Maintaining customer-brand relationships in the mobile industry: the mediation effects of brand relationship benefits and quality

Abstract

This study focuses on customers pursuing mobile products in order to attain brand relationship benefits (BRB). This research investigates the antecedents and consequences of BRB and brand relationship quality (BRQ) in the mobile industry. This research adopted structural equation modelling to test the proposed model and had a research sample of 310 smartphone consumers in Taiwan. The results indicate that fashion innovativeness and fashion involvement influence hedonic benefit from the fashion approach of customers' psychological attributes. From the utilitarian approach of product attributes on mobile, usability influences functional benefit, and convenience influences special treatment benefit. Hedonic benefit, functional benefit, and special treatment benefit, all influence BRQ. In addition, BRQ influences repurchase intention. BRB are the mediators between the antecedents and BRQ. BRQ is the mediator between BRB and repurchase intention. As an academic contribution, this study filled a void in this area, as most of the previous studies in this area focused on the influence of service relationship on the relationship benefits and relationship quality rather than on the influence of brand relationship issues. From a managerial standpoint, this study can assist mobile providers to understand which approaches influence customers' repurchase intention.