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Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of the factors influencing Indian consumers’ loyalty toward mobile phone service providers by exploring the mediating roles of commitment, corporate image and switching costs on causal relationships between customer satisfaction, trust and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach A survey of 855 Indian mobile phone users was carried out to test the hypothesized relationships using structural equation modeling. The results support most of the proposed hypotheses. Findings The direct linkages in the model are found to be statistically significant. Of these relationships, corporate image emerged as the strongest determinant of attitudinal loyalty. Calculative commitment and corporate image are found to be partial mediators between satisfaction and attitudinal loyalty. Calculative commitment and switching costs are each proven to be partial mediators between trust and attitudinal loyalty, while corporate image is proved to be a complete mediator. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to examining the impact of relationship variables on Indian consumers’ loyalty toward mobile phone companies. Future research can examine the impact of variables such as rate plans, value-added services, billing experience and voice quality on customer loyalty. Practical implications The results have implications for retaining customers in highly competitive and maturing Indian mobile telecommunications. The research provides some initial insights into corporate brand building as an important area for mobile phone companies. Originality/value This is one of the first studies to test the mediating role of commitment, switching costs and corporate image in the relationship between satisfaction, trust and loyalty in the Indian context.

Purpose -Identifying the loyalty drivers to cell phone operators is extremely important in today's competitive environment. Consensus is absent in the marketing literature on how loyalty should be conceptualized and measured in the service industry. The purpose of this study is to test an integrative model to examine the relations among customer satisfaction, trust, commitment, corporate image, attitudinal loyalty and behavioural loyalty. It also aims to examine the mediating roles of commitment and corporate image on causal relationships between trust and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach -Data collection was done in two stages: in the first stage in which the primary purpose of analysis was pre-testing, the authors collected data from 250 respondents. In the second stage, data were obtained from 855 mobile phone users in India via questionnaire. The data were analysed by structural equation modelling (SEM) in order to test all the relationships between variables in the model. Findings -The findings supported the proposed hypotheses, which are consistent with the theoretical framework. Analysis showed that corporate image is an important determinant of attitudinal loyalty. Research limitations/implications -In order to generalize the findings, the proposed model should be studied in different service industries. This research does not examine the interaction effects between customer satisfaction and trust. Future researchers can test these interaction effects and study its impact on development of behavioural and attitudinal loyalty. The proposed model should be tested using a longitudinal research design. Practical implications -Firms should focus both on attitudinal and behavioural loyalty to create truly loyal customers. A defensive marketing strategy is important for the highly competitive and maturing mobile telecommunications service market. Mobile phone companies should develop and reinforce marketing strategies focusing on factors (satisfaction, commitment, trust and corporate image) which have the greatest influence on retention. Originality/value -This paper examines the mediating roles of commitment and corporate image in the formation of customer loyalty.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify personality clusters among consumers of Generation Y in India using the Big Five personality traits and profile these clusters on the basis of their levels of fashion consciousness, inclination toward status consumption and materialistic tendencies. Design/methodology/approach A self-completion questionnaire was administered to 751 respondents from Generation Y (born between 1980 and 2000) using mall-intercept approach. The questionnaire included demographic items and measures of the Big Five personality traits, fashion consciousness, status consumption and materialism. A two-step cluster analysis, using hierarchical and nonhierarchical clustering, was conducted on each respondent’s factor scores on the five dimensions of the Big Five. Later, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was applied to identify differences in the levels of fashion consciousness, inclination toward status consumption and materialistic tendencies of the clusters. Findings Four personality clusters were identified, i.e. Conventionalists (N = 95, 12.64 per cent), Anxious Achievers (N = 207, 27.56 per cent), Introverts (N = 204, 27.16 per cent) and Positivists (N = 245, 33.82 per cent). MANOVA revealed significant differences among clusters pertaining to their levels of fashion consciousness, status consumption and materialistic tendencies. Practical implications Results suggest that the personality clusters are not homogeneous, and fashion marketers must bear in mind the differences within the cohort of Generation Y while planning their promotion and communication strategies. Originality/value The value of this study lies in integrating the widely researched constructs of the Big Five personality traits, fashion consciousness, status consumption and materialism into one holistic study, thereby offering useful insights into the fashion shopping behavior of young Indian adults.

The Indian telecom industry is one of the fastest growing in the world and second largest mobile market globally. The Indian cell phone market is characterized by a large subscriber base (545 million connections as on May, 2010, expected to reach 876.6 million in 2013), low average revenue per user (INR 209 as on March 2009) and high churn rates (53.2% in 2009, and is expected to increase to 59.6% in 2013). The Indian consumers are enjoying a wide range of services along with the world�s lowest local call rates. The mobile phone operators in India are faced with the challenge of reducing customer churn in the ever-increasing prepaid subscriber market. Under such circumstances, the success of mobile phone service providers in India mainly depends on developing innovative schemes to increase customer loyalty. In service organizations, customer loyalty is considered as prime determinant of long-term financial performance of firms. One of the crucial issues of today is to understand how or why a sense of loyalty develops in customers. Loyalty definitions and metrics are mostly in behavioural and attitudinal terms. Consensus is absent in the marketing literature on how loyalty should be conceptualized and measured in the service industry. The present study addresses both the conceptual and measurement issues related to customer loyalty amongst the cell phone users. Building on existing literature, the antecedents of customer loyalty are reassessed in a service setting namely, customer satisfaction, trust, commitment, corporate image, and switching costs. This paper reports the development and validation of scales for measuring customer loyalty and its antecedents. The scale development and validation process was divided into three phases. Phase 1 consisted of the item generation process, assessment of content validity, and initial purification of measures. Item analysis and exploratory factor analysis were used on data collected from 250 postgraduate business students of a major university in India for initial purification of the instrument. In Phase 2, additional data were collected from 855 cell phone users in northern India to assess the latent factor structure through confirmatory factor analysis. In Phase 3, the discriminant validity and convergent validity of the measures were established. The managerial implications of the major findings of this study are as follows: It contributes to the existing literature by developing a theory-based framework for understanding the direct effects of satisfaction, trust and commitment, switching costs and corporate image on behavioural and attitudinal loyalty. By measuring loyalty as composite measure consisting of both behavioural loyalty and attitudinal loyalty, it provides evidence of the multidimensional nature of loyalty construct. Using data collected from mobile phone users, the reliability and validity of the scale are established. The newly refined and validated measures can be used by future researchers to study customer loyalty and its antecedent factors. The loyalty measures developed in this study provides managers with an easy tool to identify attitudinal and behavioural differences among customers. Marketing managers can draw meaningful distinctions between customers who buy out of habit and those who buy because of emotional attachment to the company.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate measurement properties of a scale measuring fashion self-congruity (FSC). Design/methodology/approach Based on the existing literature of self-congruity, and four studies carried out as a part of this research, the FSC scale has been validated in a step-by-step process following the scale validation methodology suggested by Churchill (1979). Findings The final version of the scale incorporates nine items classified into three dimensions: actual fashion self-congruity, ideal fashion self-congruity, and ideal social fashion self-congruity. The scale reveals strong psychometric properties based on findings of different reliability and validity tests. Practical implications A valid and reliable FSC scale provides a foundation to broaden quantitative inquiry into the types of FSC that consumers seek under different situations. Knowledge of the dominant self-concept driving the consumption of fashion in various situations will enable marketers to position their brands along the desired dimension of FSC. Originality/value The value of this research paper lies in validating a scale to measure FSC for the first time in the self-concept/congruity literature.

Purpose Although the prominence of brand logo for companies is widely acknowledged, a close examination of the literature reveals lack of empirical research pertaining to effect of brand logo on consumer perception toward brand. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to fill the gap in marketing studies concerning the effect of a logo on consumer evaluations. The research addresses two questions: first, how brand logo favorability helps to increase brand image; and second, how brand logo form consumer perceptions toward brand through brand personality dimensions and brand familiarity? Design/methodology/approach The data were collected from 816 respondents using mall-intercept technique. Structural equation modeling via AMOS was conducted to test the proposed model to gain insight into the various relevant influences and relationships. Findings The findings revealed the importance of the company’s brand logo in enhancing the brand image. The results further highlighted that brand personality dimensions and brand familiarity mediate the relationship between brand logo and brand image. Practical implications The study offers managers a new perspective for building strong brand identity with the help of logos along with the brand personality dimensions and brand familiarity to enhance brand image. Originality/value This study provides novel insights on the impact of brand logo on brand image. This is the first study to determine the mediating role of brand personality in the relationship between brand logo and brand image. It thereby adds to the literature of visual identity by developing the sphere of influence of brand logo and its effects toward brands.