Effect of Brand-Consumer Relationships on Brand Loyalty Mediated by Brand Value Creation and Moderated by Brand Community Characteristics in the Hospitality Industry.
| Autor | Alizadeh, Hamid |
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Introduction
The importance of the tourism and hospitality industry has grown substantially over the past few years (Akbari et al., 2021). The $ 500 billion revenue of the hospitality industry has attracted the attention of many investors (Fatma et al., 2017). According to World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) reports, the industry generated total revenues of $ 1.7 trillion (or about $ 4.6 billion per day) in 2018 (World Tourism Organization, 2022). In addition, the retail value of the hotel industry was approximately $ 600 billion in 2018 (Statista, 2020). These reports highlight the crucial role of the industry in the economic growth of countries. On the other hand, the hospitality industry plays an important role in sharing the cultural heritage of different countries and introducing the culture of various communities (Akbari et al., 2021). However, the COVID-19 crisis has had a catastrophic effect on the industry. For example, 150 Hilton hotels were closed in China following the pandemic (Alizadeh et al., 2020; Han, 2020). Some experts have referred to the situation as a crisis in the tourism industry (Ritchie and Jiang, 2019). The tourism industry has become one of the most controversial topics in the scientific community following the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is of great importance for scholars to examine variables influencing the financial performance of this industry. Brand loyalty is a critically important marketing indicator that affects financial performance.
In a study on the hospitality industry of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), T. Nuseir (2020) pointed out the effects of brand and its dimensions on customer purchase intention. Hollebeek et al. (2014) highlighted the importance of brand names for hotel consumers. Creating quality content in the digital marketing process provides marketing managers with major opportunities to establish greater relationships with consumers (Kim and Johnson, 2016).
Lee (2021) notes the importance of extending our knowledge of the gratifications derived from value creation in consumer-brand relationships. Some studies (e.g., Cheung et al., 2021; Ghosh and Jhamb, 2021) have shed light on the importance and dynamics of consumer-brand relationships, whereas others (e.g., Liu et al., 2021) highlight the need to further explore the socio-psychological process of consumer-brand relationships (Wang, 2021).
In the hospitality industry, marketing managers have changed the distribution and consumption of brand content through expanding branding activities and creating brand love. Accordingly, they have contributed to the creation of brand value in hotels (Tsai and Men, 2013). Given the increasing attention paid to hotel services, the similarity of the services offered by different hotels, and their intense competition, marketing managers attempt to offer unique services. In this situation, marketing activities can strongly affect consumer decisions by developing brand-consumer relationships (Simon and Tossan, 2018). In the meantime, it is essential to understand characteristics that stimulate positive emotions of consumers and dramatically affect their decisions (Yen et al., 2020). Hotel consumers will feel deeply satisfied if they gain high value from the services they receive (Osuna Ramirez et al., 2019; Yen et al., 2020).
However, there is disagreement about the nuanced interplay of brand love and brand loyalty and its resultant impact on the brand equity of mass brands with prestige appeal, with empirical research on the topic being in short supply (Das et al., 2022).
In this regard, hotel managers have tried to expand their businesses by attracting more guests and focusing their efforts on communication and branding activities (e.g. offering more economic or social benefits). Hotel marketing managers play a key role in developing brand-consumer relationships. In fact, these relationships are among the most important keys to success in today's competitive environment (Foroudi, 2020). Hotels must properly assess their relationships with their consumers in areas of value creation and brand characteristics in order to survive in this highly competitive environment (Khenfer and Cuny, 2020; Yen et al., 2020).
Brand names are among the most important strategic assets of businesses that have profound effects on consumer behavior (Albert et al., 2013). Brand-consumer relationships influence brand choice, because consumers choose brands based on functional and symbolic characteristics that enhance their self-concept (Haung et al, 2017 Heinrich et al., 2008). Brands are important communication tools in customer relationship management systems, which are valuable to customers for two reasons. First, brands reduce consumer risk, and second, they lower decision-making costs (Wider et al., 2018). Customer disappointment with a brand threatens a company's entire investments and future profits. Therefore, brands and their components are precious organizational assets that affect stakeholder perceptions and behaviors (Osuna Ramirez et al., 2019).
The development of brand-consumer relationships has often been studied as a major task of brand managers (Hajibabaei et al., 2017). In this process, management researchers have increasingly focused their attention on brand value creation (Bange et al., 2019). In today's dynamic market, consumer satisfaction and customer welfare are primary goals of brand names in the discussion of brand-consumer relationships. In this discussion, brands sometimes employ "sensory imageries" at both national and international levels, and thereby promote brand equity in marketing innovations such as the design of new products and services and expansion of brand-consumer relationships (Loureiro and Sarmento, 2019). Marketing campaigns are other effective tools in the marketing science. Marketers may design different campaigns based on various corporate goals (Khenfer and Cuny, 2020; Loureiro and Sarmento, 2019). Given the nature of the services provided by hotels, the creation of competitive advantages in the hospitality industry requires the establishment of strong brand-consumer relationships (Wang et al., 2017). Positive brand-consumer relationships can boost consumer (guest) trust, and thereby contribute to the institutionalization of intangible features of hotels in the consumer's mind (Foroudi, 2020). In addition, brand equity helps hotels create distinctive competitive advantages while maintaining their market share (Khan et al., 2020; Kim and Johnson, 2016).
The present study provides a model for brand-consumer relationships, it offers hotel managers and marketers an invaluable insight into branding, and it emphasizes the need for the establishment of desirable brand-consumer relationships. It also recommends hotel managers tailor their brand names to the needs and lifestyle of consumers, and use their brands as a means of self-expression for consumers. The study contributes to the development of the existing literature on brand-consumer relationships by adding the variables of brand value creation and brand community characteristics. The results indicate that hotel managers need to pay more attention to brand communities while properly managing customer relationships. Finally, from a scientific point of view, the study prepares the ground for future studies by providing a model for brand-consumer relationships and examining the effects of these relationships on brand loyalty, brand community characteristics, and brand value creation.
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Research literature
2.1 Brand-consumer relationships
Today, brand names play a major role in the daily lives of consumers. Recent studies on brand names have mainly focused on brand-consumer relationships (Chinomona, 2016). According to the studies, consumers sometimes attribute human characteristics to a brand and form their relationships with the brand based on these characteristics (Aggarwal, 2004). These relationships involve mutual interactions between the brand and consumers, which are accompanied by a number of repetitive activities that lead to many benefits for both parties.
Relational ties represent the social glue connecting different actors in interpersonal communication and relationships (Ozdemir et al., 2020). In a corporate branding context, brands are found to possess human characteristics and personality traits (i.e. anthropomorphization) (Balmer, 2008; Puzakova et al., 2013), and thus have relationships as social actors, such as with consumers (Fetscherin and Heinrich, 2015; Ozdemir et al., 2020). Various theories have been proposed in this field. Customer relationship marketing theory (Gronroos, 1996) as a relationship marketing approach is used to strengthen customercompany or customer-brand relationships so as to boost customer equity and increase the firm's profitability.
In hospitality contexts, relationship marketing aims to develop long-term relationships with valued customers (So et al., 2013; Su et al., 2016). Based on social identity theory, customer-brand identification helps to explain motivations and reasons which encourage individuals to relate to firms (Tajfel and Turner, 1986). This theory advocates that people usually go beyond their personal identity to develop a social identity (Bhattacharya and Sen, 2003; Tajfel and Turner, 1986). In addition, social identity theory (SIT) is an important theoretical foundation for identification in marketing, as well as broader organizational studies (Elbedweihy et al., 2016; Lam et al., 2013). SIT advocates that people will expend significant effort to develop a social identity, in addition to their more private identity (Bhattacharya and Sen, 2003; Tajfel and Turner, 1986). These arguments also fit with social exchange theory (SET), which centers on people's expected rewards from their social efforts, thereby exhibiting a link between these perspectives. Under SIT, identification helps explain actors' rationale that motivates them...
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