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Recent studies have indicated that consumers who knowingly purchase counterfeits could be in love with the brands whose counterfeits they own. Arguably, this love may not be the same as the love felt by individuals who purchase the original brand. Research in this field has not studied how these two love types differ in its genesis and consequences. Therefore, the paper aims to discuss this issue and intends to fill this gap.

This study performed a multi-group analysis using (PLS-SEM) between two groups of customers (real-buyers and fake-buyers) to elucidate the factors that separate fake-love from real-love. This study adopted a combination of convenience sampling and field visits to identify 500 individuals who were classified as either real-buyers or fake-buyers.

The relationship between social-self and brand love is significantly stronger for fake-buyers as compared to real-buyers. However, the relationship between inner-self and brand love is significantly stronger in the case of real-buyers as compared to fake-buyers. Real-buyers tend to be more brand resilient than fake-buyers as their love emanates primarily from the inner-self. Additionally, fake-buyers indulge in +WOM more than real-buyers as their brand love emanates from the social-self.

This is the first study to explore the concept of brand love among consumers who purchase counterfeits in spite of being able to afford the original brands. This is also the first study that is focused on identifying the antecedents and outcomes that separate real-love from fake-love.

This paper aims to test a theory-driven model reflecting the effects of perceived personalization on consumer–brand relationships on social media.

The conceptual model is empirically tested through two studies using partial least squares-structural equation modeling. Other techniques, such as common method bias, multigroup comparison, mediation analysis and model fit comparison, are also used to give more insights into the analytical process.

Data from two studies show that perceived personalization is positively related to brand-related outcomes including brand self-expressiveness, consumer–brand engagement and brand connection. While consumer–brand engagement and brand connection are positively related to brand love, brand self-expressiveness is not.

The paper contributes to the advertising and brand management literature by shedding light on a better understanding of the impact of personalization in the digital world.

Management could learn important lessons from personalization. If a strategy of promoting personalized ads is implemented successfully, those ads could change customer perceptions of brands which ultimately strengthens brand love.

This research provides an empirical model that helps marketers better understand the factors affecting brand love with personalized ads on social media.

This study aims to test and extend Carroll and Ahuvia’s (2006) model on the antecedents and outcomes of brand love by examining the moderating effects of experience and price on the relationship between brand love and offline word of mouth (WOM) and between brand love and electronic WOM (eWOM).

An online survey was conducted on Facebook, which generated 342 valid responses. The data were analyzed using partial least squares-structural equation modeling.

The results mainly support the model by confirming that the self-expressiveness of the brand and trust are positively associated with brand love. No association between hedonic product type and brand love was found. The study’s findings also suggest positive associations between brand love and both types of WOM. Experience and price were found to strengthen the relationship between brand love and offline WOM but not the relationship between brand love and eWOM.

This study contributes to the literature by introducing and testing an extended model of brand love. It tests two moderating effects on the relationship between brand love and WOM.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of brand love in place brand communication by incorporating potential antecedents and behavioral outcomes of place brand love in a social media setting.

Data were gathered from 281 residents and visitors of a place through an online survey focusing on a place brand video. Structural equation modeling was employed to examine the research model.

Results show that place brand love has a strong direct relationship with positive word of mouth (WOM), and an indirect effect on intention to share the place brand message. Self-expressiveness of the place brand message also seems to influence place brand love as well as intention to share the message.

The role of self-related concepts and brand love to a place has theoretical implications for research in place branding and electronic word of mouth. The study has limitations to its generalizability in terms of cultural aspects and sample representativeness.

Place marketers need to successfully reflect the self-concept of key stakeholders in communication messages in order to increase the probability that recipients will engage in positive WOM and share the message.

Research on place brand love is scarce and previous studies have focused solely on brand love in connection to tourists. The main contribution of the current study is the exploration of the role of brand love in connection to residents, who are vital co-creators of the place brand.

This paper aims to empirically test the influence of brand characteristics on brand addiction, as well as the consumers’ behaviors caused by this construct.

The paper adopts a Web-based self-completion survey by achieving a total of 529 completed surveys. Then, structural equation modeling has been employed by using SPSS AMOS.

Results highlighted how the brand characteristics of self-expressiveness, innovativeness and authenticity have a positive influence on brand addiction; brand addiction leads consumers to feel emotions of irritability and to adopt obsessive and compulsive behaviors toward the brand.

Even if the choice of using a survey’s sample composed of students attending an Italian University ensures good internal validity of research (owing to the homogeneous character), the results are not generalizable (except for this population group).

The study identified two different spheres of brand addiction (one connected to the brand’s characteristics and the other to the consumers’ psychological-behavioral outcomes), along with possible strategies firms could adopt to strengthen the possibilities to transform their customers into addicted ones and to avoid/reduce the negative consequences deriving from brand addiction.

The paper provides a response to the call for more studies into the brand addiction analysis by empirically testing possible antecedents and outcomes, thus enriching the existing quantitative research focused on this concept.

The purpose of the present paper is to develop and validate a scale of romantic brand jealousy and to examine the role played by the brand love-jealousy framework on consumers' active engagement.

In order to develop and validate the romantic brand jealousy scale the present study has employed Churchill's methodology. The study has used common factor analysis and structural equation modeling using LISREL 8.72.

This research provides empirical evidence for a three-item romantic brand jealousy scale. The study results indicate that the romantic jealousy scale developed is valid and reliable. It also shows that in contrast to previous literature, wherein authors found that brand love would create customer engagement, the brand love-jealousy framework would act as a better mediator to create customer engagement and also to motivate the customer to purchase the brand.

This research was conducted in a specific country (India). It would be more robust if the scale developed by this study could be examined in the context of other countries.

This study is expected to help managers to formulate a better marketing strategy to increase customer engagement using the proposed brand love-jealousy framework.

This research adds value to the domain of consumer psychology research by proposing that brand jealousy needs to be created along with brand love in customer's mind to augment the level of active engagement.

This paper aims to analyze the impacts of distinct advertising appeals on brand attitudes and purchase intentions toward green brands across two different product categories (technology-intensive and technology non-intensive) among the young adult consumers.

On the basis of focus group discussion, recyclable shopping bags (technology non-intensive) and hybrid cars (technology intensive) were identified as two product categories for the final study. A total of eight advertisement copies were developed (three in each product class + two control group ads) and distributed across 240 young consumers. A 4 (three advertising appeals + one control group) × 2 (product classes) between group experimental design was used to test the hypotheses formulated.

The study findings show that all the three advertisement appeals significantly influence attitudes and purchase intentions toward green brands across both the product categories. However, it was also found that functional appeal generated significantly lower mean scores for brand attitude and purchase intention for recyclable shopping bags compared to hybrid cars, whereas emotional appeal generated significantly lower mean scores for brand attitude, as well as purchase intention for hybrid cars compared to bags. This implies that functional green ad appeal would be more effective for technology-intensive products and emotional green ad appeal would be more effective for technology non-intensive products. Self-expressive green ad appeal was found to be equally effective in impacting brand attitudes and purchase intentions across both product categories.

The value of this research lies in investigating how the effects of distinct green brand advertising appeals on brand attitude and purchase intention can vary across technology-intensive and technology non-intensive products.

Prior research studying the mechanisms by which brand reputation influences consumer behaviors has largely relied on respondent measures of brand reputation, resulting in an inability to ascertain the causal direction of relationships. Using third party measures, this paper aims to study the effects of brand reputation, via self-expressive brand perceptions, on both firm-directed and other customer-directed customer voluntary sharing behaviors (CVSB). It then assesses the moderating effect of consumer status-seeking on the relationships studied.

To prevent common method bias and substantiate causality claims, a third-party brand reputation measure is combined with a consumer survey. Process is used to test the hypotheses using 359 consumer responses collected via Amazon MTurk.

The results indicate that higher inner-self and social-self expressive perceptions derived from strong brand reputations increase consumer knowledge sharing and social influence behaviors. The effect of social-self expressive brand perceptions on CVSB is positively moderated by consumer status-seeking.

Firms should leverage existing brand reputation investments to strengthen customer perceptions of their brands as self-expressive and facilitate greater social and knowledge-sharing engagement by status-seeking consumers.

This study identifies a new mechanism linking brand reputation and CVSB: consumer perceptions of the self-expressiveness of brands. Moreover, it distinguishes the effects of two dimensions of brand self-expressiveness and substantiates the customer engagement behavior value of investing in brand reputation as measured by third parties.

This study aims to follow a rigorous approach to identify, critically analyze and synthesize 75 papers published from 2000 to 2022.

The study presents a systematic literature review on identity expressiveness (IE), clarifying and expanding what is currently known about the concept.

To synthesize current knowledge on IE, the study uses the overarching framework of antecedents-phenomenon-consequences, using this same framework to identify gaps and future research directions. The findings show individual and brand-related factors such as the need for uniqueness and anthropomorphism as antecedents of IE, and eWOM/WOM, impulse purchases and upgrading to more exclusive lines as consequences of IE.

The study contributes to theory by synthesizing and mapping current understanding of the state of knowledge on the concept of IE while highlighting gaps in the extant literature and paving future research directions for scholars in the field.

The study offers useful insights for practitioners, broadening marketers’ actionable options in identity-based marketing. Marketers can use insights from this study to inform marketing strategy and communication campaigns for different types of brands.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind and offers an integrative review of the current literature on IE, thus enhancing understanding of the concept, its antecedents and consequences. The study also contributes to knowledge by highlighting future research priorities for researchers in this field of enquiry.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a psychometrically reliable scale to measure centrality of brand (CoB) or brand centrality construct in the domain of fashion apparel brands. The scale quantitatively validates that brand relationship can be of equivalent importance to religious relationship in an individual fashion brand lover’s life.

Based on a previous literature review, brand centrality has been conceptualized. Following that, CoB scale has been validated in a step-by-step process following the scale validation methodology suggested by Churchill (1979).

The final outcome of the study is a psychometrically reliable CoB scale. The study results validate the relationships between CoB, and other important theoretical antecedents and consequences of brand centrality.

This study contributes to the existing body of fashion branding research by showing that a consumer-fashion brand relationship can be of importance akin to a religious relationship in an individual’s life.