Emotional brand attachment and brand loyalty: empirical evidences from Sri Lankan smart phone industry

With the advancement of information communication technology, mobile phone has become
an essential part of human life. Rapid advancement of technology backed by innovations has
driven mobile phone industry to a new era where consumers seek for much sophistication in
products. Smart Phones are mobile phones which are equipped with advanced technology
which comprises of functions such as media players, digital cameras and Global Positioning
System (GPS). With the sophistication and functions offered by smart phones the demand in
the market has been increased. Sri Lanka, as a developing country, has a remarkable track
record in mobile phone industry. Number of mobile subscriptions in Sri Lanka is more than
20 million which exceeds the population of country and the mobile penetration is higher than
the level of regional and world averages. Many smart phone brands are available in Sri
Lankan market including world famous brands such as Samsung, Apple, Nokia and Sony.
Further it is evident that young consumers are emotionally bonded with some preferred
brands. Moreover they prefer to stay loyal to a one brand and would like to purchase new
versions of the same product. Hence, the aim of this study was to identify the role of
emotional brand attachment in building customer loyalty with reference to Sri Lankan smart
phone market. Pleasure, Arousal and Dominance of the brand were concerned to measure
emotional brand attachment. The study was descriptive in nature and the unit of analysis was
individual smart phone users in Sri Lanka. Convenience sampling technique was employed to
obtain data from 250 young smart phone users. The reliability of measurement scales were
tested using Cronbach’s alpha. Factor analysis was performed and convergent, discriminant
validities were established. Structural Equation Modelling was used for data analysis.
Findings of the study depicted that pleasure, dominance and arousal have a significant impact
on brand loyalty. Findings of this study can be used in crafting effective branding and
promotional strategies by brand managers. Since Sri Lanka is in the growth stage of the smart
phone market, insights of this study can be effectively used to enhance the emotional
attachment of young consumers toward smart phone brands and thereby increase brand
loyalty