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THE IMPACT OF CONSUMER EXPERIENCE AND CONSUMER–BRAND RELATIONSHIPS ON BRAND LOYALTY: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF BRAND TRUST IN PAKISTAN’S TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR
Usman Khan, Sajjad Hussain, Neelam Sarfraz, Tayyaba Syed, Momin Javaid
Abstract:
There is more to building brand loyalty in saturated, switching-intensive telecom markets than keeping customers on the books with price or network coverage. Therefore, this study aims to shed light on the relationship between consumer experience and the consumer–brand relationship in brand loyalty among cellular users in Pakistan and to bring brand trust as a mediator between the antecedents of brand loyalty and loyalty outcomes. Based on the relationship marketing approach, a quantitative survey was conducted with 400 active cellular service users in urban Pakistan. The data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 (descriptive and inferential statistics) and Smart-PLS 4 to estimate the structural model using Partial Least Squares – Structural Equation Modeling (PLS–SEM). The results show that the consumer experience is the strongest driver of loyalty (β = 0.693, R² = 0.751), followed by the consumer–brand relationship, and that both drivers of loyalty mediate through brand trust. The results highlight the critical importance for telecom businesses of ensuring high levels of service experience and building trust as a prerequisite for building long-term customer relationships.
Keywords:
Telecommunication, Brand loyalty, Brand trust, Consumer–brand relationship, Consumer experience, SmartPLS
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