The author presents a conceptual model of brand equity from the perspective of the individual consumer. Customer-based brand equity is defined as the differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand. A brand is said to have positive (negative) customer-based brand equity when consumers react more (less) favorably to an element of the marketing mix for the brand than they do to the same marketing mix element when it is attributed to a fictitiously named or unnamed version of the product or service. Brand knowledge is conceptualized according to an associative network memory model in terms of two components, brand awareness and brand image (i.e., a set of brand associations). Customer-based brand equity occurs when the consumer is familiar with the brand and holds some favorable, strong, and unique brand associations in memory. Issues in building, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity are discussed, as well as areas for future research. Keller, K. L. (1993). Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Managing Customer-Based Brand Equity. Journal of Marketing, 57(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299305700101

Evidence from past research and insights from an exploratory investigation are combined in a conceptual model that defines and relates price, perceived quality, and perceived value. Propositions about the concepts and their relationships are presented, then supported with evidence from the literature. Discussion centers on directions for research and implications for managing price, quality, and value.

Zeithaml, V. A. (1988). Consumer Perceptions of Price, Quality, and Value: A Means-End Model and Synthesis of Evidence. Journal of Marketing, 52(3), 2-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224298805200302

Little systematic research has been done to develop a scale to measure consumer-based brand equity. The authors report the results of a multistep study to develop and validate a multidimensional consumer-based brand equity scale (MBE) drawn from Aaker’s and Keller’s conceptualizations of brand equity. A total of 1530 American, Korean American, and Korean participants evaluated 12 brands from three product categories (athletic shoes, film for cameras, and color television sets). Multistep psychometric tests demonstrate that the new brand equity scale is reliable, valid, parsimonious, and generalizable across several cultures and product categories. The authors discuss theoretical and practical implications of the study.

Yoo, B., & Donthu, N… (2001). Developing and validating a multidimensional consumer-based brand equity scale. In Journal of Business Research (Vol. 52, Number 1, pp. 1–14). Journal of Business Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0148-2963(99)00098-3

This article presents managers with a framework for measuring the strength of a brand. It specifically examines ten sets of measures grouped into five categories: loyalty, perceived quality, associations, awareness, and market behavior. Employing these measures can be difficult and their results must be used carefully. However, they have the capacity to provide managers with a set of important and extremely useful measurement tools.

Aaker, D. A… (1996). Measuring Brand Equity Across Products and Markets. In California Management Review (Vol. 38, Number 3, pp. 102–120). California Management Review. https://doi.org/10.2307/41165845

This study explores the relationships between selected marketing mix elements and the creation of brand equity. The authors propose a conceptual framework in which marketing elements are related to the dimensions of brand equity, that is, perceived quality, brand loyalty, and brand associations combined with brand awareness. These dimensions are then related to brand equity. The empirical tests using a structural equation model support the research hypotheses. The results show that frequent price promotions, such as price deals, are related to low brand equity, whereas high advertising spending, high price, good store image, and high distribution intensity are related to high brand equity.

Yoo, B., Donthu, N., & Lee, S… (2000). An Examination of Selected Marketing Mix Elements and Brand Equity. In Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (Vol. 28, Number 2, pp. 195–211). Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070300282002

The increased priority placed on branding by marketers in recent years offers an opportunity for consumer researchers to provide valuable insights and guidance. In particular, in highly competitive marketplaces, marketers often must link their brands to other entities, for example, people, places, things, or other brands, as a means to improve their brand equity. Understanding this leveraging process requires understanding consumer brand knowledge and how it changes from such associations. In this essay, I identify some promising and productive current research on this topic, and I suggest some important issues for future research. I conclude that adopting broader, more holistic perspectives that synthesize the multidimensionality of brand knowledge is critical to advance branding theory and practice, both in general and with brand leveraging in particular.

Keller, K. L. (1993). Brand Synthesis: The Multidimensionality of Brand Knowledge, Journal of Consumer Research (Vol. 29, Number 4, pp. 595-600).https://doi.org/10.1086/346254

In packaged goods, the product is the primary brand. However with services, the company is the primary brand. This article, based on primary research with 14 mature, high-performance service companies, makes a case for service branding as a cornerstone of services marketing for today and tomorrow. The article presents a service-branding model that underscores the salient role of customers’ service experiences in brand formation. Four primary strategies that excellent service firms use to cultivate brand equity are discussed and illustrated. Branding is nor just for tangible goods; it is a principal success driver for service organizations as well.

Berry, L. L… (2000). Cultivating Service Brand Equity. In Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (Vol. 28, Number 1, pp. 128–137). Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070300281012

Branding has emerged as a top management priority in the last decade due to the growing realization that brands are one of the most valuable intangible assets that firms have. Driven in part by this intense industry interest, academic researchers have explored a number of different brand-related topics in recent years, generating scores of papers, articles, research reports, and books. This paper identifies some of the influential work in the branding area, highlighting what has been learned from an academic perspective on important topics such as brand positioning, brand integration, brand-equity measurement, brand growth, and brand management. The paper also outlines some gaps that exist in the research of branding and brand equity and formulates a series of related research questions. Choice modeling implications of the branding concept and the challenges of incorporating main and interaction effects of branding as well as the impact of competition are discussed.

Keller, K. L., & Lehmann, D. R… (2006). Brands and Branding: Research Findings and Future Priorities. In Marketing Science (Vol. 25, Number 6, pp. 740–759). Marketing Science. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.1050.0153

Two studies were conducted to obtain insights on how consumers form attitudes toward brand extensions, (i.e., use of an established brand name to enter a new product category). In one study, reactions to 20 brand extension concepts involving six well-known brand names were examined. Attitude toward the extension was higher when (1) there was both a perception of “fit” between the two product classes along one of three dimensions and a perception of high quality for the original brand or (2) the extension was not regarded as too easy to make. A second study examined the effectiveness of different positioning strategies for extensions. The experimental findings show that potentially negative associations can be neutralized more effectively by elaborating on the attributes of the brand extension than by reminding consumers of the positive associations with the original brand.

Aaker, D. A., & Keller, K. L… (1990). Consumer Evaluations of Brand Extensions. In Journal of Marketing (Vol. 54, Number 1, p. 27). Journal of Marketing. https://doi.org/10.2307/1252171

Conveying a brand image to a target market is a fundamental marketing activity. The authors present normative framework, termed brand concept management (BCM), for selecting, implementing, and con trolling a brand image over time. The framework consists of a sequential process of selecting, introducing, elaborating, and fortifying a brand concept. The concept guides positioning strategies, and hence the brand image, at each of these stages. The method for maintaining this concept-image linkage de- pends on whether the brand concept is functional, symbolic, or experiential. Maintaining this linkage should significantly enhance the brand’s market performance.

Park, C. W., Jaworski, B. J., & Maclnnis, D. J… (1986). Strategic Brand Concept-Image Management. In Journal of Marketing (Vol. 50, Number 4, p. 135). Journal of Marketing. https://doi.org/10.2307/1251291

In this article, the author studies the processes by which consumers’ quality perceptions of a brand in a product category are affected by their experience with the same brand in a different category. The model proposed and estimated explicitly incorporates some of the basic consumer behavior premises of signaling theory of umbrella branding (Montgomery and Wernerfelt 1992; Wernerfelt 1988), The author provides a framework to analyze the impact of marketing mix strategies in one product category on quality perceptions, consumer perceived risk, and consumer choice behavior in a different category. The model is estimated on panel data for two oral hygiene products, toothpaste and toothbrushes, in which a subset of brands share the same brand name across the two product categories. The results show strong support for the consumer premises of the signaling theory of umbrella branding.

Erdem, T… (1998). An Empirical Analysis of Umbrella Branding. In Journal of Marketing Research (Vol. 35, Number 3, p. 339). Journal of Marketing Research. https://doi.org/10.2307/3152032

The statistical tests used in the analysis of structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error are examined. A drawback of the commonly applied chi square test, in addition to the known problems related to sample size and power, is that it may indicate an increasing correspondence between the hypothesized model and the observed data as both the measurement properties and the relationship between constructs decline. Further, and contrary to common assertion, the risk of making a Type II error can be substantial even when the sample size is large. Moreover, the present testing methods are unable to assess a model’s explanatory power. To overcome these problems, the authors develop and apply a testing system based on measures of shared variance within the structural model, measurement model, and overall model.

Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104

Interest in the problem of method biases has a long history in the behavioral sciences. Despite this, a comprehensive summary of the potential sources of method biases and how to control for them does not exist. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine the extent to which method biases influence behavioral research results, identify potential sources of method biases, discuss the cognitive processes through which method biases influence responses to measures, evaluate the many different procedural and statistical techniques that can be used to control method biases, and provide recommendations for how to select appropriate procedural and statistical remedies for different types of research settings.

Podsakoff, P. M., Mackenzie, S. B., Lee, J.-Y., & Podsakoff, N. P… (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies… In Journal of Applied Psychology (Vol. 88, Number 5, pp. 879–903). Journal of Applied Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879

The authors examine two aspects of brand loyalty, purchase loyalty and attitudinal loyalty, as linking variables in the chain of effects from brand trust and brand affect to brand performance (market share and relative price). The model includes product-level, category-related controls (hedonic value and utilitarian value) and brand-level controls (brand differentiation and share of voice). The authors compile an aggregate data set for 107 brands from three separate surveys of consumers and brand managers. The results indicate that when the product- and brand-level variables are controlled for, brand trust and brand affect combine to determine purchase loyalty and attitudinal loyalty. Purchase loyalty, in turn, leads to greater market share, and attitudinal loyalty leads to a higher relative price for the brand. The authors discuss the managerial implications of these results.

Chaudhuri, A., & Holbrook, M. B. (2001). The Chain of Effects from Brand Trust and Brand Affect to Brand Performance: The Role of Brand Loyalty. Journal of Marketing, 65(2), 81–93. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.65.2.81.18255

In this article, we provide guidance for substantive researchers on the use of structural equation modeling in practice for theory testing and development. We present a comprehensive, two-step modeling approach that employs a series of nested models and sequential chi-square difference tests. We discuss the comparative advantages of this approach over a one-step approach. Considerations in specification, assessment of fit, and respecification of measurement models using confirmatory factor analysis are reviewed. As background to the two-step approach, the distinction between ex- ploratory and confirmatory analysis, the distinction between complementary approaches for theory testing versus predictive application, and some developments in estimation methods also are dis- cussed.

Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W… (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach… In Psychological Bulletin (Vol. 103, Number 3, pp. 411–423). Psychological Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.103.3.411

Criteria for evaluating structural equation models with latent variables are defined, critiqued, and illustrated. An overall program for model evaluation is proposed based upon an interpretation of converging and diverging evidence. Model assessment is considered to be a complex process mixing statistical criteria with philosophical, historical, and theoretical elements. Inevitably the process entails some attempt at a reconcilation between so-called objective and subjective norms.

Bagozzi, R.P., Yi, Y. On the evaluation of structural equation models. Journal of the Academy of the Marketing Science, 16, 74–94 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02723327

Both practitioners and academics understand that consumer loyalty and satisfaction are linked inextricably. They also understand that this relation is asymmetric. Although loyal consumers are most typically satisfied, satisfaction does not universally translate into loyalty. To explain the satisfaction-loyalty conundrum, the author investigates what aspect of the consumer satisfaction response has implications for loyalty and what portion of the loyalty response is due to this satisfaction component. The analysis concludes that satisfaction is a necessary step in loyalty formation but becomes less significant as loyalty begins to set through other mechanisms. These mechanisms, omitted from consideration in current models, include the roles of personal determinism (“fortitude”) and social bonding at the institutional and personal level. When these additional factors are brought into account, ultimate loyalty emerges as a combination of perceived product superiority, personal fortitude, social bonding, and their synergistic effects. As each fails to be attained or is unattainable by individual firms that serve consumer markets, the potential for loyalty erodes. A disquieting conclusion from this analysis is that loyalty cannot be achieved or pursued as a reasonable goal by many providers because of the nature of the product category or consumer disinterest. For some firms, satisfaction is the only feasible float for which they should strive; thus, satisfaction remains a worthy pursuit among the consumer marketing community. The disparity between the pursuit of satisfaction versus loyalty, as well as the fundamental content of the loyalty response, poses several investigative directions for the next wave of postconsumption research.

Oliver, R. (1999). Whence Consumer Loyalty? Journal of Marketing, 63, 33-44. doi:10.2307/1252099

Relationship marketing-establishing, developing, and maintaining successful relational exchanges-constitutes a major shift in marketing theory and practice. After conceptualizing relationship marketing and discussing its ten forms, the authors (1) theorize that successful relationship marketing requires relationship commitment and trust, (2) model relationship commitment and trust as key mediating variables, (3) test this key mediating variable model using data from automobile tire retailers, and (4) compare their model with a rival that does not allow relationship commitment and trust to function as mediating variables. Given the favorable test results for the key mediating variable model, suggestions for further explicating and testing it are offered.

Morgan, R. M., & Hunt, S. D… (1994). The Commitment-Trust Theory of Relationship Marketing. In Journal of Marketing (Vol. 58, Number 3, p. 20). Journal of Marketing. https://doi.org/10.2307/1252308

In this article, we attempt to distinguish between the properties of moderator and mediator variables at a number of levels. First, we seek to make theorists and researchers aware of the importance of not using the terms moderator and mediator interchangeably by carefully elaborating, both conceptually and strategically, the many ways in which moderators and mediators differ. We then go beyond this largely pedagogical function and delineate the conceptual and strategic implications of making use of such distinctions with regard to a wide range of phenomena, including control and stress, attitudes, and personality traits. We also provide a specific compendium of analytic procedures appropriate for making the most effective use of the moderator and mediator distinction, both separately and in terms of a broader causal system that includes both moderators and mediators.

Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A… (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations… In Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol. 51, Number 6, pp. 1173–1182). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173

This article examines the adequacy of the “rules of thumb” conventional cutoff criteria and several new alternatives for various fit indexes used to evaluate model fit in practice. Using a 2-index presentation strategy, which includes using the maximum likelihood (ML)-based standardized root mean squared residual (SRMR) and supplementing it with either Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI), Bollen’s (1989) Fit Index (BL89), Relative Noncentrality Index (RNI), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Gamma Hat, McDonald’s Centrality Index (Mc), or root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA), various combinations of cutoff values from selected ranges of cutoff criteria for the ML-based SRMR and a given supplemental fit index were used to calculate rejection rates for various types of true-population and misspecified models; that is, models with misspecified factor covariance(s) and models with misspecified factor loading(s). The results suggest that, for the ML method, a cutoff value close to .95 for TLI, BL89, CFI, RNI, and Gamma Hat; a cutoff value close to .90 for Mc; a cutoff value close to .08 for SRMR; and a cutoff value close to .06 for RMSEA are needed before we can conclude that there is a relatively good fit between the hypothesized model and the observed data. Furthermore, the 2-index presentation strategy is required to reject reasonable proportions of various types of true-population and misspecified models. Finally, using the proposed cutoff criteria, the ML-based TLI, Mc, and RMSEA tend to overreject true-population models at small sample size and thus are less preferable when sample size is small.

Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M… (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. In Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal (Vol. 6, Number 1, pp. 1–55). Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118

The authors examine two aspects of brand loyalty, purchase loyalty and attitudinal loyalty, as linking variables in the chain of effects from brand trust and brand affect to brand performance (market share and relative price). The model includes product-level, category-related controls (hedonic value and utilitarian value) and brand-level controls (brand differentiation and share of voice). The authors compile an aggregate data set for 107 brands from three separate surveys of consumers and brand managers. The results indicate that when the product- and brand-level variables are controlled for, brand trust and brand affect combine to determine purchase loyalty and attitudinal loyalty. Purchase loyalty, in turn, leads to greater market share, and attitudinal loyalty leads to a higher relative price for the brand. The authors discuss the managerial implications of these results.

Chaudhuri, A., & Holbrook, M. B. (2001). The Chain of Effects from Brand Trust and Brand Affect to Brand Performance: The Role of Brand Loyalty. Journal of Marketing, 65(2), 81–93. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.65.2.81.18255

If service quality relates to retention of customers at the aggregate level, as other research has indicated, then evidence of its impact on customers’ behavioral responses should be detectable. The authors offer a conceptual model of the impact of service quality on particular behaviors that signal whether customers remain with or defect from a company. Results from a multicompany empirical study examining relationships from the model concerning customers’ behavioral intentions show strong evidence of their being influenced by service quality. The findings also reveal differences in the nature of the quality-intentions link across different dimensions of behavioral intentions. The authors’ discussion centers on ways the results and research approach of their study can be helpful to researchers and managers.

Zeithaml, V. A., Berry, L. L., & Parasuraman, A… (1996). The Behavioral Consequences of Service Quality. In Journal of Marketing (Vol. 60, Number 2, p. 31). Journal of Marketing. https://doi.org/10.2307/1251929

Customer loyalty is viewed as the strength of the relationship between an individual’s relative attitude and repeat patronage. The relationship is seen as mediated by social norms and situational factors. Cognitive, affective, and conative antecedents of relative attitude are identified as contributing to loyalty, along with motivational, perceptual, and behavioral consequences. Implications for research and for the management of loyalty are derived.

Dick, A.S., Basu, K. Customer loyalty: Toward an integrated conceptual framework.  Journal of the Academy of the Marketing Science. 22, 99–113 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070394222001

Although the relationship metaphor dominates contemporary marketing thought and practice, surprisingly little empirical work has been conducted on relational phenomena in the consumer products domain, particularly at the level of the brand. In this article, the author: (1) argues for the validity of the relationship proposition in the consumer-brand context, including a debate as to the legitimacy of the brand as an active relationship partner and empirical support for the phenomenological significance of consumer-brand bonds; (2) provides a framework for characterizing and better understanding the types of relationships consumers form with brands; and (3) inducts from the data the concept of brand relationship quality, a diagnostic tool for conceptualizing and evaluating relationship strength. Three in-depth case studies inform this agenda, their interpretation guided by an integrative review of the literature on person-to-person relationships. Insights offered through application of inducted concepts to two relevant research domains-brand loyalty and brand personality-are advanced in closing. The exercise is intended to urge fellow researchers to refine, test, and augment the working hypotheses suggested herein and to progress toward these goals with confidence in the validity of the relationship premise at the level of consumers’ lived experiences with their brands.

Susan Fournier, Consumers and Their Brands: Developing Relationship Theory in Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 24, Issue 4, March 1998, Pages 343–373, https://doi.org/10.1086/209515

This article introduces the idea of brand community. A brand community is a specialized, non-geographically bound community, based on a structured set of social relations among admirers of a brand. Grounded in both classic and contemporary sociology and consumer behavior, this article uses ethnographic and computer mediated environment data to explore the characteristics, processes, and particularities of three brand communities (those centered on Ford Bronco, Macintosh, and Saab). These brand communities exhibit three traditional markers of community: shared consciousness, rituals and traditions, and a sense of moral responsibility. The commercial and mass-mediated ethos in which these communities are situated affects their character and structure and gives rise to their particularities. Implications for branding, sociological theories of community, and consumer behavior are offered.

Muniz, A. M., & O’Guinn, T. C… (2001). Brand Community. In Journal of Consumer Research (Vol. 27, Number 4, pp. 412–432). Journal of Consumer Research. https://doi.org/10.1086/319618

Although a considerable amount of research in personality psychology has been done to conceptualize human personality, identify the ‘‘Big Five’’ dimensions, and explore the meaning of each dimension, no parallel research has been conducted in consumer behavior on brand personality, Consequently, an understanding of the symbolic use of brands has been limited in the consumer behavior literature. In this research, the author develops a theoretical framework of the brand personality construct by determining the number and nature of dimensions of brand personality (Sincerity, Excitement, Competence, Sophistication, and Ruggedness). Tc, measure the five brand personality dimensions, a reliable, valid, and generalizable measurement scale is created. Finally, theoretical and practical implications regarding the symbolic use of brands are discussed. Aaker, J. L… (1997). Dimensions of Brand Personality. In Journal of Marketing Research (Vol. 34, Number 3, p. 347). Journal of Marketing Research. https://doi.org/10.2307/3151897

A brand community from a customer-experiential perspective is a fabric of relationships in which the customer is situated. Crucial relationships include those between the customer and the brand, between the customer and the firm, between the customer and the product in use, and among fellow customers. The authors delve ethnographically into a brand community and test key findings through quantitative methods. Conceptually, the study reveals insights that differ from prior research in four important ways: First, it expands the definition of a brand community to entities and relationships neglected by previous research. Second, it treats vital characteristics of brand communities, such as geotemporal concentrations and the richness of social context, as dynamic rather than static phenomena. Third, it demonstrates that marketers can strengthen brand communities by facilitating shared customer experiences in ways that alter those dynamic characteristics. Fourth, it yields a new and richer conceptualization of customer loyalty as integration in a brand community.

McAlexander, J. H., Schouten, J. W., & Koenig, H. F. (2002). Building Brand Community. Journal of Marketing, 66(1), 38–54. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.66.1.38.18451

Brand experience is conceptualized as sensations, feelings, cognitions, and behavioral responses evoked by brand-related stimuli that are part of a brand’s design and identity, packaging, communications, and environments. The authors distinguish several experience dimensions and construct a brand experience scale that includes four dimensions: sensory, affective, intellectual, and behavioral. In six studies, the authors show that the scale is reliable, valid, and distinct from other brand measures, including brand evaluations, brand involvement, brand attachment, customer delight, and brand personality. Moreover, brand experience affects consumer satisfaction and loyalty directly and indirectly through brand personality associations.

10.1509/jmkg.73.3.52

The authors develop and estimate a conceptual model of how different aspects of customers’ relationships with the brand community influence their intentions and behaviors. The authors describe how identification with the brand community leads to positive consequences, such as greater community engagement, and negative consequences, such as normative community pressure and (ultimately) reactance. They examine the moderating effects of customers’ brand knowledge and the brand community’s size and test their hypotheses by estimating a structural equation model with survey data from a sample of European car club members.

Algesheimer, R., Dholakia, U. M., & Herrmann, A. (2005). The Social Influence of Brand Community: Evidence from European Car Clubs. Journal of Marketing, 69(3), 19–34. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.69.3.19.66363

Marketing inherited a model of exchange from economics, which had a dominant logic based on the exchange of “goods,” which usually are manufactured output. The dominant logic focused on tangible resources, embedded value, and transactions. Over the past several decades, new perspectives have emerged that have a revised logic focused on intangible resources, the co-creation of value, and relationships. The authors believe that the new perspectives are converging to form a new dominant logic for marketing, one in which service provision rather than goods is fundamental to economic exchange. The authors explore this evolving logic and the corresponding shift in perspective for marketing scholars, marketing practitioners, and marketing educators.

Vargo, S. L., & Lusch, R. F… (2004). Evolving to a New Dominant Logic for Marketing. In Journal of Marketing (Vol. 68, Number 1, pp. 1–17). Journal of Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.68.1.1.24036

Using social practice theory, this article reveals the process of collective value creation within brand communities. Moving beyond a single case study, the authors examine previously published research in conjunction with data collected in nine brand communities comprising a variety of product categories, and they identify a common set of value-creating practices. Practices have an “anatomy” consisting of (1) general procedural understandings and rules (explicit, discursive knowledge); (2) skills, abilities, and culturally appropriate consumption projects (tacit, embedded knowledge or how-to); and (3) emotional commitments expressed through actions and representations. The authors find that there are 12 common practices across brand communities, organized by four thematic aggregates, through which consumers realize value beyond that which the firm creates or anticipates. They also find that practices have a physiology, interact with one another, function like apprenticeships, endow participants with cultural capital, produce a repertoire for insider sharing, generate consumption opportunities, evince brand community vitality, and create value. Theoretical and managerial implications are offered with specific suggestions for building and nurturing brand community and enhancing collaborative value creation between and among consumers and firms.

Schau, H. J., Muñiz, A. M., & Arnould, E. J. (2009). How Brand Community Practices Create Value. Journal of Marketing, 73(5), 30–51. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.73.5.30

Extant research suggests that consumers can become emotionally attached to consumption objects, including brands. However, a scale to measure the strength of consumers’ emotional attachments to brands has yet to be devised. We develop such a scale in Studies 1 and 2. Study 3 validates the scale’s internal consistency and dimensional structure. Study 4 examines its convergent validity with respect to four behavioral indicators of attachments. Study 5 demonstrates discriminant validity, showing that the scale is differentiated from measures of satisfaction, involvement, and brand attitudes. That study also examines the scale’s predictive validity, showing that it is positively associated with indicators of both commitment and investment. The limitations of the scale and the boundary conditions of its applicability are also discussed.

Thomson, M., Macinnis, D. J., & Whan Park, C… (2005). The Ties That Bind: Measuring the Strength of Consumers’ Emotional Attachments to Brands. In Journal of Consumer Psychology (Vol. 15, Number 1, pp. 77–91). Journal of Consumer Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327663jcp1501_10

Using a grounded theory approach, the authors investigate the nature and consequences of brand love. Arguing that research on brand love needs to be built on an understanding of how consumers actually experience this phenomenon, they conduct two qualitative studies to uncover the different elements (“features”) of the consumer prototype of brand love. Then, they use structural equations modeling on survey data to explore how these elements can be modeled as both first-order and higher-order structural models. A higher-order model yields seven core elements: self brand integration, passion-driven behaviors, positive emotional connection, long-term relationship, positive overall attitude valence, attitude certainty and confidence (strength), and anticipated separation distress. In addition to these seven core elements of brand love itself, the prototype includes quality beliefs as an antecedent of brand love and brand loyalty, word of mouth, and resistance to negative information as outcomes. Both the first-order and higher-order brand love models predict loyalty, word of mouth, and resistance better, and provide a greater understanding, than an overall summary measure of brand love. The authors conclude by presenting theoretical and managerial implications.

Batra, R., Ahuvia, A., & Bagozzi, R. P. (2012). Brand Love. Journal of Marketing, 76(2), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.09.0339

Survey research is employed to test hypotheses involving brand love, a new marketing construct that assesses satisfied consumers’ passionate emotional attachment to particular brands. Findings suggest that satisfied consumers’ love is greater for brands in product categories perceived as more hedonic (as compared with utilitarian) and for brands that offer more in terms of symbolic benefits. Brand love, in turn, is linked to higher levels of brand loyalty and positive word-of-mouth. Findings also suggest that satisfied consumers tend to be less loyal to brands in more hedonic product categories and to engage in more positive word-of-mouth about self-expressive brands.

Carroll, B. A., & Ahuvia, A. C… (2006). Some antecedents and outcomes of brand love. In Marketing Letters (Vol. 17, Number 2, pp. 79–89). Marketing Letters. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-006-4219-2

In this article, the authors try to determine why and under what conditions consumers enter into strong, committed, and meaningful relationships with certain companies, becoming champions of these companies and their products. Drawing on theories of social identity and organizational identification, the authors propose that strong consumer-company relationships often result from consumers’ identification with those companies, which helps them satisfy one or more important self-definitional needs. The authors elaborate on the nature of consumer-company identification, including the company identity, and articulate a consumer-level conceptual framework that offers propositions regarding the key determinants and consequences of such identification in the marketplace.

Bhattacharya, C. B., & Sen, S. (2003). Consumer–Company Identification: A Framework for Understanding Consumers’ Relationships with Companies. Journal of Marketing, 67(2), 76–88. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.67.2.76.18609

This article reports results from a longitudinal field experiment examining the evolution of consumer-brand relationships. Development patterns differed, whereby relationships with sincere brands deepened over time in line with friendship templates, and relationships with exciting brands evinced a trajectory characteristic of short-lived flings. These patterns held only when the relationship proceeded without a transgression. Relationships with sincere brands suffered in the wake of transgressions, whereas relationships with exciting brands surprisingly showed signs of reinvigoration after such transgressions. Inferences concerning the brand’s partner quality mediated the results. Findings suggest a dynamic construal of brand personality, greater attention to interrupt events, and consideration of the relationship contracts formed at the hands of different brands.

Aaker, J., Fournier, S., & Brasel, S. A… (2004). When Good Brands Do Bad. In Journal of Consumer Research (Vol. 31, Number 1, pp. 1–16). Journal of Consumer Research. https://doi.org/10.1086/383419

Research has not verified the theoretical or practical value of the brand attachment construct in relation to alternative constructs, particularly brand attitude strength. The authors make conceptual, measurement, and managerial contributions to this research issue. Conceptually, they define brand attachment, articulate its defining properties, and differentiate it from brand attitude strength. From a measurement perspective, they develop and validate a parsimonious measure of brand attachment, test the assumptions that underlie it, and demonstrate that it indicates the concept of attachment. They also demonstrate the convergent and discriminant validity of this measure in relation to brand attitude strength. Managerially, they demonstrate that brand attachment offers value over brand attitude strength in predicting (1) consumers’ intentions to perform difficult behaviors (those they regard as using consumer resources), (2) actual purchase behaviors, (3) brand purchase share (the share of a brand among directly competing brands), and (4) need share (the extent to which consumers rely on a brand to address relevant needs, including those brands in substitutable product categories).

Park, C. W., Macinnis, D. J., Priester, J., Eisingerich, A. B., & Iacobucci, D. (2010). Brand Attachment and Brand Attitude Strength: Conceptual and Empirical Differentiation of Two Critical Brand Equity Drivers. Journal of Marketing, 74(6), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.74.6.1

Our possessions are a major contributor to and reflection of our Identity?s. A variety of evidence is presented supporting this simple and compelling premise. Related streams of research are identified and drawn upon in developing this concept and implications are derived for consumer behavior. Because the construct of extended self involves consumer behavior rather than buyer behavior, It appears to be a much richer construct than previous formulations positing a relationship between self-concept and consumer brand choice.

Belk, R. W… (1988). Possessions and the Extended Self. In Journal of Consumer Research (Vol. 15, Number 2, p. 139). Journal of Consumer Research. https://doi.org/10.1086/209154

The self-concept literature in consumer behavior can be characterized as fragmented, incoherent, and highly diffuse. This paper critically reviews self-concept theory and research in consumer behavior and provides recommendations for future research.

M. Joseph Sirgy, Self-Concept in Consumer Behavior: A Critical Review, Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 9, Issue 3, December 1982, Pages 287–300, https://doi.org/10.1086/208924

We propose that consumers purchase brands in part to construct their self-concepts and, in so doing, form self-brand connections. We focus on reference groups as a source of brand meaning. Results from two studies show that brands with images consistent with an ingroup enhance self-brand connections for all consumers, whereas brands with images that are consistent with an outgroup have a stronger negative effect on independent versus interdependent consumers. We propose that this differential effect is due to stronger self-differentiation goals for consumers with more independent self-concepts. We also find greater effects for more symbolic than for less symbolic brands.

Jennifer, & James. (2005). Self‐Construal, Reference Groups, and Brand Meaning. In Journal of Consumer Research (Vol. 32, Number 3, pp. 378–389). Journal of Consumer Research. https://doi.org/10.1086/497549

Despite the extensive use of the term “engagement” in the context of brand communities, the theoretical meaning and foundations underlying this term remain underexplored in the literature to-date. Drawing on a literature review, this study adopts netnographic methodology to explore the nature and scope of consumer engagement in an online brand community environment. The study reveals the complex multidimensional and dynamic nature of consumer engagement, which may emerge at different levels of intensity over time, thus reflecting distinct engagement states. Further, the consumer engagement process comprises a range of sub-processes reflecting consumers’ interactive experience within online brand communities, and value co-creation among community participants. Engaged consumers exhibit enhanced consumer loyalty, satisfaction, empowerment, connection, emotional bonding, trust and commitment. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for practice and further research. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Brodie, R. J., Ilic, A., Juric, B., & Hollebeek, L… (2013). Consumer engagement in a virtual brand community: An exploratory analysis. In Journal of Business Research (Vol. 66, Number 1, pp. 105–114). Journal of Business Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.07.029