Richard Huaman-Ramirez and Dwight Merunka
This paper aims to model and estimate how celebrity chief executive officers (CEOs) credibility (i.e. expertise, trustworthiness, attractiveness) is related to their brand image…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to model and estimate how celebrity chief executive officers (CEOs) credibility (i.e. expertise, trustworthiness, attractiveness) is related to their brand image (i.e. functional, sensory/visual). This paper further examines the effects of consumer materialism on both celebrity CEOs’ credibility and the image of their brand.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 260 participants knowledgeable of CEOs and their corresponding brands completed an online questionnaire in a cross-sectional study. The data were analyzed through covariance-based structural equation modeling.
Findings
Celebrity CEOs’ expertise and attractiveness are positively related to both functional and sensory/visual images of their brands. Results also demonstrate the positive effect of materialism on both celebrity CEOs’ credibility and brand image.
Research limitations/implications
The research was conducted in one country (France) using a cross-sectional design. Additional studies in other settings or countries should be carried out to establish the generalizability of results and strengthen causality inferences.
Practical implications
CEOs need to understand and manage their key role as celebrities, given the direct influence they may have on consumer brand perceptions and behavior.
Originality/value
This study refines the relationship between celebrity CEOs’ credibility and brand image. It is the first to introduce and validate the effect of consumer materialism on the perception of celebrity CEOs.
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Richard Huaman-Ramirez, Nada Maaninou, Dwight Merunka and Véronique Cova
This paper aims to focus on brand oldness associations and their measurement. Research on brand age points to a variety of interpretations concerning perceived brand oldness and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to focus on brand oldness associations and their measurement. Research on brand age points to a variety of interpretations concerning perceived brand oldness and establishes the existence of multiple positive consequences such as brand credibility, trust or attachment. However, the complexity and measurement of brand oldness associations are not yet well-established. This paper proposes a reliable and valid measurement scale of the concept.
Design/methodology/approach
The research follows a rigorous scale-development procedure based on eight empirical studies, with a total of 2,065 respondents. The data were analyzed through covariance-based structural equation modeling.
Findings
The scale consists of 18 items and six dimensions, namely, decline, expertise, maintenance, reminiscence, timelessness and tradition. Results demonstrate an effect of brand oldness associations on both brand attachment and brand equity.
Research limitations/implications
The research was conducted in one country (France). Additional studies in other settings or countries should be carried out to establish generalizability of results and strengthen causality inferences.
Originality/value
This is the first research to study the notion of brand oldness associations. This study identifies its dimensions, develops a measurement scale and demonstrates its reliability and validity.
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Richard Huaman-Ramirez and Dwight Merunka
The purpose of this study is to examine how brand attachment is related to brand experience. The model tests the partial mediating role of brand trust and the moderating role of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine how brand attachment is related to brand experience. The model tests the partial mediating role of brand trust and the moderating role of age and income.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 334 participants consuming brands with an experiential offering completed an online questionnaire in a cross-sectional study. The data were analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), and advanced methods such as the heterotrait–monotrait ratio and the Henseler’s multigroup analysis were used.
Findings
Brand experience is positively related to brand attachment, more so for younger consumers. This relationship holds for both hedonic and utilitarian brands. Results demonstrate the partial mediation of brand trust in this relationship, especially for utilitarian brands, and with a weaker indirect relationship for high-income consumers.
Research limitations/implications
The research was conducted in one country (Peru). Generalizability of results should be established by carrying out additional studies in other settings or countries.
Practical implications
Experiential marketing both as a positioning strategy and through marketing operations may help brands to increase consumer attachment. This may be managed both through the direct effect of favoring positive experiences and through the enhancement of brand trust. This is particularly the case for target markets composed of young and low-to-medium-income consumers.
Originality/value
Results confirm the impact of brand experience on brand attachment for both utilitarian and hedonic brands, and establish both the mediating role of brand trust and the moderating role of age and income. These are new insights on the process itself and on boundary conditions of an important established relationship.
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Khaled Lahlouh, Delphine Lacaze and Richard Huaman-Ramirez
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between different categories of person–environment (P–E) fit and two types of retirement intentions (i.e. full retirement…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between different categories of person–environment (P–E) fit and two types of retirement intentions (i.e. full retirement and bridge employment).
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from a convenience sample of 357 executives aged 50 and over, employed in French private sector companies. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling.
Findings
Perceptions of value congruence at vocational level and needs and supplies fit at organizational and job levels were positively related to the intention to hold bridge employment after retirement. The fit between older worker’s abilities and job demands was positively related to the two types of retirement intentions.
Originality/value
The complexity of retirement transition is taken into account with the introduction of two types of retirement intentions. P–E fit is shown to be an antecedent of career intentions after retirement.
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Richard Huaman-Ramirez, Noël Albert and Dwight Merunka
This paper aims to extend the understanding of how global brands can positively influence brand trust by introducing two new mediating variables – brand affect and brand…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to extend the understanding of how global brands can positively influence brand trust by introducing two new mediating variables – brand affect and brand innovativeness, and testing the moderating role of consumer ethnocentrism in these relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 250 participants completed self-administered online questionnaires in a cross-sectional study in France. Moderated mediation and floodlight analysis were performed.
Findings
Brand globalness is positively related to brand affect and this, in turn, is positively related to brand trust. The relationship between brand globalness and brand affect is weaker for ethnocentrist consumers. Brand globalness is positively related to brand innovativeness and this, in turn, is positively related to brand trust. The relationship between brand globalness and brand innovativeness is weaker for ethnocentrist consumers.
Research limitations/implications
A limited number of fast-food brands was analyzed. Future studies should replicate the research model using different product categories to generalize the findings.
Practical implications
This study offers new opportunities for managers concerned by the optimization of their global brands management. First, the results demonstrate the interest of managers to increase the emotional and affective aspects of their global brands to make them more trustable. Second, brand managers should also emphasize the innovative aspects of their global brand. Indeed, it is essential for practitioners not only to propose frequently new and innovative products to consumers but also to follow the latest trends in their market. The more managers provide new, useful solutions to fulfill consumers’ needs, the more consumers will trust those global brands.
Originality/value
The mediating role of brand affect and brand innovativeness in the relationship between brand globalness and brand trust gives new insights on an established relationship.
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This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose:
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Design:
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings:
Celebrity CEOs are a new type of celebrity able to profoundly impact their own companies and brands just through their personal actions, in ways previous CEOs have not been able to do.
Originality:
The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.
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Social media-based brand communities (SMBBCs) have emerged as one of the most significant marketing tools due to their ability to create and maintain close relationships between…
Abstract
Purpose
Social media-based brand communities (SMBBCs) have emerged as one of the most significant marketing tools due to their ability to create and maintain close relationships between SMBBCs and consumers. However, past studies have ignored intimacy toward SMBBCs, particularly the role of individual variances in their development. Researchers have revealed the significant impacts of individual differences in attachment styles on the development of brand–consumer relationships based on attachment theory. Accordingly, this study aims to explore the drivers of intimacy toward SMBBCs from the perspective of attachment theory.
Design/methodology/approach
This study examines a proposed model that integrates two attachment styles – attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety – self-disclosure on social media and intimacy toward SMBBCs through two samples in the context of brands’ Facebook fan pages.
Findings
The results show that attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety have significantly negative and positive effects on self-disclosure on social media, respectively, which contribute to intimacy toward SMBBCs.
Practical implications
The results offer brand managers significant implications for segmenting markets and developing relationship marketing strategies for their brand communities on social media.
Originality/value
This study is the first attempt to explore the driving factors of intimacy toward SMBBCs from the attachment theory perspective.
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Costanza Nosi, Tommaso Pucci, Yioula Melanthiou and Lorenzo Zanni
The study tests a model that considers online brand trust in different nonbrand-owned touchpoints as a multifactorial construct constituted by: social network influencers…
Abstract
Purpose
The study tests a model that considers online brand trust in different nonbrand-owned touchpoints as a multifactorial construct constituted by: social network influencers, bloggers, online retail platforms and brand-related user generated content. Furthermore, it examines the influences that offline and online brand trust exert on consumer buying intention.
Design/methodology/approach
A convenience sample of 3,335 total individuals participated in the survey. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
Online brand trust is significantly influenced by trust in all investigated nonbrand-owned touchpoints. Both offline and online brand trust positively influence buying intention.
Research limitations/implications
Whereas brand trust is considered a multidimensional construct that includes both cognitive and affective aspects, in addition to individuals' personality traits, the present study only investigated the rational dimension of the brand trust paradigm. Moreover, this study examined the influence of brand trust on consumers' buying intention and not overt behavior. In addition, even though the extant literature suggests that the relation between trust and behavioral outcomes may vary across cultures, no test of the possible influences that culture exerted on brand trust and BInt was run. Finally, given the convenience sampling method used in this research, statistically significant surveys would provide a more solid basis for the investigated phenomenon, and they would enable an appropriate generalization of the findings.
Practical implications
To build brand trust and favour buying intention, marketers should monitor and influence the online touchpoints that are partially under or totally out of their control, and reconceive and manage physical stores.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the stream of literature on online brand trust by proving that it is a multifactorial construct resulting from trust in different non-proprietary online entities and pointing out the prevalent role that physical stores play in shaping consumer buying intention. It also indicates that a trust transfer effect takes place between different online information sources and offline outlets.
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Jinhua He, Jiaxin Xiang and Jing Wang
This study explores the influence of heritage brand extension on consumer purchase intention and analyses the effects of pop culture involvement. The extension of heritage brands…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores the influence of heritage brand extension on consumer purchase intention and analyses the effects of pop culture involvement. The extension of heritage brands is becoming increasingly difficult because such an extension needs to be consistent with the unique characteristics of brands and resonate with consumers. However, few scholars discuss the influence of consumers' level of pop culture involvement on brand extension and purchasing behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
Taking time-honoured brands as an example, this study established a conceptual model based on a comprehensive review of the literature, and then tested the model using a sample of 255 respondents who were familiar with one of the selected Chinese time-honoured brands. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the relationships amongst brand extension fit, pop culture involvement, perceived value and purchase intention.
Findings
Time-honoured brand extension fit has a positive impact on consumer purchase intention, and this path is significantly influenced by the mediation mechanisms of perceived value. Situational pop culture involvement can significantly strengthen the relationship between time-honoured brand extension fit and perceived value, whereas enduring pop culture involvement does not.
Originality/value
The results clarify and expand on the different roles of cultural involvement in time-honoured brands and broaden research on the influence of cultural involvement in this regard. This study has significant theoretical value for the inheritance and revival of heritage brands and provides a reference for the practice of time-honoured brands.
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This study aims to identify and examine the effect of brand reputation on brand advocacy by evaluating the mediating effect of emotional attachment. The study also tests the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify and examine the effect of brand reputation on brand advocacy by evaluating the mediating effect of emotional attachment. The study also tests the relationships by appraising the moderating effect of experience and price perception. The research model is also assessed across the two brand types (hedonic brands and utilitarian brands).
Design/methodology/approach
Overall, 426 valid questionnaires were collected through an online survey. To test the proposed hypotheses, structural equation modeling was used.
Findings
The results mainly support the model by confirming that brand reputation is positively related to emotional attachment. The brand reputation also has an indirect effect on brand advocacy through emotional attachment. The findings of the study reveal a positive relationship between emotional attachment and brand advocacy. Both moderators applied were found to reinforce the relationships. The results also show the different outcomes for the two brand types.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the literature by introducing and assessing a research model that displays the path in which a brand reputation significantly affects advocacy for a brand through emotional attachment. Two moderators are involved in this path. Corresponding to the research model, an assessment of hedonic and utilitarian brands is also performed.