Promoting consumer loyalty and resilience to negative information through brand identity sub-components: an empirical investigation in the luxury electronics goods

Abstract

PurposeThe strategic importance of brand identity management has been emphasized in the brand management literature, but studies that examine brand identity sub-components effects on customer resilience to negative information are very few. In this regard, this study aims to examine the effect of brand distinctiveness and prestige as sub-components of identity on young customers’ loyalty and resilience to negative information through the mediating variable of brand attractiveness in the luxury electronics market.Design/methodology/approachUsing a structured questionnaire, data were collected. Based on a five-point Likert scale were asked of consumers and owners of electronic products (mobile phone, tablet and laptop) to indicate their level of disagreement and agreement with series of statements. After an analytic process, 422 valid questionnaires were obtained. The hypotheses were tested by using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results showed that brand prestige and distinctiveness have direct effect on brand attractiveness, which prestige had more influence than distinctiveness. The results indicated that brand loyalty was strongly affected by direct brand attractiveness, and that the effect of brand attractiveness on the resilience to negative information was not significant. Finally, the study results showed that resilience to negative information is affected by brand loyalty.Originality/valueThis study is significant because it is one of the few studies that examines the effect of brand identity on brand attractiveness and consumers’ extra-role behavior, which results in the development of branding literature in the field of luxury products.