Examining the Effect of Brand Experience on Brand Love and Brand Jealousy: Does Consumer-Brand Identification Play a Role?

This study explores the relationships among brand experience, brand love, brand jealousy, purchase intention, and behavioural engagement intention within consumer-brand relationships in an emerging economy, focusing on the moderating role of consumer-brand identification. The research employed a quantitative approach, utilising a survey questionnaire to collect data from 600 smartphone consumers in Ghana, selected using a convenience sampling technique. Data analysis was conducted through structural equation modelling. The findings reveal a significant positive relationship between brand experience and brand love. Additionally, brand experience positively impacts brand jealousy, suggesting that enhancing brand experiences can evoke positive and negative emotions. The study also shows that brand jealousy is positively associated with purchase intention, indicating that consumers' jealousy when observing positive brand experiences in others may drive them to consider purchasing the brand's products or services. Furthermore, brand love positively affects behavioural engagement intention, demonstrating that love for a brand encourages active consumer engagement. Consumer-brand identification significantly moderates the relationship between brand experience and brand love, with higher levels of identification strengthening this connection. However, consumer-brand identification does not significantly moderate the relationship between brand experience and brand jealousy. Smartphone brands in emerging economies like Ghana can enhance customer relationships by creating positive emotional brand experiences, managing brand jealousy, and reinforcing consumer-brand identification. Personalising marketing efforts to cultivate brand love and manage brand jealousy can ultimately increase customer loyalty. This study is among the few, if not the first, to examine these dynamics within a context that sheds light on how brand experiences, brand love, and brand jealousy shape consumer-brand relationships.