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The purpose of this study is to revisit brand performance metrics (BPMs) (brand affinity, brand content and knowledge, brand image, brand ethics and brand value) and evaluate the moderated mediation effect of relationship quality (mediator) and relationship duration (moderator) in brand performance and customer loyalty relationship in an Indian banking context.

The research model was tested in the Indian banking sector. The primary data was collected from the 1,000 account holders of five Indian public and private banks. The data was analysed and validated using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Structural equation modelling and the Hayes process were used for testing the hypotheses.

The study results established BPMs as a four-dimensional structure comprising brand affinity, brand content and knowledge, brand image, brand ethics and brand value. The BPMs significantly positively impact relational quality (RQ) and customer loyalty. Further results also prove the existence of moderated mediation effect on BPMs and customer loyalty link and portray that the impact of BPMs on customer loyalty is mediated by the RQ and influenced by relationship duration.

The study is confined to the Indian banking sector. It did not examine the dimension-wise impact of brand performance indicators on RQ and customer loyalty. Future research is required to explore their influence in banking and other sectors.

The study findings suggest that to enhance brand performance, banks need to follow excellence in every conduct, take immediate actions against inappropriate behaviour, consistently update their relevant and valuable contents (news, videos, white papers, e-books, case studies, FAQ’s, photos, etc.) on their websites and also introduce loyalty schemes to reimburse customers’ interests with some substantial benefits such as rebates, discounts, annual gifts and extraordinary or additional services. These strategies can pave the way for enhancing long-term quality relationships between customers and their service providers and increasing customer loyalty.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study is a maiden attempt to assess the effect of BPMs on customer loyalty in the presence of RQ and at the value of relationship duration/length. Besides, the study results also prove the existence of moderated mediation effect and portray that the impact of customer equity and relational benefits on customer loyalty is influenced by relationship duration and mediated by RQ.

Brands have started investing heavily in their social media pages. Especially for banks having credence nature, the importance of engaging customers with the brand-related content on their social media pages has become a challenge. The present study explores the role of various characteristics of a brand's social media marketing efforts (SMME) and individual customer's general online social interaction propensity (GOSIP) on the customers' engagement/online brand-related activities (COBRAs). The subsequent effect of COBRAs on key banking outcomes such as satisfaction, trust and loyalty has also been evaluated. The moderating role of the customer–brand relationship length has also been evaluated.

A two-stage mixed-method approach was used for the data collection. Two focus group discussions were conducted for the preliminary stage, which resulted in identifying five Indian banking brands as stimuli for further study. For the main study, an online survey link was shared with the members of the stimuli banking brands' social media pages. A total of 552 useable responses were collected. After performing the exploratory factor analysis and common method bias tests, the collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis.

The results of the present study have added all five characteristics (namely, entertainment, interaction, trendiness, customization and electronic word of mouth) of SMME and GOSIP as the key antecedents of the customers' engagement with brand content on social media pages or COBRAs. COBRAs have been found influencing the customers' satisfaction, but evidence of influence on the trust and loyalty has not been found. The length of the relationship between customers and the banking brand has been observed as an important moderator for the satisfaction–trust–loyalty relationship.

The present study has three unique contributions to the literature. Firstly, the study evaluates the role of customer-brand engagement on the banking brand's favorable outcomes such as satisfaction, trust and loyalty. Secondly, the exploration of the role of various social media marketing activities that can enhance customer–brand engagement. And finally, the study tests the moderating role of the customer–brand length of the relationship on the complete set of marketing activities–engagement–loyalty relationships.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a dedication-constraint-temptation (DCT) model to study the factors influencing customers’ loyalty to mobile data service (MDS) providers. The DCT model explicitly explores the important yet overlooked role of alternative attractiveness (the temptation-based mechanism) as a mediator and the boundary condition of their interrelationships (e.g. relationship length). The model also integrates new and established antecedents of customer-based brand equity (C-BBE) (the dedication-based mechanism) and switching barriers (the constraint-based mechanism).

The proposed model is tested using partial least squares–structural equation modeling with a sample of 331 MDS users.

The results indicate that C-BBE has an indirect effect on customer loyalty (via alternative attractiveness) in both relationship groups (shorter- vs longer-term). However, the indirect effect of switching barriers on customer loyalty only exists in longer established relationships. The results from multi-group analysis reveal that the effect of switching barriers on alternative attractiveness significantly differs across groups. In addition, customer value anticipation and procedural switching costs appear to be the most salient antecedents of C-BBE and switching barriers for both groups.

This study makes an incremental contribution by incorporating the temptation-based mechanism as a mediator and relationship length as a moderator into the dedication-constraint model. This study also extends the information systems and brand management literatures by demonstrating the strategic importance of customer value anticipation in the information and communication technology brand equity-building.

Organizations are being compelled to revamp their loyalty programs due to the increase in digital transactions, customer acquisition costs and competition in the loyalty market. Given the significance of consumer-brand relationships, businesses must quickly identify the relationships that best elicit brand loyalty. Thus, this study seeks to develop a comprehensive model about the consumer-brand relationship that encompasses the following constructs: brand trust, brand satisfaction, brand preference, brand affect, brand equity, brand image, commitment, variety seeking, and relationship length, and their influence on brand loyalty. The study also investigates the impact of the bandwagon effect, in tandem with the aforesaid antecedents.

A data set comprising 248 consumers in India was used to validate the measures and test the hypotheses. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypothesis. The data analysis was carried out on R version 4.0.2.

The study found that all the selected constructs exert influence on brand loyalty, although commitment, brand equity and brand preference exhibited the strongest impact. The bandwagon effect also demonstrated a strong effect.

This study advances the field's understanding of information processing through a consolidated meta-view of various consumer-brand relationship constructs along with bandwagon effects. Perhaps the most important contribution is shedding light on the influence of bandwagon effects on brand loyalty.

The purpose of this paper is to extend brand identification theory to the sports team context by testing the direct and indirect effects of a sports team’s personality, sports fans’ identification with the team, and the effect of the length of fans’ relationship with a team on their loyalty to it.

The authors conducted a quantitative study among ice hockey fans of one Finnish hockey team before play-off games. Data came from an online questionnaire generating 1,166 responses.

The authors find that: first, identification with a team mediates the effects of brand personality on attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty; second, brand personality is a stronger driver of identification among newer fans; and third, brand personality has a stronger influence on both attitudinal and behavioral loyalty among newer fans. These findings stress the importance of sports brand’s personality in driving fans’ identification with the team and their loyalty to it.

The study develops and tests a new conceptual model on consumer loyalty in the sports team context. The authors shed light on how sports team personality affects its fans’ identification with the team and the formation of fan loyalty, from the perspective of fans’ relationship length.

The study aims to develop and test a relationship-building model for green brands. It synthesizes findings on the consumer motives offered by green brands, with relationship marketing and branding literature to the specific context of green brands to build a parsimonious model testing the links amongst four relational benefits, i.e. confidence, socialization, self-expression and altruism; two relational mediators, i.e. satisfaction and relationship quality; three behavioural outcomes, i.e. word-of-mouth, expectation of continuity and cross-buying; and two moderators of the benefits-mediators relationship, i.e. environmental consciousness and relationship length.

Data are collected from consumers of three brands of natural cosmetic products, totalling 848 questionnaires. Structural equation modelling is used to test the hypothesized relationships across the three brands.

The results show that confidence benefit has the strongest influence on relationship quality, followed by self-expression and altruism. Relationships quality and satisfaction with the green brand have a significant impact on all three behavioural outcomes. Both environmental consciousness and length of the relationship moderate the hypothesized interrelationships.

A new set of relational benefits for the green context is suggested. Several future research opportunities are suggested.

The study offers suggestions for managers to leverage relationship benefits for relationship strengthening.

No previous work has studied in an integrated way the relationship benefits and mediators to model the consumer–green brand relationship. The study provides a better understanding of the antecedents of consumer loyalty towards green brands.

This paper aims to examine the mediating role of brand relationship quality in the relationship between brand experience and customer citizenship behavior.

Two studies were conducted in China. Data were collected via questionnaire surveys. Structural equation modeling and bootstrapping methods were used for data analyses.

Results show that brand relationship quality mediates the effects of the four dimensions of brand experience (i.e. sensory, affective, behavioral and intellectual) on the two aspects of customer citizenship behavior (i.e. toward other customers and toward the organization). In addition, service provider ratings can moderate the effect of brand relationship quality on customer citizenship behavior.

The findings suggest that marketing or service managers should build high quality of customer–brand relationship to enhance customer citizenship behaviors by providing memorable and pleasurable brand experiences. Brands with high ratings can facilitate the effect of brand relationship quality on customer citizenship behavior.

This research sheds light on the mediating role of brand relationship quality in the relationship between brand experience and customer citizenship behavior.

Though extant literature has identified goods-based brand image (GBBI) and services-based brand image (SBBI) as drivers of business-to-business (B2B) loyalty, their relative importance has remained unexplored. This study aims to bridge this gap.

The authors have used a retrospective sampling-based methodology to collect data from B2B customers via an offline survey with a sample size of 125 purchase managers.

The authors found that both GBBI and SBBI have positive relationships with B2B loyalty, with customer satisfaction being the mediator. Using the construal level theory (CLT), the authors argue that the B2B purchase term, vendor–customer relationship strength and physical accessibility of the vendor are associated with the construal level of the purchase context. Further, the authors show that B2B customers give higher importance to GBBI in lower construal level and higher importance to SBBI in higher construal level. The authors have also found the moderated mediation effect of customer satisfaction in GBBI–loyalty and SBBI–loyalty relationships with construal level as moderator.

This study contributes to extant literature of B2B branding and purchase decision-making by bringing in concepts of CLT. It also extends the literature of the GBBI–SBBI–loyalty relationship by bringing in newer results, which reassure the coexistence of goods-dominant and service-dominant logic in the B2B marketplace.

Important managerial implications have been discussed to help B2B managers in brand building, product–service design and relationship management.

This paper is a pioneer in using the CLT in the B2B purchase contexts. It also provides a theoretical and psychological underpinning of goods–service dilemmas in the B2B context, which is also noble.

This study aims to examine the moderating effects of gender, income, age, customer involvement and length of the relationship on the customer satisfaction (CS)‐customer loyalty (CL) relationship in a contractual service context. CL is assessed using customer repurchase intention (RI) and repurchase behavior (RB).

Using a postal mail survey, the authors measure the CS, RI involvement and socio‐demographic characteristics of customers who use a credit card. RB is measured by the number of transactions and the corresponding amount spent by clients, based on data provided by the company. The proposed hypotheses are tested using random sampling and hierarchical regressions.

The significant moderators are different depending on the CL measure used. When RI is utilized, the gender and age of the client have a positive effect on the CS‐CL relationship. However, when RB is assessed using the number of transactions made by the credit card's owner, the length of the relationship becomes the significant moderator.

The study is limited to a single firm, from one industry sector, but provides future researchers a multitude of replication opportunities.

Demographic and relational variables are important in explaining the CS‐CL relationship. Customer relationship strategies have positive results. RB is preferred to RI when evaluating and explaining CL.

The assessment of customer and relational characteristics as moderating variables in the CS‐CL relationship, and comparing different measures of CL in a contractual service adds value to this research.

This paper focuses on the role of manufacturer brands for resellers within retail channels. This topic is important because of the strategic value of manufacturer brands and the increasing influence of resellers within channels of distribution. Much of the branding research emphasizes a customer-brand knowledge perspective; however, emerging perspectives suggest that brands are also relevant to other stakeholders including resellers. In contrast, channels research recognizes the manufacturer sources of market power, but does not consider the impact of manufacturer “push and pull” strategies within channels. Existing theoretical frameworks, therefore, do not address the reseller perspective of the brand. As a result, the research approach is a multi-method design, consisting of two phases. The first phase involves in-depth interviews, allowing the development of a conceptual framework. In the second phase, a survey of supermarket buyers on brands in several product categories tests this framework. Structural equation modeling analyzes the survey responses and tests the hypotheses. The structural model shows very good fit to the data with good construct validity, reliability, and stability. The findings show that manufacturer support, brand equity, and customer demand reflect the manufacturer brand benefits to resellers. A key contribution of this research is the development of a validated scale on manufacturer brand benefits from the point of view of a reseller. This research shows that the resources that relate to the brand, not just the brand name itself, create value for resellers in channel relationships.