An alternative measure of relative brand attitudes

Purpose – This paper aims to report two studies with the purpose of demonstrating and establishing the efficacy of using an alternative method of operationalizing relative brand attitudes based on Cheung's latent congruence model (LCM). Design/methodology/approach – Data are collected concerning brand attitudes related to their product (study 1) and retailer (study 2) preferred and best alternative brands. Structural equation modeling is used to demonstrate and validate the LCM model, as well as to relate relative brand attitudes to satisfaction judgments and loyalty behaviors. Findings – Two separate samples of respondents across two unique marketing settings (product and retailer brands) support the LCM‐based view of relative brand attitude proposed herein. In addition, results suggest that preferred brands are most strongly related to satisfaction with the preferred brand, however, relative brand attitudes are alternatively related to preferred brand loyalty. Thus, relative brand attitudes appear to have both direct and indirect (through satisfaction) influences on brand loyalty. Practical implications – Practical implications include the availability of a usable method of operationalizing relative brand attitudes in a way that fully utilizes hedonic/utilitarian attitude scale for absolute and relative brand attitudes measures and can control for measurement error. The proposed method thus provides a means to strengthen measurement models associated with relative brand concepts. Originality/value – The reported studies offer an alternative and practical method of measuring relative brand attitudes in a way that results in practical insights about consumer satisfaction and brand loyalty.