Purpose -In the present paper, the authors aim to study the relationship between corporate associations and loyalty by analyzing the role of identification with the company and satisfaction in this connection. Design/methodology/approach -The effects of corporate associations on consumers' loyalty were tested through a structural equation model for a sample of 781 financial services users. Findings -The results confirm the value of commercial expertise (CE) as one of the most important determinants of both consumer satisfaction and identification with their financial services provider. Besides, corporate social responsibility (CSR) contributes to building consumer identification with the company, which is positively correlated to satisfaction too. Satisfaction is thus presented as both an affective and cognitive consumer response in the financial industry, which, along with identification, finally determines the attitudinal loyalty a consumer shows towards their provider. Originality/value -With this study, the authors try to contribute to a better knowledge of the consumer loyalty formation process as it begins with the perception of corporate associations for its commercial expertise and its social commitment. The researchers take into account the role of two variables -i.e. identification and satisfaction with the company -that had not been studied in depth in research analyzing the role of corporate associations in consumer loyalty. Moreover, CSR associations are also studied from a multidimensional point of view, as suggested in recent studies and in comparison to the vast majority of previous research, which has concentrated on specific and narrow dimensions of the concept, especially the social dimension.

The concept of corporate social responsibility is becoming integral to effective corporate brand management. This study adopts a multidimensional and cross-country perspective of the concept and analyses consumer perceptions of behaviour of four leading consumer products manufacturers. Data was collected from consumers in two countries -Spain and the UK. The study analyses consumersÕ degree of interest in corporate responsibility and its impact on their perception about the company. The findings here suggest a weak impact of company-specific communication on consumersÕ perception. The implications of this study are relevant to companies for strengthening their social responsibility associations with the consumers.

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This paper develops an integrative model that includes the dimensions of destination brand equity (i.e. awareness, image, quality and loyalty), as well as a key behavioral variable that is tourist satisfaction. In particular, our paper aims to contribute to the literature: 1) by examining the relationships between the dimensions of destination brand equity, which is not a deeply investigated issue so far; and 2) by adding tourist satisfaction, a key concept in loyalty formation, to the variables usually considered in destination brand equity models. The model was tested in two samples, national and international tourists visiting a destination in Spain, in order to also explore the role of the geographical and cultural distance between tourist and destination. Our results from a multi-group analysis indicate: 1) a robust link between ´quality-satisfaction-loyalty´ in both samples of tourists; 2) a chain of effects among awareness, image (separately considering the cognitive and affective dimensions) and perceived quality, although with the presence of some significant difference between both samples of tourists; and 3) a positive influence of cognitive image on affective image in both cases.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The present study aims to analyze the influence of ethical and philanthropic responsibility of a financial entity on consumer behaviour. Specifically, it aims to analyze relationships among these dimensions and diverse constructs, such as the relationship satisfaction, trust, identification with the firm, business performance, relational outcomes and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach -The benefits of corporate social responsibility as a marketing tool are analyzed in a real context, directly asking the user for his/her perceptions about the financial entities. A personal survey for users was carried out, obtaining 789 valid responses. In order to comply with the aims of this research a model of structural equations was developed. Findings -It is seen that the relationship satisfaction, trust and identification with the entity are the main determinants of loyalty, while the ethical and social dimensions have an indirect effect. The ethical behaviour influences the perceived commercial performance and it enhances trust, while corporate philanthropy improves the identification with the bank. Practical implications -The findings of this study indicate that social responsibility influences consumer behaviour and loyalty, so financial entities must especially take care of these aspects. A firm with a correct ethical behaviour and a strong social commitment will be able to achieve better financial results. Originality/value -This paper completes the loyalty model with the inclusion of variables of social responsibility. Specifically, it analyzes separately two dimensions of social responsibility in order to check the effect of each dimension on the consumer behaviour.