Brand loyalty among Norwegian car owners

Obtaining brand-loyal customers has been demonstrated to be vital for profitability and survival of firms. Loyal customers generally have a higher willingness-to-pay and lower price sensitivity compared to other customers. In this article, we study brand loyalty among car owners using empirical data on 35,000 car changes in Norway from 1985 to 2013. In contrast to earlier studies on loyalty within this industry that aimed at revealing the attitudes of customers, our data discuss the actual behaviour. As a supplement to our behaviour data set, we use satisfaction measures produced by Autoindex. Average loyalty, as measured by the consecutive purchase of the same brand, amounts to 26.4%. By including returning customers and measuring the repurchase of the same brand as one of the customer's three previous cars, the average loyalty increases to 36.7%. In general, the most prevalent brands attract the most loyal customers. A logit model is applied to describe the factors that have the strongest influence on brand loyalty. The information obtained by this study is of interest to several parts of the automotive industry value chain. Moreover, the analysis is relevant for researchers conducting attitudinal studies on loyalty and satisfaction by comparing this information to the actual behaviour of customers.     

Impacts of product,store and retailer perceptions on consumers’ relationship to terroir store brand

This research shows that consumers’ relationship to terroir store brand, measured through attachment and two facets of brand loyalty (attitudinal and behavioral) is respectively influenced by their perceptions of the product, retailer and store. More specifically, the perceived authenticity of the products of the terroir store brand and its perceived value have a positive and significant influence on the attachment and behavioral loyalty of the regular buyers of this store brand and a positive and significant influence on the attachment of its occasional buyers. Trust in the retailer has a positive and significant impact on the behavioral loyalty of the regular buyers of this terroir store brand while perceived image of the store has only a positive and significant impact on the attitudinal loyalty of its occasional buyers.     

服务行业顾客重购意向的影响因素及其相互关系研究

本文探讨了转换壁垒、顾客感知价值、顾客满意对顾客重购意向的影响作用及其相互关系。以理发行业为研究对象,通过发放问卷收集数据,并运用结构方程分析软件进行了实证性检验,结果发现:顾客满意和顾客感知价值都对顾客重购意向具有直接显著影响;转换壁垒的不同维度对顾客重购意向的影响不同,社会利益对顾客重购意向产生积极的影响作用,转换成本不能增加顾客价值和顾客满意,但会对顾客产生锁定作用。对企业来说,管理者可以增加顾客满意和顾客感知价值来增加顾客重购意向,也可以通过提高顾客对转换壁垒的感知,从而对顾客起到锁定作用。     

Drivers of Customers’ Adoption and Adoption Timing of a New Loyalty Card in the Grocery Retail Market

The authors study consumers’ process of adoption of a new loyalty card in a grocery retail context. More specifically, the authors simultaneously investigate the impact of attitudinal, behavioral, and socio-demographic variables on the likelihood of adoption and the time to adoption. They show that these variables differently affect the adoption likelihood and timing and demonstrate the importance of attitudinal measures of customer loyalty such as commitment to the store. This research confirms the so-called self-selection bias and extends it to the attitudinal dimension of loyalty. Some guidelines are proposed to increase the effectiveness of loyalty card program launches.     

For Indian online shoppers,have saying and doing parted ways?

Grounded in the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and based on both perceptual as well as behavioral data, the study explores e‐service quality (e‐SQ) dimensions’ influence on merchandise value perception (MVP) and how these value perceptions, in turn, impact shopper loyalty intention, finally leading to word‐of‐mouth (WOM) and store patronization behavior. The model was tested for measurement and structural validity, mediation by MVP, and moderation by gender. Findings suggest that: (1) e‐SQ dimensions of efficiency and fulfillment have direct effect on MVP; (2) MVP is a key mediating variable facilitating “indirect‐only” mediation between e‐SQ dimensions and online shoppers’ loyalty intentions; (3) mediation by MVP is not moderated by gender; (4) strong association between shoppers’ loyalty intention and intention to spread positive WOM; and (5) “saying” and “doing” are incompatible because online shoppers’ loyalty intentions or WOM do not translate into store patronization behavior.     

Relative persuasiveness of repurchase intentions versus recommendations in online reviews

This paper examines the effects of loyalty expressions (i.e., repurchase intentions vs. recommendations) on review persuasiveness. Specifically, we propose that repurchase intentions have a stronger positive effect on review persuasiveness compared to recommendations because of reviewer credibility. We test the above proposition using both an empirical dataset and multiple experimental studies. In addition, we examine frequency of purchase as a boundary condition for our proposition. Accordingly, we find that for frequent purchases, repurchase intentions (vs. recommendations) increases credibility, which, in turn, augments review persuasiveness. For infrequent purchases, however, we observe that recommendations (vs. repurchase intentions) enhance review persuasiveness, which occurs because of increased credibility. This research offers contributions to theory in the areas of online reviews, loyalty, source credibility, and cue-diagnosticity, as well as to practice regarding how firms should seek to elicit loyalty expressions (i.e., repurchase intentions vs. recommendations) when soliciting reviews.     

E-retail factors for customer activation and retention: An empirical study from Indian e-commerce customers

Customer satisfaction has emerged as one of the most important factors that guarantee the success of online store; it has been posited as a key stimulant of purchase, repurchase intentions and customer loyalty. A comprehensive review of the literature, theories and models have been carried out to propose the models for customer activation and customer retention. Five major factors that contributed to the success of an e-commerce store have been identified as: service quality, system quality, information quality, trust and net benefit. The research furthermore investigated the factors that influence the online customers repeat purchase intention on the basis of the Means End Chain theory (MEC) and Prospect theory. By hypothesising that a combination of both utilitarian value and hedonistic values are needed to affect the repeat purchase intention (loyalty) positively, Structural equation model has been presented on the primary data collected from the Indian online shoppers. Results indicate the e-retail success factors, which are very much critical for customer satisfaction. By increasing the utilitarian value and hedonistic values derived by the customers, customer satisfaction and hence the customers repeat purchase intention can be increased significantly.     

Bargain effectiveness in differentiated store environments: The role of store affect,processing fluency,and store familiarity

Two main types of value have been established in the retail literature: merchandise value based on the quality and price of a store's offerings and differentiation value based on the extent of atmospheric cues in the environment. However, it is not clear what happens when a store offers both types of value to a high degree. We investigate how offering a bargain (or price cut) affects consumer responses for high and low differentiation store environments. In two studies, using a simulated store environment in a behavioural laboratory, we find that the presence of bargains in a highly differentiated store environment negatively influences store affect and, in turn, approach behaviour. This effect, however, only holds true for low familiarity stores and can be explained by processing fluency theory. Consequently, retailers focusing on store environment differentiation should reconsider their use of bargains.     

Reciprocal Effects of the Corporate Reputation and Store Equity of Retailers

Retailers aim to strengthen their ability to influence consumer behavior by building corporate reputation and store equity: for instance, by making promotional investments. However, little is known about the directionality of consumers’ corporate and store associations, that is, how reciprocal relationships between consumers’ perceptions of corporate reputation and store equity affect store loyalty. To illuminate this issue, we draw upon a study with a cross-sectional design and two studies with longitudinal designs. We find that retail store equity interacts with corporate reputation and is a more important driver of increased loyalty than corporate reputation. We conclude that retailers should pay attention to reciprocal effects, especially in determining the relative allocation of investments across corporate and store levels.     

How trust mediate the effects of perceived justice on loyalty: A study in the context of automotive recall in China

Service recovery studies have claimed fairness wisdom by investigating the influence of justice on shaping attitude and behavior in the service recovery process. Considering product recall as special service recovery, this inductive study presents a conceptual model connecting justice to loyalty through trust. By using structural equation modeling to analyze a survey of 469 consumers involved in automotive product recall in China, we examine inductively the effects of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice on the trust and loyalty of consumers in the recall process. Distributive and procedural justice positively affects cognitive trust, whereby interactional justice positively affects affective trust, and cognitive trust can exert positive impact on affective trust. Furthermore, we detect that both cognitive and affective bases of trust affect attitudinal loyalty, whereas affective trust merely affects attitudinal loyalty. The effects of attitudinal loyalty on behavioral loyalty are examined.     

Enhancing value for Chinese shoppers: The contribution of store and customer characteristics

This study tested the relationships between store and customer characteristics with perceived value and customer loyalty in retailing in China. Survey data were collected from shoppers in department stores (n=200) and supermarkets (n=200) in the tier 2 coastal city of Tianjin. Data for each type of store were analysed separately using structural models. In supermarkets, value was predicted by quality and price, but for department stores, only the customer orientation of the store was significant, suggesting that customers seek different shopping experiences in each context. In each case, value mediated the links to loyalty and, for supermarkets, choice of merchandise and consumer time pressure demonstrated direct links to loyalty. The paper discusses the implications of the findings, and concludes with possible future research.     

The importance of retail brand equity and store accessibility for store loyalty in local competition

Previous research shows that the success of a retailer depends on strong retail brands and attractive, easily accessible store locations. However, little is known about the relative importance of retail brand equity and store accessibility for store loyalty in different local competitive contexts. To provide insight into this issue, we conduct on a cross-sectional study of 4151 interviews and objective data on 30 stores of a focal retailer and its local competitors. We find that store loyalty benefits more from a strong brand than from a conveniently accessible location and that location can benefit from a strong brand. We also find that competitor’s brand equity has an especially negative influence on store loyalty towards a focal retailer and that the strength of the effects of brand equity and location accessibility on store loyalty depends on the local competitive context.     

Factors that influence manufacturer and store brand behavioral loyalty

This study examines the factors that are linked to consumer goods brands having unusually high or low behavioral loyalty, after controlling for the association between brand size and loyalty that occurs due to the ‘double jeopardy’ effect. Behavioral, or repeat-purchase loyalty is measured as the brand's average share of category requirements (in volume) among its buyers over a 12-month period. We examine a range of factors that theory or past evidence suggests are associated with higher or lower behavioral loyalty, including brand type (store brand/manufacturer brand), price level, promotion intensity, as well as average brand volume per occasion and pack size. Using extensive US panel purchasing data, we find that store brands exhibit relatively higher behavioral loyalty than manufacturer brands. We explain the theory behind this result. We also find that the brand's average pack size and volume bought per occasion has a markedly positive association with behavioral loyalty. Finally, we find that the effect of low price on excess loyalty is moderated via a positive association with average volume purchase per occasion. These findings add to the body of knowledge relating to patterns in behavioral brand loyalty for both manufacturer and store brands, as well as the marketing-mix factors that influence it.     

Share Repurchase Reasons and the Market Reaction to Actual Share Repurchases: Evidence from Australia

Using repurchase reasons provided by Australian companies for their stock repurchase programs, we ask if the market's response is different across repurchase motivations by examining actual daily share repurchases. We find that firms with the undervaluation motive experience a more positive stock price reaction when they report their repurchases to the market. We show that undervaluation motive firms repurchase fewer shares and have a lower program completion rate than other motives firms. During the 1‐year period following the repurchases, undervaluation motive firms do better than their control sample firms whereas other motive firms do not perform better or worse than their control sample firms. Overall, our results suggest that the undervaluation motive is a stronger signal than other repurchase motives, and contrary to the predictions of the standard signaling theories, management statements carry some value for the market. We also present some evidence suggesting that a costly action may not be needed for a signal to be credible.     

Re-thinking the relationship between store brand attitude and store brand loyalty: a simultaneous approach

Academic attention to the relationship between store brand attitude and store brand loyalty is insufficient. Our paper fills this research gap by proposing and testing a theoretical model that demonstrates a reciprocal and mutually-reinforcing relationship between store brand attitude and store brand loyalty. The literature review identifies independent variables as potential predictors of both characteristics. We apply a two stages least squares model to data that come from a survey of Spanish households. The findings corroborate some of the propositions of the conceptual model: the reciprocal relationship between the two dependent variables; the influence of risk, deal proneness, price and value consciousness and extrinsic and intrinsic cues on store brand attitude; and the influence of exploration, deal proneness, store loyalty, store brand trust and store brand affective commitment on store brand loyalty.     

Are reward cards just a business deal? The role of calculative versus emotional card commitment in driving store loyalty

Recent research has challenged the wide-spread use of reward cards in the retail/service sector by arguing that in many cases, they offer rewards that fail to add value and increase loyalty to the store (Leenheer et al., 2007, Meyer-Waarden, 2015). Consequently, researchers have examined a variety of loyalty programs in order to determine which specific designs have a greater impact on the program's performance (Breugelmans et al., 2015, Meyer-Waarden, 2015). The underlying assumption of this view is that consumers will favour those programs which offer the “best deal”, potentially excluding the role of consumers’ affects in forming loyalty. In contrast to this view, this research draws on attachment theory to develop and test a more integrative model which concurrently assesses how consumers’ emotional, normative and calculative commitment to the card impacts store loyalty. We demonstrate that it is not calculative but emotional commitment that drives store loyalty in the long term. We conclude by discussing the theoretical and managerial implications of our findings, which collectively call managers to rethink current CRM practices that emphasizes rewards as a driver of customer loyalty.     

The impact of private labels on consumer store loyalty: An integrative perspective

This research studies the role of private labels (PLs) on consumers’ store loyalty. It offers an integrative approach that comprises several store loyalty drivers (in-store and economic factors), analyzing the role that PLs play among different types of retailers. Data were collected through an online survey. Using structural equation modeling, we run our analysis across different retail formats, assessing which factors lead to store loyalty and to what extent PLs contribute to it. Findings suggest that depending on retailers‘ market positioning, different factors contribute to loyalty and that the impact of PLs is mostly significant for medium-cost and premium supermarkets.     

Polygamous Store Loyalties: An Empirical Investigation

Grocery store loyalty has been traditionally viewed as a trait of consumers toward a particular store for their overall shopping needs. In this study, we argue that store loyalty shall be regarded as category specific trait, that is, a consumer could be loyal to store A in category one while at the same time be loyal to store B in category two. We name this consumer behavior polygamous store loyalties.We use an in-home scanning panel dataset that tracks purchases of 1,321 households in 284 grocery categories across fourteen retail chains over a 53-week period in a large US market. First, we provide model free evidence of polygamous store loyalties in the data, even though the overall store loyalty based on the traditional view is low. Next, we propose a model to separate category specific effects from overall store level effects. Finally, we discuss how retailers can use the results to gain a new perspective on store attractiveness to improve overall store patronage.     

How store attributes impact shoppers’ loyalty: do different national cultures follow the same loyalty building process?

This paper takes a first step toward verifying the robustness of a comprehensive loyalty building model across different national cultures, according to Hofstede’s distinction between individualist and collectivist countries. To this end, we test a two-stage model. After collecting data from 12 countries with different cultural traits, we test the two models in two macro groups: individualist and collectivist countries. The study’s results show that the intensity of some core loyalty model paths – particularly the relationships between store loyalty and its main drivers (perceived value and customer satisfaction) – are contingent on the country’s culture. In particular, the impact of customer satisfaction on store loyalty intention is greater in collectivist countries than in individualist countries. By contrast, the impact of perceived value on store loyalty is greater in individualist than in collectivist countries. Moreover, the cultural dimension moderates the impact of the stores’ environment and promotions on satisfaction. By contrast, some other paths show robustness to national culture.     

Creating Ultimate Customer Loyalty Through Loyalty Conviction and Customer-Company Identification

Why do customers’ attitudinal loyalty fail to predict their behavior? More importantly, what creates such latent loyalty? We attempt to answer these questions by examining the antecedents and outcomes of loyalty conviction, which represents the inherent strength/uncertainty in a customer’s attitudinal loyalty. For deep attitudinal loyalty (i.e., conative loyalty), the findings suggest that customer satisfaction creates loyalty held without conviction. In contrast, customer-company identification creates loyalty held with conviction. Importantly, attitudinal loyalty without conviction loses its ability to predict behavior when situational and competitive barriers are present whereas loyalty with conviction maintains a predictive relationship with behavior despite the same barriers.