Purpose -The purpose of this study is to examine how the nature of consumers' relationship with a brand influences brand evangelism, which represents an intense form of brand support behavior. Specifically, the study investigates the influence of two consumer-brand relational constructs, brand trust and brand identification, on brand evangelism. Brand evangelism, conceptualized as an amalgam of adoption and advocacy behaviors, is operationalized in terms of three supportive behaviors: purchase intentions, positive referrals, and oppositional brand referrals. Design/methodology/approach -Drawing from prior research on consumer-brand relationships, a framework of brand relationships and brand evangelism is developed. To provide a more robust test of theory, consumers' extraversion, gender, and brand experience are included as control variables. Structural equation modeling is used to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings -The findings reveal that consumer-brand relationships influence brand evangelism, albeit in different ways. Whereas brand trust influences purchase intentions and positive referrals, brand identification influences positive and oppositional brand referrals. Overall, the findings reveal the power of consumer-brand relationships in engendering brand evangelism, relative to other factors such as extraversion, gender, and brand experience. Practical implications -In today's consumption society, where it is increasingly easier for consumers to demonstrate extreme devotion and derision toward brands, it is important for marketers to understand the drivers of behaviors directed toward brands. This study suggests that marketers can cultivate brand evangelism by building brand trust and brand identification. Originality/value -Marketing researchers and practitioners are only recently beginning to understand brand evangelism. This study demonstrates that consumer-brand relationships, rather than personality, gender, and usage experience, trigger brand evangelism and offers directions for future researchers to further explicate brand evangelism.

No abstract

Drawing from research on retailing, online shopping behavior, and theories of cognitive psychology, we develop and test a framework that investigates purchase intentions in online stores of multi-channel retailers. The framework simultaneously examines the influence of transference of attitude and trust from the multi-channel retailer's physical to online stores, image congruence between the multi-channel retailer's physical and online stores, and image congruence between the multi-channel retailer's online store and a prototypical online store. Further, recognizing that several retailers now operate as multi-channel retailers in different countries, we examine the influence of cultural differences in thought processes (i.e., holistic versus analytic thinking) on shoppers' evaluation of online stores of multi-channel retailers. Toward this end, we test the framework using data collected from respondents in the U.S. (analytic thinkers) and South Korea (holistic thinkers). We conclude with a discussion of the findings, suggestions for future research, and potential limitations.

No abstract

No abstract