The primary purpose of this study is to theoretically identify the key determinants of brand loyalty. Based on the investment model in social psychology, this article suggests that customers'attitudinal loyalty to a brand is weakened by the quality of alternative options but strengthened by their satisfaction with, and investment in, the brand. An online panel survey was conducted, and the data supported all hypothesized relationships. Collectively, satisfaction, quality of alternatives, and investment accounted for more than 74% of the variance in attitudinal loyalty. The findings suggest that the investment model may lend a theoretical foundation to the explanation of tourists'brand loyalty formation.
Agustin, C., and J. Singh. (2005). "Curvilinear Effects of Consumer Loyalty Determinants in Relational Exchanges." Journal of Marketing Research, 42(1): 96-108.
2.
Ajzen, I. (1991). "The Theory of Planned Behavior." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50: 179-211.
3.
Alegre, J., and C. Juaneda. (2006). "Destination Loyalty: Consumers' Economic Behavior." Annals of Tourism Research, 33 (3): 684-706.
4.
Anderson, J.C., and D.W. Gerbing (1988). "Structural Equation Modeling in Practice: A Review and Recommended Two-Step Approach." Psychological Bulletin , 103: 411-23.
5.
Anderson, J.C., and J.A. Narus (1984). "A Model of the Distributor's Perspective of Distributor-Manufacturer Working Relationships." Journal of Marketing, 48 (4): 62-74.
6.
Anderson, R.E., and S.S. Srinivasan (2003). "E-Satisfaction and E-Loyalty: A Contingency Framework." Psychology & Marketing, 20 (2): 123-38.
7.
Back, K., and S.C. Parks. (2003). "A Brand Loyalty Model Involving Cognitive, Affective, and Conative Brand Loyalty and Customer Satisfaction ." Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 27(4): 419-35.
8.
Backman, S.J. (1991). "An Investigation of the Relationship between Activity Loyalty and Perceived Constraints." Journal of Leisure Research, 23 (4): 332-44.
9.
Backman, S.J., and J.L. Crompton (1991a). "Differentiating between High, Spurious, Latent, and Low Loyalty Participants in Two Leisure Activities." Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 9 (2): 1-17.
10.
--- (1991b). "The Usefulness of Selected Variables for Predicting Activity Loyalty." Leisure Sciences, 13: 205-20.
11.
Bagozzi, R.P., and Y. Yi (1988). "On the Evaluation of Structural Equation Models ." Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 16 (Spring): 74-94.
12.
Baker, D.A., and J.L. Crompton. (2000). "Quality, Satisfaction and Behavioral Intentions." Annals of Tourism Research, 27 (3): 785-804.
13.
Becker, H.S. (1960). "Notes on the Concept of Commitment." American Journal of Sociology, 66 (1): 32-40.
14.
Beerli, A., J.D. Martin, and A. Quintana (2004). "A Model of Customer Loyalty in the Retail Banking Market." European Journal of Marketing, 38 (1/2): 253-75.
15.
Bentler, P.M., and C.-P. Chou (1987). "Practical Issues in Structural Modeling." Sociological Methods & Research, 16: 78-117.
16.
Berry, L.L., & Parasuraman, A. (1991). Marketing Services-Competing through Quality. New York: Free Press.
17.
Bloemer, J.M.M., and K. de Ruyter (1998). "On the Relationship between Store Image, Store Satisfaction and Store Loyalty." European Journal of Marketing, 32 (5/6): 499-513.
18.
Bloemer, J.M.M., and H.D.P. Kasper (1995). "The Complex Relationship between Consumer Satisfaction and Brand Loyalty." Journal of Economic Psychology, 16 (2): 311-29.
19.
Bloemer, J.M.M., and J.G.A.M. Lemmink (1992). "The Importance of Customer Satisfaction in Explaining Brand and Dealer Loyalty." Journal of Marketing Management, 8 (4): 351-63.
20.
Bowen, J.T., and S. Chen (2001). "The Relationship between Customer Loyalty and Customer Satisfaction." International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 13 (5): 213-17.
21.
Buchanan, T. (1985). "Commitment and Leisure Behavior: A Theoretical Perspective." Leisure Sciences, 7 (4): 401-20.
22.
Byrne, B.M. (2001). Strucutral Equation Modeling with Amos: Basic Concepts, Applications, and Programming. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
23.
Cruise Lines International Association. (2005 ). "CLIA's 2004 Cruise Market Profile: Report of Findings." http://www.cruising.org/press/research/2004%20market%20Profile%20Presentation_files/frame.htm.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences, 2nd ed. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
26.
Cohen, J., P. Cohen, S.G. West, and L.S. Aiken (2003). Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences, 3rd ed. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
27.
Day, G.S. (1969). "A Two Dimensional Concept of Brand Loyalty." Journal of Advertising Research, 9: 29-35.
28.
--- (2000). "Managing Market Relationships." Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 28 (Winter): 24-30.
29.
Dennis, J.M. (2001). "Are Internet Panels Creating Professional Respondents ?" Marketing Research, 13 (2): 34-38.
30.
Deutskens, E.C., A. d. Jong, K. d. Ruyter, and M.G.M. Wetzels (2006). "Comparing the Generalizability of Online and Mail Surveys in Cross-National Service Quality Research." Marketing Letters, 17 (April): 119-36.
31.
Dick, A.S., and K. Basu (1994). "Customer Loyalty: Toward an Integrated Framework ." Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 22 (2): 99-113.
32.
Duffy, B., K. Smith, G. Terhanian, and J. Bremer (2005). "Comparing Data from Online and Face-to-Face Surveys ." International Journal of Market Research, 47 (6): 615-39.
33.
Farrell, D., and C.E. Rusbult (1981). "Exchange Variables as Predictors of Job Satisfaction, Job Commitment, and Turnover: The Impact of Rewards, Costs, Alternatives, and Investments." Organizational Behavior and Human Performance , 28: 78-95.
34.
Fornell, C., and D. Larcker (1981). "Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error." Journal of Marketing Research , 18: 39-50.
35.
Fournier, S. (1998). "Consumers and Their Brands: Developing Relationship Theory in Consumer Research ." Journal of Consumer Research , 24 (March): 343-73.
36.
Ganesh, J., M.J. Arnold, and K.E. Reynolds (2000). "Understanding the Customer Base of Service Providers: An Examination of the Differences between Switchers and Stayers." Journal of Marketing, 64 (3): 65-87.
37.
Hatcher, L. (1994). A Step-by-Step Approach to Using the SAS System for Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling. Cary, NC: SAS Institute.
38.
Hellier, P.K., G.M. Geursen, R.A. Carr, and J.A. Rickard. (2003). "Customer Repurchase Intention: A General Structural Equation Model." European Journal of Marketing , 37 (11/12): 1762-800.
39.
Homburg, C., and A. Giering (2001). "Personal Characteristics as Moderators of the Relationship between Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty-an Empirical Analysis ." Psychology & Marketing, 18 (1): 43-66.
40.
Iso-Ahola, S.E. (1986). "A Theory of Substitutability of Leisure Behavior ." Leisure Sciences, 8 (4): 367-89.
41.
Iwasaki, Y., and M. Havitz (2004). "Examining Relationships between Leisure Involvement, Psychological Commitment and Loyalty to a Recreation Agency." Journal of Leisure Research, 36 (1): 45-72.
42.
Jacoby, J., and R. Chestnut (1978). Brand Loyalty Measurement and Management. New York: John Wiley.
43.
Johnson, M.D. (1984). "Consumer Choice Strategies for Comparing Non-comparable Alternatives." Journal of Consumer Research, 11 (3): 741-53. Johnson, M.P. (1991). "Commitment to Personal Relationships." Advances in Personal Relationships, 3: 117-43.
44.
Jones, M.A., D.L. Mothersbaugh, and S.E. Beatty (2000). "Switching Barriers and Repurchasing Intentions in Services." Journal of Retailing, 76 (2): 259-74.
45.
Jones, T., and S.F. Taylor (2007). "The Conceptual Domain of Service Loyalty: How Many Dimensions?" Journal of Services Marketing, 26 (1): 36-51.
46.
Kelley, H.H., and J.W. Thibaut. (1978). Interpersonal Relations: A Theory of Interdependence. New York: John Wiley.
47.
Kline, R.B. (2005). Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling. 2nd ed. New York: Guilford.
48.
Kotler, P. (1984). Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, and Control. 5th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
49.
Kotler, P., Bowen, J., & Makens, J. (2006). Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
50.
Kyle, G., A.R. Graefe, R. Manning, and J. Bacon (2004). "Predictors of Behavioral Loyalty among Hikers along the Appalachian Trail." Leisure Sciences, 26: 99-118.
51.
Lam, S.Y., V. Shankar, M.K. Erramilli, and B. Murthy. (2004). "Customer Value, Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Switching Costs: An Illustration from a Business-to-Business Service Context ." Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 32 (3): 293-311.
52.
Le, B., and C.R. Agnew (2003). "Commitment and Its Theorized Determinants: A Meta-Analysis of the Investment Model." Personal Relationships , 10: 37-57.
53.
Lee, M., and L.F. Cunningham (2001). "A Cost/Benefit Approach to Understanding Service Loyalty." Journal of Services Marketing , 15 (2): 113-30.
54.
Levinger, G. (1979). "A Social Exchange View on the Dissolution of Pair Relationships." In Social Exchanges in Developing Relationships , edited by R. L. Burgess and T. L. Huston.New York: Academic Press, pp. 169-93.
55.
Li, X., & Petrick, J. (Forthcoming). Reexamining the dimensionality of brand loyalty: The case of the cruise industry. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing.
56.
Lois, P., J. Wang, A. Wall, and T. Ruxton (2004). "Formal Safety Assessment of Cruise Ships." Tourism Management, 25 (1): 93-109.
57.
MacCallum, R.C., and J.T. Austin. (2000). "Applications of Structural Equation Modeling in Psychological Research." Annual Review of Psychology , 51: 201-26.
58.
MacCallum, R.C., M.W. Browne, and H.M. Sugawara (1996). "Power Analysis and Determination of Sample Size for Covariance Structure Modeling." Psychological Methods , 1 (2): 130-49.
59.
Mardia, K.V. (1970). "Measures of Multivariate Skewness and Kurtosis with Applications." Biometrika, 57: 519-30.
60.
McWilliams, E.G., and N. Nadkarni (2005). "Differences in Reported Travel Behavior for an Online Panel versus Mail Panel." In e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), 16-17. http://www.eRTR.tamu.edu (accessed March 11, 2006 ).
61.
Morais, D.B. (2000). "Reconceptualization of Loyalty under a Resource Investment Perspective: A Study of Group Leaders in the Leisure Service Industry." PhD diss., Clemson University, Clemson, SC.
62.
Morais, D.B., S.J. Backman, and M.J. Dorsch (2003). "Toward the Operationalization of Resource Investments Made between Customers and Providers of a Tourism Service." Journal of Travel Research, 41 (4): 362-74.
63.
Morais, D.B., M.J. Dorsch, and S.J. Backman (2004). "Can Tourism Providers Buy Their Customers' Loyalty? Examining the Influence of Customer-Provider Investments on Loyalty." Journal of Travel Research, 42 (3): 235-43.
64.
Muncy, J.A. (1996). "Measuring Perceived Brand Parity." Advances in Consumer Research, 23 (1): 411-17.
65.
Netemeyer, R.G., W.O. Bearden, and S. Sharma (2003). Scaling Procedures: Issues and Applications. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
66.
Nunnally, J., and I. Bernstein (1994). Psychometric Theory. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
67.
Oliver, N. (1990). "Rewards, Investments, Alternatives and Organizational Commitment: Empirical and Evidence and Theoretical Development." Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63: 19-31.
Olsen, S.O. (2002). "Comparative Evaluation and the Relationship between Quality, Satisfaction, and Repurchase Loyalty." Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 30 (3): 240-49.
Ping, R. (1993). "The Effects of Satisfaction and Structural Constraints on Retailer Exiting, Voice, Loyalty, Opportunism, and Neglect." Journal of Retailing, 69 (3): 320-52.
72.
Pritchard, M.P., and D. Howard (1997). "The Loyal Traveler: Examining a Typology of Service Patronage." Journal of Travel Research, 35 (4): 2-10.
73.
Rundle-Thiele, S. (2005). "Loyalty: An Empirical Exploration of Theoretical Structure in Two Service Markets." PhD diss., University of South Australia, Adelaide.
74.
Rusbult, C.E. (1980a). "Commitment and Satisfaction in Romantic Associations: A Test of the Investment Model." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 16: 172-86.
75.
--- (1980b). "Satisfaction and Commitment in Friendships." Representative Research in Social Psychology, 11: 96-105.
76.
--- (1983). "A Longitudinal Test of the Investment Model: The Development (and Deterioration) of Satisfaction and Commitment in Heterosexual Involvements." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 45: 101-17.
77.
Rusbult, C.E. (1991). "Commentary on Johnson's `Commitment to Personal Relationships': What's Interesting, and What's New?"Advances in Personal Relationships, 3: 151-69.
78.
Rusbult, C.E., S.M. Drigotas, and J. Verette (1994). "The Investment Model: An Interdependence Analysis of Commitment Processes and Relationship Maintenance Phenomena." In Communication and Relational Maintenance, edited by D. J. Canary and L. Stafford.San Diego: Academic Press, pp. 115-39.
79.
Rusbult, C.E., J.M. Martz, and C.R. Agnew (1998). "The Investment Model Scale: Measuring Commitment Level, Satisfaction Level, Quality of Alternatives, and Investment Size." Personal Relationships, 5: 357-91.
80.
Sheth, J.N., and A. Parvatiyar (1995). "The Evolution of Relationship Marketing." International Business Review, 4 (4): 397-418.
81.
Skogland, I., and J.A. Siguaw (2004). "Are Your Satisfied Customers Loyal?" Cornell Hotel & Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 45 (3): 221-34.
82.
Spreng, R.A., S.B. MacKenzie, and R.W. Olshavsky (1996). "A Reexamination of the Determinants of Consumer Satisfaction." Journal of Marketing, 60 (3): 15-32.
83.
Sylvia, S.N. (2004). "An Ecological Understanding of Recreational Physical Activity among Young Adults." PhD diss., the Pennsylvania State University, University Park.
84.
Thibaut, J.W., and H.H. Kelley (1959). The Social Psychology of Groups. New York: John Wiley.
85.
Ullman, J.B. (2001). "Structural Equation Modeling." In Using Multivariate Statistics, edited by Barbara G. Tabachnick and Linda S. Fidell.Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, pp. 653-771.
86.
Wang, X.H., and B.Z. Yang (2001). "Fixed and Sunk Costs Revisited." Journal of Economic Education, 32 (2): 178-85.
87.
Wie, B.W. (2005). "A Dynamic Game Model of Strategic Capacity Investment in the Cruise Line Industry." Tourism Management, 26 (2): 203-17.
88.
Yoon, Y., and M. Uysal (2005). "An Examination of the Effects of Motivation and Satisfaction on Destination Loyalty: A Structural Model." Tourism Management, 26 (1): 45-56.
89.
Zeithaml, V.A., A. Parasuraman, and L.L. Berry (1990). Delivering Quality Service: Balancing Customer Perceptions and Expectations. New York: Free Press.
