Purpose This paper aims to operationalise and juxtapose variables related to identity, strategy and communications, and then examine the impact of such integration on organisational stakeholders’ trust, loyalty and commitment by using commitment/trust theory. Design/methodology/approach This research design utilises explanatory research at the preliminary stage, as informed by the literature and conceptual framework. The subsequent model was examined via a positivist survey carried out among stakeholders in high-end retail stores in London. Structural equation modelling (SEM) via AMOS was conducted to gain insight into the various relevant influences and relationships. Findings The results indicate that identity and strategy are key drivers of integrated corporate communication, and they serve to build stakeholder trust, loyalty and commitment. Originality/value The paper shows that while practitioners have indicated that integrated marketing communication is important for organisations, there are a few other areas of concern with regard to consequences related to trust, loyalty and commitment, especially in a retail context. This paper empirically examined relationships between these constructs by validating a conceptual model by using SEM.

Within a short period of just over a decade, IMC has swept around the world and become the accepted norm of businesses and apparently the agencies that service their needs. Here we critically consider IMC in terms of (1) development, (2) impact on marketing communications, (3) barriers to further progress, and (4) current location identification and likely development in the future. Evidently, IMC is here to stay. But there are problems. Not least of these is the apparent reluctance of many businesses to adopt anything more than an inside-out approach to IMC—in other words, bundling promotional mix elements together so they look and sound alike. But, IMC has to move beyond this stage if it is to radically change the face of communications and marketing

The effects of gamified customer benefits and characteristics on behavioral engagement and purchase: Evidence from mobile exercise application uses ABSTRACT This study investigates how gamified customer benefits (epistemic, social integrative, and personal integrative) and customer characteristics (age and experience) influence marketing outcomes, behavioral engagement and purchase, in exercise context. Using a unique data set of exercise and purchase history created by 5,072 smartphone users over three years in South Korea, this study finds that although all three customer benefits are positively associated with marketing outcomes, personal and social integrative benefits are the best predictors for engagement and purchase, respectively. Furthermore, the effects of gamified customer benefits on marketing outcomes vary by age and experience, showing the importance of epistemic and personal integrative benefits to older and less experienced customers and social integrative benefits to younger and experienced customers. This study not only explores the long-term effects of gamification on behavioral outcomes but also examines the feasibility of successfully implementing the gamification benefit proposition strategy for superior marketing outcomes.