I trust friends before I trust companies: The mediation of WOM and brand love on psychological contract fulfilment and repurchase intention

Abstract

PurposeConsumer psychology research has established the importance of customer satisfaction as a determinant of customer repurchasing intention. Nonetheless, even satisfied customers switch brands. Also, even dissatisfied customers have repurchasing intentions. This means that customer repurchasing behaviour is extremely difficult to predict, necessitating additional research to identify additional factors that can help organizations better understand the methods to predict customer repurchasing intention. To fill this knowledge gap, this study examined the mediating effects of brand love (BL) and positive word of mouth (PWOM) on psychological contract fulfilment (PCF) and customer repurchasing intentions.Design/methodology/approachThis is a cross-sectional study. The study used structural equation modelling (SEM) to analyse relationships from a sample size of 400 beauty salon customers. Also, a process macro mediation test was used to analyse the mediating effects of BL and PWOM on the relationship between PCF and customer repurchase intentions.FindingsThe findings indicate that transactional and relational psychological contracts have a positive and significant relationship with BL and PWOM. As well, BL and PWOM positively and significantly influence customer repurchase intentions. Finally, the findings indicate that BL and PWOM mediate the relationship between psychological contract fulfilment and customer repurchase intentions.Research limitations/implicationsThis survey sampled beauty salons solely. Given that each type of organization may have a unique way of fulfilling psychological contracts, future studies may include more categories such as restaurants and craftsmanship to broaden the sample. Additionally, this study utilized female beauty salons. Therefore, future research could include salons that cater to women and men to boost the sample's generalizability. Finally, this study concluded that BL and positive recommendations are the most effective variables for resolving consumer satisfaction challenges. However, additional factors can probably amplify this fact by focusing on additional elements to broaden the arguments.Originality/valuePast studies have extensively covered customer repurchasing intention in relation to customer satisfaction. However, it was noted that even some satisfied customers could switch to other brands, and those who were dissatisfied could repurchase the brand. Given that little is known about how other factors than customer satisfaction can affect repurchasing intentions, this study examines the mediating effects of BL and PWOM on PCF and customer repurchase intentions.

I share because I care! Smallholder farmers’ perceptions of the usefulness of word of mouth for their market participation decisions

“…Similarly, farmers with strong emotional relationships, common interests and similar likes and dislikes are more likely to deliver the message in a positive way. These findings are consistent with previous research (Cooley & Parks-Yancy, 2019; Ismail, 2022) which suggested that individuals can more likely trust friends they know, especially during making purchase decisions suggesting that individuals with prior knowledge and subjective experiences can better comprehend the topic before exposing the information to others.…”

“…Secondly, the study provides a theoretical understanding of how WOM message delivery can mediate the relationship between WOM dimensions and market participation, highlighting the power of information from relatives and friends as a solution to misleading information from middlemen. Thirdly, this study fills a gap in the literature as previous studies on WOM have been mostly limited to other disciplines such as public procurement management (Ismail & Changalima, 2022), customer and marketing management (Ismail, 2022) and educational management (Amani, 2022), with little attention paid to smallholder farming and market participation. Lastly, this study contributes to the Maslow’ theory by postulating that smallholder farmers’ motivation to sell at marketplaces could stem from the need to generate income to fulfill their basic needs (shelter, healthcare, food), which aligns with the foundational level of Maslow's hierarchy.…”

Engaging Consumer Senses: The Role of Interactive Brand Experiences in Brand Building

“…Batra et al, (2012) asserted that it is important to acknowledge the distinction. There is considerable evidence that shows that brand love has a major influence on repurchase intention (Hsu, 2023;Ismail, 2022). Brand love has also been proven to have an impact on consumer forgiveness and attitude towards an extension.…”

Peran Kontrak Psikologis Konsumen Terhadap Brand Love Dan Positive Word of Mouth Dalam Memengaruhi Repurchase Intention Konsumen Bengkel Mobil X

“…Berdasarkan kesan yang diberikan konsumen tentang Bengkel Mobil X, diketahui bahwa penyebaran informasi yang diberikan konsumen Bengkel Mobil X kepada orang lain menjadi alasan tertinggi yang mendorong konsumen lebih memilih untuk terus membeli sparepart atau menggunakan jasa service kendaraan dari Bengkel Mobil X. Kemudian diikuti oleh ajakan teman konsumen untuk menggunakan layanan service selain di Bengkel Mobil X, karena alasan sudah terbiasa melakukan service ditempat tersebut. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini menggunakan model penelitian yang dikemukakan oleh Ismail (2022), dimana word of mouth (WOM) yang positif dan brand love ditemukan mampu memediasi hubungan kontrak psikologis dan Repurchase intention konsumen.…”

“…Kontrak relational dalam komunitas sosial memengaruhi brand love, brand love memengaruhi word of mouth konsumen baik dalam lingkungan fisik maupun lingkungan online, sementara kontrak transactional terkait persepsi harga ditemukan tidak memengaruhi Repurchase intention konsumen (Nugroho et al, 2021). Sebagaimana telah dibuktikan dalam penelitian (Ismail, 2022) yang menemukan bahwa brand love memiliki kemampuan dalam memediasi hubungan kontrak psikologi dengan Repurchase intention konsumen. Di sisi lain, kontrak psikologis relational memiliki peran besar dalam memengaruhi penyebaran Positive Word of mouth tentang perusahaan baik terkait harga atau kemampuan karyawan dalam memberikan layanan.…”