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This study investigates the effects of customers’ trust and satisfaction with the focal brand and brand identification (self-expressive brand) on customer brand engagement (CBE) dimensions (cognitive processing, affection and activation), which can promote brand outcomes (brand evangelism and repurchase intention). The model was tested using survey data from 466 Australian consumers of mobile phone brands. The results suggest that brand trust enhances affection, followed by cognitive processing, but not activation. Brand satisfaction has a stronger impact on activation than affection while it is not related to cognitive processing. Self-expressive brand has the largest impact on cognitive processing, followed by affection and then activation. CBE dimensions are found to influence brand outcomes (brand evangelism and repurchase intention). For marketing theorists, to our knowledge, this is the first study to empirically examine the differential impact of relational drivers on brand evangelism and repurchase intention via the CBE dimensions. For managers, given that brand trust and brand satisfaction are customer-based metrics often tracked by organisations, our findings help organisations to redirect their efforts to the specific relational drivers that influence either psychological and/or behavioural components of CBE as well as brand evangelism and repurchase intention.

PurposeTo understand consumer brand engagement processes in luxury fashion brands. Grounded on the brand engagement in self-concept (BESC), this study examines key drivers (i.e. value co-creation, social media marketing (SMM) activities, brand self-connection and brand image) of BESC that in turn, enhance brand loyalty and positive word-of-mouth (WOM) in the context of luxury fashion brands.Design/methodology/approachA descriptive survey approach was utilized and data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsThe findings reveal that value co-creation, SMM activities and brand self-connection are significantly related to BESC and subsequently, BESC is related to both brand loyalty and positive WOM. However, brand image is not related to BESC and brand loyalty but shows a strong relationship with WOM.Originality/valueThe recognition that consumer experiences add significant value to a brand drives companies to engage with their consumers focusing on the self-concept.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to apply and extend the predictors within the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to understand consumers' behaviour toward recycling end-of-life garments among Australian consumers. The predictors explored within this study include attitude, perceived behavioural control, subjective norms, self-identity, general recycling behaviour eco-literacy, self-efficacy, intentions to recycle and behaviour to recycle end-of-life garments.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from a sample of consumers across all eight recognised states/territories in Australia through survey questionnaires. A total of 481 usable responses were analysed using structural equation modelling.FindingsResults show positive relationships between the factors explored with all hypotheses supported. The findings of this study have theoretical and managerial implications. They (1) provide an insight into the significant factors that influence consumers' recycling behaviour amongst Australian fashion consumers; (2) bridge the gap in the explanatory nature of TPB by extending this theory; (3) call to develop marketing campaigns to educate consumers on the impact of fashion waste; (4) suggest the need for provision of household textile collection bins at a national level and (5) highlight the need for policy reform on garment recycling enabled by the Australian government.Originality/valueThis study is part of the limited studies that focus on the recycling of consumer fashion waste within the Australian context. Little research has also applied the TPB to end-of-life fashion products with a focus on recycling. In addition, no study to the authors' knowledge has, in combination, explored self-efficacy, self-identity, general recycling behaviour and eco-literacy as predictors of intentions to recycle end-of-life garments.

Purpose This paper aims to examine the antecedents of customer inertia (i.e. knowledge, confusion, perceptions of competitor similarity and switching costs) and their relationship to customer satisfaction, service providers’ switching intentions and actual switching behavior. Customer inertia is said to reduce the incidence of service provider switching; however, little is known about the antecedent drivers of inertia. Design/methodology/approach The conceptual model was tested by a longitudinal/discontinuous panel design using an online survey research of 1055 adult (i.e. +18 years old) subscribers to cell phone services. Partial least squares (PLS) path modeling was used to simultaneously estimate both the measurement and structural components of the model to determine the nature of the relationships between the variables. Findings Findings of the PLS structural model provide support for the direct relationship between customer inertia and its antecedents (i.e. knowledge, confusion, perceptions of competitor similarity and switching costs). The results show that customer inertia has a moderate negative effect on the intention to change service providers but had no measurable effect on the actual behavior of changing service providers, other than indirectly, by influencing the perception of difficulty in switching some 11 months later. Further results from an analysis of indirect pathways of the antecedents to inertia show that switching costs are the only variable which indirectly reduce intentions to change service providers. The results also show that the effect of satisfaction on switching service providers is partially moderated by inertia. Importantly, these relationships are reasonably robust given past switching behavior and contract status of consumers. Research limitations/implications The authors find evidence which explains some of the causes of inertia, and show that it has both direct and moderating effects on service provider switching intentions, though not necessarily the behavior of changing service providers. However, support was found for its indirect role through intent as an influence on switching behavior. Importantly, the authors find that inertia has lingering effects, in that it influences the perception of switching difficulties and, hence, behavior up to 11 months in the future. Practical implications Managerial implications are that service firms can profit from customer inertia through a reduction in churn. However, high levels of customer inertia over the longer term may increase the level of customer vulnerability to competitor offers and marketing activities, as satisfaction with the provider does not in itself explain switching intentions or behavior. Originality/value This study is the first study to contribute to an understanding of the antecedent drivers of customer inertia with respect to service provider switching and to empirically evaluate a variety of antecedent factors that potentially affect switching intentions. Importantly, the long lasting latent effect of inertia in indirectly influencing service switching behavior was found to persist some 11 months later.

Purpose Relational engagement is offered as a framework to describe how buyers and sellers conduct exchange. Relational engagement is conceptualized as a higher-order construct comprising three dimensions: legal bonds, knowledge exchange and co-production. This paper aims to examine the efficacy of the construct by testing its influence on buyer–perceived seller brand equity. Design/methodology/approach An online survey of 401 US-based industrial buyers was conducted. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings Empirical analysis supports the proposed conceptualization of relational engagement, as well as its influence on seller brand equity through influencing buyer-perceived relationship effectiveness. Practical implications Relational engagement offers a template to sellers for engaging organizational buyers. A relational engagement strategy has favorable implications for seller brand equity. Originality/value Relational engagement offers a comprehensive strategic perspective on inter-organizational exchange, moving beyond tactical approaches. The framework reflects the continuum of exchange, incorporating transactional-dominant and relationship-dominant forms of inter-organizational marketing practices.

Purpose The ever-growing popularity of social media platforms is evidence of consumers engaging emotionally with these brands. Given the prominence of social media in society, the purpose of this paper is to understand social media platforms from a “brand” perspective through examining the effect of consumers’ emotional attachment on social media consumer-based brand equity (CBBE). Design/methodology/approach This paper develops a model that outlines how emotional brand attachment with social media explains social media CBBE via shaping consumer perceptions of brand credibility and consumer satisfaction. An online survey of 340 Australian social media consumers provided data for empirical testing. The inclusion of multiple context-relevant covariates and use of a method-variance-adjusted data matrix, as well as an examination of an alternative model, adds robustness to the results. Findings The findings of this paper support the conceptual model, and the authors identify strong relationships between the focal variables. A phantom model analysis explicates specific indirect effects of emotional brand attachment on CBBE. The authors also find support for a fully mediated effect of emotional brand attachment on social media brand equity. Further, they broaden the nomological network of emotional brand attachment, outlining key outcomes. Research limitations/implications This paper offers a conceptual mechanism (a chain-of-effects) of how consumer emotional brand attachment with social media brands translates into social media CBBE. It also finds that a brand’s credibility as well as its ability to perform against consumer expectations (i.e. satisfaction) are equally effective in translating emotional brand attachment into social media CBBE. Practical implications Social media brands are constantly challenged by rapid change and ongoing criticism over such issues as data privacy. The implications from this paper suggest that managers should make investments in creating (reinforcing) emotional connections with social media consumers, as this will favorably impact CBBE by way of a relational mechanism, that is, via enhancing credibility and consumer satisfaction. Social implications Lately, social media in general has suffered from a crisis of trust in society. The enhanced credibility of social media brands resulting from consumers’ emotional attachments will potentially serve to enhance its acceptance as a credible form of media in society. Originality/value Social media platforms are often examined as brand-building platforms. This paper adopts a different perspective, examining social media platforms as brands per se and the effects of emotional attachments that consumers develop towards these. This paper offers valuable insights into how consumers’ emotional attachments drive vital brand judgments such as credibility and satisfaction, ultimately culminating into social media CBBE.

Purpose – In this article, message appeals along with the moderating effect of gender are examined on frequently used measures of ad effectiveness (i.e. ad likability, attitude to the issue, and behavioral intention) in the emerging domain of pro-environmental social advertising. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This study employed a between-subjects 2 (gender)×3 (message appeal) factorial design, administered through a commercial online consumer panel firm based in the USA, which included 444 respondents across three markets: Australia, the UK and the USA. Findings – Results show that of three frequently used message appeals (rational, negative emotional, and positive emotional), rational ad appeals are not as effective as emotional appeals. The study also shows that females respond more strongly to negative emotional appeals than males, while there is no significant difference in how males and females responded to positive emotional or rational ad appeals. In addition, the study demonstrates that the measure of ad likability, which is frequently used as a reliable copy-test measure in commercial marketing situations, is not a valid measure of ad effectiveness in the context of social advertising. Research limitations/implications – While the study included participants from three countries, Australia, the UK and the USA, the obvious limitation of the experimental design lies in the limited sample size. Further, while the ads' cognitive processing load was kept consistent across the three conditions, it may be possible that linguistic nuances across these markets might affect the ads' processing demands from one market to another. The consistency of the study's manipulation checks, however, might serve to offer support for the copy approach taken here. Originality/value – This study reinforces previous studies in both the commercial and social marketing fields that suggest practitioners should be cautious of placing too much emphasis on this measure as an indicator of future ad performance.

This study aims to investigate the impact of desired self-identity, green perceived value and altruistic values on brand loyalty towards green brands (i.e., electric and hybrid cars) and the mediating role of customer engagement behavior on these relationships. Further, this study proposes that greenwashing perception, which can be defined as consumers perceiving organizations to be dishonest about their environmental claims, moderates the indirect effect of desired self-identity, green perceived value and altruistic values on brand loyalty via customer engagement behavior. Data were collected from a nationwide online survey of 170 customers who have purchased and used electric and hybrid cars. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using Smart-PLS and PROCESS were employed to test the hypotheses. This study’s findings indicate that desired self-identity, green perceived value and altruistic values positively influence consumer engagement behavior with the focal green car brands. Further, the mediating effect of customer engagement behavior on brand loyalty was generally found. Additionally, greenwashing perception was found to moderate the indirect effect of desired self-identity and altruistic values on brand loyalty via customer engagement behavior. The indirect effect of desired self-identity and altruistic values on brand loyalty via consumer engagement behavior was stronger at lower levels of greenwashing perception than at higher levels. This study offers key managerial implications on how green brands can promote customer engagement behavior and brand loyalty.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight the problems in the measurement of culture in consumer studies and offers suggestions for remedies. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on literature from related fields, the paper discusses some general issues in the measurement of culture and draws consumer researchers’ attention to the flaws in the common cultural measures in consumer research. Implications for future research are also provided. Findings – The paper highlights two main shortcomings of commonly used culture instruments which are seldom taken into account by consumer researchers. Specifically, the commonly used culture dimensions in consumer studies do not have clear conceptual boundaries. Moreover, important differences between the different approaches to culture measuring (self- vs group-referenced and values vs practices) are always overlooked. The paper suggests that consumer research needs more focussed and refined measures and discusses which approach is better in which context. Originality/value – This paper explores the issues of conceptual ambiguity and approach inconsistency in order to draw consumer researchers’ attention to the flaws in common measures of culture. Only when one measures what one expects to measure will the relationship that one observe between these cultural dimensions and consumer behavior be valid.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of perceived value and innovativeness (service concept newness and relative advantage) in promoting customer brand engagement behaviors (CBEBs) and brand loyalty. Design/methodology/approach The conceptual model was empirically tested using nationwide survey data from 430 customers of Uber in Australia. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings The results of this study show that collecting brand information is positively influenced by perceived value, service concept newness and relative advantage. Participating in brand marketing activities is positively influenced by service concept newness and relative advantage. Interacting with others is positively influenced by perceived value and service concept newness. Subsequently, brand loyalty is positively influenced by participating in brand marketing activities and interacting with others. The direct impacts of perceived value and relative advantage on brand loyalty are also established. Research limitations/implications This study only collected data from Uber customers. Another limitation of this study is the use of cross-sectional data. Practical implications To promote brand loyalty, service innovation needs to have both the right characteristics (i.e. perceived value, service concept newness and relative advantage) and practices that foster customer brand engagement behaviors. Originality/value Although service-dominant logic (SDL) is a theoretical lens used by research in the areas of service innovation and customer engagement, empirical studies that integrate the two areas remain limited. The findings of this study suggest a new mechanism in which service innovation can increase loyalty through increased CBEBs.