Involvement in Consumer-Generated Advertising: Effects of Organizational Transparency and Brand Authenticity on Loyalty and Trust

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-8-2019

Publication Title

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

Volume

31

Issue

4

First page number:

1763

Last page number:

1784

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine consumer involvement with a popular US-based coffeeshop brand consumer-generated advertising (CGA) and its effect on brand loyalty and trust, to test the influence of antecedents: organizational transparency and brand authenticity on CGA involvement, and to analyze differences among customers and non-customers of the brand. Design/methodology/approach – Grounded in the service-dominant logic and signaling theory, a scenario-based survey describing a contest to co-create a video commercial, as CGA, for a prominent USbased coffee-shop brand, yielded 492 responses from recent restaurant patrons. Structural equation modeling was used to test the effects of involvement in CGA on loyalty and trust. Multi-group comparison examined the differences between customers and non-customers of the brand. Findings – Involvement in CGA had positive effects on loyalty and trust for both brand customers and noncustomers. Transparency builds perceptions of brand authenticity; both authenticity and transparency significantly and positively affected trust, but only authenticity influenced loyalty. There was a stronger impact of involvement with CGA on loyalty for non-customers than brand customers. Non-customer perceptions of the brand’s authenticity influenced brand trust more significantly than customer perceptions. Practical implications – Coffee-shop brand marketers should leverage online and physical brand exposure to involve both customers and non-customers in company-driven CGA, as a relationship management and marketing tool. Marketers should enhance transparency, which builds perceptions of brand authenticity, leading to greater CGA involvement. Originality/value – This study contributes to hospitality research and literature, revealing that noncustomers can be converted to brand customers through authenticity and indirect involvement with CGA, leading to long-term relational outcomes. The results identified consumers’ perception of organizational transparency is an antecedent of brand authenticity and established CGA contests as a relational marketing tool for hospitality brands.

Keywords

Brand authenticity; Trust; Transparency; Consumer generated advertising; Loyalty

Disciplines

Advertising and Promotion Management | Business | Hospitality Administration and Management | Marketing

Language

English

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