How special rewards in loyalty programs enrich consumer–brand relationships: The role of self‐expansion

Abstract

Although brands offer different kinds of rewards through their loyalty programs, little is known about how they can impact consumer–brand relationships and brand attitude. How do loyalty program rewards influence the consumer–brand relationship? And which kinds of rewards establish or maintain closer relationships between consumers and brands than others? To answer these questions, the present research makes use of self‐expansion theory (Aron & Aron, 1986) and two experiments that manipulate the extraordinary character of rewards offered to consumers. Our findings show that special rewards produce higher self‐expansion than mundane rewards. Moreover, the positive effect of the rewards’ extraordinary character on brand evaluation, recommendation, and identification is sequentially and fully mediated by self‐brand inclusion and self‐expansion. Finally, we show that consumer satisfaction moderates the impact of special and mundane rewards on self‐brand inclusion.

Exploring customers' responses to online service failure and recovery strategies during Covid‐19 pandemic: An actor–network theory perspective

“…Churners, in comparison to blanders and empathizers, have limited to no emotional connection with brands, and reflect characteristics linked to behavioral loyalty, which consists of repeated purchase behavior without having a psychological attachment to a brand (Gorlier & Michel, 2020 ). Azemi et al ( 2019 ) third customer group, impulsive customers, are defined as being more patient with service failures or with services they have little experience of in comparison to exigent and solutionist customers, who respond through negative electronic word of mouth (eWOM) following successful recovery.…”

“…Yet, loyal customers' evaluation of service recoveries will differ depending on how they incorporate the circumstances of a crisis situation. Customers with no attachment to a brand may be indecisive regarding their perception of service recovery and loyalty to brands, as they are motivated by habitual purchasing or monetary benefits (Gorlier & Michel, 2020 ). This calls for providers to adapt their recovery approaches, particularly on compensation and customer support, by enhancing their focus on customer orientation support services.…”

Impact of brand anthropomorphism on ethical judgment: the roles of failure type and loneliness

“…While extant research shows the importance of norm salience in the consumerbrand relationship (Aggarwal, 2009), the current research suggests that using anthropomorphization (vs not using this strategy) might be a way to change the relative salience of the exchange and communal norms in this relationship. This is instrumental in understanding the nature of consumer-brand relationships, which is a growing area within the marketing discipline (Gorlier and Michel, 2020).…”

Effects of online brand communities on millennials' brand loyalty in the fashion industry

“…Specifically, two types of motivation that impact customers' involvement in brand engagement can be identified: functional and symbolic motivation. Researchers have typically argued that functional motivation emerges from the behavioral type of loyalty toward brands, which is commonly based on the actual purchasing behavior of customers (Dick & Basu, 1994; Eggert et al, 2019; Gorlier & Michel, 2020; Jacoby & Kyner, 1973; Ozuem et al, 2016). In contrast, a brand that is central to a customer's value system and has symbolic significance to them causes them to remain with the brand (Aaker, 1997; Giakoumaki & Krepapa, 2020; Heitmann et al, 2020; Jacob et al, 2020).…”

“…Several authors have investigated the sole influence of brand symbolism on motivating customers to integrate the brand as part of their social identity and reinforce their view of self (Swaminathan et al, 2020), ultimately leading to customers engaging with the brand or other consumers through social media (Giakoumaki & Krepapa, 2020). There is a consistent body of evidence, however, suggesting that information completeness and a need for bridging social capital are predictors of customer satisfaction and relationship commitment to brand communities (Cheng et al, 2018; Gorlier & Michel, 2020). Building on these findings, Cheng et al (2018) argued that people build relationships with OBCs because of their need to acquire connections with new people.…”