Medición de la satisfacción

Brand loyalty means a measure of attachment that a consumer holds towards a brand (Aaker 1991). According to Jacoby (1971, p.25) the concept of brand loyalty is referred as “the tendency to prefer and purchase more of one brand than of others”. It is important for a company to build customer’s loyalty towards its brand as keeping the existing customers, who generate more profits for the company and produce communications favourable for its brand, is more cost effective than attracting new customers (Kotler and Keller 2006).

In marketing, brand loyalty has attracted the attention of researchers and practitioners because it does not only have economic benefits but also noneconomic benefits. Economically, brand loyalty is beneficial to a company because that it can save the costs of acquiring new customers; it may secure base profits and growth in

５４ per-customer; it is able to reduce the operating costs of the firm; the brand can be recommended directly or indirectly to new customers by existing customers; the company may expect extra income through price premium; and brand loyalty helps the company to reduce the costs of introducing new products of the brands (Reichheld and Teal 1996). On the other hand, noneconomic benefits which firms can expect from brand loyalty include inducing customers repeat purchasing; enhancing long-term business performance; improving customer retention; fortifying customer relationships; differentiating their product from the competitors’; expending distribution channels; and so on (Linton 1993).

Brand loyalty is the essence of brand equity because it is a major generator of brand’s value to a company as an asset (Aaker 1996). Brand loyalty is distinguishable from the other dimensions of brand equity in qualitative nature as use experience is a prerequisite for the existence of brand loyalty (Aaker 1991). The concept of brand loyalty has been approached from behavioural and attitudinal viewpoints and, thus, has been discussed in various ways. The following sections will discuss the concept of brand loyalty from both behavioural and attitudinal points of view.

Early studies about brand loyalty mainly focus on customers’ repeat purchasing behaviour (Cunningham 1956) and this approach, which mainly pays attention to behavioural aspect of brand loyalty, is called the stochastic view (Odin et al. 2001). From the stochastic point of view, loyalty is behaviour and the customer who repurchases a particular brand is directly considered to be loyal to the brand (Fournier and Yao 1997, Odin et al. 2001). This view influences brand loyalty studies which look brand loyalty as retention and total share of consumers (e.g.,

５５ Griffin 1995). However, it is disputed that using this stochastic approach alone is not adequate for assessing brand loyalty because of its lack of exploratory power, and inability to provide knowledge of the actual cause of loyalty (Jacoby and Kyner 1973, Fournier and Yao 1997, Jacoby and Chestnut 1978, Odin et al. 2001). It is suggested that brand loyalty has to be differentiated from simple repeat purchasing behaviour, because true (intentional) loyalty is different from spurious loyalty which is caused by the absence of alternative brands or a long-term sales promotion of a particular brand, etc. (Day 1969).

In response to this debate on using the stochastic approach only, it is suggested that the deterministic view which regards attitudinal aspect of brand loyalty has to be considered together in understanding brand loyalty (Jacoby and Chestnut 1978). According to the deterministic view, repeat purchasing does not just happen but it is the direct result of something underlying the consumer’s behaviour (Jacoby and Chestnut 1978). Thus, although repeat purchasing behaviour is necessary, it is not sufficient condition for brand loyalty and customers’ attitudinal aspect must be

considered together with repeat purchasing behaviour (Jacoby 1971). The deterministic view focuses on individual level of brand loyalty which means brand loyalty exists and is able to be examined for each consumer. Jacoby and Chestnut (1978, p.8) note that “purchasing … is the output of a dynamic, decision-making system involving numerous psychological variables, and since BL (brand loyalty) is one of these variables, it should be replaced in the context of the individual’s process of cognitive/behavioural activities”.

Based on the works of Day (1969) and Jacoby (1971), Jacoby and Kyner (1973, p.2) propose the definition of brand loyalty, integrating the two approaches, that it is

５６ “ (1)the biased (i.e., non-random), (2) behavioural response (i.e., purchase), (3) expressed over time, (4) by some decision-making unit, (5) with respect to one or more alternative brands out of a set of such brand, and (6) is a function of psychological (decision-making evaluative) processes”. Brand loyalty needs to be biased experiential response expressed over a period, because if it were random event, there would be no possibility of prediction and control over it; if the verbal reports of brand preference is not expressed by behaviour, it cannot be sufficient to be called loyalty; and the preference should be expressed by behaviour at least twice in order to insure the consistency of the bias (Jacoby and Kyner 1973). Moreover, it is necessary to identify the decision maker of the brand choice; otherwise, it will be impossible to examine the underlying psychological process and causative factors for the brand preference. Furthermore, there should be alternative brands which can substitute the preferred brand, as it will be unable to distinguish the actual brand loyalty from the ‘spurious’ loyalty (Day 1969, Jacoby 1971). Lastly, in order to make clear distinction between brand loyalty and simple repurchasing behaviour, it should be viewed from the point of psychological commitment (Jacoby and Kyner 1973).

In the same vein, Jacoby (1971) also suggests two primary facets of brand loyalty: brand loyal behaviour and brand loyal attitudes. Brand loyal behaviour is defined as the apparent behaviour of particular repeat purchasing caused by evaluative psychological decision processes, while brand loyal attitudes are regarded as the underlying predispositions to act in a specific way (Jacoby 1971). This conceptualisation of brand loyalty can be found in later studies’ definitions of brand

５７ loyalty such as Wilkie’s (1994) work which describes it as a favourable attitude and consistent purchase towards a specific brand.

Brand Loyalty in Professional Sports

As advanced in a number of customer-based brand equity studies (Aaker 1991, Berry 2000, Keller 1993), brand loyalty is influenced by the quality of product or service. Thus, customer’s loyalty towards a brand can be weakened when the product or service of the brand fails to satisfy the expectation of the customer. As a result, consumer may consider choosing one of the competing brands for next purchase instead of repurchasing the same brand. However, this brand shifting behaviour is rarely observed amongst loyal sport customers. Unlike the other customers in general product or service industry, consumers in professional team sport industry hold distinctive disposition towards the teams they support. Sport customers, so-called fans, show strong and unquestioning loyalty which is different from the other forms of brand loyalty towards products or services.

Persistence and consistency of customer’s loyalty towards sport brands are often highlighted by previous studies (e.g. James et al. 2002, Funk and James 2001, Wakefield and Sloan 1995). In explaining loyal sport consumers, James, Kolbe, and Trail (2002, p.215) describe them as “people who remain with the team over an extended period of time”. Customer loyalty in sport refers longitudinal persistence

and consistence support irrespective of the circumstances a team faces (Funk and James 2001). Wakefield and Sloan (1995) regard team loyalty as the most influential factor on a spectator’s attendance to stadium for sport events, and define it as

５８ enduring allegiance to a specific team. For instance, professional sports fans tend to keep their support to their team even when the team performs badly on the field. Nottingham Forest and Leeds United used to be two of the top English football clubs. However, they have failed to continue their in-field success, and now each belongs to Championship, the second tier division in English football league, after suffering from several relegations. Nevertheless, they still enjoy relatively strong support from their fans and a large crowd in stadium on a match day.

Some studies have identified a phenomenon in which fans make a distance from their team when the team’s performance is disappointing (Cialdini et al. 1976, End et al. 2002). This behaviour is called as ‘cutting off reflected failure (CORF)’ (Cialdini et al. 1976, End et al. 2002, Madrigal 1995). However, although the fans distance themselves from the unsuccessful side, they still recognise the team as their team and are willing to remain as the fans of that team. This unconditional supporting behaviour suggests that professional team sports consumers’ favourable attitude towards their teams (the brands) is very consistent and intense.