The power of brand passion in sports apparel brands

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 547-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naser Pourazad ◽  
Lara Stocchi ◽  
Vipul Pare

Purpose The purpose of this study is to determine if brand passion shapes attitudinal brand loyalty while driving a series of important brand-related outcomes (i.e. brand advocacy, social media following, sense of community, willingness to pay a premium price and alternative devaluation). These aspects are explored for sports apparel brands after considering the perceptions of Iranian consumers. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on the analysis of survey data gathered online and face-to-face from a sample of Iranian consumers of sports apparel brands that were analysed using partial least square path modelling. Findings The key empirical findings obtained confirm that brand passion underpins attitudinal brand loyalty and several important brand-related outcomes. Furthermore, the findings show that attitudinal brand loyalty explains the impact of brand passion on most of the outcomes considered, except for social media following. Research limitations/implications This study advances knowledge of brand passion by illustrating its “power” as a strong nuance of relationships between consumers and brands. In particular, this study highlights the importance of brand passion in shaping attitudinal brand loyalty, as well as a driver of several outcomes of theoretical and managerial relevance. Practical implications By establishing strategies aimed at enhancing brand passion, brand managers can increase attitudinal brand loyalty, attain important goals such as brand advocacy, premium price and social media following, as well as the devaluation of competing brands. Originality/value This study uses a unidimensional theorisation of brand passion to increase the understanding of its role as predictor of attitudinal brand loyalty and driver of relevant outcomes. It also examines the mediating effect of attitudinal brand loyalty, thus illustrating important conceptual links between brand passion and brand loyalty in the context of sports apparel brands in a growing economy (Iran).


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tariq Samarah ◽  
Pelin Bayram ◽  
Hasan Yousef Aljuhmani ◽  
Hamzah Elrehail

PurposeThis study explores central questions related to the connections between brand interactivity and involvement on brand-related outcomes (brand trust and loyalty) through understanding the role played by customer brand engagement (CBE) through social media platforms.Design/methodology/approachUsing an online survey, the data for this study were collected from 353 participants who follow Royal Jordanian Airlines on their Facebook page. A cross-sectional research approach was implemented using a partial least squares path modeling approach.FindingsThe study finds that perceived brand interactivity and involvement are positively associated with social media CBE. The authors also find that social media CBE is positively related to brand trust and that brand trust is positively associated with brand loyalty. Consequently, the authors observe that social media CBE is positively related to brand loyalty.Originality/valueThis study investigates the impact of perceived brand interactivity and involvement on social media CBE while accounting for the mediating role of brand trust through which social media CBE influences brand loyalty of airline brands in the Jordanian context. Finally, the findings have noteworthy theoretical and managerial implications.



2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kian Yeik Koay ◽  
Man Lai Cheung ◽  
Patrick Chin-Hooi Soh ◽  
Chai Wen Teoh

Purpose Social media influencers (SMIs) have become an important source of influence that affects consumer behaviours in their decision-making processes. As such, this justifies scholarly attention in understanding how SMIs transfer their meanings to endorsed brands and drive consumers’ positive behavioural intentions. With the intention to fill this knowledge gap, this paper aims to examine the impact of SMIs’ credibility, as manifested by trustworthiness, attractiveness and expertise, along with the moderating effects of materialism, on followers’ purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach Self-administrated online surveys were used to collect data from Instagram users. A total of 191 usable data were collected and analysed using partial least square structural equation modelling. Findings The results show that SMIs’ trustworthiness and expertise are significant predictors of followers’ purchase intention. Moreover, the moderating effect of materialism on the relationship between attractiveness and purchase intention is significant. Notably, the influence of attractiveness on purchase intention is greater when materialism is high. Originality/value This research contributes to the SMI literature by examining the influence of SMIs’ trustworthiness, attractiveness and expertise, along with the moderating effect of materialism, on followers’ purchase intention.



2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1948-1968 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherif El-Halaby ◽  
Khaled Hussainey ◽  
Heba Abou-El-Sood

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of sharia, social and financial disclosure on stakeholders’ loyalty towards Islamic banks (IBs). The paper also aims to examine the extent to which trust and satisfaction mediate this effect. Design/methodology/approach It uses data collected from 600 respondents to survey questionnaires disseminated to stakeholders from 15 countries dealing with IBs. Structural equation modelling is adopted with a partial least square approach. Findings The results indicate that there is a significant impact of disclosure on stakeholders’ trust, satisfaction, and loyalty. The results also indicate that there is a partial mediating effect of trust and satisfaction in the relationship between disclosure and loyalty. This paper is one of the first studies examining the effect of disclosure on stakeholders’ loyalty. The authors provide novel findings, which have theoretical and practical implications for disclosure in IBs and their relationship with stakeholders. Originality/value The analysis offers a novel contribution to the Islamic banking literature by offering the first evidence on the impact of disclosure on stakeholders’ trust, satisfaction, and loyalty.



2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johra Kayeser Fatima ◽  
Mohammed Abdur Razzaque ◽  
Rita Di Mascio

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of calculative, affective and normative commitment on bank employee-customer rapport and customer satisfaction. The mediating effect of rapport between each of the three types of commitment and customer satisfaction is also examined. Design/methodology/approach – Structural equation modelling by Partial Least Square method is used for analysing the data on 212 bank customers in Bangladesh. Findings – Results indicate that affective and normative commitment of customers has strong influence in developing rapport, whereas the impact of customers’ calculative commitment on rapport was found to be non-significant. The study also found that rapport has a complementary mediation effect between the three types of commitment and customer satisfaction. Practical implications – While providing training to front line employees, bank management should make them aware that not all customers may have the same level of positive attitude or cooperation for the rapport-building procedure. Employees should understand that different customers will respond differently to their efforts for building rapport due to their pre-existing commitment levels towards banks. Bank management should acknowledge that customers’ current level of commitment may be further strengthened or weakened by successful or unsuccessful rapport building with banks’ employees and thereby re-evaluate their satisfaction level with the bank. Originality/value – The study contributes to the relationship literature by exploring the mediating role of rapport between commitment and customer satisfaction, and by considering the influence of normative commitment on customer-employee rapport in financial services.



2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Taran Kaur ◽  
Priya Solomon

Purpose Many corporates in India are constantly working to adapt new sustainable working practices that can reduce average space usage in the Indian workspace. This study aims to analyze the strategic shifts in terms of new approaches to work (NAW) adopted by information technology (IT) companies, influenced by sustainable practices that have a positive impact on the reduction in usage of brick and motor workspace and carbon footprint. Design/methodology/approach The research is descriptive in nature. A questionnaire survey was sent to certified ISO 41001 Indian IT companies to collect data through SurveyMonkey. Stratified sampling was used to collect a sample of 583 respondents, which was also verified using G* software. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics and partial least square-structured equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the mediating effect of sustainability on NAW and reduction in usage of workspace. Findings The structural model results obtained through the bootstrapping technique showed that sustainability has become essential to survive in a competitive business environment while developing NAW that can reduce workspace usage. The findings of this study support the partial mediation effect (38%) of sustainability on NAW and workspace usage patterns in the Indian IT workspace. Originality/value This research adds value to the limited literature on the effect of NAW in the Indian IT sector and provides empirical evidence of the impact of technology-enabled NAW based on sustainable practices that can help reduce the demand for workspace.



2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mona Fairuz Ramli ◽  
◽  
Muhammad Aizat Md Sin ◽  
Ahmad Shabudin Arifin ◽  
Abdul Ghafur Hanafi ◽  
...  

This study aims to investigate the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and social media engagement on destination brand loyalty. These concepts are not fully understood, especially in the context of sustainable development of nature-based tourism, which makes managing the negative impact on the environment more challenging. The study developed a parsimonious model to investigate the interrelationship between CSR and destination loyalty by incorporating social media engagement as a mediating variable to study the impact mechanism of tourists’ CSR activities on tourists’ destination brand loyalty in a nature-based tourism context. The data used was collected from 240 inbound and outbound tourists that visited a well-known marine park site in Malaysia. In addition, a Partial Least Square (PLS) based structural equation modelling (SEM) technique was utilized to analyse the data. The result showed that CSR and social media engagement had an influence over destination brand loyalty. These results suggest some practical implications for destination operators designing CSR activities as a strategic technique for ensuring sustainable success.



2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 532-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tommy Lau ◽  
Man Lai Cheung ◽  
Guilherme D. Pires ◽  
Carol Chan

Purpose The abolishment of the wine tax in Hong Kong has led to increased wine consumption and increased demand for wine-related professionals, such as sommeliers. Yet the importance of sommeliers’ value-adding performance in the context of upscale Chinese restaurants has not been examined. To address this gap, the SERVQUAL framework is adopted to examine the influence of sommeliers’ service quality (SQ) on customer satisfaction (CS) and loyalty in the context of upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach The survey method is used to collect data from 302 units of the population of interest, partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is used to test the links between constructs. Findings Four of the seven dimensions of sommeliers’ service quality, namely, empathy, tangibles, credibility and assurance, have a significant positive impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, whereas the impact of perceived value and responsiveness on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty is positive but only marginally significant. Reliability has a weak and non-significant impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Research limitations/implications Examining a small number of upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong limits generalisation of the findings to other contexts. Replication of the research in different contexts will enhance generalizability. In terms of implications, the discussion highlights the importance of sommeliers’ service performance on customers’ SQ perceptions SQ, CS and loyalty, all of which are important variables for restaurateurs. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of the influence of the quality of sommelier’s SQ on CS and loyalty in upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. Given the lack of attention to this service role in the literature, the study contributes theory from which further understanding can develop.



2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 1087-1111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzana Quoquab ◽  
Jihad Mohammad ◽  
Norjaya Md Yasin ◽  
Nor Liza Abdullah

Purpose This study sheds some light on factors that affect customer switching intention in the Malaysian mobile phone service industry. More particularly, the purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of service quality (SQ), customer satisfaction, switching cost and consumer innovativeness (CI) on service switching intention (SWI); the mediating role of customer satisfaction; and the moderating role of service switching cost on the relationship between CI and SWI. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire survey that yielded 535 responses. Using structural equation modelling approach, the partial least square software, version 3 was utilised to test the study hypotheses. Findings Results reveal that customer satisfaction, service switching cost and CI directly affect SWI. However, no significant relationship was found between SQ and SWI. Again, data supported the mediating effect of customer satisfaction as well as the moderating effect of service switching cost. Research limitations/implications It is expected that the findings from this study will enable policymakers, managers and marketers to formulate better strategies and effectively implement loyalty programs, preventing their customers from switching. Originality/value This study contributes to the existing literature by testing switching costs as the quasi moderator. Moreover, this is a pioneer study to consider CI as the antecedent of SWI.



2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quang-Huy Ngo

Although prior studies draw upon natural resource-based views, environmental strategy permits competitive advantages, and as such, gains financial performance. However, empirical results are mixed. To shed light on this issue, this study proposes that environmental performance mediates the link between environmental strategy and financial performance. Data were collected from 175 third-party logistic providers currently operating in Vietnam to test the hypotheses. Partial least square structural equation modeling was borrowed to test the data. The results reveal environmental performance partially mediates the link between environmental strategy and financial performance. By considering the mediating effect, this study contributes to the literature by addressing the intervening mechanism of environmental performance on the inconclusive relationship between environmental strategy and financial performance. Besides, this study also extends prior studies by borrowing a concept of environmental strategy, which captures the extent of organizations pursuing this strategy, to explain how and why pursuing this strategy permits environmental and financial performance.



2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Farrukh ◽  
Ali Raza ◽  
Abdul Waheed

PurposeBased on the social network theory, this study investigates the impact of political ties on innovation performance. Besides, this study also tests a mediation role of absorptive capacity (AC) and a moderation role of technology turbulence.Design/methodology/approachA hypothetico-deductive approach is adopted to test the hypotheses. Data were collected from the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) managers/owners through a structured questionnaire.FindingsPartial least square structural equation modeling technique is used to analyze the hypothesized relationships; the findings showed that political ties significantly impact the innovation performance, and this relationship is mediated by AC. Moreover, technological turbulence moderated the relationship between political ties and innovation performance.Originality/valueDespite the increasing attention to the role of networking in improving innovation, there is a scarcity of studies on the role of political ties, AC and technology turbulence in fostering organizational innovation; thus, this study is a unique contribution to literature.



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