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We study the long-run evolution of brand preferences, using new data on consumers' life histories and purchases of consumer packaged goods. Variation in where consumers have lived in the past allows us to isolate the causal effect of past experiences on current purchases, holding constant contemporaneous supply-side factors. We show that brand preferences form endogenously, are highly persistent, and explain 40 percent of geographic variation in market shares. Counterfactuals suggest that brand preferences create large entry barriers and durable advantages for incumbent firms and can explain the persistence of early-mover advantage over long periods.

This research demonstrates that consumers' desire for counterfeit luxury brands hinges on the social motivations (i.e., to express themselves and/or to fit in) underlying their luxury brand preferences. In particular, the authors show that both consumers' preferences for a counterfeit brand and the subsequent negative change in their preferences for the real brand are greater when their luxury brand attitudes serve a social-adjustive rather than a value-expressive function. In addition, consumers' moral beliefs about counterfeit consumption affect their counterfeit brand preferences only when their luxury brand attitudes serve a value-expressive function. Finally, the authors demonstrate that the social functions served by consumers' luxury brand attitudes can be influenced by elements of the marketing mix (e.g., product design, advertising), thus enabling marketers to curb the demand for counterfeit brands through specific marketing-mix actions.

Purpose This study aims to examine the moderated mediation model among self-image congruity, self-brand connection, self-motivation and brand preference and validate that actual and ideal self-image congruity are two distinct constructs. As shown in the conceptual model, actual and ideal self-image congruity toward a brand have direct and indirect positive effects on brand preference through self-brand connection, whereas self-motivation moderates the effect of self-image congruity on self-brand connection. Design/methodology/approach Data collection was done through mall intercepts in six shopping malls in Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Huizhou in southern China. In total, 461 usable questionnaires were collected with 500 distributed copies. Confirmatory factor analysis using Mplus (v.7) was done to assess the measurement validity for each construct. PROCESS analysis for SPSS (v.19.0.0) was used for hypothesis testing. Findings Both actual and ideal self-image congruities present significant positive effects on brand preference through self-brand connection. The relationship between self-image congruity and the self-brand connection is also moderated by self-motivation. Originality/value This study fills an existing literature gap by distinguishing self-image and ideal self-image congruity as distinct constructs. Self-brand connection is posited as a new way to understand the mechanism of the self-image congruity effect on brand preference. Samples from several shopping malls in southern China are used to justify the important moderating role of self-motivation in consumers’ brand preferences.

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate how corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance (i.e. to the environment, society and stakeholders) and perceived brand quality influence brand preference. The mediating effect of perceived brand quality on the relationship between CSR performance and brand preference is also studied. Design/methodology/approach – In 2011, 243 valid responses to questionnaire surveys were collected from a convenience sample in China. Regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses. Findings – Customers’ brand preference can be enhanced by CSR performance. Performance in each of the three CSR domains (i.e. environment, society and stakeholders) positively impacts brand preference, although to different degrees. The impact of CSR on stakeholders has the strongest influence on Chinese customers’ brand preference among the three CSR domains. Perceived brand quality was found to be a mediator of the relationship between CSR performance and brand preference. Research limitations/implications – This research studies the relationship between CSR performance and brand preference. Results show CSR performance is not the strongest predictor of branding outcomes, its explanatory power is comparatively weaker than that of perceived brand quality. Additionally, we found a mediating effect of perceived brand quality on the relationship between CSR performance and brand preference. Practical implications – Brands can be more attractive to Chinese consumers when brands take appropriate investments in CSR activities. A socially responsible brand is not guaranteed to yield a competitive advantage. Instead a competitive advantage will more likely result through the employment of the appropriate CSR strategies, with a focus on stakeholders’ interests. Originality/value – The current research contributes to the literature by finding that not all CSR activities are equally effective. Customers in emerging markets still appear to be focused more on the quality of brands and, to some extent, stakeholder CSR practice, as these provide direct benefits to customers. Findings of this study also support the notion that Chinese consumers are beginning to use CSR information to evaluate brands.

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are increasingly integral to our world, as they serve as the foundation for new value propositions and distinctive customer experiences. AI is crucial for offering better customer experiences, which strengthen the consumer–brand relationship and brand differentiation. Based on the stimulus–organism–response model, this study examined the influence of AI on brand preference for retail banks in Hong Kong. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze 300 responses collected from a questionnaire survey of Generation Z subjects. The findings indicate that AI marketing efforts affected brand experience, brand preference, and repurchase intention. Among AI marketing efforts, information, accessibility and customization exerted influences on brand experience, while interaction had no significant impact on it. Brand experience also mediated the relationship between AI marketing efforts and brand preference. The study will help retail banks to design AI marketing activities and formulate better marketing and branding strategies for customer acquisition and retention.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the role of other customers in explaining customers’ relation with a brand. A conceptual model, which incorporates other customers along with atmospherics, food quality and service quality, is proposed to better understand how customers form their brand preference for fine dining restaurants.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative research methodology, using structural equation modeling, was adopted to understand the role of other customers along with other restaurant attributes. Data were collected from the customers of fine dining restaurants resulting in 324 usable surveys.FindingsThe findings supported the sequential link for: restaurant experience attributes – brand relationship and brand preference. While all restaurant attributes except other customers explain the satisfaction of customers, only service quality and other customers played a significant role in forming the brand image in the minds of restaurant guests. Overall, this study acknowledged the importance of both other customers and employees in fine dining restaurants’ branding.Research limitations/implicationsThe results suggest that customers in servicescape have a significant role in creating a successful brand image for restaurants. Moreover, service quality is also key to achieve a unique image, thereby suggesting that employees could be a source of differentiation and competitive advantage by managing their brand related behaviors.Originality/valueThis research was one of the first to study the role of other customers in restaurant service experience along with other attributes to assess customers’ brand relation and brand preference for fine dining restaurants.

PurposeDespite competition and supply-chain disruptions during Covid-19 pandemic (2019–2021), one grocery retailer consistently thrived and was ranked top. The sources of the sustained performances needed examination. Guided by self-congruity theory and integrating three models, the authors examined how much the retailer's brand performances (brand loyalty, equity, preference and repurchase intentions) were emanating from brand personalities and marketing offerings. The mediating roles of brand loyalty and equity were tested.Design/methodology/approachCross-sectional data was collected from 480 frequent customers using an online questionnaire posted on the researchers' social media pages. Factor analysis was conducted to identify the dimension that best describes the grocery retailer. Partial least square–structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test a conceptual model.FindingsFactor analysis results show that brand sincerity (28.582% variance-explained; M = 4.1) was top (factor 1), followed by excitement (20.336% variance-explained; M = 3.9) and then trustworthiness (18.854% variance-explained; M = 3.87). PLS-SEM results revealed that two brand personalities (brand excitement and trustworthiness) and marketing offerings (price, place, product, promotion) impacted loyalty found to be a strong driver of brand equity. Repurchase intention and brand preference were influenced by brand equity. Brand loyalty mediated most of the relationships between brand personality dimensions, marketing offerings and brand equity. Brand equity also significantly mediated the relationships between brand loyalty, preference and repurchase intentions. The integrated model produced high explanatory powers with brand equity (67.8%), brand preference (71.7%), brand loyalty (63.2%) and repurchase intentions (54.2%).Originality/valueThe study extends a brand personality-loyalty model through integrating two other models that provided marketing offerings and brand equity outcomes. It demonstrates that a stream of profitable customers' responses awaits a retailer who holds both brand and customer mindsets by building admired brand personalities while providing desired marketing offerings.

This research aims to analyze brand communication and brand image as specific drivers of wine brand preference and their influence on wine consumers’ intention to visit associated wineries. Specifically, this paper enhances the understanding of the roles of advertising-promotion, sponsorship-public relations, corporate social responsibility, and social media in brand communication, as well as functional, emotional and reputation components in brand image development in the context of wine tourism industry. Data was collected through a structured and self-administered questionnaire from 486 visitors to wineries in Spain. Partial least squares regression was used to evaluate the measurement model and the hypotheses. The empirical analysis shows that brand communication and brand image have similar positive effects on brand preference, and that brand image mediates the relationship between brand communication and brand preference. This research suggests implications for theory and practice relative to brand management in terms of communication and image; and it proposes insights into novel communication tools and marketing activities for the winery tourism industry. Firms should employ a holistic evaluation of brand communication to involve the whole organization, which would enhance the strategic role that brand communication plays.

PurposeOrganizations are being compelled to revamp their loyalty programs due to the increase in digital transactions, customer acquisition costs and competition in the loyalty market. Given the significance of consumer-brand relationships, businesses must quickly identify the relationships that best elicit brand loyalty. Thus, this study seeks to develop a comprehensive model about the consumer-brand relationship that encompasses the following constructs: brand trust, brand satisfaction, brand preference, brand affect, brand equity, brand image, commitment, variety seeking, and relationship length, and their influence on brand loyalty. The study also investigates the impact of the bandwagon effect, in tandem with the aforesaid antecedents.Design/methodology/approachA data set comprising 248 consumers in India was used to validate the measures and test the hypotheses. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypothesis. The data analysis was carried out on R version 4.0.2.FindingsThe study found that all the selected constructs exert influence on brand loyalty, although commitment, brand equity and brand preference exhibited the strongest impact. The bandwagon effect also demonstrated a strong effect.Originality/valueThis study advances the field's understanding of information processing through a consolidated meta-view of various consumer-brand relationship constructs along with bandwagon effects. Perhaps the most important contribution is shedding light on the influence of bandwagon effects on brand loyalty.

The desires of consumers as individuals are largely shaped by their aspirations in life, which play a crucial role in deciding their brand preference, but very few studies have focused on the demographic difference in aspirations and its relationship with brand preference, especially in the context of luxury brands, for the consumers in the emerging markets. This paper aims to empirically assess the role of key demographic factors (gender, age, and income) in influencing the aspirations of consumers in India, an emerging market, and their preference for luxury branded products. The hypotheses were developed based on the review of the extant literature and tested through t-test and ANOVA along with the moderation test using PROCESS extension in SPSS 22.0. The study included data collected from 915 Indian consumers, in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities, with prior experience of buying luxury branded products in the fashion segment through a self-administered questionnaire. The results demonstrate that the aspirations, both intrinsic (F = 8.185; p = 0.004) and extrinsic (F = 7.14; p = 0.007) and luxury brand preferences (F = 5.762; p = 0.017) of males and females differ significantly. However, demographic factors of gender (R2 = 0.137; p > 0.05), age (R2 = 0.130; p > 0.05), and income (R2 = 0.132; p > 0.05) were not found to have any moderating effect on the relationship between luxury brand preference and aspirations. The results of the study would help luxury brand marketers to develop their strategic plans for marketing activities by providing insights into the differences in the desires and preferences of their customers.