This study investigated the effects of brand associations has on relationship quality and loyalty in social foodservice enterprise. The study focused on how brand associations affect important components of relationship quality (satisfaction and trust...
This study investigated the effects of brand associations has on relationship quality and loyalty in social foodservice enterprise. The study focused on how brand associations affect important components of relationship quality (satisfaction and trust) and loyalty (attitudinal loyalty, and behavioral loyalty) and also examined the moderating role of ethical consumption tendency. For empirical test, descriptive analysis, reliability analysis, validity analysis, and hierarchical regression analysis were employed.
Customers who were visiting social foodservice enterprises in the area of Seoul and Gyeonggi Provinces were surveyed, from 2/16/2015 to 3/25/2015. A total of 350 surveys were distributed, among which 328 were collected; 312 surveys (95.1%) were used for the final analysis after incomplete and inappropriate responses were excluded.
The main results of this study were as follows:
First, favorability and uniqueness of associations were shown to have had significant influences on satisfaction and trust whereas strength of association was significantly related to trust, but not to satisfaction.
Second, satisfaction and trust variables were all shown to have had a significant positive impact on attitudinal and behavioral loyalty.
Third, strength, favorability and uniqueness of associations were all shown to have had significant effects on attitudinal loyalty, whereas two variables, favorability and uniqueness of associations were related to behavioral loyalty.
Fourth, ethical consumption tendency was shown to have the moderating effects on the relationship between strength of associations and satisfaction, strength of associations and trust, and favorability of associations and trust. However it was not shown to have the same moderating effects on the relationship between favorability of associations and satisfaction, uniqueness of associations and satisfaction, or uniqueness of associations and trust.
Fifth, favorability of associations was proven to be the most significant variable in terms of its effect on attitudinal loyalty, and satisfaction had the greatest impact on behavioral loyalty.
In conclusion, it was proven that brand association needs to be reinforced in order to raise customers’satisfaction and trust, and most specifically, a substantial effort must be put forth to strengthen favorability and uniqueness of brand association. Additionally, image enhancement strategy of public interest (which social foodservice enterprises pursue) has to be reinforced to increase the strength of brand associations toward consumers with ethical consumption tendency. Finally,
favorability of brand associations was shown to have had the greatest impact on relationship quality and loyalty of social foodservice enterprise. Therefore, in order to strengthen favorability of brand associations, it can be important to increase consumers' brand awareness of the social foodservice enterprise through promoting creative social media marketing or building a network of positive and favorable brand association.