Relationships between brand experiences, personality traits, prestige, relationship quality, and loyalty

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 1185-1202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young Gin Choi ◽  
Chihyung “Michael” Ok ◽  
Sunghyup Sean Hyun

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effects of coffeehouse brand experiences and brand personality traits on brand prestige, and the effects of brand prestige on brand relationship quality and loyalty in the coffeehouse industry. Design/methodology/approach Validated measurements were identified from a literature review. The measurement model and the conceptual model depicting hypothesized relationships were evaluated based on responses from 309 coffeehouse customers using confirmatory factor analysis and a structural equation modeling, accordingly. Findings Brand experiences and brand personality traits had direct effects on brand prestige, which in turn influenced brand relationship quality and attitudinal loyalty. Brand relationship quality directly and indirectly influenced attitudinal and behavioral brand loyalty. Research limitations/implications The data were collected from coffeehouse customers in the USA; therefore, the results may not be generalizable to other regions or types of service industries. The results have important theoretical and practical implications for gaining a competitive advantage through brand experiences, brand personality traits and prestige. Practical implications To enhance the coffeehouse brand prestige, it is critical to enhance patrons’ experiential interactions by using sensory appealing equipment/tools, developing sentimental slogans, active/behavioral mascots and intellectual advertising. Furthermore, it is necessary for it to build and enhance its own brand personality characterized by sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication and ruggedness. Originality/value This study is the first to empirically test the relationships between brand experiences, brand personality traits and prestige in the coffeehouse industry.

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 458-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ada S. Lo ◽  
Holly Hyunjung Im ◽  
Yong Chen ◽  
Hailin Qu

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of the loyalty program members’ satisfaction toward the hotel loyalty program benefits and the customer management relationship initiatives of individual hotels on the brand relationship quality (BRQ), i.e. their relationship quality with the hotel brand, and its outcomes. The moderating impact of membership level on the hypothesized relationships was also investigated. Design/methodology/approach A usable sample of 920 active members of a hotel loyalty program was obtained. Structural equation modeling with partial least squares method was used to estimate the structural relationships and to investigate the moderating effect of membership level. Findings Employee’s customer orientation, membership communication and hotel stay-related benefits are determinants of the loyalty program members’ BRQ. BRQ is also confirmed as a higher-order construct of three latent variables which include trust, satisfaction and commitment. Moderating effects of the membership were partially supported in this study. The strongest effect of BRQ is on members’ word of mouth followed by shares of purchase. BRQ is found to have negative relationship with members’ willingness to serve as marketing resource, but the impact was small. Research limitations/implications This is a cross-sectional study with a population of active loyalty program members of only one luxury hotel group. The sample size of the top-tier members is also smaller in comparison to the other two groups. Practical implications This study contributes to the understanding of the antecedents and consequences of BRQ and the body of knowledge about loyalty program for hotel industry. Originality/value This is one of the few studies investigating the effectiveness of hotel loyalty programs from the active members’ perspective and the moderating effect of membership level on the relationships among BRQ, its antecedents and its outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seung-Eun Lee

Purpose This study aims to explore whether fabric contents, specifically cotton and polyester, possess particular personality dimensions, as posited by Aaker (1997). The author examined both explicit (conscious, deliberate) and implicit (unconscious, automatic) perceptions of brand personality traits of cotton and polyester. Design/methodology/approach The convenience sample of this study included 51 students from different merchandising classes in a Midwestern university. Participants were first directed to the multidimensional implicit association test (md-IAT) and their implicit perceptions were measured for the content of the two fabrics (cotton and polyester) on five different personality attribute dimensions (sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication and ruggedness). After the IAT, participants completed the post-IAT survey, including explicit measures of brand personality attributes of cotton and polyester. Findings The findings of this study show that fabric contents can be successfully described and differentiated by Aaker’s brand personality dimensions. Compared with polyester, the distinctive brand personality of cotton was the favorable association between cotton and sincerity. This association was significantly higher than all other personality dimensions in both consumers’ implicit and explicit perceptions. Neither cotton nor polyester was significantly associated with the exciting, competent and sophisticated personality dimensions. Originality/value A unique contribution of this study is that it examines implicit perceptions of the brand personality traits of cotton and polyester. The use of the md-IAT in this study allowed the assessment of consumers’ automatic associations with cotton and polyester of which they may not be aware.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin F. McManus ◽  
Sergio W. Carvalho ◽  
Valerie Trifts

Purpose This study aims to explore the role of brand personality traits in explaining how different levels of brand favorability evoke affect from and forge connections to consumers. Design/methodology/approach The authors used a quantitative approach consisting of within-subjects (Study 1) and between-subjects (Study 2) experimental designs. Mediation analyses were tested using OLS regression with the MEMORE and PROCESS macros. Findings Findings suggest increases in brand excitement and sincerity to be related to differences in positive affect evoked by favorable and unfavorable brands; decreases in brand sincerity to be related to differences in negative affect between favorable and unfavorable brands (Study 1); brand competence and excitement to be related to the relationship between brand favorability and self-brand connection; and brand competence and excitement to best distinguish favorable brands from unfavorable brands (Study 2). Originality/value These results support the importance of brand personality traits that are considered to be universally positive and provide managers with an initial roadmap for which brand personality traits should be prioritized when communicating with consumers.


2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 268-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lishan Xie ◽  
Patrick Poon ◽  
Wenxuan Zhang

Purpose This paper aims to examine the mediating role of brand relationship quality in the relationship between brand experience and customer citizenship behavior. Design/methodology/approach Two studies were conducted in China. Data were collected via questionnaire surveys. Structural equation modeling and bootstrapping methods were used for data analyses. Findings Results show that brand relationship quality mediates the effects of the four dimensions of brand experience (i.e. sensory, affective, behavioral and intellectual) on the two aspects of customer citizenship behavior (i.e. toward other customers and toward the organization). In addition, service provider ratings can moderate the effect of brand relationship quality on customer citizenship behavior. Practical implications The findings suggest that marketing or service managers should build high quality of customer–brand relationship to enhance customer citizenship behaviors by providing memorable and pleasurable brand experiences. Brands with high ratings can facilitate the effect of brand relationship quality on customer citizenship behavior. Originality/value This research sheds light on the mediating role of brand relationship quality in the relationship between brand experience and customer citizenship behavior.


2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao-Chin Huang ◽  
Shih-Chieh Fang ◽  
Shyh-Ming Huang ◽  
Shao-Chi Chang ◽  
Shyh-Rong Fang

Purpose – While the literature attends to how customer retention strategies develop relationship quality (e.g. trust), it does not account for the potential mediator (s) in this relationship. The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of brand relationship quality (BRQ) in the relationship between relational bonds and brand loyalty in retail service contexts. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 524 valid questionnaires from respondents aged between 15 and 24 are analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings – First, BRQ significantly mediates the relationship between relational bonds and brand loyalty. Second, structural bonds are the only driver of attitudinal attachment; social and structural bonds lead to a sense of community. Third, attitudinal attachment is the main influence on both behavioral and attitudinal loyalty. Research limitations/implications – First, a focus on a single market segment, i.e. 15-24 year olds. Second the dimensions used to measure relational bonds and BRQ might not be applicable to other contexts. Third, does not consider potentially important moderator(s). Fourth, does not distinguish between store and product brands. Originality/value – This study makes the following contributions to the literature: First, demonstrates the importance of BRQ as a mediator in the relationship between relational bonds and brand loyalty. Second, elucidates the role of BRQ in establishing brand loyalty in three theoretical frameworks applied to retail service contexts. Third, suggests a more comprehensive view of brand loyalty involving both behavioral and attitudinal dimensions. Fourth, proposes the managerial implications of this work for the customer retention strategies of retail service firms.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 472-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Teresa Borges-Tiago ◽  
Flavio Tiago ◽  
José Manuel Veríssimo ◽  
Tiago Silva

Purpose The digital relationship between brand and users, and brand and endorsers has been analyzed from different angles. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how these three elements co-create online the brand personality of the firm, through user-generated content. Design/methodology/approach This study gathered data from the hotels’ websites, Facebook, Twitter and TripAdvisor accounts, examining the content posted by the hotel, by tourists and by the celebrity endorsing some of the hotels. To pursue the aims, the brand personality dimensions communicated online were assessed through content analysis for the global presence and for each social network by user typology to establish the alignment of brand personality traits communicated. Findings Digital communication was found to vary significantly between the hotels and tourists in different social networks. The amount of content created by tourists is significantly higher than the ones produced by the hotel. The sincerity dimension of brand personality was confirmed in both communications. However, tourists’ brand image impacts brand personality differently than the hotels themselves. Furthermore, an analysis of the influence of customers on social networks indicates that celebrity personality traits seem to impact on the image of a hotel brand. Originality/value This research can be used to help brand managers to understand better the digital co-branding with clients and celebrity, as well as to identify gaps in their brand personality strategy. It could also assist future researchers focusing on digital celebrity endorsement since few researchers have analyzed digital communication in different social networks.


2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-120
Author(s):  
Sreejesh S. ◽  
Juhi Gahlot Sarkar ◽  
Abhigyan Sarkar

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the casual role of consumers’ perceptions of brands’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) motives (self-serving vs society-serving) in influencing consumer–brand relationships. Further, the authors explore the roles of brand initiated CSR activities (e.g. CSR co-creation), social media characteristics (e.g. media richness) and consumer’s community identification in shaping the effect of perceived CSR motive on consumer–brand relationship. Design/methodology/approach A 2 (CSR motives: self-oriented vs society-oriented) × 2 (CSR co-creation: yes vs no) × 2 (media richness: high vs low) between-subjects experimental design is employed. Findings The results elucidate that when consumers perceive that CSR is for self-serving (vs society-serving) motive, allowing consumers to co-create CSR in a high media-rich virtual platform enhances consumer–brand relationship quality. In addition, the results also support that the interactions of perceived CSR motives, co-creation and media richness enhance consumer–brand relationship through the mediation of community identification. Originality/value The current study draws implications for effective CSR co-creation through rich social media platforms, so as to enhance consumer–brand relationship quality via creating community identification.


2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 278-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reham Touni ◽  
Woo Gon Kim ◽  
Hyung-Min Choi ◽  
Mohamed Ahmed Ali

The purpose of this study is to examine customer–brand experience and customer involvement as two drivers of customer engagement (CE) and investigate brand relationship quality as a major outcome of CE with a hotel’s Facebook brand community. It is essential for hotel marketers to understand more about how to engage customers with brand communities embedded in Facebook, to understand what the antecedents of such engagements are, and to recognize what outcomes they can gain from engaged customers. This article adopts structural equation modeling and analyzes data collected from a sample of 347 Facebook users who are hotel customers. The results of the empirical research confirm the significant effect of the two antecedents on CE and the role of engaging customers in building customer–brand relationships. Furthermore, CE with hotel brand communities embedded in Facebook has a mediating effect on the path from customer–brand experience to brand relationship quality.


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