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The effect of customer interaction with the brand as an antecedent of customer loyalty: analysis of three cognitive, emotional and behavioral approaches

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Management and Accounting, Faculty of Humanities, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran

2 Economic Sciences Institute / Allameh Tabatabaei University / Tehran / Iran

3 PhD student, Business Administration, University Of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran

10.22054/ims.2024.76742.2407

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effect of brand interaction through social media on brand loyalty through brand equity. The research is a descriptive research of the correlational type in terms of practical purpose and based on the method. The statistical population of this research includes the customers of three Iranian brands, My, Cinere and Callista. The size of the population is considered unlimited and the G-POWER tool was used to determine the sample size and the statistical sample size was calculated to be 199 people. A simple random sampling method was chosen for data collection and the data collection required in this research was done using a localized standard questionnaire. In order to confirm content validity, CVI and CVR and expert panel were used. In order to determine the reliability of the questionnaire, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, combined reliability and homogeneous reliability were used. Because the data do not follow normal modeling; Therefore, structural equation model and partial least squares method and PLS software were used for hypothesis testing and path analysis. The results of this study showed that customer interaction with the brand through social media can have a positive effect on brand loyalty. Also, brand equity was a positive mediating factor in the relationship between brand interaction and brand loyalty. Among the three cognitive, emotional and behavioral paths, the behavioral path with a path coefficient of 0.630 is the best path in influencing customer interaction with the brand on brand loyalty.

Introduction

According to a Harvard Business Journal study, a 5% increase in customer loyalty can increase company profits by 25-95%. The importance of building and maintaining strong and long-term business relationships with customers is a great strength for brands (Rather, 2018). In recent years, customer interaction with the brand has become an important concept due to its promising impact on customer behavior (Rather, 2018; Rather & Sharma, 2017). By interacting with customers in virtual spaces and social networks, the brand can offer unique benefits.
According to the statistics and figures announced by the Radio Communications Regulatory Organization, the number of internet users in Iran has reached more than 79 million people in 2021. This is a large number of people, each of whom may be customers of different brands and companies. Therefore, researching the impact of the customer's interaction with the brand, which usually takes place in the virtual space, on customer loyalty in Iran seems to be very necessary. Considering the importance of customer loyalty to the brand and the need for brands to promote effective communication with customers, this study investigated the impact of customer's interaction with the brand on customer loyalty. This study attempts to answer questions such as: "Can the customer's interaction with the brand lead to an increase in the customer's loyalty to the brand?" and "What type of interaction with the brand has the greatest influence on the customer's loyalty?"

Literature review

2.1. customer interaction with the brand via social media
Social media focuses on collaboration, conversation and exchange between users. Social networks are online hosts that allow members to create their own private profiles and interact with each other (Tuten & Solomon, 2017). Companies are increasingly looking to engage customers and interact with their brands. The concept of customer interaction with the brand encompasses three dimensions, namely the cognitive, emotional and behavioral dimensions, making it a multidimensional concept for study. Customer interaction with the brand emphasizes the relationship between the customer and the brand (Islam et al., 2019). Interaction with the brand may be more influential than perceived value and service quality, which are known to be important factors for brand loyalty (So et al., 2016).
2.2. customer interaction with the brand via social media and brand equity
Currently, social media plays an important role in creating brand equity through interaction with customers. Therefore, customers' interaction with brands through social networks is a symbol of their greater commitment to brands, and this issue increasingly contributing to brand equity (Choedon & Lee et al., 2020). enhances the brand, which in turn creates strong, favorable and unique connections with the brand and influences their purchasing decisions and creates value (Elsharnouby et al., 2021), which means the creation of brand equity (Schivinski & Dabrowski, 2015).

Methodology

As the current research focuses on observable facts, it is part of the positivist paradigm. Due to its specific application in the field of brand management, it is considered practical research. As far as the method of data collection is concerned, it is a descriptive and survey-type study whose temporal scope lies in the area of cross-sectional research. The statistical population of this study includes all customers of Iranian cosmetics and health brands. For this purpose, the followers of the social pages of three famous Iranian brands in the field of cosmetics and health products such as My, Cinere and Callista were surveyed. Since the number of customers of these three famous Iranian brands is more than one hundred thousand people, the size of the community is considered unlimited. The G-POWER tool was used to determine the sample size. According to Cohen, reducing the alpha error leads to an increase in the generalizability and accuracy of the research results. By lowering the alpha error to a lower level, the likelihood that the researcher will incorrectly reject their hypothesis and commit a type 1 error is reduced. In addition, by increasing the power of the test, the second type error is reduced and the precision of the research results is increased (Cohen-Tannoudji et al., 1998). For this purpose, the sample size was set at an error level of 0.1 and a test power of 0.85 and with a number of 7 variables, 199 subjects.
A simple random sampling method was chosen for data collection. The data collection required for this study was done using a localized standard questionnaire consisting of two parts: demographic questions and specific questions in the area of research variables.

Results

The results obtained show that the cognitive, emotional and behavioral interactions with the brand have a positive and significant influence on the brand equity, with path coefficients of 0.330, 0.410 and 0.751, respectively. brand equity also has a positive and significant influence on customer cognitive, emotional and behavioral loyalty, with path coefficients of 0.894, 0.870 and 0.839, respectively. The Sobel test was used for the significance of the mediating effect of one variable on the relationship between two other variables. Three hypotheses - H7 cognitive path, H8 emotional path and H9 behavioral path - measure the mediating role of brand equity in the relationship between the dimensions of customer interaction and customer loyalty. The cognitive path with a path coefficient of 0.295 and a z- value of 6.183, the emotional path with a path coefficient of 0.356 and a z- value of 7.407 and the behavioral path with a path coefficient of 0.630 and a z-value of 11.18 were confirmed.

Discussion

The present study was conducted with the aim of determining the impact of customers' interaction with the brand via social media on brand loyalty, considering the mediating role of brand equity and the priority of the three cognitive, emotional and behavioral pathways in these impacts. Specifically, the impact of the dimensions of customer interaction with the brand, including cognitive interaction, emotional interaction, and behavioral interaction, on the dimensions of brand loyalty, including cognitive loyalty, emotional loyalty, and behavioral loyalty, was examined under the mediating role of brand equity.

Conclusion

According to the path coefficient, the behavioral path with a path coefficient of 0.630 is the best path to influence the customer's interaction with the brand on brand loyalty. Therefore, the said brands should communicate less emotionally on social media and be more precise so that the content presented on social media creates a sense of fit and congruence between the customer's image and the brand and a positive image of the said companies' brand remains in the customer's mind even when they compare it with other brands. Therefore, the marketing managers of the mentioned brands are recommended to share the latest and trending content and organize and engage in activities that are considered trendy and show the popular, modern and successful personality of social media users so that they can support the customers' need for self-expression.
Keywords: Customer Engagement, Customer Loyalty, Brand Equity, Social Media, Beauty Brands
 
 
 
 
 

Keywords

Main Subjects

References
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Business Intelligence Management Studies
Volume 12, Issue 48
December 2024
Pages 83-117
Files
History
  • Receive Date: 28 November 2023
  • Revise Date: 31 January 2024
  • Accept Date: 03 March 2024
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