Brand love: conceptual and empirical investigation of a holistic causal model

Abstract

Explicating and specifying the origins of brand love, as well as how it affects consumer behavior, establishes vital insights into how brand managers might reap favorable economic consequences from promoting brand love effectively. Therefore, this article presents and validates a holistic, causal model of brand love that accounts for brand stimulus features and the internal, mental processes of consumers, along with the behavioral outcomes of their resulting brand love. Using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, the authors propose and test seven antecedents (including three mediators) and four consequences: Functional and sensory brand uniqueness emerge as indirect antecedents of brand love; brand satisfaction, brand fit with the inner self, and personal experiences are direct antecedents. Contrary to expectations, communicative uniqueness and brand pleasure are not influential factors. This study also verifies four desirable behavioral consequences of brand love: brand loyalty, willingness to pay a price premium, word-of-mouth intentions, and forgiveness of brand mistakes. These findings offer several theoretical and managerial implications.