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The purpose of this study, which draws on the stimulus organism response (S-O-R) theory, is to empirically examine the effect of brand coolness on communal brand connection and brand commitment, while assessing how the latter fosters brand trust and loyalty among smartphone users.

Data are collected from 410 smartphone users in Ghana and analyzed with Smart-PLS utilizing the structural equations modeling technique.

The study's findings show that consumers' perceptions of brand coolness have a positive influence on their communal brand connection and brand commitment. The study also discovers that brand commitment influences brand loyalty, whereas communal brand connection influences brand commitment, loyalty and trust, respectively. Similarly, brand commitment and communal brand connection are identified as important mediating variables in the relationship between brand coolness and both brand loyalty and brand trust.

The study underlines the significance of developing cool brand images and communicating same effectively to current and prospective customers, along with other stakeholders.

The study highlights the fact that properly creating cool brands can lead to increased communal brand connection, brand commitment, and, consequently, brand trust and loyalty.

This paper aims to examine how the relationship norms established between customers and brands influence customer perceptions of crowdsourcing (vs firm-generated) cues.

Four studies (N = 851) examine the moderating role of relationship norms on product labeling cues (crowdsourcing vs firm-generated) effects on brand engagement, and the underlying mechanism of self-brand connection.

The findings suggest that crowdsourcing (vs firm-generated) cues lead to higher brand engagement (Studies 1A–1B), mediated by self-brand connection (Studies 2–3). In addition, relationship norms moderate the effects (Study 3), such that under exchange brand relationships crowdsourcing (vs firm-generated) cues yield higher brand engagement, whereas communal brand relationships reverse such effects.

The findings provide valuable managerial implications by highlighting the importance of using relationship norms as diagnostic cues to successfully implement crowdsourcing initiatives.

This research adds to the customer-brand relationship literature by revealing an accessibility-diagnosticity perspective of consumers’ reactions to crowdsourcing (vs firm-generated) cues.

Companies are now using social network sites (SNSs) within their marketing and brand-building activities. Twitter is the preferred SNS for creating brand communities, which offer companies many advantages. The purpose of this paper is to examine how individuals manage their competing needs for being affiliated (operationalized as personal and communal-brand connections) and for being seen as distinctive (operationalized as need for uniqueness (NFU)) when they are members of brand communities on Twitter. The authors have also analysed which type of brand community is able to achieve the balance between both needs, enhancing identification with the brand community.

A total of 318 valid responses were collected from three camera brand communities on Twitter. Messages (“tweets”) which included a link to an online questionnaire were sent to community members via Twitter. The authors examine the proposed model using structural equation modelling.

The authors demonstrate that consumers can satisfy their need for affiliation in brand communities created in Twitter. However, consumers can only reach a balance between the need for affiliation and the need for distinctiveness in brand communities built around niche brands. In contrast, the two needs work in opposition to shape identification in brand communities of big brands.

Optimal distinctiveness theory is used as a theoretical background for proposing how the antecedents of identification with the brand community enhance brand loyalty, with reference to the conflict between the individual’s needs for both distinctiveness and affiliation. Consumers’ identification with the brand community is proposed as a mediator to achieve brand loyalty in brand communities. Consumers reach this balance in brand communities built around a niche brand, where individuals with high NFU feel a high identification with the brand community. For big brands, as consumers’ NFU increases, their identification with the brand community and brand loyalty decreases.

This paper aims to examine the sources of consumer‐brand relationship investment, specifically isolating the sources and outcomes of communality and exchange relationship characteristics.

The paper utilizes a survey‐based empirical study and subsequent structural modeling approach to test a series of hypotheses concerning how brand performance perceptions influence the development of consumer relationship connections.

The paper finds that perceptions of product performance and service quality influence the development of brand reliability and brand fidelity respectively. Similarly, brand reliability is the primary source of an exchange orientation, while brand fidelity leads to communal brand connections and, ultimately, consumer‐brand relationship investment.

This research is limited by the scope of the sample, fast food restaurants. Future research should explore consumer relationship investment in other product and service categories in order to determine the extent to which relationship development processes vary by product category.

Brands that wish to develop enduring relationships with their customers must understand the relative impact of both personal and functional (exchange) relationship characteristics on the development of relationship investment. Each has a specific role to play and the roles of each vary at different relationship stages.

This research offers at least three significant contributions to the marketing discipline and marketing practice. First, it introduces constructs and associated scales for brand fidelity, communality, exchange and relationship investment. Second, it demonstrates how brand service and product performance differentially contribute to two dimensions of consumer‐brand relationships. Finally, it describes three discrete relationship development stages that play specific roles in the evolution of consumer‐brand relationship investment.

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of self-related traits on consumer self-brand connection (SBC) and communal-brand connection (CBC) in public vs private consumption. Marketing practitioners will benefit by understanding the consumer traits that can be triggered and focused on in advertising campaigns. Moreover, it is important to know which traits have a significant impact on each product category section (i.e. public vs private use).

An experiment used a between-subjects design with two randomized blocks of publicly used brands and privately used brands. Within each block, the relationship between independent variables (narcissism and need for uniqueness [NFU]) and dependent variables (SBC, CBC and purchase intention) were analyzed using SmartPLS.

The results showed that narcissism has a significant positive impact on consumers’ SBC for publicly consumed products, no effect was found for CBC. NFU shows a significant positive impact on SBC and CBC for both categories. The results also showed a positive impact for SBC on purchase intention, no effect was found for CBC.

Future research can examine brand names that people favor the most and test whether individuals’ narcissism and NFU is influential on their SBC and CBC with the brands, regardless of the exposure to the visual cues provided in this paper. Moreover, there are more behavioral outcomes that need examination. For example, it would be fruitful to see whether attitude toward the ad, or brand attitude are affected by consumers’ narcissism and NFU.

The results contribute to the effectiveness of advertising in different industries. For instance, brand managers and marketing practitioners can benefit by understanding which product types are more attractive to consumers based on their tendency toward uniqueness. Moreover, narcissism is another common trait that can be used to target consumers. Thus, certain product types may be more attractive to consumers based on their narcissism tendencies.

Despite the popularity of SBC and CBC research, there is limited knowledge about the consumer traits which can stimulate and enhance these concepts. As such, an important question that needs to be addressed is: “What consumer personality traits lead to higher SBC and CBC?” When it comes to self-concept, a limited number of studies exist that explore the actual types of personality or self-concept that generate a desired connection between the “self” and brands.

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of interaction-based features of social media reviewing channels and vloggers’ self-disclosure in consumers’ parasocial interaction with vloggers.

The study was conducted using an online survey, and data was collected using Amazon MTurk. The respondents were asked to think of an online reviewing channel that they watch regularly and subsequently responded to a series of questions. The analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling via AMOS.

Both channel interactivity and vloggers’ self-disclosure displayed a positive impact on consumers’ parasocial interaction with vloggers, which eventually led to perceived trustworthiness, brand identification, communal–brand connection with the channel, purchase intention toward the recommended products and willingness to pay a premium price for extra services.

Future research can examine the robustness of the findings by using a sample of internet users who are similar in terms of frequency, enthusiasm and duration of active usage.

Marketing managers can benefit from the findings of this study by understanding the dynamics of how influencers shape consumer perception and behavior. Owners of reviewing channels can gain insight on how to strengthen their bond with their viewers.

This study aims to explore the relationships between gender, gender identity and Word of Mouth (WOM). There are three objectives of this study. The first was to observe the impact of gender identity on WOM. The second was to examine the mediation role of self-brand connection (SBC) bridging the relationship between gender identity and WOM. The final one was to test the moderating role of gender.

The conceptual model was tested by analyzing data collected via Mturk from Americans participants who use Airbnb. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to evaluate the psychometric property. To test hypotheses, the structural equation model was assessed. Further, Hayes’ PROCESS was adopted to examine the mediation role of SBC. The moderation role of gender was examined by the chi-square difference test.

The research outcomes elucidated that feminine gender identity exerted a noteworthy influence on WOM communication, whereas masculine gender identity appeared to bear no significant impact on WOM. It was determined that SBC operates as a potent mediator bridging the relationship between gender identity and WOM. Gender did not demonstrate a significant moderating effect on any part of the WOM communication pathway in the context of this study.

The conclusions drawn from this research underscore that practitioners in the field of brand management should not overlook the crucial role of consumers' gender identity. It is imperative to cultivate robust, positive relationships with consumers as a strategic measure to engender favorable WOM communication.

This investigation distinguishes itself as one of the relatively scarce studies interrogating the relationship between gender identity, gender and WOM, specifically through the mediating lens of SBC. Consequently, the discoveries made herein have the potential to furnish unprecedented insights into comprehending consumer behavior in the hospitality industry with respect to WOM communication, particularly as it pertains to the dimension of gender identity.

This study aims to explore and extend the consumer–brand relationship literature by integrating the relatively new construct of brand coolness with a growing body of work on gratitude. Specifically, gratitude is explored alongside emotional brand attachment as an additional mechanism affecting the relationship between cool brands and the loyalty outcome of repurchase intention. Consumption context is examined as a boundary condition to the effect of gratitude.

Data was collected from an online survey of a Qualtrics panel of 356 US consumers. A moderated mediation model is used to explain the effects of brand coolness on repurchase intention via emotional brand attachment and brand gratitude in the moderating presence of consumption context.

Brand coolness significantly increases repurchase intention. Furthermore, emotional brand attachment and brand gratitude are established as parallel mediators of the relationship between brand coolness and repurchase intention, with brand gratitude exhibiting a significantly stronger mediated effect. The impact of brand coolness on brand gratitude is moderated by social visibility, with publicly consumed cool brands stimulating greater brand gratitude than their privately consumed counterparts.

Brand gratitude is shown to influence repurchase intention independent of the impact exerted by consumers’ emotional brand attachment. Cognitive appraisal theory is used to distinguish brand gratitude from other mediators studied in consumer–brand relationships. Findings establish the moderating influence of the social visibility of the brand on the relationship between brand coolness and gratitude.

Previous research has focused on the antecedents of fan loyalty or the link between fans and the team on sponsorship reactions, but no comprehensive framework has been developed to combine these perspectives. The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated framework of how team brand experience during the season impacts sponsorship brand experience.

To create the conceptual model, a comprehensive search of peer-reviewed articles was conducted in electronic databases and journal reference lists. The authors identified constructs from prior research aimed at understanding sponsorship effectiveness. These constructs not only included aspects of the sponsorship brand experience, but also aspects within the team brand experience that form the link between consumers’ responses derived from team-related stimuli and the responses evoked by sponsor-related stimuli.

This conceptual framework yields a set of 11 propositions regarding fans’ interactions with both team and sponsorship brands highlighting how to strengthen the bond between fans, teams, and sponsors. It provides a comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon and identifies opportunities to increase fan support and the appeal of professional teams to potential sponsors.

This study extends previous research by providing a unique conceptual framework that highlights the importance of understanding how fans view both the team brand and the sponsor brand. Several suggestions for future studies and strategies to increase the benefits for both teams and sponsors can be drawn from this framework.

This paper aims to draw on the appraisal theory and the theory of self-brand congruence (SBC) to study the multidimensional emotion of brand pride. It conceptualizes and validates the relationship of brand pride with SBC, brand loyalty and oppositional brand loyalty and establishes the role of narcissism as a moderator.

Standardized scales, including a new brand pride scale developed by the authors, were used to collect data from 522 respondents. Covariance-based structural equation modeling was used to test the conceptual model. Multi-group moderation analysis tested the differences in the proposed relationship between high and low narcissists.

Results posit brand pride as a multidimensional construct with SBC as its significant antecedent. The findings also support most hypothesized relationships between brand pride and behavioral outcomes. In addition, the study confirms the moderating effect of narcissism on the relationship between brand pride dimensions and brand loyalty and opposition brand loyalty.

The study sample was from a developing nation – India. Similar cohorts from developing and developed countries could provide a unique cross-nation comparison.

The role of brand pride in impacting brand loyalty and oppositional brand loyalty has significant implications for practice. Marketing communication to inculcate brand pride among consumers will significantly impact the brand’s profitability.

Validation of SBC as a precursor to brand pride and the relationship of brand pride with brand loyalty and oppositional brand loyalty contributes significantly to branding theory and practice. This study also establishes narcissism as a moderator between brand pride and loyalty outcomes.

Este artículo se basa en la teoría de la valoración y la teoría de la congruencia de la marca propia para estudiar la emoción multidimensional del orgullo de marca. Conceptualiza y valida la relación del orgullo de marca con la congruencia de marca propia, la lealtad de marca y la lealtad de marca oposicional, y establece el papel del narcisismo como moderador.

Se utilizaron escalas estandarizadas, incluida una nueva escala de orgullo de marca desarrollada por los autores, para recoger datos de 522 encuestados. Para probar el modelo conceptual se tudio un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales basado en la covarianza. El análisis de moderación multigrupo probó las diferencias en la relación propuesta entre narcisistas altos y bajos.

Los resultados tudioes el orgullo de marca como un constructo multidimensional con congruencia de marca propia como su antecedente significativo. Los resultados también apoyan la mayoría de las relaciones hipotetizadas entre el orgullo de marca y los resultados conductuales. Además, el tudio confirma el efecto moderador del narcisismo en la relación entre las dimensiones del orgullo de marca y la lealtad a la marca y la oposición a la lealtad a la marca.

La muestra del tudio procedía de un país en vías de tudioes: la India. Cohortes similares de países en tudioes y desarrollados podrían proporcionar una comparación única entre naciones.

El papel del orgullo de marca en el impacto de la lealtad de marca y la lealtad de marca opuesta tiene implicaciones significativas para la práctica. La comunicación de marketing para inculcar el orgullo de marca entre los consumidores tendrá un impacto significativo en la rentabilidad de la marca.

La validación de la congruencia con la propia marca como precursora del orgullo de marca y la relación del orgullo de marca con la lealtad de marca y la lealtad de marca de oposición contribuyen significativamente a la teoría y la práctica del branding. El tudio también establece el narcisismo como moderador entre el orgullo de marca y los resultados de lealtad.

本文借鉴评价理论和自我品牌一致性理论, 研究品牌自豪感的多维度情感。它概念化并验证了品牌自豪感与自我品牌一致性、品牌忠诚度和反对性品牌忠诚度的关系, 并确定了自恋作为调节器的作用。

使用标准化的量表, 包括由作者开发的新的品牌自豪感量表, 从522名受访者那里收集数据。一个基于协方差的结构方程模型被用来检验概念模型。多组调节分析检验了高自恋者和低自恋者之间拟议关系的差异。

结果表明, 品牌自豪感是一个多维的建构, 自我品牌一致性是其重要的前因。结果也支持品牌自豪感和行为结果之间的大部分假设关系。此外, 该研究还证实了自恋对品牌自豪感维度与品牌忠诚度和反对品牌忠诚度之间关系的调节作用。

印度。发展中国家和发达国家的类似队列可以提供一个独特的跨国比较。

品牌自豪感对品牌忠诚度和反对品牌忠诚度的影响作用对实践有重大意义。在消费者中灌输品牌自豪感的营销传播将对品牌利润率产生重大影响。

自我品牌一致性作为品牌自豪感的前兆的验证, 以及品牌自豪感与品牌忠诚度和反对性品牌忠诚度的关系, 对品牌理论和实践有很大的贡献。该研究还确定了自恋是品牌自豪感和忠诚度结果之间的一个调节器。