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Effective customer journey design (ECJD) is considered a key variable in customer experience management and an essential source of brand meaning and pro-brand behavior. Although previous research has confirmed its importance for driving brand attitudes and loyalty, the role of consumer-brand identification as a social identity-based influence in this relationship has not yet been discussed. Drawing on construal level and social identity theories, this paper aims to investigate whether effective journeys and the resulting overall journey experience are equally powerful in driving brand loyalty among customers with different levels of consumer-brand identification.

The present article develops and tests a research model using data from the European and US service sectors (N = 1,454) to investigate how and when ECJD affects service brand loyalty.

Across two cultural contexts, four service industries and 33 service brands, the results reveal that ECJD is a crucial driver of service brand loyalty for customers with low consumer-brand identification. Moreover, the findings show that different aspects of journey effectiveness positively impact the valence of customers’ experience related to those journeys – a process that is ultimately decisive for their brand loyalty.

This study is unique because it generates theoretical and practical knowledge by combining the literature streams of customer journey design, customer experience and branding. Furthermore, this work demonstrates that consumer-brand identification is a critical boundary condition to be considered in the relationship between ECJD and brand loyalty in services.

This study aims to investigate the conditional relationships among sustainability implementation, brand awareness, brand attitude and brand loyalty through the lens of transformative service research (TSR). The research also aims to explain how brand loyalty moderates the mediated effect of brand awareness and attitude in the context of social and environmental sustainability initiatives.

Using both primary and secondary data sources from 31 prominent service companies and their 6,891 customers, this paper investigates the impact of sustainability practices and brand awareness on customer attitude. The paper also examines the moderated mediation effect of brand loyalty, explaining how it alters brand attitudes in the context of sustainability implementation. Finally, the study conducts a comparative analysis of how environmental and social shape brand attitudes in loyal customers.

Sustainability implementation has a negative impact on both brand awareness and customer attitude. However, this negative influence is mitigated for highly brand-loyal customers, resulting in a positive brand attitude. Further, the comparative analysis reveals that social implementation positively influences brand attitude in high-loyalty contexts.

This research uses subjective judgments of researchers regarding companies’ sustainability practices, combining them with customer attitudes gathered through survey questionnaires. Additionally, the data set comprises data from 31 large service companies, potentially limiting the generalizability of findings to large service companies. Nevertheless, this paper extends TSR into the realm of sustainability and branding.

The positive outcomes of sustainability implementation practices are most pronounced when customer loyalty toward a brand is strong. Social implementation has a more potent effect on brand attitude, particularly among loyal customers. Companies can tailor their sustainability efforts more effectively.

With the lens of TSR, this research deepens our understanding of how sustainability affects consumer psychology but also offers a methodological advancement by using advanced statistical models and a variety of data sources. The distinctiveness of this research is also highlighted in the examination of how environmental and social sustainability initiatives influence brand attitude, especially among customers who exhibit strong brand loyalty.

Several high street retail banks are extending their brands into digital banking through fully digital, app-only neobanks, which have been described as traditionally-driven neobanks (TDNBs). These TDNBs are considered a form of brand extension, representing the increased complexity of branding banks and financial institutions. This study explicitly addresses the branding strategies employed by TDNBs.

This study has adopted a case study research design, using a multi-stage data collection strategy. Initially, interviews were conducted with bank managers, followed by interviews with customers. Later, user-generated content was extracted through verified reviews from the app store. Subsequently, these three strands of data were thematically analysed and triangulated, in order to gain a holistic understanding of the branding strategies used by TDNBs.

Three key themes emerged regarding the branding strategies of the TDNBs: aligning with the parent brand, reinforcing the digital experience, and enhancing the brand image.

This study contributed to the growing body of research on marketing, branding, and digital transformation of bank services. As more traditional banks are exploring opportunities to pivot and explore other fintech options, this study offers significant insights that will help in managing brand experience and promotion across customer journeys in the banking sector.

This study contributes to the growing body of research on marketing, branding, and digital transformation of bank services. Even as more traditional banks explore opportunities to pivot as well as other fintech options, this study offers significant insights to help manage brand experience and promotion across customer journeys in the banking sector.

While previous studies on banking and financial services have concentrated on traditional retail and high street banks, there is a need for a greater understanding of the brand positioning of digital banks, especially those created by traditional banks.

This study aims to answer the following questions: How do consumers’ perceptions of brand coolness affect brand relationship outcomes and how do brand coolness effects differ between product brands and service brands?

A quantitative survey was used to collect data from 1,500 consumers assigned to assess one of 20 popular product and service brands in Vietnam. Partial least square structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.

Data analysis reveals that both dimensions of brand coolness (i.e. self-oriented and other-oriented coolness) exert positive impacts on brand relationship outcomes (i.e. brand satisfaction, brand love and brand advocacy) through brand attitude (i.e. the evaluative mechanism) and self-brand connection (i.e. the identity mechanism). While the identity mechanism of brand coolness effects is more prominent in product brands, the evaluative mechanism is more pronounced for service brands.

This research provides practical guidance for brand managers to build strong customer relationships by leveraging their brand coolness and the mechanisms underlying coolness effects. This study suggests a tailored application of brand coolness dimensions to different branded entities.

This research contributes to the brand coolness literature by validating a two-dimensional brand coolness structure encompassing self-oriented and other-oriented coolness, in accordance with a value-based conceptualization of the concept. For mass brand studies, this study recommends the exclusion of rebellious and subcultural attributes, as well as the utility of pre-determined brands as evaluated objects, in measuring brand coolness. This study also illuminates dual mediation mechanisms and moderation of the branded entity underlying brand coolness effects on consumer–brand relationships.

This paper aims to explore the effectiveness of ethnically targeted ads in developing consumer–brand relationships through an application of social identification theory and elaboration likelihood model among African American consumers in the service sector.

Study 1 used a 2 (service type: hedonic vs utilitarian) × 2 (strength of ethnic identification: high vs low) between-subjects experimental design. Study 2 used the same experimental design, procedure and ads as Study 1.

Taken together, the findings from these two studies demonstrate how ethnically targeted advertising, in conjunction with service type, can influence consumer–brand relationships. The results showed that those with high strength of ethnic identification had more brand love, as well as higher intentions to spread positive word-of-mouth, purchase intention and brand loyalty for hedonic services, but that this effect was not significant for utilitarian services.

The environments in which advertisements appear (e.g. in an in-store display or a magazine advertisement) is important, and consumers’ reactions to targeted ads in various environments should be considered in future research. Future studies should also examine the role of individuals’ personality traits and level of acculturation in determining their relationships with brands.

Across two studies, the authors demonstrated that ethnic ads are more effective for African American individuals with high level of ethnic identification especially for hedonic services.

This study aims to determine the effect of Islamic branding, experiential marketing and word of mouth on college decisions and to find marketing strategies through strengthening Islamic branding based on experiential marketing to increase the number of students at Muhammadiyah-Aisyiyah Higher Education.

This study used a quantitative method, with data collection carried out using a survey method by giving questionnaires to respondents. The respondents' criteria are active students, at least in semester three, who have studied at Muhammadiyah-Aisyiyah Higher Education in Indonesia, using a sampling technique with accidental sampling. Data analysis used Partial Least Square - Structural Equation Modeling to determine the estimated results or model predictions.

The results showed a significant direct effect of experiential marketing, Islamic branding and word of mouth on college decisions. There is an indirect effect between experiential marketing and Islamic branding on college decisions through word of mouth, but the word-of-mouth variable could not mediate the relationship between experiential marketing and Islamic branding on college decisions perfectly.

The limitation of the results of the study is that it uses respondents who are and have participated in learning activities on the Muhammadiyah-Aisyiyah Higher Education, where the Muhammadiyah-Aisyiyah Higher Education has added value compared to other private campuses. The added value on the Muhammadiyah-Aisyiyah Higher Education is the overall learning activity based on Kemuhammadiyahan Islam in Indonesia. Islam Kemuhammadiyahan is the identity of the Islamic branding strategy on the Muhammadiyah-Aisyiyah Higher Education, which is only owned by the Muhammadiyah-Aisyiyah Higher Education.

This study recommends marketing strategies through strengthening Islamic branding based on experiential marketing to increase the number of students at Muhammadiyah-Aisyiyah Higher Education.

The novelty of this research is the addition of experiential marketing and Islamic branding variable measurements on word of mouth and college decisions, especially prospective students to study at Islamic Higher Education in Indonesia.

Pricing is widely acknowledged as a market entry challenge for servitising companies. The purpose of this research is to ascertain the attributes that contribute to willingness to pay (WTP) for industrial services and suggest incorporating those attributes to a pricing model.

Three attributes (Quality of Service, Nearness of Service Provider and Brand Equity of Service Provider) were analyzed at three respective levels to ascertain their importance on WTP. Conventional conjoint analysis (CCA), using an orthogonal design, was the method used. The 346 respondents were decision-makers and top management professionals from various industries.

Brand Equity emerged as the most significant attribute contributing to WTP, having more than 45% importance – followed by the Quality and Nearness.

The scope of the study is limited to the industries and its Allies. However, the relative importance of the attributes may vary depending on the type of service.

The importance of attributes and their WTP preference helps future researchers create a pricing model involving these attributes. This helps service providers price their services rationally, thus succeeding in servitization.

Product life is extended because the manufacturers themselves are servicing it and also help recycle the product with their expertise. Servitization is also helpful for the Indian economy, as it is turning into a manufacturing economy.

This research investigates three attributes that contribute to WTP, in accordance with their level of contribution. It also provides a direction to establish an adequate pricing model for industrial services.

This study examines the impact of servitization in the form of repair and maintenance services on consumers' quality perceptions, purchase intentions and recommendation intentions while considering consumer frugality as a moderator in the retail ready-to-wear sector.

A quantitative approach based on consumer research was pursued. Study 1 tested the research model using a fictitious ready-to-wear brand within an experimental design. To increase the generalizability of results, Study 2 retested the model with a well-known ready-to-wear brand. For both studies, regression, mediation and moderation analyses were conducted in SPSS.

Both studies showed that servitization positively influences perceived quality. Servitization positively affects purchase intentions and recommendation intentions indirectly via the mediating role of perceived quality. Frugality moderates the relationship between servitization and perceived quality for the fictitious brand (Study 1), whereas it is not significant for a well-known ready-to-wear brand (Study 2). Servitization positively influences perceived quality regardless of consumers' frugality levels for a stronger brand.

This study suggests and tests an original conceptual model that relies on signaling theory. It is among the first studies to examine the impact of servitization on retail fashion consumers' quality perceptions and consequent purchase and recommendation intentions. This study also contributes to the literature by presenting empirical findings based on consumer research on servitization while considering frugality as a moderator.

Bundling products with additional services can contribute to quality perceptions and consequently to purchase and recommendation intentions for ready-to-wear brands.

The purpose of this investigation is to scrutinize the unexplored realm concerning the interplay of hospital brand gestalt on patient satisfaction and revisit intentions.

A self-administered online survey was conducted with 227 patients who had stayed at and received health-care services from a private hospital in the city of Manado, Indonesia, within the past 12 months. The quantitative data were subsequently analyzed using a structural equation model with the assistance of Smart PLS statistical software.

The results suggest that the hospital brand gestalt significantly and positively influences patient satisfaction, which, in turn, leads to patients’ intentions to revisit. Furthermore, patient satisfaction serves as a significant mediator in the relationship between brand gestalt and revisit intentions.

This study enhances the comprehension of brand gestalt’s influence on customer attitudes and behaviors within the health-care context, contributing to the expanding body of literature concerning holistic brand perception. For health-care providers, the study underscores the significance of creating a uniform and distinctive brand experience to boost patient satisfaction and cultivate loyalty. In summary, this study paves the way for strategic branding initiatives in health care, ultimately enhancing patient experiences and organizational outcomes.

For health-care providers, this study emphasizes the importance of crafting a consistent and differentiated brand experience to enhance patient satisfaction and foster loyalty. Overall, this study opens avenues for strategic branding efforts in health care, ultimately improving patient experiences and organizational outcomes.

While there is a growing interest in the role of brand gestalt in marketing research, there is still a need for more empirical research to explore the link between brand gestalt, customer satisfaction and revisit intention. Surprisingly, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous studies have investigated the role of brand gestalt in the context of health care.

The purpose of this study is to propose and develop an antecedent model from star hotel employee viewpoint and a consequence model for star hotel customers’ evaluation of the brand equity development process.

In terms of the study setting, structural equation modelling was conducted. Study 1 used the views of 323 star hotels’ employees on the mutual relationships among employee-based brand equity, and Study 2 used 516 star hotels’ customer perspectives concerning the mutual relationships among customer-based brand equity.

In the antecedent model of Study 1 from an employee viewpoint, service quality is a foundational attribute of the indirect influences of brand equity development through brand promise, values and message. A moderating role of brand identity is also found. In the consequence model of Study 2 from the perspective of customers’ evaluation, mutual relationships of brand equity are identified, and social interactions are established that enhance the positive relationships among the different critical attributes of brand equity.

Although numerous hotel branding studies have identified the consequences of hotels for employees, few have simultaneously considered employees and customer feedback in terms of star hotel branding. This research considers the bidirectional effects of such a comprehensive perspective.