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The purpose of this study is to determine if brand passion shapes attitudinal brand loyalty while driving a series of important brand-related outcomes (i.e. brand advocacy, social media following, sense of community, willingness to pay a premium price and alternative devaluation). These aspects are explored for sports apparel brands after considering the perceptions of Iranian consumers.

This study is based on the analysis of survey data gathered online and face-to-face from a sample of Iranian consumers of sports apparel brands that were analysed using partial least square path modelling.

The key empirical findings obtained confirm that brand passion underpins attitudinal brand loyalty and several important brand-related outcomes. Furthermore, the findings show that attitudinal brand loyalty explains the impact of brand passion on most of the outcomes considered, except for social media following.

This study advances knowledge of brand passion by illustrating its “power” as a strong nuance of relationships between consumers and brands. In particular, this study highlights the importance of brand passion in shaping attitudinal brand loyalty, as well as a driver of several outcomes of theoretical and managerial relevance.

By establishing strategies aimed at enhancing brand passion, brand managers can increase attitudinal brand loyalty, attain important goals such as brand advocacy, premium price and social media following, as well as the devaluation of competing brands.

This study uses a unidimensional theorisation of brand passion to increase the understanding of its role as predictor of attitudinal brand loyalty and driver of relevant outcomes. It also examines the mediating effect of attitudinal brand loyalty, thus illustrating important conceptual links between brand passion and brand loyalty in the context of sports apparel brands in a growing economy (Iran).

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which Indian consumers of different demographic groups vary in terms of shopping mall visits (frequency of visit, hours spent in the mall, and number of shops visited) and purchase behaviour (total money spent, number of shops purchased from and number of items purchased).

The study used a self-administered survey of 400 Indian mall shoppers to examine Indian shoppers’ behaviour with respect to visiting and buying behaviour. Descriptive analyses and χ² tests were conducted to identify patterns and capture the significant relationships in shopping behaviour across different demographic segments.

The results show that shoppers of different age cohorts and from different household sizes behave differently from one another in a significant manner. In terms of gender, however, men and women tend to behave in a similar manner in terms of visit frequency, time and money spent per visit. The study also provides insight into where the differences occur and between which specific groups.

Data comes from one major city of India which limits the generalizability of the results.

For mall managers and retailers, the study findings indicate that the stores that serve recreational needs should focus more on younger segments, where men and women share similar buying patterns. Findings from this study could also be used for segmentation exercises and to build strategies to convert footfall into actual purchase, especially within the rapidly growing Indian mall market.

The study adds value to the body of retail literature and provides empirical evidence from the rapidly developing Indian market. The study also provides insight into where differences occur and between which specific groups. By highlighting the differences in greater detail, the study benefits retailers in general and specifically, mall managers.

Although international product-harm crises have become more common, the influence of the country image (CI) associated with foreign goods in such crises remains under researched. This study aims to investigate the extent to which the CI of a foreign made product influences consumers’ attribution of blame and trust and, ultimately, their future purchase intentions after the product is involved in a crisis.

A 2 (country) × 3 (crisis type) quasi experimental design was used, with data collected from Australia (n = 375) and China (n = 401).

CI can influence attribution of blame, subsequent levels of trust and likely purchase intentions. Australian and Chinese consumers have different views when it comes to trusting a company or placing blame, depending on the country of origin or the type of crisis. The direct and positive effect of CI on consumer purchase intentions following a product-harm crisis is sequentially mediated by attribution of blame and trust. Trust is the most powerful influence on future purchase intentions in both samples.

In this research, only one type of crisis response strategy (no comment) was used. Thus, the results of this study must be viewed with caution when considering outcomes relating to other response options. Additionally, the testing was limited to only two samples, focussing on three countries (England, China, Vietnam), and one product context using a hypothetical brand. Further, despite our reasonable sample size (N = 776), the number of respondents represented in each cell would still be considered a limitation overall.

When developing crisis response strategies, managers should take into account the influence of a positive/negative source CI in driving attribution and trust. To minimize the impact of crisis on future purchasing decisions, organizations can leverage positive biases and mitigate negative ones, aiming to maintain or restore trust as a priority.

The study provides cross-country understanding about the significant role of CI during a product-harm crisis in relation to subsequent consumers’ blame attribution, their trust in the focal organization and ultimately their future purchase intentions.