Brand engagement and experience in online services
ISSN: 0887-6045
Article publication date: 17 January 2020
Issue publication date: 15 April 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to assess the mediating role of brand trust and commitment in the relationship of brand engagement and brand experience with brand loyalty in the online service context.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve the study’s objective, 414 users of virtual service brands, predominantly in the online banking, airline and hotel sectors, were surveyed.
Findings
Both brand engagement and experience exert direct effects on brand trust and commitment, as well as indirect effects on brand commitment (via brand trust) and service brand loyalty (via brand commitment).
Research limitations/implications
This paper adds to the literature by incorporating brand engagement, experience, trust and commitment into a unifying framework. The framework emphasizes brand trust and commitment’s mediating role in the relationship that brand engagement and experience share with brand commitment and loyalty in the online service context.
Practical implications
Marketers should formulate online brand engagement and experience strategies that strengthen customer brand trust and commitment, which are expected to exert a significant brand loyalty-enhancing effect.
Originality/value
Brand engagement and experience were validated as key drivers of brand trust and commitment, thereby further substantiating their role as important strategic metrics. Moreover, the role of commitment as a mediating factor in the association between brand engagement and experience and their respective impact on brand loyalty has been verified. Although the findings suggest that improved brand engagement/experience contributes to brand loyalty, this effect transpires only though brand commitment.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Professor Bobby Calder, Professor Edward Malthouse, and Dr Tom Chen for a discussion on engagement and experience.
Citation
Khan, I., Hollebeek, L.D., Fatma, M., Islam, J.U. and Rahman, Z. (2020), "Brand engagement and experience in online services", Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 34 No. 2, pp. 163-175. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-03-2019-0106
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited