FACTORS OF INFLUENCE OF BRAND RELATIONSHIP QUALITY 3rd International Consumer Brand Relationship Conference on 26-28 September 2013 at Rollins College FACTORS OF INFLUENCE OF BRAND RELATIONSHIP QUALITY Eliane Cristine Francisco Maffezzolli Elder Semprebom Paulo Henrique Muller Prado

Objective Investigate which factors could influence brand relationship quality (BRQ) and its dimensions considering differences in gender and loyalty groups in the Brazilian market

BRQ Affective and Socio-emotive attachments Behavioral Ties   Love/passion for the brand h1: Love/passion for a brand positively and significantly reflects part of the brand relationship quality. Self-connection with the brand h2: Self-connection with a brand positively and significantly reflects part of the brand relationship quality. Commitment to a brand h3: commitment to a brand positively and significantly reflects part of the brand relationship quality. Interdependence with the brand h4: interdependence with a brand positively and significantly reflects brand relationship quality Partner quality h5: partner quality positively and significantly reflects BRQ. Intimacy with the brand h6: intimacy with the brand positively and significantly reflects part of BRQ. Affective and Socio-emotive attachments Behavioral Ties Cognitive Ties h7: BRQ impacts loyalty positively and significantly.

Methodology 508 valid cases Young university students in Curitiba-PR (Brazil) (18-30) Consumers of jeans or sneakers Own at least three products of the brand 10 point scales measurement: Love/passion for the brand (Prado, 2004), Brand Self-connection (Francisco-Maffezzolli et al, 2010) Brand Commitment (Prado, 2004) Brand Interdependence (Prado et al, 2009) Partner Quality/Brand Trust (Prado, 2004) Intimacy with a Brand (Ribeiro et al, 2010) Brand Loyalty (Prado, 2004)

Sample 54% women and 46% men 40% focusing on brands of sneakers and 60% on jeans. Mostly (83%) aged between 20 and 25 years 86% were single and 92% were university undergraduates. Over 30 brands of sneakers were registered and over 40 brands of jeans.

CFA All correlations are significant p<0.05 CMIN/DF 2.078, NFI = 0.882, RFI = 0.868, IFI = 0.935, TLI = 0.0.927, CFI = 0.935 and RMSEA = 0.046

BRQ MODEL & Loyalty (h7) β=0.658, p<0.001 / R² = 43,29% CMIN/DF 2.304, NFI = 0.864, RFI = 0.854, IFI = 0.918, TLI = 0.912, CFI = 0.918 and RMSEA = 0.051

Group Differences - Loyalty LOW LOYALTY (LL) N=224 Shows a lower predisposition to recommend, buy and repeat purchases of the brand. We can call this a spurious loyalty group. HIGH LOYALTY (HL) N=284 Shows a higher propensity to continue buying, indicating and using the brand. Notes: These groups were formed by using K-means cluster criteria; There is NO difference of age and gender between these groups.

Group Differences - Loyalty

Group Differences - Gender Women Men

Conclusions The first highlights the proposition of the BRQ model, to which it seems to be more globally adjusted, robust and faithful to the conceptual particulars of each of the six latent variables under study. BRQ as a third-order latent variable Reinforce of the emotional, cognitive and behavioral aspects 1

2 Conclusions The BRQ and Loyalty relation R² 43% What reflects more the BRQ Model? Partner Quality (80%) - Cognitive Self-Connection (73%) - Affective Interdependence (65%) - Behavioral 2

3 Conclusions Factors of Influence of Brand Relationship Quality Loyalty groups: High Loyalty group Gender: Women How we develop a strong loyal structure? Focus: partner quality, self-connection and interdependence 3

Limitations & Future Studies Test the BRQ model using different products and/or contexts, considering product involvement Respondents between the ages of 18 and 30 demonstrates a limited life cycle. More dynamic structures of the relationship should be used to provide a better understanding of brand relationships. This could be achieved through longitudinal studies. Other relevant question is: when brand relationship quality impacts positively, negatively or does not impact loyalty?

Thank you ! Ready to questions! eliane.francisco@pucpr.br pprado@ufpr.br