Abstract
This study aims to evaluate the concept of brand love among the Indians in sports apparel industry. Drawing on Sternberg’s (1986) triangular theory of love, we propose a three-dimensional brand love model. We further discuss the interrelationship between these variables and provide a theoretical model for explaining the concept using sports apparels. Then, this theoretical model is tested using empirical research undertaken among 327 respondents. These exploratory results indicated that the concept of brand love in India is similar to that of interpersonal love, contradicting the earlier finding in the field of brand love. These contradicting findings were attributed to the cultural differences between Eastern and Western cultures, especially in the field of extended self (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). These findings create the possibility for future research into brand love via the triangular theory of love to understand how the changes in the perceptions of self influence the brand love.
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