Brand love: the emotional bridge between experience and engagement, generation-M perspective
Journal of Product & Brand Management
ISSN: 1061-0421
Article publication date: 15 March 2019
Issue publication date: 20 March 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact on brand love of consumption experience at the dimensional level and to determine whether brand love mediates between consumption experience and customer engagement in the context of Generation M.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 265 Muslim smartphone users responded to a structured questionnaire adapted from existing literature. First, confirmatory factor analysis was carried out, and then data were analyzed through structural equation modeling using MPlus.
Findings
The findings indicate that hedonic pleasure and escapism directly, while flow, challenge and learning indirectly affect brand love and that brand love mediates the relationship between consumption experience and customer engagement.
Practical implications
This paper explicates Generation M’s consumption experience, ascertains ways to supplement their love for brand and engage them in gainful relationships and provides suggestions for further investigation. From a managerial perspective, the paper has implications for the management of consumer experience, identifies the most valuable dimensions of consumption experience and proposes that managers can develop customer-engagement strategies via brand love.
Originality/value
The paper validates the mediating role of brand love in the relationship between consumption experience and customer engagement; is the first to investigate the relationship between all dimensions of consumption experience and brand love; is one of few studies to investigate consumption experience, brand love and customer engagement in developing countries; and is one of first investigations to use a sample of Generation M.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Number 71571019). The authors are sincerely thankful to editorial team and anonymous referees for giving us helpful suggestions that have enhanced the value of this paper.
Citation
Junaid, M., Hou, F., Hussain, K. and Kirmani, A.A. (2019), "Brand love: the emotional bridge between experience and engagement, generation-M perspective", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 28 No. 2, pp. 200-215. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-04-2018-1852
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited