Consumer involvement and brand loyalty in services: evidence from the commercial airline industry in Taiwan

Int. J. Services and standards, Vol. 4, No. 4, 2008 437

Consumer involvement and brand loyalty in services: evidence from the commercial airline industry in Taiwan

Lily Shui-Lien Chen Business Administration Dept., Hsing-Wu College, No. 101, Sec.1, Fenliao Rd., LinKou Township, Taipei County, Taiwan 244 E-mail: [email protected]

Michael Chih-Hung Wang*, Julian Ming-Sung Cheng and Hadi Kuntjara Business Administration Dept., National Central University, No. 300, Chung-Ta Rd., Chung-Li City, Taoyuan County, Taiwan 32001 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] *Corresponding author

Abstract: This study explores the relationship between involvement and brand loyalty among flight passengers in an airline service context. We adopted three dimensions from a consumer involvement profile (CIP) and two dimensions of brand loyalty (attitude loyalty and purchase loyalty) as a conceptual framework. A total of 271 valid responses were obtained at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport for SEM analysis. Results revealed significant relationships between attitudinal loyalty and the two involvement dimensions of pleasure and sign value. In addition, attitudinal loyalty was a significant explanatory variable in the prediction of behavioural loyalty. Implications for airline practice and further research are also discussed.

Keywords: involvement; brand loyalty; services; airline; standards; Taiwan.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Chen, L.S-L., Wang, M.C-H., Cheng, J.M-S. and Kuntjara, H. (2008) ‘Consumer involvement and brand loyalty in services: evidence from the commercial airline industry in Taiwan’, Int. J. Services and Standards Vol. 4, No. 4, pp.437–452.

Biographical notes: Lily Shui-Lien Chen is a Lecturer in the Department of Business Administration, Business School, Hsing-Wu College, Taiwan. She is also a Candidate of Doctor in Marketing, in the Department of Business Administration, National Central University, Taiwan. She received her MBA from Taiwan’s National Cheng-Kung University and her current research interests include international branding, leisure marketing and internet marketing.

Copyright © 2008 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

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Michael Chih-Hung Wang is a doctorate student as well as a Candidate of Doctor in Marketing, Department of Business Administration, National Central University, Taiwan. He received his Master degree at the National Taipei University, Taiwan. His current interests are in the areas of e-marketing and channels of distribution.

Julian Ming-Sung Cheng is Associate Professor of Marketing in the Department of Business Administration at the National Central University, Taiwan. He received his PhD in Marketing from the Kingston University, UK. His current interests are in the areas of e-marketing and channels of distribution and international branding.

Hadi Kuntjara is a doctorate student, Department of Business Administration, National Central University, Taiwan. He received his Master degree at the University of New South Wales, Australia. His current interests are in the areas of channels of distributions and glocalisation.

1 Introduction

Airlines are a service industry and vying with one another to keep their image in the minds of consumers, some with services, some with their fleet, and yet others with in flight services (Carty, 2001). The very survival of airline companies depends on consumer loyalty to airline brand. Brand loyalty, an important driver of repeat purchase behaviour, has been referred to in a variety of market specific contexts, such as service (Bennett and Rundle-Thiele, 2002).

Some research has argued that involvement is an indicator of a positive relationship to brand loyalty (Bloemer and Kasper, 1995; Pritchard et al., 1999; Quester and Lim, 2003). Although involvement has not been studied in as great detail within the area of service marketing (e.g., Gabbott and Hogg, 1999; Varki and Wong, 2003), it still plays an important role in service contexts (Varki and Wong, 2003). Research discussions have looked at the relationship between involvement and loyalty in service contexts, yet there is still a dearth of research (e.g., Bloemer and Kasper, 1995; Pritchard et al., 1999), especially concerning the relationship between involvement and brand loyalty in service contexts (e.g., Jensen and Hansen, 2006). We focused on a construct of involvement and the role it plays in consumer brand loyalty to airline service providers; because it has an established theoretical and empirical importance in service marketing contexts (cf. Varki and Wong, 2003).

The purpose of this study was to improve our understanding of brand loyalty by investigating involvement in a highly competitive airline service context. In addition, we investigated the effects of service involvement on consumer attitude toward loyalty, which may predict consumers’ purchase loyalty. Based on this purpose, we believe the current study provides two important contributions to airline services because it provides insights into how and why involved consumers are loyal. First, this study determined that two dimensions, pleasure and sign value, predict consumer attitudinal loyalty in a service context, especially in the airline service industry. The findings broadened our perspective on the relationship between involvement and brand loyalty from tangible product to intangible services in marketing research (e.g., Quester and Lim, 2003).

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Second, the mediating role of attitudinal loyalty has been confirmed in the

relationship between involvement and brand loyalty in a service context. We examined attitudinal loyalty and purchase loyalty, both of which have been extensively researched and reported in the literature (e.g., Dick and Basu, 1994; Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2001; Yi and Jeon, 2003) to determine whether a positive attitude toward a brand ensures that previous purchase behaviour will continue in a service context as consumers have a pleasurable experience and perceived sign value from their service experiences.

The remainder of this paper comprises five parts. The first and second parts review the related literature and develop a conceptual model and research hypotheses. The third part develops measures and performs data collection. The fourth and fifth parts conduct hypotheses testing and address conclusions and implications.

2 Literature review

2.1 Involvement

Involvement refers to a motivational variable reflecting the extent of personal relevance of the decision to the individual in terms of basic goals, values, and self-concept (Zaichovsky, 1985). The degree of a consumer’s involvement has an impact on information processing and decision making (Broderick and Mueller, 1999), and has been argued to be a significant antecedent of purchase behaviour in physical products and purchase of services (Gabbott and Hogg, 1999). The airline industry, with its own distinctive characteristics, allows the consumer to spend more time considering before they make a decision, such as internet airline reservations (Cunningham et al., 2005). Therefore, it is necessary to consider consumer involvement in an airline service context because passengers are involved in a more complex purchase decision making process and spend more time determining which airline they would like to patronise.

Researchers agree that the concept of involvement has a multidimensional structure (Havitz et al., 1993). It is commonly agreed that interest/importance is an important dimension, and that every current conceptualisation of involvement includes this dimension (Havitz and Dimanche, 1999). Various opinions have been expressed about the number of dimensions of involvement (Gursoy and Gavcar, 2003). Laurent and Kapferer (1985), developers of the customer involvement profile (CIP) scale, argue that it comprises five dimensions: interest/importance; hedonic (pleasure); sign; risk probability; and risk importance. CIP has received much attention (Broderick and Mueller, 1999) and has been used and tested extensively. We adopted three dimensions of CIP: interest, pleasure, and sign value, because in an airline service context, while passengers are engaged in flight routes between cities with limited alternatives, there is a small possibility that they will make wrong choices and/or not understand whether their airline was the right choice or not.

Most studies utilising CIP have been conducted on tangible products such as television sets, shampoo, mattresses (Laurent and Kapferer, 1985), food items (Broderick and Mueller, 1999), clothes (Griffith et al., 2001), sports shoes, and ballpoint pens (Quester and Lim, 2003); only a few researchers have adopted CIP to examine involvement in a service context (e.g., Gabbott and Hogg, 1999; Aldlaigan and Buttle, 2001). This study thus adopted CIP to measure involvement in an airline service context to help fill this gap.

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2.2 Brand loyalty

It is generally accepted that brand loyalty is a two dimensional construct, comprising attitudinal brand loyalty and behavioural brand loyalty (Dick and Basu, 1994). Behavioural loyalty is concerned with consistent purchase behaviour of a specific brand over time, which may be somehow biased; where attitudinal loyalty refers to a favourable attitude toward a brand and allows gaining a supplemental understanding of loyal behaviour (Quester and Lim, 2003; Zins, 2001; Bandyopadhyay and Martell, 2007).

Measurement of both attitudinal loyalty and behavioural loyalty offers more insights and seems more appropriate for helping predict future consumer loyalty than measurement of either type of loyalty independently (Dick and Basu, 1994; Baldinger and Rubinson, 1996; Rundle-Thiele and Bennett 2001; Yi and Jeon, 2003; Bandyopadhyay and Martell, 2007). Research has argued, without an understanding of the attitude toward buying a brand, that behavioural loyalty is difficult to understand in the actual loyalty of consumers (Dick and Basu, 1994; Baldinger and Rubinson, 1996). In a service context, Rundle-Thiele and Bennett (2001) confirmed that it would be ideal for brand loyalty research to incorporate both attitudinal and behavioural measures, because behavioural loyalty alone is not an accurate reflection of loyalty in service markets.

In airline services, passengers may feel strongly that their current purchases are right for them and that their chosen airline service is the best, and rarely change their decisions (Coyles and Gokey, 2005), therefore, it is necessary to incorporate both attitudinal and behavioural brand loyalty in order to accurately measure brand loyalty. In order to reflect the relationship between attitudinal loyalty and behavioural loyalty, the current study adopted the concepts of Chaudhuri and Holbrook (2001) regarding attitudinal loyalty and purchase loyalty in order to discuss this relationship, because consumers’ behavioural loyalty in the airline industry is acted upon by purchasing tickets from the same airline again.

3 Conceptual framework and hypotheses

Figure 1 Conceptual framework

Based on the literature review, the purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between consumer involvement and brand loyalty in the airline service industry. This study adopted three dimensions from Laurent and Kapferer’s (1985) consumer involvement profile (CIP) to investigate consumer involvement: interest, pleasure, and

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sign value. Dick and Basu (1994) propose that consumer loyalty is the result of psychological processes and has behavioural manifestations; thus both attitudinal and purchase components should be considered simultaneously. Therefore, the model proposed here attempts to link attitudinal and behavioural loyalty in an airline services context. The conceptual framework of this research is shown in Figure 1.

3.1 Consumer involvement and attitudinal loyalty

The term interest is used here to mean the personal interest a person has in a product (its personal meaning or importance) (Laurent and Kapferer, 1985). In the airline industry, airline companies’ services is intangible (Zeithaml and Binter, 2003) and includes personal service and service related to comfort (Chong, 2007). The former requires cabin crew and ground staff to provide services for consumers; whereas the latter offers some services that make consumers feel comfortable, for instance, an abundant in-flight drink menu, comfortable seats, etc.

Cabin crew and ground staff represent significant brand value (Hardaker and Fill, 2005) of an airline company. As passengers join in flight service or other services they may appreciate their services and feel satisfied about this airline. In addition, the equipment used and the atmosphere during a flight may also create a good experience. As passengers spend more time considering airline brand choice, brand involvement, and attribute comparisons (Schiffinan and Kanuk, 1991), these good experiences and satisfaction may lead to strong brand preferences and repurchase intention toward a particular airline brand.

H1 Consumer involvement with interest relates positively to attitudinal loyalty to a preferred brand for airline services.

Pleasure is the hedonic value of the product, its emotional appeal, its ability to provide pleasure and enjoyment (Laurent and Kapferer, 1985). As passengers join in flight services the seats of aircraft with larger space for passengers, individual television consoles and data ports, and delicious in flight meals or snacks (Newman, 2003) make consumers feel free of worries and anxieties, in a relaxing and enjoyable fashion (Jordan, 2005), which tends to generate stronger emotional responses (Carroll and Ahuvia, 2006). When the emotional elements of pleasure are high and positive for airline services, consumers should have a more favourable experience with the brand consumed (Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2001) and this influences decision making (Kahneman, 1999). Therefore, as passengers join an airline service, their participation transforms various experiences of pleasure and enjoyment that may lead to strong brand preferences and repurchase intentions toward the airline brand.

H2 Consumer involvement with pleasure relates positively to attitudinal loyalty to a preferred brand for airline services.

Sign value means the symbolic or sign value attributed by the consumer to the product, its purchase, or its consumption, the degree to which it expresses the person’s self (Laurent and Kapferer, 1985). According to Laurent and Kapferer (1985), sign value for consumers who buy a product or brand can represent a person’s characteristics, and show what type of people they are. Various passengers, with personality/individual differences

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in airline choices because of differing inherent preferences, wants and needs, therefore form different service settings for various types of products and service experiences.

When passengers choose an airline service, the choice may tell other people something about the kind of people they are by perceive good reputation of airline companies, and they may feel pride or some other positive emotion after enjoying in-flight services. For example, a consumer who chooses an airline that guarantees a safe trip can be seen as a person who cares about safety by perceived good reputation (i.e., guarantees a safe trip) which makes them become trust (Chen and Barnes, 2007), gradually, forms positive emotion. This emotion may strongly influence their thinking to convince them that their current purchases are right for them, their chosen airline service is the best, and they rarely change their decisions (Coyles and Gokey, 2005).

H3 Consumer involvement with sign value relates positively to attitudinal loyalty to a preferred brand for airline services.

3.2 Attitudinal loyalty and purchase loyalty

Brand loyalty comprises attitudinal brand loyalty and purchase brand loyalty (Baldinger and Rubinson, 1996). Attitudinal brand loyalty consists of degree of commitment and attitude preference toward a brand (Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2001; Bennett and Rundle-Thiele, 2002); where purchase loyalty refers to actual repeated purchases of the brand (Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2001; Russell-Bennett et al., 2007).

Commitment means an enduring desire to maintain a valued relationship [Moorman et. al, (1992), p.316], which reflects the affective component of an attitude (Russell-Bennett et al., 2007). In the airline industry, flight routes between cities have limited alternatives. As passengers pay for airline service, well designed induction and trained staff may deliver specific service experiences to the consumers (de Chernatony and Segal-Horn, 2003). Positive experiences may ultimately create positive image and preference (Ostrowski et al., 1993) toward the airline brand. As passenger with higher preference toward the airline brand, they may be willing to maintain a valued relationship (Moorman et al., 1992) with the airline brand.

According to Dick and Basu (1994), consumer attitudes are likely to precede behaviour (i.e., repurchase behaviour), and passengers who are committed to a relationship with an airline brand might have a greater propensity to act (Moorman et al., 1993). It is easy to conclude that attitudes are likely to precede behaviour in the service sector, because we think passengers may have developed strong emotional ties to an airline or its staff. This brand effect may create greater commitment in the form of attitudinal loyalty and a willingness to pay for the pleasure involved (Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2001). This is consistent with Ajzen’s (1991) research, which found that attitudes predict subsequent behaviour. Therefore, if a passenger believes the airline brand is appropriate and he or she is committed to purchase (attitudinal loyalty), it is expected that he or she is more likely to repurchase (purchase loyalty).

H4 Attitudinal loyalty to a service brand positively relates to purchase brand loyalty.

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4 Research methodology

4.1 Measurement instruments

To test the above hypotheses, a set of scales was developed for measuring the constructs, either derived from the literature or adopted from the literature as already developed. The related service involvement and brand loyalty literature is mainly from Laurent and Kapferer’s (1985) CIP and Jacoby and Chestnut’s (1978) work, since the scales they developed have been frequently applied in a number of recent academic works (see, among others, Quester and Lim, 2003; Rodgers and Schneider, 1993; Sharyn, 2005) and therefore were considered typical scales.

The measurement of three constructs of consumer involvement (interest, pleasure, sign) was adapted from Laurent and Kapferer’s (1985) CIP. The items related to interest were ‘What airline service I buy is extremely important to me when I plan to travel aboard?’, ‘I’m really interested in airline service when I plan to travel aboard’, ‘I couldn’t care less about airline related information when I plan to travel aboard’; items related to pleasure were ‘I really enjoy buying XXX airline service’, ‘Whenever I buy XXX airline service, it’s like giving myself a present’, and ‘To me, choice XXX airline service is quite a pleasure’; and items related to sign were ‘You can tell something about a person by the XXX airline service (s)he picks out’, ‘The XXX airline service I buy tells a little bit about me’, and ‘The XXX airline service I buy shows what type of man/women I am’. As for brand loyalty, measurement was cited from Jacoby and Chestnut’s (1978) attitudinal loyalty and purchase loyalty. Items related to attitudinal loyalty were ‘I identify with XXX airline service’, ‘Compared with other airlines, I prefer to pay more for XXX airline service’; items related to purchase loyalty were ‘I’ve already determined the airline service to use the next time I plan to travel aboard’, When I travel aboard next time, I will continue to choose the same airline service’. All items were adapted to a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (= strongly disagree) to 5 (= strongly agree).

4.2 Data collection procedure

Questionnaires were distributed to participants and collected at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. All participants were requested to carefully read the instructions on the questionnaires before filling in their answers, and they were told that:

1 all the responses were kept in strict confidence

2 there was no right or wrong answer to any of the questions.

A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed and 296 completed questionnaires were received, with response rate of 59.2%. Because 25 questionnaires were incomplete they were excluded from the final analysis, leaving 271 usable questionnaires and representing a useful response rate of 54.2% for the final data analysis.

5 Results

The full sample structural equation model used in this study included all survey respondents in Taiwan, and was used to test H1–H4. The models were run using LISREL

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8.54 (Jöreskog and Sörbom, 1996). This study tested goodness of fit of the models with chi-square tests, goodness of fit index (GFI), root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), non-normed fit index (NNFI), and comparative fit index (CFI). Various studies have already discussed these indexes (cf., Bentler, 1990; Browne and Cudeck, 1993, Marsh et al., 1996). Acceptable model fit is indicated by GFI ≥.90, RMSEA values ≤ .08, and NNFI and CFI values ≥ .90. All analyses were performed with a covariance matrix.

5.1 Respondents’ profiles

Table 1 Descriptive statistics of the participants’ profiles

Gender Freq. %

Male 149 55 Female 122 45

Age Freq. % 16–20 31 11.4 21–30 137 50.6 31–40 51 18.8 41–50 43 15.9 ≥ 51 9 3.3

Education Freq. %

≤ Junior high school 48 17.7 Senior high school 66 24.4 College/university 146 53.9 Graduate 11 4.1

Occupation Freq. %

Student 74 27.3 Manufacturer industry 51 18.8 Service industry 58 21.4 Official 24 8.9 Free enterprise 21 7.7 House wife 7 4.8 Others 30 11.1 Income Freq. %

≤ NT$20,000 96 35.4 NT$20001–NT$30,000 68 25.1 NT$30,001–NT$50,000 77 28.4 NT$50001–NT$70,000 25 9.2 ≥ 70,001 5 1.8

The respondents included more males (55%) than females (45%), with most being between 21 and 30 years of age. Of the respondents, 53.9% held a college/university

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degree or higher. In terms of income, about 35.4% earned total monthly income of NT$20,000 or less. Detailed descriptive statistics relating to the respondents’ profiles are shown in Table 1.

5.2 Reliability check

The measurement model included five latent constructs measuring interest (3 items), pleasure (3 items), sign (3 items), attitudinal loyalty (2 items), and purchase loyalty (2 items). Cronbach α was adapted to measure reliability. The original Cronbach α for five constructs were interest (α = .747), pleasure (α = .774), sign (α = .818), attitudinal loyalty (α = .668), and purchase loyalty (α = .629). The measurement model produced chi-square values of 147.15 (df = 55), and fit indexes indicated an acceptable fit (GFI = .92; CFI = .96; NNFI = .94; and RMSEA = .079).

Next, reliability of the measurement was assessed. Composite reliability (CR) was calculated using the measure developed by Fornell and Larcker (1981, equation 10), which is analogous to coefficient α. Estimates of the CR ranged from .681 to .826 (see Table 1); all CR exceeded 0.6 (Bagozzi and Yi, 1988). This study also assessed the average variance extracted (AVE) following the process of Fornell and Larcker (1981, equation 11). The average variance extracted ranged from 51.6% to 61.6% (see Table 2), and all AVE exceeded 0.5 (Bagozzi and Yi, 1988). The estimates of CR and AVE demonstrated that the measurement model had acceptable internal consistency. Table 2 Parameters for measurement model

Construct Measure Standard loading(t-value) CR AVE

Interest 0.758 51.6%

In1 0.71* In2 0.83(9.60) In2 0.58(8.20)

Pleasure 0.773 53.2%

Ple1 0.72* Ple2 0.76(10.31) Ple3 0.71(9.84)

Sign 0.826 61.6% Sig1 0.82* Sig2 0.85(12.74) Sig3 0.67(10.87)

Attitudinal loyalty 0.747 60%

Atl1 0.85* Atl2 0.6(8.82)

Purchase loyalty 0.681 51.7%

Pul1 0.69* Pul2 0.75(10.44)

Note: * scaling

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5.3 Validity check

Convergent validity is indicated when the path coefficients (loadings) between each latent-trait factor and its manifest indicators are statistically significant. All factor loadings in the CFA were significant, and moreover exceeded .5, supporting the convergent validity of the scale items (Table 1).

This study assessed discriminant validity following the approach of Anderson and Gerbing (1988, p.416) and adopted pairs of scales in a series of two factor confirmatory models using LISREL. The two factor models were re-specified by restricting the factor inter correlations to unity, and chi-square difference tests (with 1 degree of freedom) were performed on the values obtained for the constrained and unconstrained models. The results are listed in Table 3. In comparison with the baseline model, the chi-square difference was statistically significant in all cases, thus providing evidence of discriminant validity. For example, the statistic for examining discriminant validity between interest and pleasure is significant (Δ χ2 = 37.48, Δ df = 1, p < 0.001). All χ2 differences were significant at the 0.001 level, supporting the discriminant validity of the construct. Table 3 Results of two-factor models and discriminate validity tests

Scale GFI CFI Δ df Δ χ Φ(ξ1,ξ2)a 0.98 0.98 1 37.48b Φ(ξ1,ξ3) 0.97 0.97 1 58.97 Φ(ξ1,ξ4) 0.99 0.98 1 48.67 Φ(ξ1,ξ5) 0.99 0.98 1 44.42 Φ(ξ2,ξ3) 0.95 0.94 1 44.95 Φ(ξ2,ξ4) 0.98 0.98 1 38.83 Φ(ξ2,ξ5) 0.99 1.00 1 38.7 Φ(ξ3,ξ4) 0.98 0.97 1 41.94 Φ(ξ3,ξ5) 0.97 0.96 1 41.75 Φ(ξ4,ξ5) 1.00 1.00 1 20.43

Note: a Constructs: interest (ξ1), pleasure (ξ2), sign (ξ3), attitudinal loyalty (ξ4), purchase loyalty (ξ5).

b Critical value Δ χ2>10.83, p<0.001.

5.4 SEM analyses and hypotheses testing

As shown in Figure 1, the hypothesised model was estimated. Regarding the fit statistics for the full model (see Table 4), all the other statistics are within the acceptable ranges, which indicates a good model fit (χ2 = 155.7, df = 58; GFI = .92; CFI = .95; NNFI = .94; RMSEA = .079). Hypothesis 1 examines the effect of interest on attitude loyalty with regard to airline brand. H1 posited the existence of a positive relationship between interest and attitude loyalty to airline brand and was not supported (γ11 = .02, t = 0.26). Hypothesis 2 related to the relationships between pleasure and attitude loyalty for airline service. Hypothesis 2, predicting a positive relationship between pleasure and attitude loyalty, was supported (γ12 = 0.49, t = 4.58, p< .01). Hypothesis 3 examined the relationship between sign and attitude loyalty and was statistically supported (γ13 = 0.21,

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t = 2.88, p < .01). H4 examined the relationship between attitude loyalty and purchase loyalty and was statistically supported (β21 = 1.02, t = 9.7, p < .01). Table 4 Results of structural equation model analysis

Path coefficients Hypothesis Factor loading Interest Attitudinal loyalty (γ11) H1 0.02(0.26)NS Pleasure Attitudinal loyalty (γ12) H2 0.49 (4.58)** Sign Attitudinal loyalty (γ13) H3 0.21 (2.88)** Attitudinal loyalty purchase loyalty (β21) H4 1.02 (9.70)** Model fit statistics χ2 155.7 Degree of freedom 58 p-value 0.00 GFI 0.92 CFI 0.95 NNFI 0.94 RMSEA 0.079

Note: NS = not significant **p<0.01

6 Conclusions and discussion

6.1 Conclusions

This study examined the relationship between involvement and brand loyalty (two dimensions: attitudinal loyalty and purchase loyalty) in an airline services context, in order to determine the key antecedents of brand loyalty in this context. The results indicate significant relationships between attitudinal loyalty and the antecedents studied (i.e., pleasure and sign value), and show attitudinal loyalty to be a significant explanatory variable in the prediction of purchase loyalty. The finding broadened our perspective toward the relationship between involvement and attitudinal loyalty, from tangible product to intangible services in marketing research (e.g., Quester and Lim, 2003).

6.2 Discussions

For three involvement dimensions, the results showed that pleasure and sign values have a significant positive influence on attitudinal loyalty; however, interest and attitudinal loyalty do not have a significant positive relationship. Based on Table 4, the results show that passengers who experience pleasure are more highly influenced by attitudinal loyalty than by sign value. The findings provide further encouraging evidence of the need to consider consumer involvement when understanding consumer brand loyalty in a service context. The reason pleasure is stronger than sign value is perhaps that the experience of airline service is important in the airline industry. As consumers experience pleasure, they may be willing to consider the airline company again when they have another

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chance to travel aboard. Choosing a specific airline company can make them a type of person whom people think about; however, the influence of passengers’ willingness to repurchase seems to be less of a factor than previous good experience with services. Therefore, airline companies that aim to increase attitudinal brand loyalty levels should recognise the role of pleasure and sign value in consumer involvement.

As shown in Table 4, interest’ did not contribute to the prediction of attitude loyalty. This finding is quite unexpected. One possible explanation may lie in the interest (or what some scholars call ‘important’) nature of airline services. Consumers do not think that choosing an airline is important, or they do not care which airline they use, because with certain air routes, there is perhaps no alternative, thus causing consumers to not care about it. Also, based on airline service characteristics’ service standard may be similar, it may influence consumer the adoption of airline service (c.f., Loong and Keng-Boon, 2008). For example, if a passenger wants to visit a place where only one airline provides service, he or she may care more about other more important issues, such as the price of the ticket or service quality, etc., rather than the choice of airline. If there are more than two companies provide services, consumers may think the service standards of these two airlines are the same, which influence consumer do not care about choose specific airline for next patronise.

This study also found a significant relationship between attitudinal and purchase loyalty, offering empirical support for a broadened perspective on loyalty research (cf. Baldinger and Rubinson, 1996; Dick and Basu, 1994; Russell-Bennett et al., 2007; Bandyopadhyay and Martell, 2007; Türkyilmaz and Özkan, 2007). Importantly, this study demonstrates the mediating role of attitudinal loyalty between involvement and purchase loyalty, and particularly for airline services. A mediating role means that intention to repurchase and commitment to the brand are more likely to be influenced by pleasure with a previous purchase experience and their thoughts about what kind of person they are after experience with an airline service, which in turn predicts purchase loyalty.

6.3 Managerial implications

Based on our results, marketing managers of airlines should focus their positioning on pleasure and sign value of involvement in order to gain significantly from this understanding of passengers’ loyalty to an airline brand. Brand loyalty is positively influenced by consumer involvement. Therefore, to enhance the brand loyalty of consumers to their products, airline company managers have to fully understand and grasp the involvement of consumers in the target market as their major reference in creating marketing strategies.

Airline company managers should provide good service experiences for consumers, for example, a reservation system, check in service before boarding; abundant drink menu in flight, a polite complement of cabin crew, and comfortable seats during the flight. Through these services, managers may make consumers enjoy their journey, therefore forming good flying experiences before their next journey, also possibly influencing passenger commitment to repurchase.

Managers should also focus on issues that passengers care about. For example, when consumers choose an airline that concentrates on guaranteeing their safety, they may be seen as people who care about safety. Another example is an airline with efficient

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problem-solving services; passengers who choose this airline may be seen as being concerned about efficiency.

Managers of airlines can segment consumers according to their attitudinal and behavioural brand loyalty scores. For example, airline managers should understand the intention of consumers to repurchase their brand, because as consumers with this intention, they may re-patronise an airline brand by their behaviour (i.e, buy tickets).

6.4 Future research and limitation

Despite the findings reported here, it is important to acknowledge several future directions. First, this study did not include specific brand names of airlines in the questionnaires, because we just wanted to confirm the relationship between involvement and brand loyalty in a service context. Further research can incorporate specific airline brands in order to determine whether the relationship between consumer involvement and brand loyalty correlates with various airlines. This would further understanding of the role of involvement in influencing brand loyalty in service context.

Second, this research considered only consumer perceptions of overall airline brands. Future research could separate services into personal service (e.g., cabin crew and ground staff) and service related to comfort, such as abundant drink menu or large spaces (Chong, 2007) in the airline industry. In order to further understanding of consumer cognitive differences regarding different services, it would be necessary to consider different services (i.e., personal or non-personal) in a service context to understand consumer involvement in brand loyalty.

Third, this research focused on CIP dimensions to test the influences of consumer involvement in brand loyalty in a service context. Future research could be conducted based on various different involvements, especially more specifically in a service context. Further studies could also establish a service involvement scale that might reflect involvement in a service industry, such as airline service, more accurately.

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