Learning to foresee the effects of social identity complexity and need for social approval on technology brand loyalty

Abstract

The rapidly growing technological pervasion and virtual communities have drastically changed the way people evaluate a technology brand in tradition. For that reason, this study explores technology brand loyalty to verify its key predictors and mediators for understanding such loyalty in depth. Specifically, this study predicts the effects of social identity complexity and need for social approval on technology brand loyalty by simultaneously assessing the mediating mechanisms of susceptibility to normative influence (SNI) and susceptibility to personality congruence (SPC). Using a survey of 312 smartphone users from the high-tech, financial, and service industries, empirical testing confirms that perceived value and SPC are direct drivers for brand loyalty. Brand loyalty can be enhanced if a clear personality of the brand appears for its major consumers based on the findings of this study. The inferences drawn from the sample in Taiwan are more generalizable to consumers in Asia rather than those in Europe.