Background: Customers are becoming increasingly conscious about sustainability, for instance when choosing a fast-fashion brand. Brand loyal customers are in direct relation with the success of a brand and promoting brand information of sustainability efforts on social media platforms could positively influence customers brand loyalty, brand satisfaction, brand trust and brand engagement.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between brand information regarding sustainability efforts of fast-fashion brands and brand loyalty, brand satisfaction, brand trust as well as brand engagement. Further, this study examines whether brand trust and brand engagement work as antecedents to brand satisfaction, respectively brand satisfaction to brand loyalty.  Research questions:  How does brand information of sustainability efforts from fast-fashion brands on social media affect brand loyalty? How does brand information of sustainability efforts from fast-fashion brands on social media affect brand satisfaction and its antecedents brand trust and brand engagement? How do brand engagement and brand trust affect brand satisfaction respectively brand loyalty?  Methodology: This research follows a quantitative and deductive research approach. The data was collected through an online survey and the sampling method was a non- probability and a snowball sample. The data collection reached a total of 160 answers which were analyzed through SPSS. Validity and reliability were ensured before testing the hypotheses.  Findings: The findings from this research revealed that there is a positive relationship between brand information regarding sustainability efforts and brand loyalty, brand satisfaction, brand trust, and brand engagement. Further, the results indicated that the hypothesized antecedents brand trust and brand engagement were also accepted.  Implications: This study contributes with its results to today’s increased interest in sustainability, and it delivers significant insights which could be used by fast- fashion brands strategic decisions regarding the content of social media channels. Further, it adds valuable information to current academic literature in a few different ways.  Originality: This paper brings focus to the importance of brand loyalty and how closely it is related to brand information regarding sustainability efforts of fast-fashion brands.

This thesis investigates a generalisable cross-cultural model for brand loyalty by integrating extant theories of personal cultural orientation (of individualism and collectivism), self-congruity (actual, ideal, social, and ideal social self-congurity), customer satisfaction, attitudinal brand loyalty, and behavioural brand loyalty. Creating brand loyalty is a key branding issue in modern marketing. Brands are faced with the challenge of building, maintaining, and increasing their capacity to drive customer loyalty across borders with consumers of different cultures. Notwithstanding the growth of culturally centered brand loyalty research, the focus of research today continues to be on cross-cultural differences, often overlooking the generalisable cross-cultural path to consumer brand loyalty. This study instead addresses this overlooked topic of cross-cultural generalisabilities across nations. To assess the cross-cultural generalisability of the conceptual model, survey data from a non-student sample were collected from middle-class, Generation Y individuals of the relevant nationality who have always lived in China, Singapore, or the United States. After performing data cleaning procedures, 541 usable responses from three countries were analysed with the use of the SEM model. The findings show that the personal cultural orientation of collectivism has a positive effect on behavioural brand loyalty through ideal social self-congruity, customer satisfaction, and attitudinal brand loyalty. These findings extend brand loyalty research by considering how an individual’s personal cultural orientation impacts brand loyalty. Moreover, the findings offer marketers increased insight into consumers’ brand loyalty formation process in cross-cultural contexts. The limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are also presented.

The impact of identity on brand loyalty has taken precedence as an area of focus in recent marketing research. This has taken place in an era defined by technological revolution, which has created market disruptions and there are implications for customer–brand relationships. Nonetheless, the extant literature on brand loyalty does not extensively acknowledge the impact of socio-psychological attributes but rather functional utility maximisation. The brand loyalty literature has the notion that the perceived value of a brand is conceptualised and operationalised as a functional utilitarian value. Knowledge that illuminates how firms can reposition themselves to sustain brand loyalty when disruptions occur in today’s complex and globalised business environment is explored in this study, through empirical investigation into the phenomenon of brand switching behaviour among consumers in a specific competitive market, namely, the Smartphone Industry. The current study explores how resistance could be built from an identity theory perspective. As highlighted above, much emphasis has historically been placed on the functional utility of products at the expense of social meanings. Given the relative paucity of literature on identity and brand loyalty, this study adopts a grounded theory methodology based on a survey and a series of in-depth interviews across Ghana and the UK to access consumers’ insights and experiences of specific brands in the Smartphone industry. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and coded, utilising the three-stage process of analysing data; specifically, open, axial and selective coding. This study is the first to combine brand loyalty literature, identity theory and grounded theory to study the behaviour of brand switching in the Smartphone Industry. This study identified a gap in knowledge in the brand loyalty literature, as it focuses only on how brands perform under normal market conditions. Hence, this study provided consideration for market disruptions in the Smartphone industry. Empirical data from Smartphone users confirmed in this study that underlining factors which are non-utilitarian factors such as socio-psychological benefits, motivate consumers to continue buying the brands they buy. The study also established that the sustainability of brand loyalty could be accomplished from an identity theory perspective by adapting and advancing a customer–brand identification (CBI) model, to examine the phenomenon of brand switching in the Smartphone industry at a more matured and competitive stage.

abstract: The aim of this study is to conduct the empirical tests on consumer's emotional responses of product design and the relationship between emotion and consumer's attitudinal loyalty to identify if there exists potential relationship links between these two factors together by following certain regulation. This study also seeks to compare Brand Loyalty of Apple products across two different cultures - China and US to see if there are any differences regarding their brand loyalty construction and expression. The emotional responses on product design were also studied in order to reveal potential emotional design issues between the two different cultures. Results of this study show that: (1) Brand loyalty strengthens a consumer's emotion bond with a targeted brand through its product carrier. Emotion is seen as a predictor for brand loyalty based on consumer proportionality and conformity of expression. (2) Cognitive experience is not necessary nor a sufficient condition to build brand loyalty. Emotion and culture will be crucial in constructing brand loyalty without cognition. Cultural differences will affect brand loyalty, especially regarding attitudinal loyalty. (3) Different cultures share different ways of emotional expression. Based on the scope, limitations, and results of this research, Chinese consumers appear to be more sensitive in their emotional feelings of the iPad's design than American consumers. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.D. Design 2012

In today’s retail landscape, the goal of retaining loyal customers is a pivotal part of success. Multichannel retailers offer an extended service package which increases the chances of totally satisfied customers, a requirement for loyalty. In 2017, 20-30 percent of all purchased e-commerce goods were returned. This aroused an interest in how consumer behaviour is influenced by a multichannel retailers’ delivery- and return policies, and so the purpose of this study was defined. The nature of the purpose directed the study to a quantitative form, where primary data was collected by conducting a survey on Lulea University of Technology (LTU) students. A requirement for the participants was to have experience in online purchasing from a multichannel retailer, such as Zara. A theoretical framework consisting of hypotheses and the main theories of the study were formed to conceptualise the potential relations. This framework was then used as a basis throughout the data analysis that made use of established measures, which were performed by means of multiple regressions and correlations on the data. The analysis revealed mixed results, some rejecting the null hypotheses and some confirming it. In other words, there exists a relation and direct link between delivery- and return policies towards brand image. This study could not prove a direct connection between delivery- and return policies towards brand loyalty, potentially due to a small sample size. A false negative also deemed the final connection between brand image and brand loyalty as inconclusive, however a larger survey sample would probably have resulted in a proven relation. This study has begun filling the gap between how delivery- and return policies influence multichannel retailers brand image and brand loyalty, an area with scarce information. The research team recommends future studies to conduct qualitative approaches to gain deeper insight into the mind of the consumer and their thoughts regarding the discussed policies. In addition, future research could view it from a company perspective to create a circumferential information stream. Most importantly, a large sample should be obtained to make sure that the relations expected to exist, can be proven.

Brand loyalty has long been an important factor for companies’ sustainability and profitability, as it is less expensive to retain existing customers than acquiring new ones. In correlation to the importance of brand loyalty, there is a new vast generation, called the millennials’ or generation Y coming in to the market that is different than any generation before. This generational cohort has shown tendencies of being very disloyal, yet not all authors agree. Furthermore, some positive evidence has been found that millennials consider brands as a way of expressing their own identity and are driven by a need of having a trendy social image. The role of brand identity has therefore been chosen as an important key factor to examine this generation’s brand loyalty. Due to the poor research and the complexity of understanding millennial’s brand loyalty, the purpose of this study is to acknowledge the role of brand identity and to enhance the knowledge about brand loyalty of millennials when it comes to fashion brands.The research is of a quantitative and deductive nature where the primary data of the study was collected through surveys. 108 people participated in the study and the participants were millennials between an age interval of 18-38 years. The result of the study shows that there is a link between brand identity and brand image and that there is a positive relationship between brand image and brand loyalty. Moreover, comparing the brand image of two companies H&M and Ralph Lauren to the respondents’ brand loyalty towards the fast fashion and luxury fashion industry showed a correlation of equivalent loyalty towards the two industries. However, the respondents that were loyal towards the luxury fashion industry were shown to have a higher general brand loyalty.The findings of this research provide evidence that millennial can be loyal, but their loyalty may differ depending on the industry. Therefore, millennials display equal loyalty to the fast fashion and to the luxury fashion industry, but overall loyalty of luxury fashion followers is higher in general.

Existing studies on happiness in consumer research argued that brands should contribute to consumers’ happiness through experiences, yet they have failed to discuss how individual brand experience dimensions could contribute to consumer happiness, leading to increased brand loyalty and price premium. Bridging brand experience and consumers’ orientation to happiness literature together, this thesis theoretically argues and empirically proves that brand experience could influence brand loyalty and price premium through the mediating effect of consumer happiness. Survey data collected from 1086 participants based on their restaurant dining experiences in the UK show that each brand experience dimension affects consumer behaviour outcomes differently. Relational brand experience contributes the most to happiness, brand loyalty and price premium, followed by emotional brand experience. The findings support the mediating role of happiness and its orientations between brand experience dimensions and consumer behaviour outcomes. Further, the result validates the three different orientations to happiness in a consumption context, and demonstrates that pleasure is the dominant route to happiness, compared to meaning and engagement. The thesis aids new light to existing understanding on brand experience and happiness. Marketers are recommended to focus their effort on delivering certain brand experience dimensions more effectively. For restaurant brand managers, relational and emotional brand experience dimensions are considered most important to acquire customers brand loyalty and price premium.

Desenvolver e manter a lealdade dos consumidores em relação à marca é requisito estratégico para negócios bem-sucedidos. No atual contexto competitivo o consumidor não está mais interessado em comprar produtos ou serviços apenas pelos seus benefícios funcionais, mas, sobretudo pela decorrência dos valores simbólicos e afetivos que este sente em relação aos mesmos ou à marca. Neste sentido, o presente estudo teve por objetivo analisar o impacto dos construtos Qualidade Percebida, Consciência da Marca, Personalidade da Marca e Amor à Marca como determinantes da Lealdade à Marca dos consumidores. Assim sendo, o cerne desta investigação foi desenvolver um Modelo Teórico acerca dos determinantes da Lealdade à Marca. Para atingir este objetivo, inicialmente foi feito um levantamento teórico sobre estes construtos, propondo um modelo teórico, que foi testado e validado. O estudo foi realizado sobre a perspectiva de consumidores da marca de refrigerante Guaraná Jesus, na cidade de São Luís, no Estado do Maranhão (MA), no Brasil. Portanto, para avaliar o Modelo Teórico proposto, contemplando os determinantes da Lealdade à Marca, foi considerado como contexto de pesquisa a marca de refrigerante Guaraná Jesus, mediante o acesso a consumidores deste produto, pelo fato de terem um forte vínculo com a marca e o produto. Os dados foram analisados estatisticamente utilizando técnicas de análise multivariadas, mais especificamente a Modelagem de Equações Estruturais, que auxiliou na explicação do fenômeno estudado. Os resultados validaram o modelo teórico proposto a partir dos índices obtidos e da confirmação de todas as suposições (hipóteses) iniciais. Dessa forma, conclui-se que há uma relação positiva e significativa entre os construtos Consciência da Marca e Qualidade Percebida. Igualmente, atesta-se que o construto Personalidade da Marca influencia de forma significativa e direta a Consciência da Marca, a Qualidade Percebida e o Amor à Marca. Ficou demonstrado, ainda, que o construto Amor à Marca tem forte influência sobre a Lealdade à Marca, e que a frequência de consumo pode agir como um moderador significativo desta relação. Este estudo, portanto, contribui para uma maior compreensão sobre a temática com uma gama de argumentos de âmbito acadêmico e gerencial, que podem ser explorados em pesquisas futuras para o amadurecimento dos construtos bem como o próprio modelo teórico validado, no âmbito da gestão empresarial no que se refere ao gerenciamento de marcas. / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, CNPq / Developing and maintaining consumer loyalty towards the brand is a strategic requirement for successful business. In the current competitive context, the consumer is no longer interested in buying products or services only for their functional benefits, but mainly because of the symbolic and affective values that he or she feels in relation to them or to the brand. In this sense the present study aimed to analyze the impact of the constructs Perceived Quality, Brand Awareness, Brand Personality and Brand Love as determinants of consumers' Brand Loyalty. Thus the core of this research was to develop a Theoretical Model on the determinants of Brand Loyalty. To achieve this objective, a theoretical research was initially made, proposing a theoretical model, which was tested and validated. The study was carried out on the perspective of consumers of the Guaraná Jesus soft drink brand, in the city of São Luís, State of Maranhão (MA), Brazil. Therefore, in order to evaluate the proposed Theoretical Model, considering, the determinants of Brand Loyalty, the Guaraná Jesus brand of soft drink was considered as a research context by accessing these consumers of this product because they have a strong bond with the brand and the product. The data were analyzed statistically using Multivariate Analysis techniques, more specifically the Modeling of Structural Equations (SEM), which aided in the explanation of the studied phenomenon. The results validated the theoretical model proposed from the indexes obtained and from the confirmation of all the initial assumptions (hypotheses). Thus, it is concluded that there is a positive and meaningful relationship between the constructs Brand Awareness and Perceived Quality. Likewise, it is confirmed that the Brand Personality construct influences in a significant and direct way the Brand Awareness, the Perceived Quality and the construct Brand Love. It has been demonstrated that the Brand Love has a strong influence on Brand Loyalty and that the level of consumption can act as a significant moderator of this relationship. This study therefore contributes to a greater understanding of the thematic and with a range of arguments of academic and managerial scope, which can be explored in future research for the maturation of constructs as well as the validated theoretical model itself and in the Business management in terms of brand management.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Hotel, Restaurant, Institution Management and Dietetics / Ki-Joon Back / Carol W. Shanklin / This study was designed to explore the measurement and application of brand personality congruence (BPC), defined as the gap between the customer’s own personality and a restaurant’s brand personality as perceived by the customer. The study involved two phases: Phase I primarily focused on the development of the BPC scale based on the existing Brand Personality Scale (Aaker 1997), while Phase II involved testing the relationship between BPC and brand loyalty and the mediating effects of satisfaction and trust on that relationship. Both Phases used the online survey methodology for data collection. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the dimensionality of brand personality. The five-factor solution was supported with the dimensions of sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness. Exploratory factor analysis showed that brand personality dimensions were not stable for measuring customer personality. Only characteristics most closely associated with the Big Five dimensions of agreeableness, extroversion, and conscientiousness significantly loaded on the customer personality scale. A confirmatory factor analysis of the reduced scale resulted in a 5-factor solution: successful, exciting, unique, sincere, and friendly. Because BPC was operationalized as the gap between the customer’s perceived personality and the restaurant’s brand personality as perceived by the customer, only indicators that were common between the two scales were used to establish the 17-item BPC scale consisting of the following dimensions: exciting, unique, sincere, and leader. In Phase II, second-order structural equation modeling was used to test BPC as an antecedent of the post-purchase evaluations of trust, satisfaction, and brand loyalty. Results indicated strong positive relationships, which suggested that higher congruence with the brand’s personality results in increased trust, satisfaction, and brand loyalty. BPC had the greatest direct effect on trust and also had indirect effects on satisfaction via trust and brand loyalty via trust and satisfaction. Additional analyses showed that trust and satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between BPC and brand loyalty. Trust also mediated the relationship between BPC and satisfaction. Results implied that as the restaurant brand earns a customer’s trust over time, the customer’s evaluation of overall satisfaction with the brand also increases and leads to stronger brand loyalty.

The generation of Millennials is becoming a very important segment in today's beauty market, because of their large size, purchasing power and engagement on social media. The Millennial consumers are heavy buyers of beauty products, but heavy buyers are not always loyal to the beauty brands. The concept of what is considered beautiful constantly changes, and there is an aspect of trendiness to the use of cosmetic products. Brands launch new products on a regular basis to follow fashion and because the product lifecycle often is short, and purchasing what is trendy right now might not leave much room for loyalty, as other brands or products are soon trendier. There are constricting views on whether it is possible to achieve brand loyalty among Millennials. Many question the possibility of gaining brand loyalty among this generation, others state that while they could possibly be loyal, this usually only lasts for a short period of time. Although several attempts to establish whether Millennials are in fact brand loyal have been made, few have looked at how marketers view brand loyalty when marketing to Millennials. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to add understanding of how companies in the beauty industry can work to create brand loyalty among Millennials, through a case study of the world leading beauty company, L'Oréal. This exploratory study takes on an inductive research approach, as it aims to add understanding in the field of brand loyalty among the generation Millennials. In order to answer the research questions, five semi-structured interviews were conducted on marketers who are experts in the field of marketing towards Millennials. The results of this study showed that the generation Millennials is an important target group in the beauty industry of today, due to their large size and strong power of choice. There is a congruence between the Millennial self-image and brand image, which proves the importance of a positive brand image. The findings also showed that it is important for companies to speak the language of Millennials but still keep a coherent balance among brands. Offering an experience to Millennials makes them more perceptible to brand loyalty, if the experience is positive, and co-creating brand personalities can help in this endeavor as well. Other valuable findings showed the importance of authenticity and credibility together with of a full range brand portfolio, due to lower incentives to switch between brands. This study contributes with understanding to how marketers in the beauty industry can work towards achieving brand loyalty among the generation Millennials, by giving examples of how five experienced marketers at L’Oréal works with this challenge. Furthermore, the results of this study contribute to the research gap and are applicable in the research area of brand loyalty in the beauty industry. The study uncovered that digital marketing works without paid media, but paid media without digital marketing is not an option. Therefore, one of our recommendations to companies in the beauty industry is to always use digital media while marketing towards the generation Millennials.