The Social Influences in Consumer-Brand Relationships: The Moderating Roles of Gender and Consumer Age

Abstract

Brand love and brand loyalty are crucial factors in consumer-brand relationships. However, few studies have examined the impact of social influences on them. Using structural equation modeling, this study investigated the impact of interpersonal influence and celebrity endorser influence on brand love and brand loyalty, the mediating role of brand love between the two social influences and brand loyalty, and finally the moderating roles of gender and consumer age across these relationships. The results suggest that both the social influences have a crucial role in this context and brand love acts as a partial mediator in the association with brand loyalty. Gender did not play the expected moderating role. However, consumers’ age played a significant moderating role in the relationships between social influences and brand love.