Brand fidelity: Scale development and validation

The goal of this research is to develop and validate a multi-dimensional scale measure of brand fidelity. This paper reports the rigorous process of scale development, through two separate studies involving 592 US consumers. Study 1 involves scale item generation, content validation and scale purification, while Study 2 involves a two-wave data collection method, evaluating the refined brand fidelity scale within a nomological network of relationships. The results demonstrate the 20-item brand fidelity scale to have strong construct validity as a first-order reflective, second-order formative scale. The findings suggest that if consumers engage in the behaviours/cognitions (as defined within the brand fidelity scale), then consumer/brand relationships are likely to be stable and predictable; are likely to endure the ravages of time; and, importantly, are likely to remain monogamous. For practitioners, the overall brand fidelity score can be used to track brand performance over time and for industry benchmarking purposes. Additionally, the measured brand fidelity dimensions provide specific direction upon which remedial marketing action can be implemented.     

Preference for a career in retailing: a question of personality

Drawing on previous findings from the field of brand personality research and employer branding, this paper aims to explore the symbolic attributes of the retail industry image in South Africa and to identify those personality traits that distinguish preferred industries from the retail industry. The research provides a contemporary overview of the current image of the retail industry in South Africa from the perspective of young university students and allows retailers to strengthen their joint communication effort accordingly. Therefore, a quantitative survey study with 1426 participants from five South African universities was conducted. Participants assessed personality characteristics of the retail industry as well as their most preferred industry. The main results suggest that retail and non-retail students hold different personality perceptions of the retail industry and that prior retail involvement accounts for this difference to some extent. Moreover, the analysis shows that retailing performs significantly worse on those personality attributes that are of major importance for future job seekers. Additionally, the study identifies those attributes that exert a strong effect on students’ preferences for the retail industry. The findings provide useful communication themes for educational institutions, retail companies, and industry associations in order to foster positive personality perceptions associated with the retail industry.     

An exploratory study into brand alignment in B2B relationships

B2B relationships are characterized by strategic partnerships between firms and the suppliers of goods and services integral to their offerings. Failure to choose the right partner could jeopardize the survival of both partners. While a number of studies suggest that partnering firms need to be aligned operationally, few studies look at whether there should be alignment between the brands of firms and their suppliers. Therefore, we build on existing studies on sexual selection to develop a theory of whether similarity in brand attributes affects the success of B2B relationships. We propose that firms wishing to portray particular brand images to their customers choose suppliers whose images mirror their own. To develop our proposition, we investigate the brand personality alignment between well-known firms and their suppliers in four industries. The findings of our analysis have significant implications for scholars and managers interested in the nature and success of B2B partnerships.     

The influence of anthropomorphic appearance of artificial intelligence products on consumer behavior and brand evaluation under different product types

While artificial intelligence products are widely used in the market, their anthropomorphic appearance design is becoming a frontier issue in product strategy and consumer behavior research. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of anthropomorphic appearance on consumer behavior and brand evaluation under different AI product types. It was conducted in China, a new but rapidly-growing country in the field of Internet, AI technology and AI product consumption. This study conducted four situational experiments with a 2 (anthropomorphic design: anthropomorphic vs. non-anthropomorphic) × 2 (product type: hedonic vs. utilitarian) between subjects’ experimental design. Data was collected from 1172 Chinese “Digital Natives” by using a structured questionnaire. The findings revealed that for hedonic AI products, anthropomorphic appearance improves consumers' purchase intention and brand evaluation through perceived entertainment, and intelligence level significantly moderates the mediating effect of perceived entertainment; while for practical AI products, anthropomorphic appearance improves consumers' purchase intention and brand evaluation through perceived usefulness, and intelligence level does not significantly moderate the mediating effect of perceived usefulness. There is no significant moderating effect of intelligence level on perceived usefulness. The study contributes to development and validation of a more comprehensive understanding and theoretical foundation of anthropomorphism, and furthermore explores the impact of anthropomorphic appearance on consumer behavior and brand evaluation under different AI product types. This study also provides insights for companies to apply anthropomorphic strategies.     

Brand attachment and customer citizenship behaviors

Service brand attachment has emerged as a growing body of research. Although previous studies have examined the relationship between brand attachment and customer behaviors, the mechanism underlying this relationship remains unknown, particularly in a service context. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between brand attachment and customer citizenship behaviors and to clarify the role of perceived value among regular customers of international hotel brands in Taiwan. To examine this model, confirmatory factor analysis was employed to analyze survey data from 299 hotel customers, the results of which indicated that perceived value completely mediated the relationship between brand attachment and customer citizenship behaviors. Therefore, perceived value is the mechanism that explains how service brand attachment is associated with customer citizenship behaviors. These results demonstrate the importance of perceived value and imply that service managers should strengthen customers’ perceived value of service brands to enhance customer citizenship behaviors.     

金融企业的品牌传播策略研究——以招商银行为例

随着经营环境的变化,金融企业间的竞争逐渐进入了品牌致胜的时代。借鉴招商银行的品牌传播策略,金融企业品牌传播成功的关键点在于:在详细调研的基础上进行品牌定位,选择与品牌定位相符的方式和渠道进行品牌传播,善用公共关系,担负起社会责任,最后企业还要有效地利用文化力,建立起基于企业文化的品牌传播体系。     

Tie the knot: building stronger consumers’ attachment toward a brand

Extant research has promoted the importance and seeking to establish a deeper understanding of brand loyalty. However, it still remains elusive and uncertain. A study with more than 1,500 CEOs worldwide believes that creating a bond with consumers and continuing to learn how to strengthen the bond are essential for realizing strategies and delivering on shareholder expectations. Not surprisingly, firms and researchers are seeking ways to build a stronger connection with consumers, because such attachment acts as a key requisite in a firm’s success. Consequently, understanding how marketers can intensify the attachment is important. This article offers a framework for building stronger consumers’ attachment and testing it based on a survey of 432 participants. Four factors are deemed to be important: ideal self-congruence, sensory experience, responsiveness, and CSR beliefs. Attachment influences loyalty and resilience to negative information. Additionally, attachment fully mediates ideal self-congruence and responsiveness to loyalty, as well as ideal self-congruence and sensory experience to resilience to negative information.     

How to brand your private labels

Private labels have become ever-more important and are slowly turning into brands of their own. Retailers increasingly offer three-level ‘good, better, best’ private-label programs that include economy, standard, and premium private-label tier goods. For each of these tiers, retailers must decide under what name to brand their private label. They can either assign their store banner name to a private-label tier or go for a unique brand name that is separate from the retailer banner. The purpose of this article is to outline the advantages and limitations of these two branding strategies: store-banner branding versus stand-alone branding. Herein, we also provide a series of recommendations regarding when to use each brand strategy, based on characteristics of the retailer and the environment in which it operates.     

品牌社群认同对品牌忠诚的影响研究

从品牌社群认同切入,以新奇军作为研究对象,构建社群认同影响品牌忠诚的概念模型。实证研究表明,不同层次的社群认同对品牌认同和社群承诺的影响存在差异,并验证了社群认同如何通过品牌认同和社群承诺作用于品牌忠诚的具体路径。     

“一村一品”生态旅游可持续发展研究——以三峡库区为例

作为一种新的旅游发展形式,生态旅游不同于传统的旅游,它对旅游目的地环境保护和旅游资源的可持续发展有着重大的实践意义。发展生态旅游,可以采用＂一村一品＂的形式。要将可持续发展的理念应用到实际的生态旅游产品中,需要有一套合理的旅游区环境管理体系。文章通过分析三峡库区生态旅游规划和环境管理,来探讨＂一村一品＂生态旅游可持续发展。