Peer-reviewed
Does attitudinal loyalty influence behavioral loyalty? A theoretical and empirical study
Despite a plethora of studies on brand loyalty spanning over last three decades, the research paradigm is unique in its inability to produce generalizable results. The research suffers from a lack of agreement over the operationalization of the construct of the brand loyalty. Many researchers [e.g., Kahn, B.E., Kalwani, M.U., Morrison, D.G., 1986. Measuring variety seeking and reinforcement behaviors using panel data. Journal of Marketing Research 23, 89-100; Ehrenberg, A.S.C., Goodhardt, G.J., Barwise, P.B., 1990. Double jeopardy revisited. Journal of Marketing 54, 82-91] have defined brand loyalty only from a behavioral perspective. They assumed that repeat purchasing can capture the loyalty of a consumer towards the brand of interest. Other researchers [e.g., Day, G.S., 1969. A two-dimensional concept of brand loyalty. Journal of Advertising Research 9, 29-35; Dick, A.S., Basu, K., 1994. Consumer loyalty: towards an integrated conceptual approach. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 22 (2), 99-113; Baldinger, A.L., Rubinson, J., 1996. Brand loyalty: the link between attitude and behavior. Journal of Advertising Research 36 (6), 22-34; Rundle-Thiele, S.R., Bennett, R., 2001. A brand for all seasons: A discussion of loyalty approaches and their applicability for different markets. Journal of Product and Brand Management 10 (1), 25-37; Rundle-Thiele, S.R., 2005. Elaborating customer loyalty: exploring loyalty to wine retailers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 12 (5), 333-344], however, have suggested that attitude should be included along with behavior to define loyalty. In particular, Dick and Basu (1994) were precise in suggesting that a favorable attitude and repeat purchase were required to define loyalty. By viewing loyalty as an attitude-behavior relationship in their framework, Dick and Basu (1994) were able to investigate the concept from a causal perspective thereby permitting the identification of the factors that influence loyalty
Article
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 14, 2007, 35