Abstract
In today’s dynamic environment, delivering exclusive and meaningful consumer interactions is critical for brands to stand out. In this sense, we suggested that consumer loyalty is influenced by online brand interactions due to brand familiarity. In a cross-sectional study conducted on 307 customers of leading and popular online selling brands in China across different industries, we found that online brand experience has significant and positive effect on customer satisfaction. Affective brand experience has a statistically negligible direct impact on customer satisfaction, emotional brand experience has a substantial and optimistic direct effect on customer satisfaction, and behavioural brand experience has a significant and harmful direct effect on customer satisfaction. In addition, it was discovered that brand awareness has a major mediating impact in the relationship between affective and behavioural brand experiences and consumer satisfaction, but no significant mediating influence in the relationship between emotional and cognitive brand experiences and customer satisfaction.
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12144-021-01706-7/MediaObjects/12144_2021_1706_Fig1_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12144-021-01706-7/MediaObjects/12144_2021_1706_Fig2_HTML.png)
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
All results reported in this research was carried out in SPSS v23.0. A self-administered survey was used to collect data by use of email on the web. In order to collect data about consumer e-behaviour and online brand experiences, research through online medium can prove to be more effective than survey method in offline settings. In using email surveys, it has been considered that unsolicited surveys can be construed as aggressive by potential respondents and thus, invite to survey has been made in email and voluntary participation has been sought in the main body of email. Nonetheless, email questionnaire method offered data that is statistically significant at a low cost. Data will be provided on personal request from corresponding author.
References
Akar, E., & Topçu, B. (2011). An examination of the factors influencing consumers' attitudes toward social media marketing. Journal of Internet Commerce, 10(1), 35–67.
Alba, J. W., & Hutchinson, J. W. (1987). Dimensions of consumer expertise. Journal of Consumer Research, 13(4), 411–454.
Alhabash, S., Chiang, Y. H., & Huang, K. (2014). MAM & U&G in Taiwan: Differences in the uses and gratifications of Facebook as a function of motivational reactivity. Computers in Human Behavior, 35, 423–430.
Alloza, A. (2008). Brand engagement and brand experience at BBVA, the transformation of a 150 years old company. Corporate Reputation Review, 11(4), 371–379.
Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), 411–423.
Anderson, R. E., & Srinivasan, S. S. (2003). E-satisfaction and e-loyalty: A contingency framework. Psychology & Marketing, 20(2), 123–138.
Aslam, U., Muqadas, F., & Imran, M. K. (2018). Exploring the sources and role of knowledge sharing to overcome the challenges of organizational change implementation. International Journal of Organizational Analysis., 26, 567–581.
Asur, S., & Huberman, B. A. (2010, August). Predicting the future with social media. In 2010 IEEE/WIC/ACM international conference on web intelligence and intelligent agent technology (Vol. 1, pp. 492-499). IEEE.
Bagozzi, R. P., & Dholakia, U. M. (2006). Open source software user communities: A study of participation in Linux user groups. Management Science, 52(7), 1099–1115.
Baker, W., Hutchinson, J., Moore, D., & Nedungadi, P. (1986). Brand familiarity and advertising: Effects on the evoked set and brand preference. ACR North American Advances.
Biswas, A. (1992). The moderating role of brand familiarity in reference price perceptions. Journal of Business Research, 25(3), 251–262.
Brakus, J. J., Schmitt, B. H., & Zarantonello, L. (2009). Brand experience: What is it? How is it measured? Does it affect loyalty? Journal of Marketing, 73(3), 52–68.
Brun, I., Rajaobelina, L., & Ricard, L. (2014). Online relationship quality: Scale development and initial testing. International Journal of Bank Marketing.
Brunner, T. A., Stöcklin, M., & Opwis, K. (2008). Satisfaction, image and loyalty: New versus experienced customers. European journal of marketing., 42, 1095–1105.
Buil, I., De Chernatony, L., & Martínez, E. (2013). The importance of measuring brand value from the consumer's perspective: Empirical evidence in Spain and the United Kingdom. Journal of Social Sciences (Ve), 19(2), 226–237.
Caruana, A. (2002). Service loyalty. European journal of marketing., 36, 811–828.
Caruana, A., & Ewing, M. T. (2010). How corporate reputation, quality, and value influence online loyalty. Journal of Business Research, 63(9–10), 1103–1110.
Chen, M. R. A., Chen, S., & Wu, C. (2015). Motivational orientation and brand familiarity: Positive emotions and skepticism toward online advertising using the English language. Journal of Literature and Art Studies, 5(4), 282–300.
Chen, R. F., Hsiao, J. L., & Hwang, H. G. (2012). Measuring customer satisfaction of internet banking in Taiwan: Scale development and validation. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 23(7–8), 749–767.
Cheung, G. W., & Wang, C. (2017). Current approaches for assessing convergent and discriminant validity with SEM: Issues and solutions. In academy of management proceedings (Vol. 2017, no. 1, p. 12706). Briarcliff manor, NY 10510: Academy of management.
Choi, Y. G., Ok, C., & Hyun, S. S. (2011). Evaluating relationships among brand experience, brand personality, brand prestige, brand relationship quality, and brand loyalty: An empirical study of coffeehouse brands.
Chung, C., & Austria, K. (2010). Social media gratification and attitude toward social media marketing messages: A study of the effect of social media marketing messages on online shop** value. Proceedings of the Northeast Business & Economics Association.
Cleff, T., Dörr, S., Vicknair, A., & Walter, N. (2013). Brand experience–how it relates to brand personality, consumer satisfaction and consumer loyalty. An Empirical Analysis of The Adidas Brand. Interdisciplinary Management Research, 9(31), 731–754.
Cothrel, J. P. (2000). Measuring the success of an online community. Strategy & Leadership.
Coulter, K. S., Gummerus, J., Liljander, V., Weman, E., & Pihlström, M. (2012). Customer engagement in a Facebook brand community. Management Research Review.
Coursaris, C. K., Van Osch, W., Sung, J., & Yun, Y. (2013). Disentangling Twitter’s adoption and use (dis) continuance: A theoretical and empirical amalgamation of uses and gratifications and diffusion of innovations. AIS Transactions on Human-Computer Interaction, 5(1), 57–83.
Cronin Jr., J. J., Brady, M. K., & Hult, G. T. M. (2000). Assessing the effects of quality, value, and customer satisfaction on consumer behavioral intentions in service environments. Journal of Retailing, 76(2), 193–218.
De Matos, C. A., & Rossi, C. A. V. (2008). Word-of-mouth communications in marketing: A meta-analytic review of the antecedents and moderators. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 36(4), 578–596.
Duncan, T., & Moriarty, S. (2006). How integrated marketing communication’s ‘touchpoints’ can operationalize the service-dominant logic. The service-dominant logic of marketing: Dialog, debate, and directions, 21(1), 236–249.
Festinger, L. (1964). Conflict, decision, and dissonance.
Filieri, R., Chen, W., & Dey, B. L. (2017). The importance of enhancing, maintaining and saving face in smartphone repurchase intentions of Chinese early adopters. Information Technology & People.
Flavián, C., & Guinalíu, M. (2007). Development and validation of familiarity, reputation and loyalty scales for internet relationships. Esic market, pp., 157–188.
Foo, M. H., Douglas, G., & Jack, M. A. (2008). Incentive schemes in the financial services sector. International Journal of Bank Marketing.
Forrester Research (1999) Annual Report, available at: www.media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/60/ reports.
Gabisch, J. A., & Gwebu, K. L. (2011). Impact of virtual brand experience on purchase intentions: The role of multichannel congruence. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 12(4).
Gan, C. (2017). Understanding WeChat users' liking behavior: An empirical study in China. Computers in Human Behavior, 68, 30–39.
Garg, R., Rahman, Z., & Qureshi, M. N. (2014). Measuring customer experience in banks: Scale development and validation. Journal of Modelling in Management.
Gentile, C., Spiller, N., & Noci, G. (2007). How to sustain the customer experience:: An overview of experience components that co-create value with the customer. European Management Journal, 25(5), 395–410.
Grubb, E. L., & Grathwohl, H. L. (1967). Consumer self-concept, symbolism and market behavior: A theoretical approach. Journal of Marketing, 31(4), 22–27.
Ha, H. Y., & Perks, H. (2005). Effects of consumer perceptions of brand experience on the web: Brand familiarity, satisfaction and brand trust. Journal of Consumer Behaviour: An International Research Review, 4(6), 438–452.
Hair, J. F., Jr., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R., & Tathum, R. (2006). Multivariate data analysis (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
Han, S., Min, J., & Lee, H. (2015). Antecedents of social presence and gratification of social connection needs in SNS: A study of twitter users and their mobile and non-mobile usage. International Journal of Information Management, 35(4), 459–471.
Helm, C. (2007). From tech-led to brand-led—Has the internet portal business grown up? Journal of Brand Management, 14(5), 368–379.
Holbrook, M. B. (1994). The nature of customer value: An axiology of services in the consumption experience. Service Quality: New Directions in Theory and Practice, 21(1), 21–71.
Hussein, A. S. (2018). Effects of brand experience on brand loyalty in Indonesian casual dining restaurant: Roles of customer satisfaction and brand of origin. Tourism and Hospitality Management, 24(1), 119–132.
Iglesias, O., Singh, J. J., & Batista-Foguet, J. M. (2011). The role of brand experience and affective commitment in determining brand loyalty. Journal of Brand Management, 18(8), 570–582.
Jafari, S., Forouzandeh, M., Ghazvini, S. A., Safahani, N., & Moslehi, M. (2016). The impact of online brand experience on customer's satisfaction and loyalty. International Business Management, 10(5), 599–603.
Jang, H., Olfman, L., Ko, I., Koh, J., & Kim, K. (2008). The influence of on-line brand community characteristics on community commitment and brand loyalty. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 12(3), 57–80.
Jeong, E., & Jang, S. S. (2011). Restaurant experiences triggering positive electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) motivations. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 30(2), 356–366.
Kania, D. (2001). Branding. com: Online branding for marketing success. NTC business books.
Keller, K. L. (2008). Strategic Brand Management. Brand, 58.
Keng, C. J., Tran, V. D., & Le Thi, T. M. (2013). Relationships among brand experience, brand personality, and customer experiential value. Contemporary Management Research, 9(3), 247–262.
Kenny, D. & Marshall, J. (2000) ‘Contextual marketing’, Harvard Business Review, November–December, 119–130.
Khan, I., Rahman, Z., & Fatma, M. (2016). The role of customer brand engagement and brand experience in online banking. International Journal of Bank Marketing.
Kollmann, T., & Suckow, C. (2008). Sustaining the brand idea in electronic environments. International Journal of Business Environment, 2(2), 153–167.
Kuo, Y. F., & Feng, L. H. (2013). Relationships among community interaction characteristics, perceived benefits, community commitment, and oppositional brand loyalty in online brand communities. International Journal of Information Management, 33(6), 948–962.
Lane, V., & Jacobson, R. (1995). Stock market reactions to brand extension announcements: The effects of brand attitude and familiarity. Journal of Marketing, 59(1), 63–77.
Lee, M. S. W., Conroy, D., & Motion, J. (2012). Brand avoidance, genetic modification, and brandlessness. Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), 20(4), 297–302.
Lee, S. A., & Jeong, M. (2014). Enhancing online brand experiences: An application of congruity theory. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 40, 49–58.
Leppäniemi, M., Karjaluoto, H., & Saarijärvi, H. (2017). Customer perceived value, satisfaction, and loyalty: The role of willingness to share information. The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 27(2), 164–188.
Li, H., Daugherty, T., & Biocca, F. (2001). Characteristics of virtual experience in electronic commerce: A protocol analysis. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 15(3), 13–30.
Lica, L., & Tuta, M. (2011). Predicting product performance with social media. Informatica Economica, 15(2), 46.
Liljander, V., & Strandvik, T. (1997). Emotions in service satisfaction. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 8(2), 148–169.
Lovelock, C. H., & Wright, L. (2016). Principles of service marketing and management. Prentice Hall.
McKinsey (2019). China digital consumer trends 2019. Available from: https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/china/china%20digital%20consumer%20trends%20in%202019/china-digital-consumer-trends-in-2019.ashx
McWilliam, G. (2000). Building stronger brands through online communities. MIT Sloan Management Review, 41(3), 43.
Menon, S., & Kahn, B. (2002). Cross-category effects of induced arousal and pleasure on the internet shop** experience. Journal of Retailing, 78(1), 31–40.
Mikhailitchenko, A., Javalgi, R. R. G., Mikhailitchenko, G., & Laroche, M. (2009). Cross-cultural advertising communication: Visual imagery, brand familiarity, and brand recall. Journal of Business Research, 62(10), 931–938.
Mollen, A., & Wilson, H. (2010). Engagement, telepresence and interactivity in online consumer experience: Reconciling scholastic and managerial perspectives. Journal of Business Research, 63(9–10), 919–925.
Morgan-Thomas, A., & Veloutsou, C. (2013). Beyond technology acceptance: Brand relationships and online brand experience. Journal of Business Research, 66(1), 21–27.
Moynagh, M., & Worsley, R. (2002). Tomorrow's consumer—The shifting balance of power. Journal of Consumer Behaviour: An International Research Review, 1(3), 293–301.
Mukherjee, R. (2017). Lenskart invests $1 million in US-based 3D tech startup Ditto. Retrieved June 20, 2020, from https://www.medianama.com/2017/09/223-lenskart-invests-in-ditto/
Naeem, M. (2019). Role of social networking platforms as tool for enhancing the service quality and purchase intention of customers in Islamic country. Journal of Islamic Marketing, .
Neely, A., Ng, I. C., Roy, R., Chase, R. B., & Dasu, S. (2014). Experience psychology–a proposed new subfield of service management. Journal of Service Management.
Nguyen, T. H., & Gizaw, A. (2014). Factors that influence consumer purchasing decisions of Private Label Food Products. Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration FOA214.
Novak, T. P., Hoffman, D. L., & Yung, Y. F. (2000). Measuring the customer experience in online environments: A structural modeling approach. Marketing Science, 19(1), 22–42.
Nysveen, H., & Pedersen, P. E. (2014). Influences of cocreation on brand experience. International Journal of Market Research, 56(6), 807–832.
Nysveen, H., Pedersen, P. E., & Skard, S. (2013). Brand experiences in service organizations: Exploring the individual effects of brand experience dimensions. Journal of Brand Management, 20(5), 404–423.
Oliver, R. L. (2010). Customer satisfaction. Wiley International Encyclopedia of Marketing.
Olsen, L. L., & Johnson, M. D. (2003). Service equity, satisfaction, and loyalty: From transaction-specific to cumulative evaluations. Journal of Service Research, 5(3), 184–195.
Ong, C. H., Lee, H. W., & Ramayah, T. (2018). Impact of brand experience on loyalty. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 27(7), 755–774.
Osgood, C. E., & Tannenbaum, P. H. (1955). The principle of congruity in the prediction of attitude change. Psychological Review, 62(1), 42–55.
Pae, J. H., Samiee, S., & Tai, S. (2002). Global advertising strategy. International Marketing Review, 19, 176–189.
Paivio, A. (1971). Imagery and language. In Imagery (pp. 7-32). Academic Press.
Reichheld, F. F., & Schefter, P. (2000). E-loyalty: Your secret weapon on the web. Harvard Business Review, 78(4), 105–113.
Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations, 5th edn Tampa. FL: Free Press.[Google Scholar].
Schmitt, B. (1999). Experiential marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 15(1–3), 53–67.
Scott, D. M. (2016). The new rules of sales and service: How to use agile selling, real-time customer engagement, big data, content, and storytelling to grow your business. John Wiley & Sons.
Shankar, V., Smith, A. K., & Rangaswamy, A. (2000). Customer satisfaction and loyalty online and offline environments (eBusiness Research Center Working Paper 02-2000). Penn State University
Sheldon, P. (2008). The relationship between unwillingness-to-communicate and students’ Facebook use. Journal of Media Psychology, 20(2), 67–75.
Slamecka, N. J., & Graf, P. (1978). The generation effect: Delineation of a phenomenon. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 4(6), 592.
Subramanian, N., Gunasekaran, A., Yu, J., Cheng, J., & Ning, K. (2014). Customer satisfaction and competitiveness in the Chinese E-retailing: Structural equation modeling (SEM) approach to identify the role of quality factors. Expert Systems with Applications, 41(1), 69–80.
Suhartanto, D., & Triyuni, N. N. (2016). Tourist loyalty toward shop** destination: The role of shop** satisfaction and destination image. European Journal of Tourism Research, 13, 84.
Sun, H. (2013). A longitudinal study of herd behavior in the adoption and continued use of technology. Mis Quarterly, 1013-1041.
Vij, S., & Sharma, J. (2013, January). An empirical study on social media behaviour of consumers and social media marketing practices of marketers. In 5th IIMA Conference on Marketing in Emerging Economies.
Vraneševic, T., & Stančec, R. (2003). The effect of the brand on perceived quality of food products. British Food Journal, 105, 811–825.
Wirtz, J. (1993). A critical review of models in consumer satisfaction. Asian Journal of Marketing, 2(1), 7–22.
Yang, J., Zhang, M., & Zou, Z. (2015). The effect of in-game advertising in SNS on brand equity. Journal of Service Science and Management, 8(01), 107–114.
Yu, Y. T., & Dean, A. (2001). The contribution of emotional satisfaction to consumer loyalty. International journal of service industry management
Yulianti, I., & Tung, W. (2013). The relationship among brand experience, brand image and customer satisfaction of Facebook users in Indonesia. World Applied Sciences Journal, 28(13), 100–113.
Zarantonello, L., & Schmitt, B. H. (2010). Using the brand experience scale to profile consumers and predict consumer behaviour. Journal of Brand Management, 17(7), 532–540.
Zeithmal, V.A., Bitner, M.J., Gremler, D.D., & Pandit, A.(2011) Service marketing, 5th ed. Tata McGraw Hill Education.
Zhang, T., Bilgihan, A., Kandampully, J., & Lu, C. (2018). Building stronger hospitality brands through online communities. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology.
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the financial supports from The Social Science Fund of Tian** City, China (TJYYQN19-007).
Funding
This research was supported by The Social Science Fund of Tian** City, China (Grant No. TJYYQN19007).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate
This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.
Competing Interests
The author declares no competing interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yunpeng, S., Khan, Y.A. Understanding the effect of online brand experience on customer satisfaction in China: a mediating role of brand familiarity. Curr Psychol 42, 3888–3903 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01706-7
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01706-7