THE EFFECT OF CONSUMER INVOLVEMENT ON BRAND LOYALTY: A STUDY ON SMART PHONE PRODUCTS

Abstract

The main aim of this study is to reveal the effect of consumers’ product involvement levels on their brand loyalty in terms of smart phones. Another purpose of this study is to detect whether this predicted effect differ based on gender. In order to achieve this goal, a research was implemented by using face to face survey method on 665 Balıkesir University Burhaniye School of Applied Science students who are determined with convenience sampling method. The reason of using this sample is the anticipation of that university students’ consciousness and involvement levels about smart phones might be higher than other populations. In order to determine consumer involvement level, Consumer Involvement Profiles (CIP), which is developed by Kapferer and Laurent (1985) and one of commonly used scales in consumer involvement researches, was used. As for brand loyalty, a 6-item scale that developed by Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman (1996) as five items and one dimension, and then, adapted by Lam, Shankar, Erramilli, and Murthy (2004) as two dimensions (repurchase/ patronage and recommendation) by adding one item to repurchase/ patronage dimension, was used. The research results demonstrate that symbolic value, risk probability, and hedonic value dimensions of consumer involvement have effects on repurchase/ patronage dimension of brand loyalty. In addition, the results support that interest, symbolic value, risk probability, and hedonic value dimensions of consumer involvement have effects on recommendation dimension of brand loyalty. When these results evaluated from the point of gender, some different findings were obtained. With reference to these results, the findings were interpreted and the study was concluded with suggestions to researchers and managers. 

Keywords

• Consumer involvement,brand loyalty,consumer involvementpProfiles,smart phone

References

1. Alexandris, K. 2012, “Exploring The Role Of Motivation On The Development Of Sport Involvement”, International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, Vol.12, No.1/2, pp. 57-72.
2. Bayram, N. 2010, “Yapısal Eşitlik Modellemesine Giriş: Amos Uygulamaları”, Bursa: Ezgi Kitapevi.
3. Bloch, P.H. 1986, “The Product Enthusiasm: Implications for Marketing Strategy”, Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 51-62.
4. Bruwer, J. & Buller, C. 2013, “Product involvement, brand loyalty, and country-of-origin brand preferences of Japanese wine consumers”, Journal of Wine Research, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 38-58.
5. Chen, L.S.L., Wang, M.C.H., Cheng, C.M.S. & Kuntjara, H. 2008, “Consumer Involvement and Brand Loyalty in Services: Evidence From the Commercial Airline Industry in Taiwan”, International Journal of Services and Standards, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 437-452.
6. Coşkun, İ. 2007, “Müşteri Tatmini ve Müşteri Değerinin Müşteri Sadakati Üzerindeki Etkisi: Süpermarket ve Bankacılık Sektöründe Bir Araştırma”, Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Eskişehir.
7. Çakır, V. 2007, “Tüketici İlgilenimini Ölçmek”, Selçuk Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Akademik Dergisi, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 163-180.
8. Çiftyıldız, S.S. & Sütütemiz, N. 2007, “Tüketici İlgisinin Marka Bağlılığına Etkisi”, Kocaeli Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 37-55.

9. Çilingir, Z. & Yıldız, S. 2010, “Tüketicilerin Ürünlere Olan İlgileniminin Marka Sadakati Üzerindeki Etkisi: Sembolik Nitelikteki Bir Ürün Grubu İçin İstanbul İli Pilot Çalışması”, Zonguldak Karaelmas Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, vol. 6, no. 11, pp. 79-100.
10. Devrani, T. 2009, “Marka Sadakati Öncülleri: Çalışan Kadınların Kozmetik Ürün Tüketimi Üzerine Bir Çalışma”, Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 407-421.
11. Dölarslan, E.Ş. 2015, “Tüketicilerin Ürün İlgilenim ve Bilgi Düzeyinin Marka Sadakatine Etkisinin Fikir Liderliği Kapsamında Değerlendirilmesi”, Pazarlama ve Pazarlama Araştırmaları Dergisi, no. 15, pp. 23-48.
12. Giddens, N. & Hofmann, A. 2002, “Brand Loyalty”, Iowa State University”, Working paper.
13. Gounaris, S. & Stathakopoulos, V. 2004, “Antecedents and Consequences of Brand Loyalty: An Empirical Study”, Brand Management, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 283-306.
14. Hanzaee, K.H., Khoshpanjeh, M. & Rahnama, A. 2011, “Evaluation of the Effects of Product Involvement Facets on Brand Loyalty”, African Journal of Business Management, vol.16, no: 5, pp. 6964-6971.
15. Hochgraefe, C., Faulk, S. & Vieregge, M. 2012, “Links Between Swiss Hotel Guests’ Product Involvement and Brand Loyalty”, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, vol. 21, pp. 20-39.
16. İslamoğlu, A.H. & Alnıaçık, Ü. 2014, “Sosyal Bilimlerde Araştırma Yöntemleri”, İstanbul: Beta Yayın Dağıtım.
17. Kandemir, D., Atakan, S.S. & Demirci, C. 2013, “İlgilenim Kavramı ve Türkçe İlgilenim Ölçeklerinin Değerlendirilmesi: Tüketici İlgilenimi, Sürekli İlgilenim ve Satın Alma Kararı İlgilenimi”, İktisat İşletme ve Finans, vol. 28, no. 330, pp. 21-48.
18. Kapferer, J.N & Laurent, G. 1985/1986, “Consumer Involvement Profiles: A New Practical Approach to Consumer Involvement”, Journal of Advertising Research, vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 48-56.
19. Kapferer, J.N. & Laurent, G. 1985, “Measuring Consumer Involvement Profiles”, Journal of Marketing Research, vol. 22, pp. 41-53.
20. Krugman, H.E. 1965, “The Impact of Television Advertising: Learning Without Involvement”, Public Opinion Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 349-356.
21. Lam, S.Y., Shankar, V., Erramilli, M.K. & Murthy, B. 2004, “Customer Value, Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Switching Costs: An Illustration From a Business-to-Business Service Context”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 32, pp. 293-311.
22. Mitchell, A.A. 1979, “Involvement: A Potentially Important Mediator of Consumer Behavior”, Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 191-196.
23. Mittal, B. 1995, “A Comparative Analysis of Four Scales of Consumer Involvement”, Psychology & Marketing, vol. 12, no: 7, pp. 663-682.
24. Nakip, M. 2006, “Pazarlama Araştırmaları Teknikler ve SPSS Destekli Uygulamalar”, Ankara: Seçkin Yayıncılık.
25. Odabaşı, Y. & Barış, G. 2002, “Tüketici Davranışı”, MediaCat Kitapları, İstanbul: Kapital Medya.
26. Oliver, R.L. 1999, “Whence Customer Loyalty”, Journal of Marketing, Special Issue, vol. 63, pp. 33-44.
27. Özgür, M. 2012, “Müşterilerin Marka Beklentileri ile Marka Sadakatleri Arasındaki İlişki : Kuşadası'nda Faaliyet Gösteren Restoranlar Üzerine Bir Araştırma”, Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Adnan Menderes Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Turizm İşletmeciliği Eğitimi Anabilim Dalı, Aydın.
28. Öztürk, P. 2006, “Rekabet Gücü Olarak Marka Faktörü, Marka Oluşturma Stratejileri ve Koruma Sistemleri”, İktisat, İşletme ve Finans, vol. 21, no: 244, pp. 66-85.
29. Palumbo, F. & Herbig, P. 2000, “The Multicultural Context of Brand Loyalty”, European Journal of Innovation Management, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 116-124.
30. Park, S.H. 1996, “Relationships Between Involvement and Attitudinal Loyalty Constructs in Adult Fitness Programs”, Journal of Leisure Research, vol. 28, no: 4, pp. 233-250.
31. Prayag, G. & Ryan, C. 2012, “Antecedents of Tourists’ Loyalty to Mauritius: The Role and Influence of Destination Image, Place Attachment, Personal Involvement, and Satisfaction”, Journal of Travel Research, vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 342-356.
32. Prebensen, N.K., Woo, E., Chen, J.S. & Uysal, M. 2012, “Motivation and Involvement As Antecedents of the Perceived Value of the Destination Experience”, Journal of Travel Research, vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 253-264.
33. Rothschild, M.L. 1984, “Perspectives on Involvement: Current Problems and Future Directions”, Advances in Consumer Research, Vol.11, No.1, pp. 216–217.
34. Odabaşı, Y. & Barış, G. 2002, “Tüketici Davranışı”, MediaCat Kitapları, Kapital Medya Hizmetleri A.Ş., İstanbul.
35. Oliver, R.L. 1999, “Whence Customer Loyalty?”, Journal of Marketing, Special Issue, Vol. 63, pp. 33-44.
36. Quester, P. & Lim, A.L. 2003, “Product Involvement/Brand Loyalty: Is There a Link?”, Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 22-38.
37. Sherif, M. & Sargent, S. 1947, “Ego-Involvement and The Mass Media”, Journal of Social Issues, vol. 3, pp. 8-16.
38. Stokburger-Sauer, N.E. & Teichmann, K. 2013, “Is luxury just a female thing? The role of gender in luxury brand consumption”, Journal of Business Research, vol. 66 no. 7, pp. 889-896.
39. Tokmak, G. 2014, “Marka Sadakatini Etkileyen Faktörler ve Markaya Bağlılık Noktaları: Bülent Ecevit Üniversitesi İ.İ.B.F. Öğrencileri Üzerine Bir Uygulama”, Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Bülent Ecevit Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Zonguldak.
40. Warrington, P. & Shim, S. 2000, “An Empirical Investigation of the Relationship Between Product Involvement and Brand Commitment”, Psychology & Marketing, vol. 17, pp. 761-782.
41. Ye, L. & Robertson, T.M.A. 2012, “Gender Identity: Does It Matter for Consumers’ Perceptions?”, Journal of Business Diversity, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 81-92.
42. Yılmaz, V. 2005, “Tüketici Memnuniyeti ve İhtiyaçlarının Marka Sadakatine Etkisi: Sigara Markasına Uygulanması”, Anadolu Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 257-271.
43. Zaichkowsky, J.L. 1985, “Measuring the Involvement Construct”, Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 12, pp. 341-352.
44. Zaichkowsky, J.L. 1986, “Conceptualizing Involvement”, Journal of Advertising, vol. 15 no. 2, pp. 4-14.
45. Zeithaml, V.A., Berry, L.L. & Parasuraman, A. 1996, “The Behavioral Consequences of Service Quality”, Journal of Marketing, vol. 60, no. 2, pp. 31-46.