THE INFLEUNCE OF BRAND VALUE, BRAND TRUST AND BRAND ATTITUDE ON BRAND ATTACHMENT

Nthabeleng Rammile, University of the Free State, South Africa

INTRODUCTION

Being able to build a relationship with a customer through the brand is a vital necessity for marketing. Established relationships
with customers carry benefits for companies such as increased profitability. Previous studies have acknowledged the role brand
attachment, brand trust and brand attitude play in the formation of committed behaviour, without observing how brand value,
brand trust and brand attitude impact the formation of brand attachment. A further challenge is that the few studies which have
attempted to observe the formation of brand attachment have focused on products and omitted the service industry (Grisaffe
and Nguyen 2010). The studies which observed the formation of brand attachment focused on aspects such as trust and
satisfaction (Esch et al. 2006; Tsai 2011) without a deeper theoretical clarification of how such aspects influence brand
attachment. To date, the influence of brand value, brand trust and brand attitude on the formation of brand attachment in the
service industry is limited. This paper argues that the observation of the formation of brand attachment is critical firstly because
of the role brand attachment plays in the formation of the relationship with the brand and secondly because this study adds to
the understanding of the determinants of the brand attachment construct. The objective of this study is therefore to analyse the
influence of brand value, brand trust and brand attitude on brand attachment.

MODEL DEVELOPMENT

Brand attachment originates from the interpersonal attachment theory (Bowlby 1982). According to the attachment theory
human beings have an innate psychobiological system (the attachment behavioural system which enables them to form bonded
relationships with significant others). According to the attachment theory, human beings have a strong emotional need to attach
to significant others from infancy. Researchers have demonstrated that human beings can also be emotionally attached to
brands. Although brand attachment is still a new concept there is evidence which indicate that just as people attach more to
individuals they love and respect, consumers attach more to brands they love and respect (Park et al. 2010). Love and respect
for the brand, tend to be informed by the brand’s ability to deliver on the promise and enabling consumers to express their
emotions (such as affection and excitement) and how they feel about themselves. Such brands become symbolic attachment
figures. From the review of literature it is clear that preferred and meaningful relationships are those which have the element
of attachment (Park et al. 2006). Given the role of brand attachment in the formation of the relationship with a brand, it is
critical to observe its determinants so that its formation can be actualised. Thus it is argued that value, trust and attitude are
one of the role players in the development of attachment to the brand, without which the brand cannot be loved nor respected.

Brand Attitude

Attitudes are learned predispositions which guide favourable or unfavourable responses towards brands (Wilkie 1994). Since
attitudes are learned, attitudes are informed by information and experience (Wilkie 1994). Attitudes resulting from exposure to
information and experience with the brand, also influence consumers’ judgments towards brands (Meyer 2008). It can therefore
be expected that as consumers gain positive information and good experience with the brand, they’ll develop positive attitudes
towards the brand and hence judge the brand fovourably. Consumer judgments are thus critical in brand attitude formation.
According to Park et al. (2010) a brand is further judged on the bases of how it reflects self or how instrumental the brand is to
the consumer. In other words, consumers attach more to brands which represent who they are or those which are meaningful
(brands enabling consumers to reach their goals or enabling consumers to express their personal concerns). Since attitudes
govern judgments, it can be expected that consumers will have a positive attitude towards a brand they judge to be representing
who they are or is meaningful. Since consumers attach more to brands they feel represent who they are or are meaningful, it
can be assumed that attitude has a positive relationship with attachment.

H1: Brand attitude has a positive influence on brand attachment

Brand Trust

Trust occurs when consumers are confident that their desires will be met by another (brand in this instance), instead of fearing
that the opposite will happen (Delgado-Ballester and Munuere-Aleman 2005). When consumers trust a brand, it means that
they have a high expectation and belief that a brand will yield positive outcomes (Kim et al. 2008). It has also been noted that
trust develops over time as the consumer experiences the brand through interacting with the brand. Trust is therefore the result

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of what the consumer has experienced with the brand over time. Further on, trust empowers the brand to be a relational partner
(Delgado-Ballester and Munuere-Aleman 2005) with ability, benevolence and integrity (Suh and Han 2002). Trust thus adds
value to the exchange relationships. Since attachment is a relationship component, it can be argued that consumers will be more
attached to brands they trust.

H2: Brand trust has a positive influence on brand attachment

Researchers have noted that when consumers have a belief that an object (in this case the object being the brand) will fulfill
promises made, act ethically and do good to the consumer, the relationship between the two parties will be based on trust. It
can therefore be expected that consumers will judge such an object positively and hence develop positive attitudes towards
such an object (Suh and Han 2002). Since beliefs are one of the key characteristics of trust, it can be anticipated that trust in a
brand will influence attitude towards the brand positively.

H3: Brand trust has a positive influence on brand attitude

Brand Value

Brand value occurs when a consumer perceives that the benefits obtained from a brand are higher than the costs of acquiring
such a brand. The experience gained from consuming the benefits of a brand will impact perceived costs of the brand (Chen
and Tsai 2008). If customers perceive that such an experience provided them with good value, they can be expected to judge
such a brand positively and hence develop a positive attitude towards the brand in concern.

H4: Brand value has a positive influence on brand attitude

If customers judge a service encounter positively because it gave them good value, it would mean that a trust requirement of
fulfilling expectations and having good intentions for the other partner has been met. It can therefore be expected that brand
value will have a positive influence on brand trust.

H5: Brand value has a positive influence on brand trust

Perceived value has been found to positively influence customer’s willingness to continue a relationship with the seller (Hyun
2009). This observation can be linked to the principle of attachment, in that in human attachment relationships, people gravitate
towards those who value them. For example, in psychology it has been demonstrated that a baby will gravitate towards attaching
with the mother because the mother cares for and values the baby (Bowlby 1982). Because of the similarities between
interpersonal attachment and brand attachment, it can be expected that consumers will gravitate towards brands which value
them. It is thus reasoned that when consumers are valued they will be more willing to attach to the brand.
H6: Brand value has a positive influence on brand attachment

METHOD

Data Collection

The target population consisted of 560 students from the University of the Free State who use cellphones and non-probability
sampling was used. The first section of the questionnaire measured the demographic information, and the second section
measured the constructs of brand value, brand trust, brand attitude and brand attachment as discussed in literature. A five-point
Likert-type scale was used, where 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = undecided, 4 = agree and 5 = strongly agree. The
scales used to measure the constructs were adopted from previous studies. The females comprised 59.7% of the sample while
the males comprised 40.3% of the sample.

Data Analysis and Results

A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (using AMOS 17.0) based on the measurement scales showed acceptable fit. The values
for fit indices for the CFA were: ȋ2/df = 2,215 CFI = 0.987 and RMSEA = 0.047 which are below the recommended cut-off
values for acceptable fit (Hair et al. (2006). The indicator variables loaded significantly onto the intended constructs and were
above the recommended 0.7 (the ideal). The construct reliability value for every construct was well above 0.7 and the average
extracted variances of all constructs were above 0.5, which suggests adequate convergence (Hair et al., 2006). Thus, the

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criterion for discriminant validity in the measurement model was met since the variance-extracted estimate for each construct
was greater than the squared correlations associated with the construct. The statistics suggest that the component measures are
reliable and have convergent and discriminant validity. The values for the structural model were S-BȤ2/df = 2.297; CFI = 0.983
and RMSEA = 0.057. which are also below the recommended cut-off values for acceptable fit (Hair et al., 2006). The
standardized path coefficients of the proposed research model are shown in Table 1.

DISCUSSION

The results show the six hypotheses of the study are supported (see table 1). Brand value has the strongest positive influence
on brand attachment, followed by brand attitude and brand trust which has the least positive influence on brand attachment.
This suggests that managers in companies need to put a strong emphasis on value added to consumers. Advertising strategy
should put more emphasis on “what’s in the deal” for the consumer. As this is achieved the company brand will earn trust from
the clients and emulate positive attitude towards the brand which will all strengthen the emotional relationship with the company
in the form of brand attachment. As consumers become more attached to the brand, a company has more opportunity to reap
financial rewards (Grisaffe and Nguyen 2010). Both brand value and brand trust had a positive significant influence on brand
attitude with brand value having a stronger positive influence. It means that the more consumers trust and feel valued by the
brand is the more they will be positive about the brand. Finally brand value had a positive significant influence on brand trust.
The presence of trust in the exchange relationship will ensure that consumers have a personal connection with the brand and
that they continue to rely on the brand because they know that the rand will deliver on its promises.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Emotional memory and socialisation which play a critical role in influencing attachment behaviours were not observed. It is
suggested that these should be considered for future research. It is also suggested that future studies should focus on cross-
cultural comparison. This study was done in a developing world; it would be useful if such findings can be compared to a
developed world.

CONCLUSION

Brand value is a key driver of brand attachment. It was also confirmed that brand value is also a strong driver of brand attitude
and brand trust. Previous studies have acknowledged the positive influence of brand value, brand trust, brand attitude and brand
attachment on purchase intentions, commitment and loyalty. The unique contribution of this study is that it observes how
attachment towards the brand is influenced by brand value, brand trust and brand attitude. The results are useful for mangers
who need to strengthen the position of their brands in the market place.

TABLES

Table 1: Analysis Results of the Research Model

Determinant Hypothesis Standardized path ȡ Variance explained of

coefficient dependent variable
Brand attachment H1: BAt ĺ BA .358 *** .458
H2: BT ĺ BA .193 **
H6: BV ĺ BA .369 ***
Brand attitude H3: BT ĺ BAt .225 *** .479
H4: BV ĺ BAt .346 ***
Brand trust H5: BV ĺ BT .607 *** .388
***P< 0.001, **P< 0.05

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