Original article can be found at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/ Copyright Emerald [Full text of this article is not available in the UHRA]Purpose - This study aims to analyse the influences of prestige, satisfaction, and communication on brand identification and to show how brand identification influences word-of-mouth and brand repurchase. Design/methodology/approach - A theoretical model is developed and tested with a sample of car owners in the UK of two global car brands. Structural equation modelling was used with LISREL 8.54 and the maximum likelihood (ML) method. Findings - This paper draws mainly on the theory of social identity to provide a comprehensive understanding of conditions under which brand owners are likely to identify with their brand and the bases and consequences of such identification. It was shown that prestige, satisfaction, and communication effect brand identification. The study confirms that consumers' development of relationships via brand identification results in word of mouth about the brand and intentions to repurchase the brand. Furthermore, it was found that brand identification fully mediates the influences of prestige, satisfaction, and communication on word of mouth and brand repurchase. Research limitations/implications - The focus was on one country and one industry. Practical implications - Managers are provided with strategies that enhance the identification of their customers with their brand so that they can strengthen the customers' brand identification. Areas for future research are suggested. For instance, it could be interesting to test the model in a different industry and/or cultural context. Originality/value - Very few previous studies have looked at brand identification which is surprising considering it is such an important variable to influence word-of-mouth and brand repurchase. The study tests three antecedents to brand identification and two outcomes that have not been investigated previously. Overall, the study adds knowledge in this somewhat neglected area

Very few previous studies have looked at brand identification, which is surprising considering it is such an important variable to influence brand loyalty. This study investigates the influences of brand personality congruence and reputation on brand identification and loyal behaviour. A theoretical model is proposed and evaluated with a sample of car owners in Germany. It was found that brand personality congruence and reputation affect brand identification, which in turn impacts on brand loyalty. Furthermore, it was shown that brand identification only partially mediates the influences of brand personality congruence and reputation as these variables also affect brand loyalty directly. The study provides important managerial and theoretical implications. © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd

This consumer research study investigates the motivations and meanings behind young adults creating and consuming user-generated content (UGC) about brands. Service-dominant logic suggests that resources are operant rather than operand and so used/re-used by consumers, eventually breaking down the provider/consumer dichotomy to see the entire logic as working in an actor-to-actor network. This study establishes these two theoretical advances empirically. For the participants, the key issue within the UGC interactions is that of who to trust i.e. source credibility as the resources were used as part of the ongoing identity project of the young adults participating. The findings support this search being within the frame of persons re-using operant resources as part of their wider lives as persons, rather than merely consumers. In this process, actions creating and consuming UGC also underpin potential for personal transformation as the movie Leaving Pleasantville proposes. Therefore, the study here contributes a person-centric metaphor of the journey that individuals can be understood as participating in as they interact with brands on the Internet for personal formation and even transformation. The study provides insight and a metaphor to explain a key driver of UGC creation in 21st century postmodern life.

Purpose-The purpose of this study is to clarify the theoretical problem and identify factors that could explain the level of continuance intentions towards e-shopping. It aims to propose a revised technology acceptance model that integrates expectation confirmation theory to measure age differences with regard to continuance intentions towards e-shopping in Saudi Arabia. Design/methodology/approach-The sample (n=465) consists of 68.8 per cent women and 31.4 per cent men, 348 younger than 35 years old and 117 older than 35. A structural equation model confirms model fit. The model explains 65 per cent of the intention to continue shopping online. Findings-Perceived usefulness, enjoyment, and subjective norms are determinants of online shopping continuance. The structural weights are mostly equivalent between the young and old groups, but the regression path from subjective norms to perceived usefulness is not invariant, with that relationship being stronger for the younger respondents. Research limitations/implications-The research findings imply that usefulness and subjective norm contribute to continuance intentions to some extent, but it is enjoyment that leads to a higher level of continuance intentions. Online strategies cannot ignore either the direct or the indirect effects on continuance intentions in Saudi Arabia. Originality/value-The paper adds to the understudied area of online shopping continuance intentions in the Arab World in general, and Saudi Arabia in particular, by examining the effects of usefulness, enjoyment, and subjective norms on continuance intentions.

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