Building consumer–brand relationships through brand experience and brand identification

Abstract

Both academics and industry are focusing heavily on building and nurturing consumer–brand relationships. Despite this interest, till now the role of traditional marketing constructs have been explored in developing such relationships. This study presents and tests a unique framework of consumer–brand relationship from experiential and identification perspective. Moreover, this study uncovers the differences in the ways consumers develop and maintain consumer–brand relationships for both product and service brands. Primary data were collected through field surveys, resulting in 321 usable responses. Results reveal that the various dimensions of brand experience have a different influence on the two components of consumer–brand relationship (two-way communications and emotional exchange) across product and service brand categories. Brand identification emerged as a significant predictor of consumer–brand relationship. Furthermore, the extent of the mediating effect of brand identification between various dimensions of brand experience and consumer–brand relationship differs across product and service brands considerably. The study presents several implications for both academicians and practitioners.