Structural Relationships Between Sporting Goods Brand Identification and Brand Loyalty Factors Perceived by College Students Engaging in Crossover Shopping

Purpose: The purpose of this study to investigate the structural relationships between sporting goods brand identification and brand loyalty factors in the context of crossover shopping. Specifically, it aims to clarify the relationships between brand identification and brand loyalty factors, including brand trust, brand attachment, brand satisfaction, repurchase intention, and recommendation intention. Method: The participants were 300 sports-major college students with experience in crossover shopping. The sample was selected using a convenience sampling method, and the questionnaire was administered using a self-report approach. After screening, a final valid sample of 290 respondents was analyzed. Statistical processing was conducted using IBM SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 25.0 to perform descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: The results were as follows. First, sporting goods brand identification had positive effects on brand trust, brand attachment, and brand satisfaction. Second, sporting goods brand identification had a positive effect on brand loyalty. Third, brand trust and brand attachment had positive effects on brand satisfaction. Fourth, brand satisfaction had positive effects on repurchase intention and recommendation intention. Fifth, causal relationships were identified among the brand loyalty factors. Conclusion: This study provides fundamental information necessary for establishing customer management strategies for both sporting goods brand managers and distribution channel managers targeting sports-major college students who engage in crossover shopping.