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11 – 20 of over 14000
Article
Publication date: 11 July 2018

Abhishek Dwivedi, Lester W. Johnson, Dean Charles Wilkie and Luciana De Araujo-Gil

The ever-growing popularity of social media platforms is evidence of consumers engaging emotionally with these brands. Given the prominence of social media in society, the purpose…

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Abstract

Purpose

The ever-growing popularity of social media platforms is evidence of consumers engaging emotionally with these brands. Given the prominence of social media in society, the purpose of this paper is to understand social media platforms from a “brand” perspective through examining the effect of consumers’ emotional attachment on social media consumer-based brand equity (CBBE).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper develops a model that outlines how emotional brand attachment with social media explains social media CBBE via shaping consumer perceptions of brand credibility and consumer satisfaction. An online survey of 340 Australian social media consumers provided data for empirical testing. The inclusion of multiple context-relevant covariates and use of a method-variance-adjusted data matrix, as well as an examination of an alternative model, adds robustness to the results.

Findings

The findings of this paper support the conceptual model, and the authors identify strong relationships between the focal variables. A phantom model analysis explicates specific indirect effects of emotional brand attachment on CBBE. The authors also find support for a fully mediated effect of emotional brand attachment on social media brand equity. Further, they broaden the nomological network of emotional brand attachment, outlining key outcomes.

Research limitations/implications

This paper offers a conceptual mechanism (a chain-of-effects) of how consumer emotional brand attachment with social media brands translates into social media CBBE. It also finds that a brand’s credibility as well as its ability to perform against consumer expectations (i.e. satisfaction) are equally effective in translating emotional brand attachment into social media CBBE.

Practical implications

Social media brands are constantly challenged by rapid change and ongoing criticism over such issues as data privacy. The implications from this paper suggest that managers should make investments in creating (reinforcing) emotional connections with social media consumers, as this will favorably impact CBBE by way of a relational mechanism, that is, via enhancing credibility and consumer satisfaction.

Social implications

Lately, social media in general has suffered from a crisis of trust in society. The enhanced credibility of social media brands resulting from consumers’ emotional attachments will potentially serve to enhance its acceptance as a credible form of media in society.

Originality/value

Social media platforms are often examined as brand-building platforms. This paper adopts a different perspective, examining social media platforms as brands per se and the effects of emotional attachments that consumers develop towards these. This paper offers valuable insights into how consumers’ emotional attachments drive vital brand judgments such as credibility and satisfaction, ultimately culminating into social media CBBE.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 53 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 November 2020

Philip Fei Wu and Roberta Bernardi

The purpose of this study is to investigate how community attachment to an OHC reduces the OHC users' emotional distress and therefore improves their emotional well-being.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate how community attachment to an OHC reduces the OHC users' emotional distress and therefore improves their emotional well-being.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey study was conducted in one of the largest online health communities (OHC) for people with diabetes.

Findings

OHC participants are likely to experience reduced emotional distress when they have developed an attachment to the community. This attachment is, in turn, positively associated with the normative expectations of reciprocity and the affective feeling of gratitude. However, some commonly used behavioral measures of community participation, such as visit frequency and membership tenure, have little to do with either community attachment or reduced emotional distress.

Research limitations/implications

The research highlights the pivotal role of community attachment in appraising the much-debated benefits of OHCs. However, the cross-sectional survey study has its limitations in terms of establishing causality.

Practical implications

OHC managers need to look beyond some of the commonly used metrics, such as monthly visits and number of new postings, and focus on fostering a sense of attachment among existing users in order to fulfill the OHC's potential of emotional support. Our study implies that design features facilitating reciprocation and gratitude expression among users can lead to a strong emotional bond.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies on the antecedents of community attachment and the relationship between community attachment and emotional distress in the context of OHC.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 34 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 March 2018

Simon Manyiwa, Constantinos Vasilios Priporas and Xuan Lorna Wang

This study aims to examine the influence of perceived city brand image on emotional attachment to the city. The study also compares the effects of perceived brand image of the…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the influence of perceived city brand image on emotional attachment to the city. The study also compares the effects of perceived brand image of the city on the emotional attachment to the city across two groups: local residents and visitors.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 207 usable questionnaires were collected from 107 residents of the city of Bratislava, Slovakia and 100 visitors to the city. Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method was used for data analysis.

Findings

This study establishes that perceived city brand image significantly influences emotional attachment to the city. The study concludes that affective city image has a greater impact on emotional attachment to the city among the residents than visitors. By contrast, the influence of cognitive city image on emotional attachment to the city does not vary across the two categories of residents and visitors to the city.

Practical implications

City tourism marketers should focus on improving city brand images to enhance tourists’ emotional attachment to the city to promote repeat visits among visitors.

Originality/value

This study contributes to improving understanding of the impact of perceived city brand image on emotional attachment to the city across the two groups, residents and visitors, using social exchange theory (SET). Furthermore, the findings come from a relatively under-researched Central and Eastern European (CEE) region.

Details

Journal of Place Management and Development, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8335

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2013

Jing Theng So, Andrew Grant Parsons and Sheau‐Fen Yap

The purpose of this study is to develop and empirically test a theoretical framework that captures the impact of corporate branding on customer emotional attachment and brand…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to develop and empirically test a theoretical framework that captures the impact of corporate branding on customer emotional attachment and brand loyalty in the luxury fashion market.

Design/methodology/approach

Cross‐sectional data were collected from 282 customers who purchased luxury brands. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses of the framework developed for the study.

Findings

Findings found limited effect of corporate branding on customer emotional attachment and brand loyalty. Among the six corporate branding dimensions examined, only corporate association, functional benefits, and symbolic benefits were found to have a significant impact on emotional attachment. Further, the impact of corporate branding on brand loyalty was only evident through functional benefits and corporate associations.

Practical implications

This study offers new empirical support for the proposition that corporate branding efforts have a role, thought limited, in building customer emotional attachment and loyalty towards luxury brands. As such, findings from this study can provide managers with a guide to managing their branding strategies so that customer emotional attachment and brand loyalty can be built in the most cost‐effective manner.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine the relationship between corporate branding, emotional attachment, and brand loyalty in the luxury fashion context. The examination of the differential effects of corporate branding dimensions on emotional attachment and loyalty has contributed to a better understanding of the mechanism that underlies the operation of an effective corporate branding strategy.

Details

Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, vol. 17 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-2026

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 October 2020

Mauricio Losada-Otálora and Jose Ribamar Siqueira

This study aims to introduce transformative place management – TPM – (defined as the deliberate efforts of place managers in commercial settings to provide a pool of restorative…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to introduce transformative place management – TPM – (defined as the deliberate efforts of place managers in commercial settings to provide a pool of restorative resources to improve the consumers’ emotional well-being) by merging the REPLACE framework and transformative service research. Additionally, this research analyzes the direct and indirect impacts of restorative resources as a form of TPM on consumers’ emotional well-being and place attachment, considering the moderating role of employee emotional labor.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 240 customers were surveyed in an experience-based store in a developing country by using a questionnaire. Then, a moderated mediation model was applied to analyze the moderating role of employee emotional labor in the relationship between TPM and place attachment through consumers’ well-being.

Findings

TPM that provides restorative resources to consumers influences place attachment by improving consumer well-being. However, surface acting by employees reduces the ability of TPM to increase place attachment through the improvement of consumers’ emotional well-being. Deep acting, on the other hand, does not enhance the effect of TPM on place attachment through consumers’ emotional well-being.

Originality/value

This paper proposes new developments in the transformative service research (TSR) paradigm by introducing TPM. By showing how the place of consumption increases the well-being of customers, this paper helps TSR researchers to accomplish the purpose of transforming the lives of consumers through relevant research. Although marketing researchers and environmental psychologists have theoretically anticipated the positive effects on well-being from consumption settings, this paper explains how commercial places promote customer well-being through the provision of restorative resources. Also, this paper shows how the place of consumption transforms consumers’' lives and identifies some of the boundary conditions at which such a transformation occurs.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 34 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 January 2021

Davood Ghorbanzadeh and Atena Rahehagh

Satisfaction and loyalty as vital and strategic concepts in the marketing literature are highly important to companies and marketers. The review of the existing literature reveals…

22393

Abstract

Purpose

Satisfaction and loyalty as vital and strategic concepts in the marketing literature are highly important to companies and marketers. The review of the existing literature reveals a gap of the role of emotional constructs that can begin in a regular and rational sequence of satisfaction and ultimately lead to the formation of consumer loyalty. Hence, this study aims to answer the question of whether emotional constructs such as emotional attachment and love play a mediating role in the process of transitioning from satisfaction to loyalty in the correct sequence.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 300 valid questionnaires on smartphone and apparel brands were collected from respondents and analyzed using the partial least squares method.

Findings

The results showed that brand love is the strongest antecedent of brand loyalty and is the only variable that directly influences brand loyalty in comparison to satisfaction and emotional brand attachment. Moreover, the examination of indirect effects revealed that our assumption based on that the emotional structures such as emotional attachment and brand love play a mediating role in the process of transitioning from satisfaction to loyalty in a correct sequence is supported.

Research limitations/implications

Generalizability needs to be established with a wider range of consumer groups. The survey was conducted in Iran, and future research should assess the same product categories in other cultural settings as well as consider other product categories to assess the external validity of these results. The insights on consumers’ brand relationships help brand managers devise effective brand management strategies.

Practical implications

The managerial implications can guide managers toward enhancing the consumers’ loyalty to the brand through a better understanding of the consumer loyalty process to a brand as well as better relational marketing practices.

Originality/value

The study validates the mediating role of emotional brand attachment and brand love in the relationship between brand satisfaction and brand loyalty, is one of the first to develop a conceptual model that examines the role of emotional structures in the process of transition from satisfaction to loyalty, is one of few studies to develop the role of emotional structures in the form of a relational chain of brands in the process of transition from satisfaction to loyalty.

Details

Rajagiri Management Journal, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0972-9968

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 September 2010

Pavlos A. Vlachos, Aristeidis Theotokis, Katerina Pramatari and Adam Vrechopoulos

The purpose of the study is to investigate loyalty building and the creation of affectionate bonds in the consumer‐firm dyad.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to investigate loyalty building and the creation of affectionate bonds in the consumer‐firm dyad.

Design/methodology/approach

The study relies on face‐to‐face personal interviews in the context of grocery store retailing.

Findings

The results identify the significant predictors of consumer‐firm emotional attachment to be firm trust, trust in employees, likeability of service personnel and likeability of co‐consumers, shopping enjoyment, self‐expressiveness, place dependence, and place identity. Consumers' self‐enrichment, self‐gratification and self‐enablement likely influence emotional attachment, which in turn is a strong predictor of behavioral loyalty and word of mouth. Attachment anxiety appears to multiply the effects of emotional attachment on behavioral loyalty and word of mouth.

Research limitations/implications

The cross‐sectional nature of the study precludes definitive conclusions concerning causality between the constructs utilized. The data come from the supermarket retail channel, limiting the generalizibility of the results.

Practical implications

As the results suggest that the consumer's self‐enrichment seems to be the most important factor in determining emotional attachment, managers should incorporate the notion of emotional attachment into strategic performance management systems.

Originality/value

The study incorporates the notion of consumer heterogeneity into the relationship anxiety construct, arguing in favor of a non‐additive consumer‐firm emotional attachment nomological network.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 44 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 October 2021

Reema Singh

Given the growing prominence of voice-activated artificial intelligent devices (VAIs) as the strategic market-facing technology for grocery purchases, this article aims to bring…

2218

Abstract

Purpose

Given the growing prominence of voice-activated artificial intelligent devices (VAIs) as the strategic market-facing technology for grocery purchases, this article aims to bring together theories on anthropomorphism, trust, emotional attachment, self-connection and self-disclosure in one conceptual framework establishing that consumer–VAI relationship has significant implications for grocery purchase satisfaction and intention to repurchase using VAIs.

Design/methodology/approach

The study tested seven hypotheses through a survey-based approach comprising of two studies.

Findings

The study empirically supports VAI anthropomorphism and trust in VAIs as predictors of consumer–VAI emotional attachment and establishes the moderating role of consumer self-disclosure. Consumer–VAI self-connection resulting from emotional attachment results in grocery purchase satisfaction and intention to repurchase using VAIs.

Research limitations/implications

The article offers a novel perspective on consumer–VAI relationships and the use of VAIs for grocery purchases. It establishes an agentic role of consumers when ordering groceries using VAIs, creating a deeper understanding of how consumer–VAI emotional attachment results in extensions of consumers’ self-identity, resulting in purchase satisfaction and repurchase intention using VAIs.

Practical implications

Establishing a consumer–VAI relationship, the article brings out the strategic importance of VAIs for marketers in grocery purchases and repurchases, which can be extended to other purchases.

Originality/value

The article offers a new perspective on establishing VAIs as strategically important market-facing devices by examining consumer relationships with VAIs and offering valuable insights on how consumer emotional attachment with VAIs results in satisfaction and intention to repurchase using VAIs.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 56 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 March 2024

Kayode D. Aleshinloye, Kyle M. Woosnam and Dongoh Joo

Using the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) model as a theoretical guide, this study employed a conceptual model involving residents’ place attachment (S) to the destination in…

Abstract

Purpose

Using the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) model as a theoretical guide, this study employed a conceptual model involving residents’ place attachment (S) to the destination in which they live and emotional solidarity with tourists (O) as precursors to their involvement in tourism (R). The purpose of this paper is threefold: To determine (1) whether residents’ place attachment explains their emotional solidarity with tourists, (2) if emotional solidarity is an effective predictor of residents’ involvement in tourism planning and development and (3) if emotional solidarity dimensions mediate the relationship between place attachment and involvement.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 378 permanent resident heads of households living in, or adjacent to, central Orlando, using a self-administered survey with a census-guided systematic sampling method. Data were subjected to tests of normality and common method bias, followed by a two-step confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling.

Findings

Seven of the 11 proposed model hypotheses were supported, with moderate variances explained in each of the four outcome variables: welcoming nature (R2 = 19.3%), emotional closeness (R2 = 24.5%), sympathetic understanding (R2 = 39.4%) and involvement (R2 = 36.8%). Though both place identity and place dependence (as two dimensions of place attachment) were partial mediators, the former proved to be more pronounced.

Originality/value

This study employed non-economic measures—place attachment and emotional solidarity—in determining residents’ involvement in tourism within their community. Such an approach provides fresh insights into how such symbolic constructs can contribute to residents’ positive, actionable involvement in tourism. This research is one of the few that have incorporated emotional solidarity as a construct within the SOR model and the first to examine the indirect effects (through mediation) of emotional solidarity.

Details

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9792

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 May 2023

Abdulla Al-Towfiq Hasan

This study aims to explore customers’ green hotel revisit behaviors, proposing the theory of repeat purchase behavior.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore customers’ green hotel revisit behaviors, proposing the theory of repeat purchase behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical study is conducted through a questionnaire survey method, using personal interview survey approach in Bangladesh. In all, 401 usable data is collected from participants who have visited green hotels before. The following data are analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using Smart PLS 3.3.3.

Findings

Results of the study have raveled that habitual attachment and emotional attachment are significantly related to green hotel revisit intentions (behavioral intention) and revisiting a green hotel (actual behavior). The result also has uncovered that green hotel revisit intentions significantly impacted revisiting a green hotel. Moreover, the study results exert that green hotel revisit intentions partially mediate the relationship between habitual attachments, emotional attachment, and revisiting a green hotel.

Originality/value

The current study enriches green hospitality literature by uncovering the integrated effects of habitual attachment and emotional attachment on customers’ revisit intentions and behaviors in the green hotels’ context.

Details

International Journal of Tourism Cities, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-5607

Keywords

11 – 20 of over 14000