See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/311107512

The influence of perceived social media marketing activities on brand loyalty:

The mediation effect of brand and value consciousness

Article in Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics · March 2017

DOI: 10.1108/APJML-10-2015-0154

CITATIONS READS

372 42,367

1 author:

Ahmed Rageh Ismail

27 PUBLICATIONS 1,521 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Ahmed Rageh Ismail on 06 October 2017.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics
The influence of perceived social media marketing activities on brand loyalty:
The mediation effect of brand and value consciousness
Ahmed Rageh Ismail,
Article information:
To cite this document:
Ahmed Rageh Ismail, (2017) "The influence of perceived social media marketing activities on brand
loyalty: The mediation effect of brand and value consciousness", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing
and Logistics, Vol. 29 Issue: 1,pp. 129-144, doi: 10.1108/APJML-10-2015-0154
Permanent link to this document:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/APJML-10-2015-0154
Downloaded by Curtin University At 01:50 31 March 2017 (PT)

Downloaded on: 31 March 2017, At: 01:50 (PT)

References: this document contains references to 92 other documents.
To copy this document: permissions@emeraldinsight.com
The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 1654 times since 2017*
Users who downloaded this article also downloaded:
(2017),"Evaluation and decision making in social media marketing", Management Decision, Vol. 55
Iss 1 pp. 15-31 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/MD-10-2015-0450
(2016),"Exploring the integration of social media within integrated marketing communication
frameworks: Perspectives of services marketers", Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 34 Iss
1 pp. 19-40 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/MIP-09-2014-0169

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-
srm:325738 []
For Authors
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald
for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission
guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information.
About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com
Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company
manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as
well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and
services.
Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for
digital archive preservation.

*Related content and download information correct at time of download.

 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1355-5855.htm

Social media
The influence of perceived marketing
social media marketing activities

activities on brand loyalty

The mediation effect of brand 129
and value consciousness Received 11 October 2015
Revised 16 May 2016
Ahmed Rageh Ismail 3 November 2016
Accepted 4 November 2016
School of Business, Curtin University, Miri, Malaysia

Abstract
Downloaded by Curtin University At 01:50 31 March 2017 (PT)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of social media marketing activities on
brand loyalty, value consciousness and brand consciousness.
Design/methodology/approach – A self-administered questionnaire was developed and administered to a
convenience sample of 346 undergraduate students
Findings – The findings of this research indicated that social media marketing has a significant effect on
brand loyalty; brand consciousness and value consciousness mediate the relationship between social media
marketing and brand loyalty.
Originality/value – This study confirms the growing importance of social media marketing. It also provides
insights for marketers on envisioning brand loyalty.
Keywords Brand consciousness, Brand loyalty, Social media marketing, Value consciousness
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
Social media is defined as “a group of internet-based applications that build on the ideological
and technical foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user
generated content” (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010, p. 61). Those applications take a variety of
forms, including weblogs, social blogs, microblogging, wikis, podcasts, pictures, video, rating
and social bookmarking. In January 2014, 74 percent of online adults worldwide use social
networking sites (Duggan et al., 2015). Social media platforms play a big part in the daily lives
of their users (Okazaki, 2009). Moreover, social media allow users to connect with peers by
adding them to networks of friends, which facilitates communication, particularly among peer
groups (Ahuja and Galvin, 2003; Zhang and Daugherty, 2009). Globally, more than 50 percent
of social media users follow brands on social media (van Belleghem et al., 2011) and 29 percent
follow trends and find product reviews and information, and 20 percent comment on what is
hot or new or to review products (Gallup, 2014). In Malaysia social media penetration is
64 percent, which is considered one of the highest in Asia pacific region – second only to
Singapore. Marketers view the social media landscape in Malaysia as vibrant, with most of the
Malaysian population turning to social media platforms (www.marketing-interactive.com/
state-social-media-malaysia/, 2016).
Consumers use social media to find information about desired products with the best
prices. Social media have inexorably changed how consumers and marketers communicate
(Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004; Nambisan and Baron, 2007). Social media gives consumers a
voice, and allows them to interact and share their experiences with any person anywhere in
Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing
the world (Kozinets et al., 2010). In general, consumers have different orientations when and Logistics
making purchase decision. Consumers are either brand conscious who view brands as Vol. 29 No. 1, 2017
pp. 129-144
symbols of status and prestige, or value conscious, who use social media to check and © Emerald Publishing Limited
1355-5855
compare the prices of different brands, to get the best value for their money. Businesses are DOI 10.1108/APJML-10-2015-0154
 APJML joining social media to target those two types of consumers and actively perform less costly
29,1 integrated marketing activities. An overwhelming majority of marketers worldwide
97 percent are participating in social media marketing to market their business
(Stelzner, 2014). More than half of marketers 54 percent chose Facebook as their most
important platform. Social media being used as a marketing tool mainly for four purposes:
market research and feedback generation; publicity, branding, and reputation management;
130 business networking; and customer service and customer relationship management
(Thoring, 2011). Although businesses have joined social media to increase brand awareness
and acquire more customers, the question still remains of how brand loyalty can be built and
strengthened through social media? Understanding how social media marketing activities
influence brand loyalty is important for strategic marketing. Another question that
is addressed in this study is: what is the effect of perceived social media marketing activities
on brand- and value-conscious consumers? The current study is attempting to address this
knowledge gap by developing a research model to test the relationships among social
media marketing activities, brand consciousness, value consciousness and brand loyalty.
Downloaded by Curtin University At 01:50 31 March 2017 (PT)

The paper is organized as follows. The next section describes the hypotheses on the
relationships among perceived social media marketing activities, brand loyalty, brand
consciousness and value consciousness. Then, methodology and empirical results will be
presented, and finally the conclusion and limitation of the study.

Theoretical background and hypotheses

Perceived social media marketing activities and brand loyalty
In recent years, many firms used social media to engage customers with the brand (Okazaki
et al., 2015). However, those firms still struggle to accomplish brand loyalty because they do
not fully understand how to build consumer-brand relationship in social media setting
(Fournier and Lee, 2009). Social media marketing is “a broad category of advertising spending,
including advertising using social network, virtual worlds, user-generated product reviews,
blogger endorsement, RSS feeds of content and social news sites, podcasts, games, and
consumer generated advertising” (Tuten, 2008, p. 9). Also social media marketing is defined as
“a form of online advertising that uses the cultural context of social context, including social
networks (e.g. Youtube, Myspace and Facebook), virtual worlds (e.g. Second Life, There, and
Kaneva), social news sites (e.g. Digg and del.icio.us), and social opinion-sharing sites
(e.g. Eopinions), to meet branding and communication objectives” (Tuten, 2008, p. 19). Social
media marketing activities are subset of online marketing activities that complete traditional
web-based promotion strategies, such as e-mail newsletters and online advertising campaigns
(Barefoot and Szabo, 2010, p. 13). Social media, in a way, converts consumers into marketers
and advertisers, who generate, edit, and share online information about companies, products
and services. That may attracts attention and encourages online users to share it with their
social networks (Akar and Topçu, 2011).
In the very beginning of social media usage, consumers joined social media to keep in touch
with family and friends, as time has passed, social media interest has increased and brands
have discovered that there is an audience for them. Nowadays, consumers can follow their
favorite brands on social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, to stay informed of the
latest products, to receive discounts, to access to special promotions and to get to know more
news regarding the company. Branding literature indicated that marketers can enhance their
brand loyalty by strengthen consumer-brand relationships (Aaker, 1996; Fournier, 1998;
Kapferer, 1998; Keller, 1998). Valuable consumer-brand relationship results in many benefits to
the consumer, such as product or service quality, price and special treatment (Liao et al., 2014;
Chen and Hu, 2010). Those perceived relationship benefits can boost customers’ satisfaction
and generate positive word-of-mouth and build brand loyalty through brand community
(Muñiz and O’Guinn, 2001; McAlexander et al., 2002; Schau et al., 2009; Lee et al., 2014).
 Social media has become a hub for promoting goods and services which enables Social media
marketers to actively communicate with customers. Also, it has shifted the previous marketing
one-way communication channel to a two-way communications channel which enables more activities
customer engagement and creates a sense of equality between the consumers and their
brands (Evans, 2012). Furthermore, social media-based communication provides consumers
with relevant information and reduce their efforts to search for information (Merisavo and
Raulas, 2004; Laroche et al., 2013). Additionally, it enables customers to voice out their 131
satisfaction or displeasure with the brand. Finally, social media also can be a positive form
of advertising for brands. Ultimately, if a consumer responds favorably toward a company’s
advertisements and promotions through social media, then a relationship will begin to
develop between the consumer and the brand (Fournier, 1998) and consequently, strong
consumer-brand relationship in social media would lead to brand loyalty (Fournier, 1998).
Therefore, it is believed that, as customers appreciate regular communication from the
brand, it can further enhance their brand loyalty (Merisavo and Raulas, 2004). Therefore,
it is hypothesized that social media marketing activities will contribute to brand loyalty:
Downloaded by Curtin University At 01:50 31 March 2017 (PT)

H1. Perceived social media marketing activities will have a positive effect on brand loyalty.
Brand consciousness. Brand consciousness refers to the mental orientation to select products
that are well-known and highly advertised brand name (Sproles and Kendall, 1986).
Consumers often express personal characteristics and preferences through brand (Manrai
et al., 2001). Those consumers with high levels of brand consciousness tend to buy more
expensive and well-known brands (Liao and Wang, 2009; Sproles and Kendall, 1986). They
use the brands as symbols of status and prestige (Escalas and Bettman, 2005; Jamal and
Goode, 2001). They gain confidence in constructing their own self-identity and present such
an identity to others (Phau and Teah, 2009; Wang et al., 2009). Therefore, they are willing to
pay a price premium for a well-known brand’s product (Liao and Wang, 2009; Sproles and
Kendall, 1986). Despite its importance, the impact of perceived social media marketing
activities on brand consciousness remains relatively unknown. Previous studies showed
that the traditional instruments (TV, radio and magazines, etc.) of marketing
communications have a positive impact on different constructs such as brand loyalty,
brand association and brand awareness (Yoo et al., 2000). Consumers, nowadays, are
turning away from traditional media and are increasingly using social media to search for
information (Mangold and Faulds, 2009) because it is regarded as a more trustworthy source
of information than those traditional instruments of marketing communications used by
companies (Foux, 2006). For example, one of many venues that have been gaining
considerable attention from consumers is Instagram. Members of the Instagram community
share photos and videos. Photo-sharing could be a good way to draw follower’s attention to
the brand and inspire participation and discussion from users and ultimately contribute to
brand consciousness. Thus, it is assumed that perceived social media marketing activities
will positively influence brand consciousness:
H2. Perceived social media marketing activities will have a positive effect on brand
consciousness.
Symbolic self-completion theory (Wicklund and Gollwitzer, 1981) posits that individuals use
material possessions and other indicators as socially recognized symbols to communicate
this identity to others. A symbol can be defined as “any facet of the person that has the
potential to signal to others (who understand the symbol as related to the identity) that one
possesses the identity in question” (Braun and Wicklund, 1989, p. 164). The symbolic
self-completion theory supports the notion that consumers use brands as a means to protect
their self-identity. For example, highly brand conscious consumers may buy expensive
brands and remain loyal to the brand not because of quality perceptions per se, but because
 APJML others may perceive them as socially positive due to the high price (Bao and Mandrik, 2004).
29,1 Thus, this study proposes that brand consciousness is related to brand loyalty:
H3. Brand consciousness will have a positive effect on brand loyalty.
Value consciousness. Not all consumers believe that acquiring goods is a driver of happiness
and signals of social status. Frugal consumers are more value conscious (Lichtenstein et al.,
132 1990); they carefully use resources and avoid waste (De Young, 1986, p. 285). Value
consciousness is defined as “a concern for paying low prices, subject to some quality
constraint” (Lichtenstein et al., 1990, 1993, Ailawadi et al., 2001). Value-conscious customers
tend to be concerned equally about low prices and product quality (Sharma, 2011). They are
also more likely to habitually use social media platforms to shop for the lowest cost which
brings a number of significant benefits; i.e. saving money by enabling them to achieve
lowest price, identifying the right products to satisfy their needs and compare other prices
from different brands. For example, price comparison website priceline.com Facebook page
has more than 600,000 followers. Customers who have liked this page are signaling that
Downloaded by Curtin University At 01:50 31 March 2017 (PT)

they are interested in the products and services they offer. Therefore obtaining goods at
lower prices is relatively important than product quality or brand image in purchasing
decision (Batra, 1997; Cui and Liu, 2001). Therefore:
H4. Perceived social media marketing activities will have a positive effect on value
consciousness.
According to Russo (2014), 78 percent of consumers admit they are not loyal to any
particular brand. In a price competitive and dynamic marketplace such as internet, value-
conscious consumers are less likely to engage in routinized brand choice behavior
(Garretson et al., 2002). While searching the “web” for products, value-conscious consumers
are motivated to purchase products based on the price, if the price is too high, a consumer
may dismiss his/her choice entirely and seek a brand with a better price. Therefore, value
consciousness negatively influences brand loyalty:
H5. Value consciousness will have a negative effect on brand loyalty.
Mediation effects. As stated earlier, social media platforms offer brands opportunities to
develop and increase brand consciousness. Similarly, perceived social media marketing
activities contribute to brand consciousness and in turn, brand loyalty will exist when the
consumer is highly conscious about the brand. In the same vein, social media marketing
activities may boost value consciousness and value consciousness will negatively be
associated to brand loyalty. Therefore, the following hypotheses put forward:
H6. Brand consciousness will mediate the relationship between perceived social media
marketing and brand loyalty.
H7. Value consciousness will mediate the relationship between perceived social media
marketing and brand loyalty.
The research model to guide the objective of this first study is presented in Figure 1.
It is argued that perceived social media marketing is related to brand loyalty, brand
consciousness and value consciousness. Additionally, value consciousness and brand
consciousness have a direct effect on brand loyalty (see Figure 1).

Methodology
Context
Asia Pacific region accounts for 52.2 percent of global social media users. Asia is central to
Facebook growth; the region has more than 426 million monthly active users. Time spent on
 Social media
Value
marketing
Consciousness activities

H5
H4 133

Social Brand
Media Loyalty
Marketing H1
Downloaded by Curtin University At 01:50 31 March 2017 (PT)

H3
H2

Brand
Consciousness
Figure 1.
Research model

social media (hours per day) in Malaysia is 3:24 h. Malaysia is ranked number three after
Indonesia and Vietnam in the Asia Pacific region to use Facebook, 94 percent of its online
population (19 million according to US census bureau) use Facebook, whereas 59 percent use
twitter (http://wearesocial.net/tag/malaysia/, 2015).

Data collection and sample

Subjects. A structured questionnaire was designed to collect the data required to test the
conceptual model. Data were collected from a sample marketing students. A convenience sample
of 346 undergraduate students, in University of Northern Malaysia was recruited through
self-administered survey with the incentive of extra credit for classes in which they were
enrolled. Their age is between 19 and 25 years old. As the focus of this study is on young adults’
use of social media, therefore, college-aged students sample is considered appropriate.
The questionnaire included a synopsis of the goals of the study, contact information of the
researchers. College students are known to be among the most connected group. The researcher
distributed the survey directly to students in their classes. Participation in the survey was limited
to student living in Malaysia only and 73.1 percent were females, while 26.9 percent were males.
A screening question excluded unqualified participants who had never used any social
media websites: during a typical day, how much time do you spend on social media activities?
(1 none, 2, 3, 4 a lot). Members of a brand community in any social media platform were the
target sample in this study. So, we asked participants to list the brand communities they are a
member of and follow on social media. Furthermore, we asked them to keep in mind these brand
communities while answering the questions. With this procedure, which is consistent with
previous studies in online contexts (Bagozzi and Dholakia, 2006; Steenkamp and Geyskens,
2006; Laroche et al., 2013). Participants then answered questions relating to the constructs of
interest (see Table AI), followed by demographic questions. Overall, the respondents were heavy
social media users; 62.7 percent of the sample reported using the social media a lot during a
typical day, whereas 37.3 percent have identified themselves as moderate users of social media.
 APJML Measures
29,1 The variables in the theoretical model were measured on seven point scales ranging from
1 ¼ “strongly disagree” to 7 ¼ “strongly agree.” All the scales are obtained from previous
studies. The scale of perceived social media marketing activities was adapted from Kim and
Ko (2012). The scale of consumer decision-making styles depicts the mental orientation
when consumers make choices (Sproles and Kendall, 1986). It has a subscale called “brand
134 consciousness,” which was used in the present study. “Value consciousness” scales were
adapted from Lichtenstein et al. (1993), and “brand loyalty” scale developed by Ailawadi
et al. (2001) was used in the current study.

Data analysis
To estimate the relationships in the model, structural equation modeling with AMOS
17.0 and maximum likelihood estimation is used. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is
conducted to assess the psychometric properties of the scales and test the discriminant
validity of the measures. Following the procedures outlined by Byrne (2001), the first step
Downloaded by Curtin University At 01:50 31 March 2017 (PT)

consisted of testing for the factorial validity of the theoretical constructs.

Results
Two items (using social media to look for the brand I am considering to buy is fun and
I would like to share contents from social media with my friends) were removed from the
scales measuring perceived social media marketing activities construct, because their
loading factors were less than 0.5 after CFA first run. Test statistics indicate that the
measurement model represents a good fit to the data. The overall model were
CMIN ¼ 217.215, df ¼ 98, p ¼ 0.0, CMIN/df ¼ 2.216. The fit indices were CFI ¼ 0.96,
GFI ¼ 0.93 TLI ¼ 0.95 and RMSEA ¼ 0.059. Internal consistency reliability, the most widely
used reliability method, was measured using Cronbach’s α. The reliability of the scales
ranged from 0.81 to 0.89 (see Table I). Following the widely recognized rule of thumb of
using a reliability level of 0.5 (Hair et al., 2006), the analysis indicated that the measurement
scales are highly reliable.
The next step is to assess convergent validity by checking the factor loadings of each
item and the values of average variance extracted (AVEW0.5). The factor loadings of the
measurement items are significant and substantial, i.e. p W0.5 (Hair et al., 2006), as
well as composite reliabilities of each of the constructs and average variance extracted
(see Table III) average variances extracted were W0.50. Thus, the convergent validity of the
latent constructs was confirmed. Discriminant validity was investigated following Fornell
and Larcker’s (1981) suggestion. According to them, the average variance extracted must
exceed the corresponding squared interconstruct correlations estimate between the two
constructs. In the current study, all the variance extracted estimates were greater than the
corresponding interconstruct squared correlation estimates; the correlation matrix of latent
variables is in Table I.
Moreover, assessment of nomological validity is based on the correlation matrix
(Hair et al., 2006) provided in Table I. The results support that these constructs are positively
related to one another and these relationships simply make sense. The structural model

1 2 3 4

1. Perceived social media marketing activities 1.00

2. Brand consciousness 0.54 1.00
Table I. 3. Value consciousness 0.35 0.21 1.00
Correlation matrices 4. Brand loyalty 0.43 0.45 0.45 1.00
 displayed a good fit with the data, compared with the suggested fit criteria. The fit statistics Social media
were CMIN χ2 ¼ 217.524, df ¼ 99, p ¼ 0.0, CMIN/df ¼ 2.197. The fit indices were all in marketing
acceptable ranges with CFI ¼ 0.96, GFI ¼ 0.93, TLI ¼ 0.95 and RMSEA ¼ 0.059. Models with activities
cut-off values above 0.90 for CFI, and below 0.08 for RMSEA are considered to have a good
fit between the hypothesized model and the observed data (Hu and Bentler, 1999). Figure 2
displayed all of the structural relationships among the studied constructs; path coefficients
and their significance, R2 for each dependent construct are also presented in this figure. 135
As indicated in Figure 2 all hypotheses, except for H5 were supported by the data.

Mediating effects
Bootstrapping procedures were implemented to obtain estimates of the indirect effects and
to test their significance by using confidence intervals. If a zero is not included in the
95 percent confidence interval of the estimate, it means that the indirect effect is statistically
significant. As there was more than one mediating effect in the structural model, in order to
separate the indirect effects and test the significance of each of the mediating effects,
Downloaded by Curtin University At 01:50 31 March 2017 (PT)

phantom variables and bias-corrected bootstrap method were used. The researcher
requested AMOS to generate 1,000 bootstrap samples and selected bias-corrected bootstrap
method with 95 percent confidence intervals (Mallinckrodt et al., 2006). The first phantom
model was created in which the indirect effect was found significant with 0.001 p-value and
point estimate 0.161. The bias corrected lower and upper confidence interval are 0.076 and
0.284 which means that there is no zero in between therefore brand consciousness mediates
the relationship between perceived social media marketing and brand loyalty. The total
effect is 0.288, with 0.002 p-value o0.001, significant and direct effect is 0.078 with p-value
0.224o0.001, significant. The second phantom model showed that the indirect effect was
found significant with 0.001 p-value and point estimate 0.115. The bias corrected lower and
upper confidence interval are 0.067 and 0.189 which means that there is a zero therefore

R 2 = 0.13

Value
Consciousness

–0.35***
0.33***
R 2 = 0.35

Perceived Social
Brand Loyalty
Media
0.15*
Marketing
Activities

0.54*** 0.30***

Brand
Consciousness

2
R = 0.29 Figure 2.
Validated model
Notes: *p < 0.05; ***p < 0.001
 APJML value consciousness mediate the relationship between perceived social media marketing and
29,1 brand loyalty. The total effect is 0.212, with p-value o0.001 and direct effect is 0.218 with
p-value o0.001. Table III shows the mediating effects of brand consciousness on the
relationship between perceived social media marketing and brand loyalty as well as the
mediating effect of value consciousness on the relationship between perceived social media
marketing activities and brand loyalty. From the bias-corrected bootstrap test result, it was
136 confirmed that brand consciousness and value consciousness significantly mediated the
influences of perceived social media marketing activities on brand loyalty.

Common method variance (CMV)

Since the data in the current study was collected using self-report questionnaires at the same
time from the same participants and both independent and dependent variables are
perceptual measures derived from the same respondents, CMV may be a concern (Podsakoff
and Organ, 1986). Harman’s (1967) one-factor test was performed following the approach
outlined by Podsakoff et al. (1984). All the items of the study were entered into a principal
Downloaded by Curtin University At 01:50 31 March 2017 (PT)

component analysis with varimax rotation According to this technique, if a single factor
emerges from the factor analysis or one “general” factor accounts for more than 50 percent
of the covariation in the variables, CMV is present. The analysis revealed that there is no
single factor in the factor structure. Therefore, it does not appear to be a common method
bias concern in the present study. Another test was run to check the CMV in the data set
using common latent factor, whereby a common latent factor was added to the CFA model
and then the standardized regression weights of that model were compared to the
standardized regression weights of the model without common latent factor. The results
showed that all the differences were less than 0.2 so common method bias was not a major
threat in the data set (Tables II and III).

Discussion
The findings of this study confirmed that perceived social media marketing activities will
assist marketers in conceiving brand loyalty, brand consciousness and value consciousness.
The current research supports the idea that perceived social media marketing activities is a

Hypotheses Path estimates t-values Test results

H1: perceived social media marketing activities will have a positive 0.15 7.13 Accepted
effect on brand loyalty
H2: perceived social media marketing activities will have a positive 0.54 8.64 Accepted
effect on brand consciousness
H3: brand consciousness will have a positive effect on brand loyalty 0.30 2.10 Accepted
Table II. H4: perceived social media marketing activities will have a positive 0.33 4.10 Accepted
Summary of effect on value consciousness
Study 1 results H5: value consciousness will have a negative effect on brand loyalty −0.35 5.72 Accepted

Independent Test
Hypotheses variables Effect Significancea results

H6 Brand consciousness 0.161 0.001 Accepted

H7 Value consciousness 0.115 0.001 Accepted
Table III. Notes: Mediator, brand consciousness and value consciousness; dependent variable, brand loyalty.
a
Mediation effects Significant levels based on phantom variables and bootstrapping techniques
 key driver of brand loyalty because followers of the brand pages on social media platforms Social media
tend to be loyal and committed to the brand (Bagozzi and Dholakia, 2006). The finding is marketing
congruent with previous studies which have founded that online brand communities, can activities
enhance customer’s loyalty to the brand (McAlexander et al., 2002; Muñiz and O’Guinn,
2001; Schau et al., 2009; Zhou et al., 2011). Therefore, the study concluded that perceived
social media marketing activities is effective tool developing relationship with customers,
and building brand loyalty within the social media-based brand community. 137
Also, this study has set out to examine the impact of social media on marketing on brand
consciousness from consumer’s perspective. The assumption of perceived social media
marketing activities exert an important impact on a brand consciousness is believed to be
valid. Previous research mainly has demonstrated the impact of the traditional instruments
(TV, radio, magazines, etc.) of marketing communications on brand loyalty, brand
association and brand awareness (Yoo et al., 2000). However, today’s consumers, especially
young, are more brand conscious, they regard social media as a more trustworthy source of
information about their brands than traditional instruments of marketing communications.
Downloaded by Curtin University At 01:50 31 March 2017 (PT)

Consumers searching for clothing, cosmetics, shoes, perfumes, fashion accessories or other
products are exposed to a plethora of social media marketing activities in addition to the
traditional media such TV commercials and other promotional activities, this exposure
makes consumer well informed about their brands. In a nutshell, the social media marketing
is good strategy for brand consciousness. It is considered as an informative tool for
customers to get up-to-date details about the products. The contribution of current study
findings to theory is that the extension of marketing communication tools to incorporate
social media and its impact on brand consciousness.
The study has also examined the mediating effect of brand consciousness on the
relationship between social media marketing and brand loyalty. Whether it is a customer
reaching out to a company or a company sharing information with its followers, this
constant communication is ideal for encouraging brand consciousness which, in turn
enhances brand loyalty as demonstrated in the current study. This study also yields a new
insight into how perceived social media marketing activities influence value consciousness
consumers. Based on the above findings, the conceptual model has shown a direct positive
effect of perceived social media marketing activities on value consciousness. That means
social media marketing has been influential to the brand followers who are value conscious.
Value-conscious consumers are of a great importance to marketers to target in today’s
uncertain economy, whereby everyone is considered a value shopper. According to
Forrester Research, price is becoming a more important driver in the purchasing decisions
of consumers (Dunnhumby, 2014). The findings of this study have shown that social media
value-conscious consumers are not brand loyal, as value consciousness and brand loyalty
variables are negatively related.
The results also showed that value consciousness I negatively related to brand loyalty.
They have personal experience with the product and willing to share their opinions and
recommendations with many others in person and online across social media.

Limitations and directions for future studies

This research has certain limitations. First, the study has been conducted in only one of the
emerging market countries (i.e. Malaysia) (International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2012). Future
research should look into the comparison between developed countries and less developed
countries in this regard. Second, the participants in this study were undergraduate students
aged between 19 and 25. Although young adults within this age range are generally
heavy users of social media, those in other age groups are not represented in the study.
Therefore, the results of this study are not generalizable beyond the specific age
group under examination. Future research should adopt a more representative sample to
 APJML rectify this issue. Third, there may exist other moderators that regulate the effectiveness of
29,1 perceived social media marketing activities on the study variables, such as age, gender,
education, income and personality. These moderators are not discussed in this research.
Future research should examine a greater variety of moderators. Finally, future research
should further compare the impact of traditional media marketing and social media
marketing and identify which media exert a stronger impact on the study variables.
138
References
Aaker, D.A. (1996), “Measuring brand equity across products and markets”, California Management
Review, Vol. 38 No. 3, pp. 102-120.
Ahuja, M.K. and Galvin, J.E. (2003), “Socialization in virtual groups”, Journal of Management, Vol. 29
No. 2, pp. 161-185.
Ailawadi, K.L., Neslin, S.A. and Gedenk, K. (2001), “Pursuing the value conscious consumer: store
brands versus national brand promotions”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 65 No. 1, pp. 71-89.
Downloaded by Curtin University At 01:50 31 March 2017 (PT)

Akar, E. and Topçu, B. (2011), “An examination of the factors influencing consumers’ attitudes toward
social media marketing”, Journal of Internet Commerce, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 35-67.
Bagozzi, R.P. and Dholakia, U.M. (2006), “Antecedents and purchase consequences of customer
participation in small group brand communities”, International Journal of Research in
Marketing, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 45-61.
Bao, Y. and Mandrik, C.A. (2004), “Discerning store brand users from value consciousness consumers:
the role of prestige sensitivity and need for cognition”, Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 31
No. 1, pp. 707-712.
Barefoot, D. and Szabo, J. (2010), Friends with Benefits: A Social Media Marketing Handbook, No Starch
Press, San Francisco, CA.
Batra, R. (1997), “Marketing issues and challenges in transitional economics”, Journal of International
Marketing, Vol. 5 No. 4, pp. 95-114.
Braun, O.L. and Wicklund, R.A. (1989), “Psychological antecedents of conspicuous consumption”,
Journal of Economic Psychology, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 161-187.
Byrne, B.M. (2001), “Structural equation modeling with AMOS, EQS, and LISREL: comparative
approaches to testing for the factorial validity of a measuring instrument”, International Journal
of Testing, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 55-86.
Chen, P.T. and Hu, H.H. (2010), “The effect of relational benefits on perceived value in relation to
customer loyalty: an empirical study in the Australian coffee outlets industry”, International
Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 405-412.
Cui, G. and Liu, Q. (2001), “Executive insights: emerging market segments in a transitional economy:
a study of urban consumers in China”, Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 84-106.
De Young, R. (1986), “Some psychological aspects of recycling the structure of conservation
satisfactions”, Environment and Behavior, Vol. 18 No. 4, pp. 435-449.
Duggan, M., Ellison, N.B., Lampe, C., Lenhart, A. and Madden, M. (2015), Social Media Update 2014,
Pew Research Center, p. 9.
Dunnhumby (2014), “Consumer price sensitivity and its impact on advertising”, available at:
www.dunnhumby.com (accessed December 18, 2014).
Escalas, J.E. and Bettman, J. (2005), “Selfconstrual, reference groups, and brand meaning”, Journal of
Consumer Research, Vol. 32 No. 3, pp. 378-389.
Evans, D. (2012), Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day, John Wiley & Sons, Indianapolis, IN.
Fornell, C. and Larcker, D.F. (1981), “Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable
variables and measurement errors”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 39-50.
Foux, G. (2006), “Consumer generated media: get your customers involved”, Brand Strategy, Vol. 8
No. 202, pp. 38-39.
 Fournier, S. (1998), “Consumers and their brands: developing relationship theory in consumer Social media
research”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 343-373. marketing
Fournier, S. and Lee, L. (2009), “Getting brand communities right”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 87 activities
No. 4, pp. 105-111.
Gallup (2014), “The myth of social media: a majority of consumers say they are not influenced by
Facebook or Twitter”, available at: http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/sac_
report_11_socialmedia_061114.pdf (accessed November 28, 2014). 139
Garretson, J.A., Fisher, D. and Burton, S. (2002), “Antecedents of private label attitude and
national brand promotion attitude: similarities and differences”, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 78
No. 2, pp. 91-100.
Hair, J.F., Tatham, R.L., Anderson, R.E. and Black, W. (2006), Multivariate Data Analysis, Vol. 6,
Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Harman, D. (1967), “A single factor test of common method variance”, Journal of Psychology, Vol. 35
No. 1967, pp. 359-378.
Hennig-Thurau, T., Kevin, P.G., Walsh, G. and Gremler, D.D. (2004), “Electronic word-of-mouth via
Downloaded by Curtin University At 01:50 31 March 2017 (PT)

consumer opinion platforms: what motivates consumers to articulate themselves on the

internet?”, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 38-52.
Hu, L. and Bentler, P.M. (1999), “Cutoff criteria for fit indices in covariance structure analysis: conventional
criteria versus new alternatives”, Structural Equation Modeling, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 1-55.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) (2012), “World economic outlook update: new setbacks, further policy
action needed”, available at: www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2012/update/02/index.htm
(accessed December 18, 2014).
Jamal, A. and Goode, M. (2001), “Consumers’ product evaluation: a study of the primary evaluative
criteria in the precious jewelry market in the UK”, Journal of Consumer Behavior, Vol. 1 No. 2,
pp. 140-155.
Kaplan, A.M. and Haenlein, M. (2010), “Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of
social media”, Business Horizons, Vol. 53 No. 1, pp. 59-68.
Kapferer, J.N. (1998), “Why are we seduced by luxury brands?”, Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 6
No. 1, pp. 44-49.
Keller, K.L. (1998), Strategic Brand Management: Building, Managing and Measuring Brand Equity,
Prentice Hall, NJ.
Kim, A.J. and Ko, E. (2012), “Do social media marketing activities enhance customer equity? An empirical
study of luxury fashion brand”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 65 No. 10, pp. 1480-1486.
Kozinets, R., de Valck, K., Wojinicki, A.C. and Wilner, S. (2010), “Networked narratives: understanding
word of mouth marketing in online communities”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 74 No. 2, pp. 71-89.
Laroche, M., Habibi, M.R. and Richard, M.O. (2013), “To be or not to be in social media: how brand
loyalty is affected by social media?”, International Journal of Information Management, Vol. 33
No. 1, pp. 76-82.
Lee, M.R., Yen, D.C. and Hsiao, C.Y. (2014), “Understanding the perceived community value of
Facebook users”, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 35 No. 5, pp. 350-358.
Liao, J. and Wang, L. (2009), “Face as a mediator of the relationship between material value and brand
consciousness”, Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 26 No. 11, pp. 987-1001.
Liao, Y.W., Wang, Y.S. and Yeh, C.H. (2014), “Exploring the relationship between intentional and
behavioral loyalty in the context of e-tailing”, Internet Research, Vol. 24 No. 5, pp. 668-686.
Lichtenstein, D.R., Netemeyer, R.G. and Burton, S. (1990), “Distinguishing coupon proneness from value
consciousness: an acquisition transaction utility theory perspective”, Journal of Marketing,
Vol. 54 No. 3, pp. 54-67.
Lichtenstein, D.R., Ridgway, N.M. and Netemeyer, R.G. (1993), “Price perceptions and consumer
shopping behavior: a field study”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 30 No. 2, pp. 234-245.
 APJML McAlexander, J., Schouten, J. and Koenig, H. (2002), “Building brand community”, Journal of Marketing,
29,1 Vol. 66 No. 1, pp. 38-54.
Mangold, W.G. and Faulds, D.J. (2009), “Social media: the new hybrid element of the promotion mix”,
Business Horizons, Vol. 52 No. 4, pp. 357-365.
Mallinckrodt, B., Abraham, W.T., Wei, M. and Russell, D.W. (2006), “Advances in testing the statistical
significance of mediation effects”, Journal of Counseling Psychology, Vol. 53 No. 3, p. 372.
140 Manrai, L.A., Lascu, D.N., Manrai, A.K. and Babb, H.W. (2001), “A crosscultural comparison of style in
Eastern European emerging markets”, International Marketing Review, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 270-285.
Merisavo, M. and Raulas, M. (2004), “The impact of email marketing on brand loyalty”, Journal of
Product and Brand Management, Vol. 13 No. 7, pp. 498-505.
Muñiz, A. and O’Guinn, T. (2001), “Brand community”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 27 No. 4,
pp. 412-432.
Nambisan, S. and Baron, R.A. (2007), “Interactions in virtual customer environments: implications for
product support and customer relationship management”, Journal of Interactive Marketing,
Vol. 21 No. 2, pp. 42-61.
Downloaded by Curtin University At 01:50 31 March 2017 (PT)

Okazaki, S. (2009), “The tactical use of mobile marketing: how adolescents’ social networking can best
shape brand extensions”, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 49 No. 1, pp. 12-26.
Okazaki, S., Díaz-Martín, A.M., Rozano, M. and Menéndez-Benito, H.D. (2015), “Using Twitter to engage
with customers: a data mining approach”, Internet Research, Vol. 25 No. 3, pp. 416-434.
Phau, I. and Teah, M. (2009), “Devil wears (counterfeit) Prada: a study of antecedents and outcomes of
attitudes towards counterfeits of luxury brands”, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 26 No. 1,
pp. 15-27.
Podsakoff, P.M. and Organ, D.W. (1986), “Self reports in organizational research: problems and
prospects”, Journal of Management, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 531-544.
Podsakoff, P.M., Todor, W.D., Grover, R.A. and Huber, V.L. (1984), “Situational moderators of leader
reward and punishment behaviors: fact or fiction?”, Organizational Behavior and Human
Performance, Vol. 34 No. 1, pp. 21-63.
Russo, J. (2014), “Connecting through the clutter: stay ahead of consumers to win in today’s fragmented
markets”, available at: www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2014/connecting-through-the-
clutter-stay-ahead-of-consumers-to-win-in-todays-fragmented-markets.html (accessed February
20, 2014).
Schau, H.J., Albert, M.M. and Eric, J.A. (2009), “How brand community practices create value”, Journal
of Marketing, Vol. 73 No. 5, pp. 30-51.
Sharma, P. (2011), “Country of origin effects in developed and emerging markets: exploring the
contrasting roles of materialism and value consciousness”, Journal of International Business
Studies, Vol. 42 No. 2, pp. 285-306.
Sproles, G.B. and Kendall, E.L. (1986), “A methodology for profiling consumer decision making styles”,
The Journal of Consumer Affairs, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 267-279.
Steenkamp, J.B.E.M. and Geyskens, I. (2006), “How country characteristics affect the perceived value of
a website”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 70 No. 3, pp. 136-150.
Stelzner, A.M. (2014), “Social media marketing industry report (2014)”, available at: www.
socialmediaexaminer.com/report2014/ (accessed November 21, 2014).
Thoring, A. (2011), “Corporate tweeting: analyzing the use of Twitter as a marketing tool by UK trade
publishers”, Publishing Research Quarterly, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 141-158.
Tuten, T.L. (2008), Advertising 2.0: Social Media Marketing in a Web 2.0 World, Greenwood Publishing
Group, London.
van Belleghem, S., Eenhuizen, M. and Veris, E. (2011), “Social media around the world 2011”,
InSites Consulting, London, available at: www.slideshare.net/stevenvanbelleghem/socialmediaa
roundtheworld2011/download?lead=394fd930572c9b62fb082021af5a6d0922046ec4 (accessed
November 21, 2014).
 Wang, X., Yang, Z. and Liu, N.R. (2009), “The impacts of brand personality and congruity on purchase Social media
intension: evidence from the Chinese Mainland’s automobile market”, Journal of Global marketing
Marketing, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 199-215.
activities
Wicklund, R.A. and Gollwitzer, P.M. (1981), “Symbolic self-completion, attempted influence, and
self-deprecation”, Basic and Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 89-114.
Yoo, B., Donthu, N. and Lee, S. (2000), “An examination of selected marketing mix elements and brand
equity”, Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 28 No. 2, pp. 195-211. 141
Zhang, J. and Daugherty, T. (2009), “Third person effect and social networking: implications for online
marketing and word of mouth communication”, American Journal of Business, Vol. 24 No. 2,
pp. 53-63.
Zhou, Z., Jin, X.L., Vogel, D.R., Fang, Y. and Chen, X. (2011), “Individual motivations and demographic
differences in social virtual world uses: an exploratory investigation in Second Life”,
International Journal of Information Management, Vol. 31 No. 3, pp. 261-271, available at: www.
statista.com/topics/2057/brands-on-social-media/
Downloaded by Curtin University At 01:50 31 March 2017 (PT)

Further reading
Bagozzi, R.P. (Ed.) (1994), Principles of Marketing Research, Blackwell Publishers, Cambridge.
Brouthers, L.E. and Xu, K. (2002), “Product stereotypes, strategy and performance satisfaction:
the case of Chinese exporters”, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 33 No. 4,
pp. 657-677.
Byrne, B.M. (2013), Structural Equation Modeling with AMOS: Basic Concepts, Applications, and
Programming, Routledge, New York, NY.
Calder, B.J. and Bumkrant, R.E. (1977), “Interpersonal influence on consumer behavior: an attribution
theory approach”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 29-38.
Cheung, C.K. and Chan, C.F. (1996), “Television viewing and mean world value in Hong Kong’s
adolescents”, Social Behavior and Personality, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 351-364.
Chung, E. and Fischer, E. (2001), “When conspicuous consumption becomes inconspicuous:
the case of the migrant Hong Kong consumers”, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 18 No. 6,
pp. 474-487.
Churchill, G.A. Jr and Moschis, G.P. (1979), “Television and interpersonal influences on adolescent
consumer learning”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 23-35.
Ellison, N.B., Steinfield, C. and Lampe, C. (2007), “The benefits of Facebook ‘friends’: social capital and
college students’ use of online social network sites”, Journal of Computer Mediated
Communication, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 1143-1168.
Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Morgan, M. and Signorielli, N. (1980), “The ‘mainstreaming’ of America: violence
profile No. 11”, Journal of Communication, Vol. 30 No. 3, pp. 10-29.
Goldsmith, R., Flynn, L. and Eastman, J. (1996), “Status consumption and fashion behaviour:
an exploratory study”, Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings, Hilton Head,
SC, pp. 309-316.
Gonzales, A.L. and Hancock, J.T. (2011), “Mirror, mirror on my Facebook wall: effects of exposure to
Facebook on selfesteem”, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, Vol. 14 No. 12,
pp. 24-29, 79-83.
Hofstede, G. (2001), Cultures Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviours, Institutions and
Organizations Across Nations, 2nd ed., Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Jones, E.E. and Davis, K.E. (1965), “From acts to disposition the attribution process in person
perception”, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 2 No. 1965, pp. 219-266.
Mahwah, N.J, Erlbaum Sternquist, B., Byun, S.E. and Jin, B. (2004), “The dimensionality of price
perceptions: a cross cultural comparison of Asian consumers”, The International Review of
Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 83-100.
 APJML Meng, J.G. and Nasco, S.A. (2009), “Cross-cultural equivalence of price perceptions across American,
29,1 Chinese, and Japanese consumers”, Journal of Product and Brand Management, Vol. 18 No. 7,
pp. 506-516.
Moore, M. and Carpenter, J. (2006), “The effect of price as a marketplace cue on retail patronage”,
Journal of Product and Brand Management, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 265-271.
Mullins, P.R. (1999), Race and Affluence: An Archaeology of African American and Consumer Culture,
142 Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, NY, pp. 26-29.
Mulyanegara, R.C. and Tsarenko, Y. (2009), “Predicting brand preferences: an examination of the
predictive power of consumer personality and values in the Australian fashion market”,
Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 358-371.
Podoshen, J.S. and Andrzejewski, S.A. (2012), “An examination of the relationships between
materialism, conspicuous consumption, impulse buying, and brand loyalty”, Journal of
Marketing Theory and Practice, Vol. 20 No. 3, pp. 319-334.
Podoshen, J.S., Li, L. and Zhang, J. (2011), “Materialism and conspicuous consumption in China:
a cross cultural examination”, International Journal of Consumer Studies, Vol. 35 No. 1,
Downloaded by Curtin University At 01:50 31 March 2017 (PT)

pp. 17-25.
Schor, J. (1998), The Overspent American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure, Basic Books,
New York, NY.
Shrum, L.J., Burroughs, J.E. and Rindfleisch, A. (2004), “A process model of consumer cultivation: the
role of television is a function of the type of judgment”, in Shrum, L.J. (Ed.), The Psychology of
Entertainment Media: Blurring the Lines between Entertainment and Persuasion, Taylor &
Francis and Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ, pp. 177-191.
Shukla, P. (2008), “Conspicuous consumption among middle age consumers: psychological and brand
antecedents”, Journal of Product and Brand Management, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 25-36.
Trigg, A. (2001), “Veblen, Bourdieu, and conspicuous consumption”, Journal of Economic Issues, Vol. 35
No. 1, pp. 99-115.
Truong, Y. (2010), “Personal aspirations and the consumption of luxury goods”, International Journal
of Market Research, Vol. 52 No. 5, pp. 653-672.
Veblen, T. (1965), The Theory of the Leisure Class, A.M. Kelley, New York, NY.
 Appendix Social media
marketing
activities
Cronbach’s Composite
Item Constructs Mean SD Loadings α AVE reliability

Brand consciousness 143

BCNSS1 I pay attention to the brand names of the
products I buy 4.23 1.62 0.735 0.81 0.52 0.81
BCNSS2 Brand names tell me something about the
quality of the products 5.21 1.42 0.730
BCNSS3 Sometimes I am willing to pay more
money for products because of its brand
name 4.33 1.54 0.739
BCNSS4 Branded products that cost a lot of money
are good quality 4.54 1.56 0.671
Downloaded by Curtin University At 01:50 31 March 2017 (PT)

Social media marketing

SMAC2 I find interesting contents shown in social
media about the brand I am considering to
buy 4.34 1.46 0.762 0.83 0.54 0.82
SMAC3 It is easy to deliver my opinion about the
brand I am considering buying through
social media 4.26 1.35 0.763
SMAC4 Using social media to search for
information about the brand I am
considering buying is very trendy 4.45 1.32 0.696
SMAC5 I would like to pass along information on
brand, product, or services from social
media to my friends 4.51 1.43 0.710
Value consciousness
VC1 I am very concerned about low prices, but
I am equally concerned about product
quality 5.60 1.30 0.716 0.89 0.66 0.89
VC2 When shopping, I compare the prices of
different brands to be sure I get the best
value for the money 5.61 1.40 0.817
VC3 When purchasing a product, I always try
to maximize the quality I get for the
money I spend 5.60 1.36 0.905
VC4 When I buy products, I like to be sure that
I am getting my money’s worth 5.64 1.33 0.810
Brand loyalty
BL1 I would rather stick with a brand
I usually buy than try something I am not
very sure of 4.76 1.49 0.666 0.86 0.62 0.85
BL2 I have certain types of brands that
I always buy 4.85 1.47 0.874
BL3 I consider myself to be loyal to one brand
of product 4.30 1.50 0.799
BL4 I feel confidence in a brand that Table AI.
I always buy 5.05 1.40 0.785 Item statistics
Notes: CMIN ¼ 267.702; df ¼ 101; CMIN/df ¼ 2.651, RMR ¼ 0.125; GFI ¼ 0.912, AGFI ¼ 0.881, NFI ¼ 0.886, and measurement
TLI ¼ 0.911, CFI ¼ 0.925, RMSEA ¼ 0.069 model results
 APJML About the author
29,1 Ahmed Rageh Ismail is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Business and Humanities, Curtin University,
Miri, Malaysia. His main research and teaching interests fall into areas such as branding, marketing
communications, cross-cultural marketing, consumer behavior, services marketing, internet marketing
and retailing. He has published in the Qualitative Marketing Research: An International Journal, Journal
of Promotion Management, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management amongst others.
Ahmed Rageh Ismail can be contacted at: a.rageh@rocketmail.com
144
Downloaded by Curtin University At 01:50 31 March 2017 (PT)

For instructions on how to order reprints of this article, please visit our website:
www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/licensing/reprints.htm
Or contact us for further details: permissions@emeraldinsight.com

View publication stats