Consumer Brand Engagement and Brand Loyalty: Catalyzing Effect of Brand Relationship Quality

Abstract

Understanding the dynamics of focal consumer/brand relationships has garnered the attention of academic scholars and brand managers in the last three decades. Specifically, identifying the various means to create and maintain enduring relationships with consumers has been a popular research stream. In the marketing domain, the ‘engagement’ construct has been considered vital in comprehensively capturing the true nature of the consumer/brand relationship. Along these lines, consumer brand engagement (CBE) has emerged as a crucial predictor for brand-related outcomes and strategic imperative for establishing competitive advantage. Since 2010, a body of researchers conducted exploratory studies to understand the fundamentals of the engagement concept in the marketing area. Despite the ever-growing scholarly interest, there has been a dearth of empirical studies concerning CBE, which limits the knowledge about the measurement of the concept and its relational consequences. Based on the extensive literature review, the present study addresses the gaps through investigating the potent antecedents of CBE and its direct role in driving brand loyalty and indirectly/via brand relationship quality (mediator). Also, the study explores the moderating impact of consumer characteristics i.e. gender, age profile, and usage experience on enhancing brand loyalty. To satisfy the research objectives, the Indian automobile industry, especially passenger vehicles and two-wheeler brands were the main focus of interest. Survey research was carried out using a structured questionnaire; while, convenience and snowball sampling was followed to draw the respondent sample. The gathered responses were subjected to preliminary assessments for establishing normality and evaluating the associative nature of the study variables. Following these assessments, the proposed model was tested and validated through factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The findings reveal the antecedents (brand interactivity, consumer involvement, and self-brand image congruency) positively impact CBE. Further, the mediating role of brand relationship quality (BRQ) was supported. Also, age profiles and usage experience have a substantial moderating effect on the hypothesized paths. Additionally, the BRQ index based on the final set of six indicators effectively captures the conceptual domain of brand relationship quality and positively influences brand loyalty. These findings contribute to the limited literature on the CBE by empirically explaining its drivers and outcomes. From the managerial lens, the findings yield novel insights for developing targeted engagement and relationship-building strategies for automobile consumers.