Multisensory VR Experiences in Destination Management

The rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the high level of consumer acceptance have made it increasingly complex to retain loyal customers. Virtual Reality (VR) has become a solution that allows tourism providers to design technology-enhanced experiences along the entire customer journey. While most VR offers focus on pre-travel experiences, the potential of VR in the post-travel phase is still little explored. Considering that multisensory tourism experiences contribute to memory formation, the multisensory extension of VR (4D VR) in post-travel experiences is of interest. Thus, through a quantitative field experiment, this study aims to detect what effect the stimulation of different senses during the use of VR has on the overall experience and how this influences the brand relationship quality. The results revealed elevated levels of technology acceptance, which consequently enhances the traveler’s overall VR experience. The multisensory component positively affects one realm of an experience in the area of escapism and thus correlates with the overall experience. However, there is no significant difference between 3D and 4D regarding the level of brand relationship quality. The study expands the literature on 4D VR experiences and supports tourism practitioners in the implementation to strengthen the relationship between a destination and its guests.

University Branding: Student Perspectives in Private University in Indonesia

This research aimed to identify and analyze the the phenomenon of the perspective of student towards the university branding, especially in private university in Indonesia. There are 376 students in Indonesia tested as the participant of this study. Path analysis and Sobel tests were used to test the proposed hypothesis and the intervening variable which mediate the influence of independent variable towards the dependent variable. The results of the research show that partially utilitarian value has a significant effect towards brand relationship quality, hedonic value has a significant effect towards brand relationship quality, and relational value has a significant effect towards brand relationship quality. Then in other side, the utilitarian value has a significant effect towards brand resonance, relational value has a significant effect towards brand resonance, brand relationship quality has a significant effect towards brand resonance. On contrary, brand relationship quality had no significant influence as intervening variable in mediating utilitarian value, hedonic value, and relational value towards brand resonance.

Effects of Online Social Interaction and Social Capital on Brand Relationship Quality in Medical Tourism Industry

The emergence of Internet media allows brands breaking through the one-way communication model of mass media in the past and reinforces the circular dialogue mechanism through the interaction of Internet media to precede one-to-one communication through text dialogue, where the affective connection generates in the interaction process. Many enterprise brands start to utilize social media as the new interactive communication platform for consumers selecting the required message communication needs. The two-way communication with brands is enhanced through social interaction to build and maintain the relationship, sustain existing consumers’ loyalty to create the maximal profits of each consumer, and more efficiently contact new consumers in the constantly expanding relationship network to achieve relationship marketing. Aiming at the members of Internet fan pages of medical tourism industry, as the research objects, random sampling is applied to distribute 500 copies of questionnaire in this study. Total 392 valid copies are retrieved, with the retrieval rate 78%. The research results show significant correlations between online social interaction and social capital, social capital and brand relationship quality, and online social interaction and brand relationship quality. According to the results to propose suggestions, it is expected to provide practical strategies and development reference for future medical tourism industry brands managing and sustaining the exclusive pages on social network site in the constantly emerging marketing channels.

Determinants of Fan Engagement in Social Media-Based Brand Communities: A Brand Relationship Quality Perspective

This study adopts a brand relationship quality (BRQ) perspective to reveal the reason firms’ investments in social media-based brand communities should increase their social relationship marketing performances. An empirical analysis with 234 Facebook users who joined brand communities was conducted to examine the proposed hypotheses, revealing that fan needs fulfillments—information, entertainment, social interaction, and monetary ones—had positive effects on BRQ. Further, BRQ was found to have positive effects on fans’ engagement behavioral intentions toward brands, including willingness to buy, member continuance intention, and electronic word of mouth intention. This study contributes to existing research that indicates a new mechanism of BRQ improvement via the social media-based brand community. Implications corresponding to the research findings as well as study limitations and future directions are also addressed.

The effects of a psychological brand contract breach on customers' dysfunctional behavior toward a brand

PurposeThis paper introduces the concept of dysfunctional customer behavior toward a brand and argues that when customers perceive that a brand has failed to fulfill its promises, a psychological brand contract breach occurs, which in turn leads to a psychological brand contract violation, which evokes dysfunctional customer behavior toward the brand. In addition, this study investigates whether the impact of a breach of this contract is dependent on brand relationship quality, brand apology and restitution.Design/methodology/approachStudy 1 conducted the online survey and 224 respondents were used for data analysis and the moderating role of brand relationship quality was examined. Study 2 conducted an experiment with 201 participants to test the moderating role of brand apology and restitution.FindingsThis study found the moderating role of brand relationship quality, brand apology and brand restitution on the relationship between a psychological brand contract breach and dysfunctional customer behavior toward a brand (i.e. brand-negative word-of-mouth, brand retaliation and brand boycott), which is mediated by psychological brand contract violation.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the theoretical understanding of dysfunctional customer behavior toward a brand by integrating the literature on brand management with the organizational literature on psychological contracts between organizations and their employees. Furthermore, this study sheds light on the effectiveness of reparative actions by the firm after occurrence of the psychological brand contract breach.

EXPRESS: Mickey D’s Has More Street Cred Than McDonald’s: Consumer Brand Nickname Use Signals Information Authenticity

Consumers often observe how other consumers interact with brands to inform their own brand judgments. This research demonstrates that brand relationship quality-indicating cues, such as brand nicknames (e.g., Mickey D’s for McDonald’s and Wally World for Walmart), enhance perceived information authenticity in online communication. An analysis of historical Twitter data followed by six experiments (using both real and fictitious brands across different online platforms, e.g., online reviews and social media posts) show that brand nickname use in user-generated content signals a writer’s relationship quality with the target brand from the reader’s perspective, which the authors term inferred brand attachment (IBA). The authors demonstrate that IBA boosts perceived information authenticity and leads to positive downstream consequences, such as purchase willingness and information sharing. The authors also find that this effect is attenuated when brand nicknames are used in firm-generated content. How consumers’ relationships with brands are portrayed and perceived in a social context (e.g., via brand nickname use) serves as a novel context to examine user-generated content and provides valuable managerial insight regarding how to leverage consumers’ brand attachment cues in brand strategy and online information management.

The Impact of Celebrity Endorsement on Brand Loyalty: Mediating and Moderating Mechanisms

Applying the meaning transfer theory, the purpose of this study is to proffer a theoretical framework in which celebrity endorser’s credibility (CEC) effects the brand loyalty through the mediating role of brand relationship quality and the moderating role of the celebrity-brand congruence. Data was gathered through an online survey from young Korean millennials and tested using structural equation modeling and multi-group techniques. The findings revealed that brand relationship quality serves as a partial mediator of the effect of CEC on brand loyalty. The findings also suggested that celebrity-brand congruence acts as a moderator between CEC and the brand relationship quality. This study offers useful practical implications for luxury marketers and advertisers.