Congruence generates loyalty but attitudes do not, and congruence, attitudes and loyalty influence recommendation to a similar extent, with congruence having the highest influence.

1. Introduction

The study of consumer brand perception in sports services is an underdeveloped area of study, as established by Bougoure et al. (2016). Although the number of studies on services has been growing, the vast majority of the studies focus on the analysis of goods and not services, especially not sports services. Therefore, it is interesting to approach to study this area, since the sports industry is one of the most important industries for economies. We must take steps to better understand how consumers of sports services make decisions, given that the inherent characteristics of sports affect these services and make them somewhat different from other services. This study analyses the users’ brand perception of a sports service and how this perception influences their behaviour as consumers, trying to obtain evidence that the proposed relationships are significant and that we can therefore predict the loyalty levels and recommendations that the users will exhibit in the future based on the consumers’ brand perception of sports services.

If we examine the scientific literature, the study of brand image is a topic that has received the attention of academics and is increasingly gaining strength with a greater number of publications. However, when we try to access contrasted information on brand image in sports services, there is a great absence of information addressing the peculiarities of sports centres compared to other areas of service marketing. Therefore, it is interesting to analyse a context so relevant to the economy of countries such as the sporting one, identifying whether these tools, which have been tested in general marketing, perform in the same way in the sporting context or whether there are aspects that could modify the perceptions of certain variables of interest. Therefore, the relevance of this study is oriented to two aspects: on the one hand, to contributing to fill the above-mentioned gap in literature to this particular context, in order to provide more theoretical basis about this topic. On the other hand, this study aims to give tools to managers so that they can make decisions based on reliable information in their specific field. For this purpose, this study proposes the creation of a predictive model where from the variables related to brand perception, we can predict the levels of loyalty and recommendations of users of a public sports service. Through this structural equation modelling software, a model was performed, in order to test the proposed relationships and effects between the variables, the extent to which they are influential and the explanatory capacity of the model on the variables of interest. This methodology is interesting, since it allows us to explore the relationships between variables in this context to see if they operate in the same way as in other areas.

1- Introduction

2- Literature review

3- Model specification

4- Empirical analysis

5- Conclusion

References

Abstract

Brand loyalty and interest have significant impacts on consumers’ smartphone choices. What about brand loyalty and interest of smartphone in South Korea where Samsung originates from? This study investigates brand loyalty and interest and how they are affected by the satisfaction of innovative peers in South Korea. An asymmetric discrete choice model with reference-dependent preferences is applied for the analysis. The estimation results show that in South Korea the brand is the most important attribute of smartphone and Apple is the strongest in brand loyalty. Whether consumers who are currently owners of Apple smartphones continue to maintain the same brand in their next purchasing depends not only on their brand loyalty but also on the satisfaction of their highly innovative peers who currently own the Apple. On the other hand, Samsung’s brand loyalty is lower than that of Apple, but the brand interest is the highest. Additionally, in all smartphone brands, satisfaction with smartphone brands owned by innovative peers has a significant impact on consumers’ interest.

Introduction

The global smartphone market is expanding rapidly, and it is expected that 5.9 billion people will own smartphones by 2025 (GSMA, 2018). This amounts to 71 percent of the total world population, and experts have speculated that smartphone distribution will surpass that of computers due to portability and versatility functions (Deloitte, 2017). In terms of smartphone ownership, South Korea ranks the number one worldwide, constituting nearly 96 percent of the total population (Poushter et al., 2018). Despite the high penetration rate, the number of smartphone users has steadily increased in South Korea (Ministry of Science and ICT, 2018), and smartphone manufacturers are releasing new products at shorter intervals, abbreviating the consumer replacement cycle (Lee, 2014). This results in more intensified competition in the smartphone market. Additionally, smartphone manufacturers have been striving to increase consumer satisfaction regarding products and services in an effort to increase their market share (Chen et al., 2016). In addition to non-functional attributes like brand and price, smartphones consist of various functional attributes, including screen size and central processing unit (CPU). In the early stages of smartphone production, manufacturers focused on enhancing battery, resolution, CPU, and other core technology that made up the device (Verganti, 2011), which led to smartphones within a similar price range achieving similar functional capacity. Henceforth, manufacturers attempted to gain a competitive edge in the market by offering mobile payments, location-based services, and other added functions, or by enhancing them further (Oliveira et al., 2016), but these added functions could be imitated with ease, and differentiating effects were shortlived. As a result, most of the manufacturers’ recent efforts have been on non-functional attributes such as fashionable appearance and aftersales service (Chen et al., 2016).

With the advent of interactive Web 2.0 (and beyond) technologies, the role of consumer brand engagement (CBE), which focuses on the consumer’s investment in their brand interactions, is of rapidly growing importance. Despite growing recognition of CBE’s importance in virtual brand communities, empirically-derived insight into its drivers, dynamics, and outcomes remains limited, as investigated in this study. Responding to this gap, we explore the effect of consumers’ brand community identification and reward on CBE, which we posit to subsequently affect brand loyalty. To investigate our hypotheses, we conducted a survey with 602 Facebook users. Our structural equation modeling results reveal brand community identification’s and reward’s positive effect on CBE, and a positive effect of CBE on brand loyalty. In addition, our findings reveal CBE’s partial mediating effect in the association of brand community identification and reward with brand loyalty. Theoretically, our findings further insight into CBE’s virtual communitybased dynamics, with a focus on the role of community identification and reward. Practically, our results identify the key role of nurturing virtual community identification and the offering of reward to engage consumers.

Introduction

According to the Global Web Index Report (2018), today’s increasingly tech-savvy consumers spend in excess of two hours daily on social media, which comprises around 33% of their online time. Given the considerable amount of time people spend online nowadays, marketers are making substantial investments in this area (Lee et al., 2018; Mirbagheri and Najmi, 2019). The Web 2.0 (and beyond) environment is characterized by two-way interactions between consumers and brands, thereby exhibiting a stark contrast with more one-way, traditional media (Hollebeek et al., 2014; Brodie et al., 2013). In this interactive environment, consumers are not only able to respond to brand-related communications, but also create these themselves (e.g. user-generated content; Hollebeek and Macky, 2019), revealing its high degree of interactivity. In this changing environment, consumer brand engagement, which reveals the consumer’s investment in their brand-related interactions (Islam et al., 2017; Hollebeek et al., 2019b), is of rapidly growing importance (Wirtz et al., 2013; Islam and Rahman, 2017). Specifically, engaged customers have been viewed to contribute to sales increases, enhanced positive word-of-mouth, and improved organizational performance (Bijmolt et al., 2010), thus warranting its strategic significance.

1- Introduction

2- Literature review

3- Method and results

4- Discussion

References

Abstract

The goal of this research is to develop and validate a multi-dimensional scale measure of brand fidelity. This paper reports the rigorous process of scale development, through two separate studies involving 592 US consumers. Study 1 involves scale item generation, content validation and scale purification, while Study 2 involves a two-wave data collection method, evaluating the refined brand fidelity scale within a nomological network of relationships. The results demonstrate the 20-item brand fidelity scale to have strong construct validity as a first-order reflective, second-order formative scale. The findings suggest that if consumers engage in the behaviours/cognitions (as defined within the brand fidelity scale), then consumer/brand relationships are likely to be stable and predictable; are likely to endure the ravages of time; and, importantly, are likely to remain monogamous. For practitioners, the overall brand fidelity score can be used to track brand performance over time and for industry benchmarking purposes. Additionally, the measured brand fidelity dimensions provide specific direction upon which remedial marketing action can be implemented.

Introduction

Well established in the literature is the notion that building strong and sustainable consumer/brand relationships is the cornerstone to contemporary marketing success. In fact, understanding how consumers respond to brands has dominated the marketing literature for decades. Early research was more product-focussed and centred around the understanding and measurement of customer satisfaction and perceived product performance (Anderson, 1973; Day, 1977), thus, providing insight into consumer response variables, through cognitive paradigms. The evolution of brand research, in the 80s and 90s, resulted in the focus turning to long-term consumer response variables, such as brand involvement (Beatty et al., 1988), brand loyalty (Amine, 1998), brand commitment (Morgan and Hunt, 1994) and, more recently, brand love (Albert and Merunka, 2013; Carroll and Ahuvia, 2006), underpinned by psychological and interpersonal theory. On this basis, Fournier and Yao (1997) were the first to proffer brands as ‘relationship partners’, with the view to understanding the dynamics of establishing stable and durable consumer/brand relationships. While it is important to have a thorough understanding of the complexities of consumer/brand relationships, the meaningful measurement of such relationships is paramount for brand practitioners to strategize effectively. However, the current literature does not offer clarity in this respect. Problems associated with the interchangeability of construct terms and definitions, the blurring of construct dimensional specifications (e.g. Rossiter, 2012 vs Batra et al., 2012), and the inconsistencies of nomological positioning (e.g. Albert and Merunka, 2013 vs Loureiro et al., 2012) plague the literature. In addition, the validity of data is highly dependent on the subjects’ (i.e. consumers) ability to self-report on psychological constructs that often have different meanings for different people (Gross and John, 1997). In an attempt to address these challenges, Grace et al. (2018) propose a focus on consumer/brand relationship maintenance behaviours as the potential key to effective measurement, over and above self-reported desires and emotions (e.g. brand commitment, brand love). It is on this basis, they coined the term “brand fidelity”, specified as a multi-dimensional cognitive and behavioural framework, which assists in understanding what consumers do when they are highly committed or in love with the brand (Grace et al., 2018).

1- Introduction

2- Literature review

3- Hypothesis development

4- Methodology

5- Discussion

References

Abstract

Social media has become one of the largest environments of human interaction, with more than 80% of Americans using social media and firm spending on social media marketing more than quadrupling in the past decade. Yet, little is known about the effects of ad personalization in the social media context. This research develops and tests a comprehensive model of personalized advertising in the development of consumer’s brand perceptions using 242 responses collected from Amazon Mechanical Turk. Results suggest perceived personalization positively impacts consumer brand engagement and brand attachment, both enhance perceived quality and brand loyalty of brands advertised on Facebook.

Introduction

Social media has become a nearly-ubiquitous environment for human interaction. In fact, a recent study by the Pew Research Center on social media use in the United States found that over 80% of all Americans use at least one form of social media, and greater than twothirds use Facebook specifically—more than 75% of whom check their Facebook pages at least once a day (Smith and Anderson, 2018). Consequently, as social media use becomes increasingly common, firms seek to reach and interact with current and potential customers through social media platforms. Trends in marketing budget allocations reflect this important shift; data suggests that social media spending has increased by nearly 250% in the past ten years, with analysts expecting even more growth as firms seek to capitalize on the unique opportunities presented by social media (CMO Survey, 2018). One area of particular growing interest for marketers is using personalized advertisements based on customers’ specific personal preferences, prior purchase histories, demographics, and recent searches on the Internet (Li, 2016). Personalized ads allow producers to engage consumers in just such a manner—on a personal level with the aim of developing a more effective relationship and better meeting consumers’ needs. The effectiveness of personalization is well-documented in traditional media such as direct mail (Baek and Morimoto, 2012), telemarketing (Yu and Cude, 2009), mobile messaging (Xu, 2006), and website ad personalization (Awad and Krishnan, 2006; Ho and Bodoff, 2014), but little is known about the effects of personalization in social media given its recent emergence and the disruptiveness of social media as compared to more traditional channels (Baird and Parasnis, 2011). More precisely, while prior work on personalization in traditional marketing channels reveals increases in brand engagement and attachment, and consequently in perceived quality and brand loyalty, scholarship investigating these effects in social media is needed given the different nature of the online environment. For instance, social media is a more intimate setting than traditional channels like direct mail or telemarketing as the customer is able to interact directly with the ad and the company, and because many customers utilize social media frequently throughout the day creating an enhanced opportunity to build a customer relationship (Sashi, 2012). Further, results among emerging scholarship in this area have yet to paint a consistent picture with their findings. For instance, while some work suggests personalizing web browsing experiences increases sales (Oberoi et al., 2017), personalization on Facebook can engender brand avoidance when users become skeptical of the personalization (Tran, 2017). In other words, the intimate nature of social media may make consumers more resistant to personalization when they view it as invasive.