Corporate branding, emotional attachment and brand loyalty: the case of luxury fashion branding

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to develop and empirically test a theoretical framework that captures the impact of corporate branding on customer emotional attachment and brand loyalty in the luxury fashion market. Design/methodology/approach - Cross-sectional data were collected from 282 customers who purchased luxury brands. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses of the framework developed for the study. Findings - Findings found limited effect of corporate branding on customer emotional attachment and brand loyalty. Among the six corporate branding dimensions examined, only corporate association, functional benefits, and symbolic benefits were found to have a significant impact on emotional attachment. Further, the impact of corporate branding on brand loyalty was only evident through functional benefits and corporate associations. Practical implications - This study offers new empirical support for the proposition that corporate branding efforts have a role, thought limited, in building customer emotional attachment and loyalty towards luxury brands. As such, findings from this study can provide managers with a guide to managing their branding strategies so that customer emotional attachment and brand loyalty can be built in the most cost-effective manner. Originality/value - This is the first study to examine the relationship between corporate branding, emotional attachment, and brand loyalty in the luxury fashion context. The examination of the differential effects of corporate branding dimensions on emotional attachment and loyalty has contributed to a better understanding of the mechanism that underlies the operation of an effective corporate branding strategy.