The COVID-19 pandemic and repurchase intention in building brand engagement in the airline industry

Purpose: Gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline industry has faced many restrictions. Based on the determining factor of repurchase intention, this research paper addresses the roles of brand engagement (BE) and consumer trust during the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: A number of 439 out of 500 questionnaires, which were distributed among the Iranian airlines' customers, were completed and returned (an 87% response rate). SmartPLS 3 was used to carry out the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in order to validate the research hypotheses. Findings: The results show that during the COVID-19 pandemic, BE had a significant effect on customer purchase intention. In addition, BE boosted customer trust and thereby increased repurchase intention. Perceived risks of COVID-19 moderated these relationships. The findings also show that airline customers are highly sensitive to various perceived risks and were especially so during the COVID-19 pandemic. These perceived risks have major impacts on customers' intention to reuse the services of airline companies. High levels of perceived risk decrease customer trust, BE and repurchase intention rates, and vice versa. Practical implications: This paper provides authorities and decision-makers of the air transport industry with several practical recommendations based on the research findings. As the results confirmed, there is a worthwhile relationship between BE and customer trust;regarding the both direct and indirect benefits of customer trust for for-profit firms and the huge importance of trust in creating competitive advantages, different airline companies need to implement various strategies to engage customers with their brand names, and thereby institutionalize trust in their customers' minds during the pandemic. Since customer trust was also found to improve repurchase intention rates significantly, authorities of the airline industry must take actions to reduce feelings of mistrust and risk among consumers and increase customer trust during COVID-19. Originality/value: This paper is the first to explore the effect of BE on airline customers' repurchase intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has produced practical suggestions to employees and activists of the air transport industry regarding the use of BE as a tool to restore customer trust during and after the COVID-19 epidemic. This research focuses on the airline industry, which is particularly interesting given the industry's intensely competitive environment and the dramatic effect of COVID-19 on the industry. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Eliciting consumer-engagement and experience to foster consumer-based-brand-equity: moderation of perceived-health-beliefs

Although consumer-brand-engagement (CBE) and consumer-brand-experience (CBX) are identified as important research priorities, empirically based insights regarding their relationship with tourism-consumers' resulting consumer-value cocreation (CVC), emotional-attachment and consumer-based-brand-equity (CBBE) remains scant, particularly during COVID-19 pandemic. In responding to this research gap, following Service-Dominant-Logic and Protection-Motivation-informed theories, we propose and test a model that explores the influence of CBE and CVC on CBX, which consequently effects emotional-attachment and CBBE with tourism service-brands. To explore such issues, we recruit a sample of 318 customers by using PLS-SEM. PLS-SEM-results indicate that CBE has a positive impact on CVC and CBX. Second, findings reveal CBX's positive influence on emotional-attachment and CBBE. Third, results corroborated the CBE's and CVC's indirect effect on emotional-attachment and CBBE, as mediated through CBX. Finally, findings illustrated a negative moderating influence of perceived-severity and positive moderating effect of self-efficacy among projected associations. We offer significant theoretical/managerial implications that develop from this study. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Consumer Response Model for Luxury Brands

Even though the Covid-19 epidemic has affected the marketing of goods and services, this has not deterred people from purchasing luxury brands. Brand owners that wish to reach a large number of customers via social media marketing, including engaging and transacting on virtual platforms, have also discovered this. Social media marketing will assist customers in selecting things without their needing to physically visit the business. It must be acknowledged that purchasing things, particularly luxury items, demands accuracy hence, brand-owning corporations require their own marketing strategies. For instance, product photographs must be realistic so that they resemble actual items. Product specifics must be expanded upon and, most significantly, brand involvement must be increased. If customer participation in the brand is correctly achieved, then consumer reaction will be good and luxury brand sales will grow. This research is to assess marketing efforts on social media and luxury brand participation in relation to customer reactions when engaging and transacting on virtual platforms. A content analysis is used to draw the conceptual framework in this study. It is anticipated that the empirical contribution of this study will contribute to the advancement of science, particularly on the issue of consumer responses to marketing activities on social media. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Share Your Beautiful Journey: Investigating User Generated Content (UGC) and Webrooming Among Malaysian Online Shoppers

The electric commerce (e-commerce) platform in Malaysia has been growing exponentially since the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Many local businesses were badly affected when the first phase of Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented for several weeks. The increasing number of social media platform users stems from wide internet accessibility and smartphone ownership. As such, this study investigated online purchasing behaviour in Malaysia by linking webrooming and user generated content (UGC) with brand experience and brand engagement. Essentially, this study unravelled consumer purchasing behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explored the effects of UGC and webrooming on brand experience and brand engagement among Malaysian online consumers who purchased beauty product. As a result, UGC and webrooming displayed positive correlation with brand experience. However, brand experience was insignificant for brand engagement. Additionally, brand experience was unsuitable to function as a mediator. Thus, the impact of social influencers and shoppertainment on brand engagement should be assessed. Future studies may look into webrooming from the light of Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) Theory. Lastly, fake reviews, fake accounts, and bots that influence online purchasing behaviour among Malaysians should be investigated as well. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

CORPORATE IDENTITY AND ARMED CONFLICTS Analysis of brand conduct in the invasion of Ukraine

The way corporations behave on a daily basis is a key element when it comes to relating not only with their stakeholders, but also with the rest of the members of the society to which they belong. This fact is more noticeable in situations of great magnitude, as in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic or the invasion of Ukraine. This article analyzes the identity of some of the world's leading corporations and their actions in the face of this armed conflict. © GKA Ediciones, authors.

Consumer Response Model for Luxury Brands

Even though the Covid-19 epidemic has affected the marketing of goods and services, this has not deterred people from purchasing luxury brands. Brand owners that wish to reach a large number of customers via social media marketing, including engaging and transacting on virtual platforms, have also discovered this. Social media marketing will assist customers in selecting things without their needing to physically visit the business. It must be acknowledged that purchasing things, particularly luxury items, demands accuracy hence, brand-owning corporations require their own marketing strategies. For instance, product photographs must be realistic so that they resemble actual items. Product specifics must be expanded upon and, most significantly, brand involvement must be increased. If customer participation in the brand is correctly achieved, then consumer reaction will be good and luxury brand sales will grow. This research is to assess marketing efforts on social media and luxury brand participation in relation to customer reactions when engaging and transacting on virtual platforms. A content analysis is used to draw the conceptual framework in this study. It is anticipated that the empirical contribution of this study will contribute to the advancement of science, particularly on the issue of consumer responses to marketing activities on social media. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Mega-Influencers as Online Opinion Leaders: Establishing Cosmetic Brand Engagement on Social Media

The prominent growth of social media users, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, allows social media to become a potential platform for product promotion. The presence of digital influencers as online opinion leaders has been proven to influence brand value perception, establish brand engagement, and encourage consumer purchase intention. As the country with the fourth-largest population globally, Indonesia is a lucrative market for cosmetic products. In addition to the rising number of the millennial generation who is interested in beauty products, the male segment which is no less concerned about appearance also expands the cosmetics market. A quantitative method was applied using an online questionnaire to 220 samples. The findings reveal that perceived influence has a positive effect on purchase intention with brand engagement in self-concept and brand expected value as the mediating variables. Likewise, brand engagement in self-concept has a positive effect on brand expected value. This study recommends XYZ Cosmetics to continue enrolling Tasya Farasya, considering that, as a mega-influencer with enormous Instagram followers in Indonesia, she can drive the perception and behavior of her followers.

An Empirical Study to Identify Consumer Brand Relationships During a Crisis

Countless businesses exist only to serve the varying demands of the world's customers, and those consumers find themselves constantly bombarded by an overwhelming selection of goods and brands. The brand distinguishes the company from its rivals and aids consumers in making educated purchasing decisions. However, when faced with a catastrophic event like the COVID-19 outbreak, consumers' assessment criteria shifted in response to shifting priorities and circumstances. As a result, shoppers are rethinking their brand loyalties and choosing new ones. This article used the brand archetype framework to determine what factors customers value during times of crisis. It also used the brand archetype framework to identify the elements consumers consider important during a crisis. Data were collected from 207 respondents and using the Relative to an Identified Distribution (RIDIT) approach, the top-rated brand elements were identified based on level of importance or agreement. This study will help practitioners incorporate the identified elements into their brand image. Their subsequent actions will help them remain relevant and essential for their consumers, even in challenging situations. © 2023, Associated Management Consultants Pvt. Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Mega-Influencers as Online Opinion Leaders: Establishing Cosmetic Brand Engagement on Social Media

The prominent growth of social media users, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, allows social media to become a potential platform for product promotion. The presence of digital influencers as online opinion leaders has been proven to influence brand value perception, establish brand engagement, and encourage consumer purchase intention. As the country with the fourth-largest population globally, Indonesia is a lucrative market for cosmetic products. In addition to the rising number of the millennial generation who is interested in beauty products, the male segment which is no less concerned about appearance also expands the cosmetics market. A quantitative method was applied using an online questionnaire to 220 samples. The findings reveal that perceived influence has a positive effect on purchase intention with brand engagement in self-concept and brand expected value as the mediating variables. Likewise, brand engagement in self-concept has a positive effect on brand expected value. This study recommends XYZ Cosmetics to continue enrolling Tasya Farasya, considering that, as a mega-influencer with enormous Instagram followers in Indonesia, she can drive the perception and behavior of her followers. [ FROM AUTHOR]

I am more inclined to buy online–novel social media engagement stimulated purchase intentions post-COVID-19: a case of Pakistani market

Purpose This study sheds light on the differential impact of social media brand engagement on two distinct types of purchase intentions, i.e. online and physical, in the special context of the post-COVID-19 situation in Pakistan. It has shed light on the factor (trust in online purchases during COVID-19) that has shaped the post-pandemic purchasing attitude. The above-stated association is unlocked based on the mediating role of brand equity. Design/methodology/approach The people who followed the social media pages of major sellers (apparel, grocery, food items and medical supplies) in Pakistan were included as the target population. A time-lagged web-based survey method was employed to collect primary data which generated 308 responses. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0. After checks for validity and reliability, mediation and moderation analysis were run by Hayes PROCESS model 4 and 14 respectively. Findings Results show that brand equity mediates the relationship of social media engagement with both online and physical purchase intentions. Further, results confirm that trust in online purchases during COVID-19 19 weakens the relationship of social media engagement with physical purchase intentions but strengthens with online purchase intentions. Originality/value This study attempts to unveil the moderation of trust in online purchases during COVID-19 on the relationship of social media engagement with online and physical purchase intentions through the mediation of brand equity.

COVID-19 and social media communication strategies: A comparative study of the effectiveness of Facebook posts during the lockdown and the "new normal" in the airline industry.

This comparative study analyses the effectiveness of the communications delivered via Facebook by two Spanish airlines, Iberia and Air Europa. Using various indicators, the publications posted by the two Spanish airline companies (Iberia and AirEuropa) on this social media site during the COVID-19 pandemic are examined using two time-frames, namely the "strict lockdown" (between March 14th and June 21st, 2020) and the "new normal" (between June 22nd and September 30th). In this study we examined a total of 39 Iberia's and 49 AirEuropa's posts for the former period and 49 Iberia's and 89 AirEuropa's posts for the latter one. By analysing the followers' reactions to these posts, the work seeks to identify the relationship between use of different contents and three variables: brand popularity, customer brand engagement, and virality. Two time periods are selected, one spanning national lockdown as a result of the state of emergency declared in Spain and the other relating to the subsequent 'new-normal' as emergency restrictions began to be lifted. The results show that the Facebook posts created by Iberia that included informative messages, references to COVID-19, with hashtags, and allusions to corporate social responsibility-were more popular than Air Europa posts. Iberia posts generated greater customer brand engagement and virality, and received more positive reactions in terms of likes and loves.

Change in brand attitude depending on fashion film type: the psychological mechanisms by engagement and consumer fantasy proneness

Purpose>This study investigates the effect of consumers' brand attitude changes according to the fashion film type. Furthermore, it examines the psychological mechanism by engagement and consumer fantasy proneness. This study is meaningful because it provides a more in-depth understanding of the use of fashion film as a means of consumer-oriented persuasion communication.Design/methodology/approach>This research uses a 2(fashion film type: narrative vs non-narrative) × 2(consumer fantasy proneness: high vs low) mixed factorial design to test the hypotheses. ANOVA and the PROCESS macro mounted on SPSS was used to test hypotheses.Findings>The group with high consumer fantasy proneness showed more changes in brand attitude when exposed to non-narrative than narrative fashion films, but the group with low consumer fantasy proneness showed no significant difference in brand attitude change according to the fashion film type. In addition, when consumer fantasy proneness is high, media and brand engagement for non-narrative fashion films increase sequentially, resulting in a greater change in brand attitude, whereas these psychological mechanisms do not work in groups with low consumer fantasy proneness.Practical implications>Fashion brands should identify their respective target group when producing fashion films and choose differentiated narrative forms. In the case of pursuing a fantastic aesthetic value, the non-narrative type induces more attention and curiosity from consumers than the narrative type, which affects the feeling of a special bond or relevance with the brand.Originality/value>This study has value in that it demonstrates the rationale for why a fashion brand needs to select a differentiated content structure according to the aesthetic value pursued when making a fashion film in branding work.

Are digital influencers social change catalysts? Empirical findings from the online apparel industry

Digital influencers have evolved the thinking and buying patterns of consumers on the social media platforms. The unorthodox approach of attracting the masses has considerably increased online purchase intentions. Especially during the global pandemic COVID-19, consumer’s high inclination towards online buying has been regarded as a natural phenomenon. Therefore, it remains eminent to determine that what factors boost buying intentions of the consumers during pandemic. In this regard, sequential mediation role of brand engagement, brand attitude and brand expected value were taken into consideration for precise examination of consumer online buying journey. Conceptually knitted associations were determined using positivist doctrine. The data was collected from 287 online apparel shoppers. Structural equation modelling (SEM) technique was executed for determining cause and effect relationships among the constructs. The study provides new evidences about digital influencers’ role and their impact on consumers’ online buying behaviours during pandemic. The results affirmed strong causal relationships among the hypothesised paths. Copyright © 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

ADV at the Time of COVID-19 Brain Effect between Emotional Engagement and Purchase Intention.

In pandemic times, taking advantage of COVID-19-elicited emotions in commercials has been a popular tactic employed by corporations to build successful consumer engagement and, hopefully, increase sales. The present study investigates whether COVID-19-related emotional communication affects the consumer's emotional response and the approach/avoidance motivation toward the brand-measured as a function of brain hemodynamic changes-as well as the purchase intentions. The functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) was employed to record neural correlates from the prefrontal cortex while the experimental and control groups were observing respectively COVID-19-related and unrelated advertisements (ads). The hemodynamic patterns suggest that COVID-19-related ads may promote deeper emotional elaboration, shifting consumers' attention from the semantic meaning to the affective features and perhaps supporting a more favorable brand evaluation. Conversely, purchase intentions were only related to the pre-existing level of brand engagement. The findings suggest that leveraging the negative emotional potential of COVID-19 may not shift the explicit purchase intentions but could nonetheless boost emotional engagement, benefitting the final evaluation of the brand at an implicit level.

Business customer virtual interaction: enhancing value creation in B2B markets in the post-COVID-19 era - an SME perspective

Purpose The unprecedented changes in the marketplace induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant accelerated corporate migration to virtual ecosystems have added several unique research opportunities and theoretical gaps, especially in business-to-business (B2B) small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) markets in the service sector. Particularly, customer interactions in B2B services that were once sustained by the "people mix" now demand a huge overhaul in light of the "new normal" restrictions. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore how B2B service firms can engender firm value through virtual customer interactions during and in the post-COVID-19 era from an SME's perspective. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts an exploratory qualitative inquiry to contribute to this discourse by proposing a conceptual framework based on prior literature and relevant theoretical frameworks, as well as qualitative interviews with SME managers, CEOs and/or owner-managers. Findings The qualitative findings reveal organizational preparedness, empathy, digital content and trust as key enablers of effective B2B virtual interaction that enhances cocreated value, thereby augmenting firm value. This study offers a much-needed examination of virtual interaction in B2B contexts and proposes a business customer virtual interaction model. Research limitations/implications The exploratory nature of this study is one limitation, and future studies with a bigger representative sample size that uses survey or experimental data drawn from large enterprises might add value to the current findings. Also, while this study is conducted in dynamic markets due to the COVID-19 crisis, future research must examine the customer/firm's experiences in other forms of crises-led market ecosystems. Practical implications B2B service firms must be strongly inclined to continuously take steps to develop and maintain virtual interaction with customers. Proactive efforts to familiarize internal and external stakeholders with virtual interaction platforms are a crucial step for effective customer engagement. The effectiveness of B2B virtual interactions can be strengthened through digital content that elicits trust and exhibits empathy, especially in crises led-markets. Also, the value created for the firm must be redeployed strategically to sustain positive customer engagement behaviors that continue to deliver value to the firm and the customer. Originality/value This paper contributes to the increasing B2B customer engagement literature by exploring the ongoing dialogue on how B2B firms can strive and succeed in the post-COVID-19 era or related crises-led market ecosystems through enhanced virtual B2B customer interaction efforts.

Customer engagement in online service brand communities

Purpose>Online service brand communities (OBCs) are an essential services marketing channel and relationship marketing tool, in which social capital (SC) is a critical success factor. Underpinned in social identity and social exchange theories, this paper aims to explore the effects of SC on customer brand engagement (CBE), considering the roles of collective psychological ownership (CPO), customer citizenship behaviour (CCB) and perceived community support (PCS).Design/methodology/approach>The research model was tested using survey data from 256 participants;137 from the Xiaomi Community and 119 from the Huawei Fan Club. Partial least squares-structural equation modelling analysis was used.Findings>SC drives CBE. CPO and CCB are important mediators, whilst PCS is an important moderator.Practical implications>Brand marketers need to foster SC in OBCs to achieve the maximum level of customer engagement. The authors provide recommendations as to how to build structural, relational and cognitive SC, as well as CPO, CCB and PCS. In short, brand marketers need to foster an interactive, empowering and supportive environment.Originality/value>The authors further service research around the humanisation of technology. Specifically, OBCs are social spaces for brands and customers, and a key enabler of relationship marketing principles, such as CBE. The authors test the roles of structural, cognitive and relational SC in engagement in OBCs, through CPO and CCB. This holistic picture of engagement in OBCs is an important foundation for future service research.

The role of customer brand engagement in the use of Instagram as a “shop window” for fashion-industry social commerce

Purpose>The purpose of this paper is to analyze how fashion consumers behave when they make purchases using social media platforms – specifically, Instagram. In particular, the work examines the role played by consumer–brand involvement and self–brand connection (SBC) as predictors of customer brand engagement (CBE).Design/methodology/approach>In this paper, social commerce-adoption is modeled, using three variables: customer engagement, SBC and fashion-consumer brand-involvement. Using a personal online survey, data on social media users classified as millennials and Generation Z were collected. The model is analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM).Findings>Consumer involvement in fashion has a positive effect on cognitive processing and activation, but not on affection. SBC has a positive effect on all three analyzed dimensions. Finally, gender is found to exert a moderating effect on the relationship between the “CBE activation” dimension and brand loyalty.Research limitations/implications>The research was conducted during the lockdown imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have influenced the responses. Other limitations and potential lines of research for the future are presented at the end of the paper.Practical implications>Some of the results of this study can directly inform the social media strategies of fashion companies that use Instagram as a channel of communication with their customers. They can also contribute to incentivizing co-created content and increasing consumption among both men and women.Originality/value>The present study contributes to addressing the scarcity of studies dealing with CBE and social commerce in the fashion sector and, in particular, fashion-consumer behavior on social media (specifically, Instagram).

Consumer brand engagement on social media in the COVID-19 pandemic: the roles of country-of-origin and consumer animosity: An International Journal

PurposeThe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic unprecedentedly shocks the market. Little is known about the impact of COVID-19 on brand engagement across country-of-origin (COO) and country-of-market (COM). To address the gap, this study examines how the spread of the COVID-19 affects consumer brand engagement on social media for global brands through the mechanisms of the COO and consumer animosity.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collect consumer engagement activity data from Facebook for eight global smartphone brands and match it with the COVID-19 statistics. Ordinary least square (OLS) models are used to estimate the impact on global brands brought by the spread of the COVID-19.FindingsThe results show that consumer brand engagement decreases for all brands in a COM as the number of confirmed COVID-19 new cases increases in the COM. Consumer brand engagement decreases for a brand across all COM as the number of confirmed COVID-19 new cases increases in the brand’s COO. If a brand’s COO is imputed for the pandemic, its consumer brand engagement will receive additional negative impacts across all COM.Originality/valueThis study enriches the COO literature by showing how the spread of a pandemic affects consumer brand engagement via COO and discovers the moderating role of consumer animosity.