Noel ALBERT – WESFORD Business School (Grenoble – France) Imène BECHEUR – WESFORD Business School (Grenoble – France) Dwight MERUNKA – CERGAM/IAE (Aix en Provence – France) & Euromed (Marseille – France) Pierre VALETTE-FLORENCE – CERAG/ IAE (Grenoble - France) Passion for the Brand and Consumer Brand Relationships

Introduction

Only two studies explore the concept of brand passion: Bauer et al (2007) : influence of brand’s characteristics Matzler et al (2007) : influence of consumer’s personality Our objective To establish that consumer brand relationships constructs influence or may be influenced by passion for the brand.

Structure 1.Brand Passion Theory - Definitions - Brand Passion Models - Research’s Hypothesis 2.Research methodology and Results -Method -Results 3.Conclusion -Contributions -Limitations -Future Research

Brand Passion Brand Passion Theory Methodo & Results Conclusion

Brand Passion Definitions Brand passion corresponds to the enthusiasm, the infatuation or even the obsession of a consumer for a brand. Bauer et al (2007, p.2190): “a primarily affective, extremely positive attitude toward a specific brand that leads to emotional attachment and influences relevant behavioural factors” Keh et al (2007, p. 84): “brand passion describes the zeal and enthusiasm features of consumer brand relationship”. Matzler et al. (2007, p.16): “if a consumer is passionate about a brand, he/she will engage in a much more emotional relationship with the brand and even miss the brand or feel loss when the brand is unavailable”.

Brand Passion Models Brand Uniqueness Self expressive brand Word of Mouth Prestige of the brand Hedonic Brand Consumer’s extraversion Price Premium Purchase Intention N.S BRAND PASSION

Brand Passion Models Extraversion Openess Brand Evangelism.34 N.S BRAND PASSION

Brand Passion Models Extraversion Brand Identification Premium Price Brand Trust Brand Commtiment WOM BRAND PASSION

Research’s Hypothesis Brand Identification BRAND PASSION - When a consumer identifies to a brand, he develops feeling for it (Harrison-Walker, 2001) -A object/brand must be part of the consumer identity to be loved (Ahuvia, 1993)

Research’s Hypothesis Brand Trust - Brand Trust and Brand Passion have never been associated - Interpersonal context: trust may favorize the apparition of feelings between partners (Larzelere and Huston (1980) -Brand trust may influence Brand Love (Albert et al, 2010), Brand Affect (Chaudhuri et al, 20001) and Brand Attachment BRAND PASSION

Research’s Hypothesis Extraversion BRAND PASSION - Existence of a link between interpersonal passion and extreversion (Baumeister et al., 1999; White et al., 2004). - Brand context: two opposite results (Bauer et al, 2007; Matzler et al, 2007)

Research’s Hypothesis Brand Commtiment BRAND PASSION -Brand Passion and Brand Commitment have never been associated previously - Affective constructs (love, attachment) may influence the consumer’s attitudinal loyalty (Park et al, 2006).

Research’s Hypothesis WOM BRAND PASSION - Dick et al. (1994) indicated that brand affect leads to positive word-of-mouth activity - Brand Passion may influence Word-of-Mouth (Bauer et al, 2007)

Research’s Hypothesis Premium Price BRAND PASSION -The more a consumer values a brand, the more he/she will accept a price increase (Aaker, 1991) - Brand passion may influence the consumer’s acceptance of a higher price (Bauer et al, 2007; Thomson et al, 2005)

Research’s Hypothesis Extraversion Brand Identification Premium Price Brand Trust Brand Commtiment WOM BRAND PASSION

Method and Results Brand Passion Theory Method & Results Conclusion

 Collect through an oline panel  1505 consumers participated to the survey  Use of a SEM (PLS) Method n% Employee58338,8% Executive19713,1% Other15310,2% Middle level manager1479,8% Student1308,7% Inactive, retired1208,0% Unemployed624,1% Blue collar Worker614,1% Retailer, small business manager442,9% Farmer40,3% Total ,0%

Brand Passion Model Extraversion Brand Identification Premium Price Brand Trust Brand Commtiment WOM N.S N.S BRAND PASSION

Brand Passion Model Extraversion Brand Identification Brand Trust N.S. BRAND PASSION -R² adjusted: Consumer’s extraversion does not influence Brand Passion (in opposition to Matzler et al., 2007).

Brand Passion Model Brand Identification Brand Trust Brand Commtiment BRAND PASSION - R² adjusted: Brand Passion influences Commitment with a similar magnitude as Brand Identification and Brand Trust.

Brand Passion Model Premium Price Brand Commtiment WOM N.S. BRAND PASSION - Brand Passion does not influence Willigness to pay more - Influence of Brand Passion on WOM.

Brand Passion Model MAIN RESULTS - 1°) Extraversion does not influence Passion - 2°) Brand Trust influences Brand Passion - 3°) Brand Passion influence Brand Commitment - 4°) Brand Passion does not influence significantly Willingness to Pay More Extraversion Brand Identification Premium Price Brand Trust Brand Commtiment WOM N.S N.S..275 BRAND PASSION

Brand Passion TheoryMethod & Results Conclusion

- Studies on Brand Passion are still scarce - Brand Passion may also be linked to Brand Relationship Constructs -No influence of Extraversion on the consumer’s passion - Passionate consumers may not accept everything from their brands (changes of image, price, policy, etc.) Conclusion

- Do consumers’, brands or brands relationships’ characteristics impact mostly Brand Passion? - Longitudinal study of Brand Passion - Comparisons of Brand Passion effects with some other affective constructs (Love, Attachment)

Noel ALBERT – WESFORD Business School (Grenoble – France) Imène BECHEUR – WESFORD Business School (Grenoble – France) Dwight MERUNKA – CERGAM/IAE (Aix en Provence – France) & Euromed (Marseille – France) Pierre VALETTE-FLORENCE – CERAG/ IAE (Grenoble - France) Passion for the Brand and Consumer Brand Relationships