In Good and Bad Times : The Interpersonal Nature of Brand Love in Service Relationships

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address two important gaps in the brand love and consumer-brand relationships literatures. First, this study investigates several interpersonal antecedents of brand love in a services setting. Second, this study examines the differential influence of the valence of the service delivery process and the way that brand love develops under qualitatively varied conditions. Design/methodology/approach – A between-subjects experiment that varied the valence of the service delivery process (positive/negative) in a relational context was designed to examine the influence of interpersonal antecedents across service delivery levels on brand love. Findings – This study provides empirical support for the importance of interpersonal antecedents in driving brand love in service relationships. The results also reveal an asymmetrical pattern of effects between study variables across positive and negative service delivery levels. Research limitations/implications – These findings can help service firms to better understand the role of interpersonal influences in development of emotional bonds with current customers and to develop strategies to nurture brand love under positive and negative circumstances. Originality/value – This research helps to establish the transferability of interpersonal love into the services domain and brings service employees and the social aspects of exchange into the discussion of brand love. The research findings suggest consumers have the propensity to perceive and respond to service firms as active participants in relational exchanges and to use their interaction with frontline employees as a basis for developing brand love