Ibrahim Alnawas

Service Quality and Brand Loyalty: The Mediation Effect of Brand Passion, Brand Affection and Self-Brand Connection

Purpose The purpose of this study is three-fold: first, to examine the extent to which service quality (SQ) affects the three components of emotional brand attachment (EBA) (brand passion, brand affection and self-brand connection); second, to investigate the extent to which these three components influence brand loyalty; and third, to test the mediation effect of the components of EBA on the SQ–loyalty relationship. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from 355 respondents using an online panel in the UK. Smart PLS2.0 was used to analyze the data. Findings Three key findings emerge: first, compared to staff behavior, physical environment tends to have a stronger and more significant effect on the three elements of EBA. Second, brand passion and self-brand connection fully mediate the SQ–loyalty relationship, whereas brand affection partially mediates the same relationship. Finally, the SQ–EBA–loyalty relationship is significantly stronger for repeat visitors compared to first-time visitors. Practical implications Hotel brands need to design their facilities and decor and develop guest experiences based on symbolic values and deep emotional aspects. Offering employees customer care training and adopting a consumer-centric, relational, storytelling approach are particularly important to inspire and captivate hotels’ customers and to build and shape profound and enduring affective ties between the hotel brand and its customers. Originality/value The findings offer new insights through examining the symbolic consumption and emotional aspects of a guest’s hotel experience as mediators to the SQ–loyalty relationship. The findings also add to the growing body of knowledge of the antecedents of EBA through identifying physical environment and staff behavior as key determinants of EBA.

Exploring the role of brand identification and brand love in generating higher levels of brand loyalty

The aim of this study is to develop a model that integrates brand identity, brand-life congruence, customer hotel brand identification (CHBI), and brand love into one model and to test its predictive power in explaining brand loyalty. The survey data were gathered from (432) guests who were staying in seven well-known hotels located in Jordan. Data were analyzed using a structural equation modeling SmartPLS2.0. Four key findings emerged from the current research. First, compared to brand identity, brand-lifestyle congruency appears to have a stronger and more significant relationship with CHBI. Second, CHBI contributes only to the development of brand love. Third, CHBI appears to influence brand loyalty only indirectly via brand love. Fourth, the current research provides an empirical support on the applicability of Sternberg’s love theory in the hotel industry. This research adds to the body of knowledge on hotel brand loyalty through examining its relationship with four key constructs, whose effect either had been examined in isolation or had never been examined. It tests for the first time how brand identity and brand-lifestyle congruence contribute to the development of CHBI, which in turn, engenders a powerful emotional experience with hotel brands and cultivates affection and passion to that brand. Those heavy emotional feelings in turn provide an important basis upon which hotel brand loyalty is established.

Alumni Orientation: Development of the Construct

The aim of this article is to conceptualize and empirically examine the constructs that constitute the concept of Alumni Orientation (AO). Using a discovery-oriented approach, conducted by supplementing educational and marketing literatures with in-depth interviews from 22 alumni personnel in six different UK universities, the author identified three second-order formative constructs and three first-order reflective constructs to measure the concept of AO. The study then developed a self-administrated survey to validate the six identified constructs that form AO. Through using rigorous statistical analysis, the study confirms that the measurement instrument for AO is the 48 items that can be validly and reliably measured using the nine multi-item components of: Case for Support; Alumni Database Management; Social Media Management; Financing Event Management; Financing Publication Management; Promoting Best Practices of Event Management; Promoting Best Practices of Publication Management; Intrafunctional Coordination; and Interfunctional Coordination.

The differential effect of cognitive and emotional elements of experience quality on the customer-service provider’s relationship

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to examine the differential effect of two cognitive (i.e. product experience, outcome focussed) and two emotional experiences (i.e. surprise and immersion) on customers’ cognitive outcomes (i.e. satisfaction, trust and value), and customers’ emotional outcomes (i.e. passion, connection and affection); and second, to test the differential effect of customers’ cognitive and emotional outcomes on switching resistance loyalty (SRL).,Survey data were collected from 843 respondents using an online panel in the UK. Structural equation modelling was employed to analyse the data (AMOS 18.0).,First, cognitive experiences had a more significant effect on customers’ cognitive outcomes compared to their effect on customers’ emotional outcomes. Second, emotional experiences had a more significant effect on customers’ emotional outcomes compared to their effect on customers’ cognitive outcomes. Third, the impact of customers’ emotional outcomes on SRL was not significantly higher compared to that of customers’ cognitive outcomes. Fourth, the indirect effect of cognitive experiences on SRL was significantly higher, compared to that of emotional experiences.,The key contribution of this research stems from examining the differential effect of cognitive and emotional experiences on different consumers’ cognitive and emotional outcomes, thus providing deeper insights into the nature of the relationship between such variables.

Electronic marketing orientation in the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises context

There is an increasing interest in the role of business orientations in relation to why organizations vary in e-marketing adoption. Nevertheless, there is still scant evidence on electronic marketing orientation (EMO) within the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SMEs) context. This paper aims to shed light on the key factors that affect the degree of e-marketing adoption among SMEs from an organizational orientation perspective.,The study uses a cross-sectional survey of just over 135 European SMEs. The constructs are measured using multi-item indicators to capture the underlying theoretical domains.,The results show that EMO in SMEs is a high order construct that consists of three main components, principally: management beliefs, initiation and implementation activities. The degree of EMO is primarily affected by perceived relative advantage and customer pressure.,The study focuses on for-profit SMEs in developed economies. Future researchers may replicate this study using qualitative methods in different contexts (i.e. developing countries) across several technologies and platforms (i.e. websites, internet of things, mobile applications and social media networks).,This study further extends the literature on EMO and provides answers to the questions related to the variation in SMEs’ e-marketing adoption. Practitioners can apply the EMO construct to evaluate their orientation towards e-marketing, and most importantly, to take the required remedial action to improve their performance in digital commerce.