Document Type : Research Article
Authors
Department of Business Management, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran
Abstract
A B S T R A C T
Considering the recent crises, including the corona disease and the sanctions and their effects on the tourism industry, it is necessary to revive this industry. This study investigates the effect of brand coolness on customer brand engagement and the effect of customer brand engagement on the behavioral responses of tourists (intention to revisit and intention to recommend to others), considering the moderating role of brand experience. The population of this research is tourists in Isfahan, which was selected using Cochran's formula of 400 people. The data collection tool is a questionnaire that was distributed and collected using the available method. In this research, content and convergent validity were measured and checked, and reliability was obtained by calculating Cronbach's alpha factor loading coefficients and composite reliability. Structural equation modeling of confirmatory factor and Spss25 and Smart Pls2.0 software were used for data analysis. The results show that coolness has a positive and significant effect on brand engagement, and brand engagement has a positive and significant effect on the intention to revisit and the intention to recommend to others. Brand experience can moderate the effect of brand coolness on brand engagement. Tourism managers and marketers can increase the number of tourists revisiting destinations by considering the role of brand coolness and its effect on customer brand engagement by providing a favorable brand experience. Also, encourage tourists to recommend these tourist places to others.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Considering the recent crises, including the corona disease and sanctions and their effects and losses on the tourism industry, it is necessary to revive this industry. Brands are looking for the revival and prosperity of their activities in the post-corona period. One of the methods of reviving and promoting the tourism industry in the post-corona period is brand coolness, which helps the tourism industry a lot in this important matter; coolness is the distinguishing factor of the brand. Brand coolness is the core and main center of tourist experience. Brands coolness is aesthetically wonderful, attractive, energetic, authentic, cool, symbolic, popular, memorable, independent, original, valuable, and memorable. Brands coolness is useful and fantastic. The brand coolness is dynamic and constantly changing, changes that are attractive and interesting for tourists. Brands coolness can strengthen satisfaction and love and facilitate customer interaction with the brand. Customer brand engagement is a multidimensional concept, including cognitive, emotional, and behavioral. Customer brand engagement is a strong psychological connection that leads to positive behavioral outcomes such as behavioral intentions to revisits. The experience of tourists is one of the important factors in choosing tourist destinations and returning to those tourist destinations. The customer positive brand experience strengthens the customer brand engagement and behaviors, such as the intention to visit and the intention to revisit. Tourism managers should pay attention to the brand and methods of increasing brand interactions with customers when setting marketing strategies. By creating infrastructure and using programs, tourism managers have provided the opportunity to increase customer interactions with the brand and created a pleasant and positive experience for tourists to increase the probability of revisiting and recommending to others.
Methodology
The current research is practical in terms of its purpose and descriptive survey regarding the data collection method. Also, the research seeks to describe and explain the effect of brand coolness on the brand engagement and the behavioral responses of tourists, considering the moderating role of the brand experience. The statistical population in this study is the tourists of Isfahan city. The research scales for measuring the variables were first extracted from the theoretical foundations, and then a questionnaire based on the Likert scale was designed. The questionnaire includes brand coolness constructs taken from Jiménez-Barreto et al. (2022) and Truong et al. (2021), customer brand engagement taken from Rather (2021) and Rather et al. (2021), intention to revisit and brand experience taken from Munawar et al. (2021), and intention to recommend to others is taken from Blanco (2020). The authors have moderated the questions of the questionnaire. Then, based on the opinion of experts, it was checked and approved for the validity of the form and content. Also, Cronbach's alpha was calculated to ensure the reliability of measurement scales. To explain the sample size, with the assumption of sampling from the unlimited population using the Cochran formula with a confidence interval of ∝=0.5 and a value of p=q=0.5, the sample size was determined to be 384, which was increased to 400 people for more accurate calculations. The samples were selected according to the available method. Structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis were used for data analysis, and SPSS 25 and Smart Pls2.0 software were exerted.
Results and discussion
The results show that brand coolness (with a path coefficient of 0.678 and t-value=9.898) positively and significantly affects customer brand engagement. Also, customer brand engagement positively and significantly affects intention to revisit with a path coefficient of 0.558 and t-value=9.360 In addition, customer brand engagement positively and significantly affects the intention to recommend to others with a path coefficient of 0.561 and t-value=10.869. Brand experience (t-value=4.575) can moderate brand coolness on customer brand engagement.
Conclusion
In today's competitive environment and due to the need to revive the tourism industry, the attractiveness of brands has become increasingly important. Marketers make many efforts to create attractive brands. Coolness is one of the important features of attractive brands. It should be noted that a brand is a symbol, a design, a model that is formed in the minds of tourists, so its reinforcement and effects are effective on the intentions of tourists. So, it is important to consider the coolness of the brand as an effective factor in the behavioral intentions of tourists. Brand coolness is one of the best ways of customer brand engagement. Brand engagement refers to the active involvement of the customer with the brand. Tourists who perceive higher levels of brand coolness are more likely to interact with the brand and communicate with others. Because the brand can create positive feelings in the customers towards themselves and engage them more actively with the brand. More active, happier, bolder, and more popular brands increase customer brand engagement. One of the reasons for this phenomenon is attributed to the higher status and credibility of a brand. Authentic brands create positive emotions. Customer brand engagement is achieved through the development of customer-brand relationships. When customers have better relationships and interactions with the brand, it affects their behavioral responses and increases their revisits. Because tourists who have visited a destination and had communications and interactions with the brand affect its intentions and future decisions. When the communication and interactions are constructive, the probability of revisiting increases, and when they do not have good communication and interactions, the probability of revisiting in the future decreases. Tourists with better interaction and participation with the brand introduce and recommend the brand to others. In fact, they do word-of-mouth advertising and recommendations somehow. When tourists have good interactions with the brand, they invest more time and resources in it and are more inclined to spread positive words about it to others. Customer brand engagement is based on the level of customer brand experience; the more customer has the brand experience; the more brand engagement they will have.
Funding
There is no funding support.
Authors’ Contribution
The authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved the content of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work.
Conflict of Interest
The Authors declared no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgments
The authors appreciate to all the scientific consultants of this paper.
Keywords
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