This study aims to re-explore the customer-brand love relationship by switch path analysis research. Through comparing the dimension and process of brand love concepts, the purpose of this study is to examine what kinds of mindset, emotion and behavior of consumers with love brand will mostly facilitate themselves to engage in brand related relationships, and to explore when and why such kind of brand lovers will do the brand switching behavior. The author argues that (1) customer-brand love relationship is dynamic and changeable; (2) brand lovers won’t always complain unless the unpleasant state or unexpected behaviors of their loving brands reach the level of brand detachment or exceed the threshold of tolerance; (3) there is usually no significant phenomenon or symptoms firm can find the brand lovers intending to switch in advance. For research design, the authors use in-depth interviews to collect experienced brand switching data through the process of brand detachment behaviors, employ content analysis to identify critical incidents, and combine the method of sequential critical incident analysis to interpret why the brand lovers decided switch to other brand and the technique of switching path analysis to construct their paths of brand switching processes. Based on the deduction drawn from sequential critical incident analysis and hermeneutic mode of interpretation, the finding enhances our understanding of even the brand lover might do brand switching behavior, and it provides a useful construct foundation for future studies.
Relation:
proceedings of 38th Annual ISMS Marketing Science Conference
