Smart Community Service Brand Functional Value and Sustainable Brand Relationship—The Mediating Role of Customer Emotional Cognition

Yingli Zhang,Ge Yao,Yimei Hu,Hong Zhao

doi:10.3390/su13041833

Yingli Zhang, Ge Yao + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041833

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Abstract

More and more companies are developing customer service by building Smart Community Service Brand Platforms (SCSBP). However, the impact of digital platform functions on sustainable brand relationships, and the mediating mechanism of customer’s emotional cognition are still unclear. The functional value of digital services in the property service industry focuses on three dimensions, including service efficiency, personalization, and social interaction. Regarding consumers’ emotional cognition aspect, we investigate value consistency and brand image. The empirical analysis findings suggest: (1) the functional value of smart community service has a significant positive impact on consumers’ emotional cognition and is positively related to the construction of sustainable brand relationships; (2) consumers’ emotional cognition of smart community service is positively related to the sustainable brand relationship; (3) consumers’ emotional cognition plays a complete mediating role between service efficiency and sustainable brand relationship, demonstrating a partial mediating role between personalization and social interaction aspects of functional value and sustainable brand relationship. This study contributes to the customer-based sustainable brand relationship theory in the digital service environment and provides a reference for companies to continuously improve the SCSBP and customer-based brand construction.

Highlights

With the digitalization of business environment, the brand strategy in service marketing has undergone great changes
It is essential to explore the impact of the functional value of the smart community service brand on the emotional perception of value consistency, we propose the following hypotheses: Hypothesis 2a (H2a)
It is necessary to verify the impact of the functional value of the smart community service brand on the emotional perception of brand image, and we propose the following hypotheses: Hypothesis 3a (H3a)

Summary

Introduction

With the digitalization of business environment, the brand strategy in service marketing has undergone great changes. Brand equity is the result of developing brand relationships [1]. Relationship value is the highest level of value construction. It is a key ability for service providers to establish, develop, and maintain long-lasting relationships with their customers [4]. Smart-City construction and a market-oriented development environment urge property companies to seek competitive advantage through smart community service brands (SCSB). More and more property companies have launched digital brand platforms based on smart communities to provide more dynamic and personalized services for community residents through technologies such as the Internet of Things, sensor network and big data integration.

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