Modelling the influence of green brand image on brand loyalty in technology products: Relationships among green brand image, brand identification, perceived value and brand loyalty

• Main Author: Kuo, Hui-yi
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2012
• Subjects: Attitudes; Brand equity; Brand identification; Brand image; Brand loyalty; Competition; Competitive advantage; Consumer attitudes; Consumers; Consumption; Decision making; Environmental impact; Environmental protection; Green products; Marketing; Purchasing; Social responsibility; Studies
• ISBN: 9781267746146; 1267746149

Due to the fact that awareness of environmental problems grew within a society, consumer environmentalism became widespread and business ethics about the environment became one of the central issues. Companies introduced green ideas into a product to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. However, consumers still had a dilemma in the trade-offs for product attributes and friendliness to environment. How to deal the organizational environment management and green consumption dilemma of consumers required ambidexterity for managers and marketers. This study expanded the concept of brand image to relate to environmentalism and expected to explore how the consumers with various green brand image influenced their value perception, self-brand connection and brand trust. Green brand image was linked to altruistic value, which focused on public – benefit orientation. Otherwise, this study also applied the concept of brand identification, which focused on self – benefit orientation to investigate the relationship with green brand image, brand value perception and brand affect. In addition, this study proposed a conceptual model to connect green brand image and brand identification to brand loyalty with perceived value, brand trust and brand affect as mediators to examine their relationships. Furthermore, based on literature, the moderating effects of personal traits’ variables in term of brand centricity and risk aversion were expected. Brand centricity and risk aversion were expected respectively to influence both effects of brand trust on brand loyalty and brand affect on brand loyalty. The main survey method adopted online investigations; the questionnaires were developed through Qualtrics survey software and posted on the fan-group Facebook of target brand to collect data from global countries. The other survey methods included email system of Alliant International University, friends' networking and Qualtrics Survey Company. Data was analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method by using software of SPSS 20.0 and AMOS 20.0 to test construct reliability and validity, to measure the model fitness and to test the research hypotheses, the analysis methods of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were employed. This study results showed that brand products with positive brand image associated with environment concern could strengthen brand value perception, brand trust and the quality of brand identity. Brand identification was found to have the mediation effect to activate the connection between green brand image and brand loyalty. However, consumers still had a dilemma in the trade-offs for product attributes and being friendly to environment, although consumers had much higher willingness to buy environment-friendly products than before. Thus, this study suggested managing the right balance of green brand image and brand identification for marketing practitioners to handle consumers’ green consumption dilemma. Furthermore, the mediating effect of brand affect and the moderating effecting of brand centricity and risk aversion between brand affect and brand loyalty were proven. This study still had some limitations of generalization in age and ethnicity. Respondents can’t characterize all customers of technology products and brands. These limitations and pending topics could be recommended to future studies.