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Consumer–brand identification revisited: An integrative framework of brand identification, customer satisfaction, and price image and their role for brand loyalty and word of mouth

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Abstract

Consumer–brand identification has received considerable attraction among scholars and practitioners in recent years. We contribute to previous research by proposing an integrative model that includes consumer–brand identification, customer satisfaction, and price image to investigate the interrelationships among these constructs as well as their effects on brand loyalty and positive word of mouth. To provide general results, we empirically test the model using a sample of 1443 respondents from a representative consumer panel and 10 service/product brands. The results demonstrate that identification, satisfaction, and price image significantly influence both loyalty and word of mouth. Moreover, we find significant interrelationships among the constructs: Identification positively influences both satisfaction and price image, which also increases satisfaction. By disclosing the relative importance of three separate ways of gaining and retaining customers, this study helps managers more appropriately choose the right mix of branding, pricing, and relationship marketing. From an academic point of view, our research is the first to explicitly examine the effects of the concept of identification for price management and to integrate variables from the fields of branding, relationship marketing, and behavioral pricing, which have separately been identified as particularly important determinants of marketing outcomes.

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Acknowledgements

The consumer panel was made available at no cost by “arvato online services.”

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Correspondence to Bastian Popp.

Appendix: Panel description

Appendix: Panel description

 

Cases

%

Age in years

  

 18–24 years old

85

5.9

 25–34 years old

449

31.1

 35–54 years old

517

35.8

 45–54 years old

274

19.0

 55–64 years old

93

6.4

 65 years or older

25

1.7

Sex

  

 Male

735

50.9

 Female

708

49.1

Family status

  

 Single

313

21.7

 Married/extramarital cohabitation

1020

70.7

 Divorced

82

5.7

 Widowed

28

1.9

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Popp, B., Woratschek, H. Consumer–brand identification revisited: An integrative framework of brand identification, customer satisfaction, and price image and their role for brand loyalty and word of mouth. J Brand Manag 24, 250–270 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-017-0033-9

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