The role of emotional structures in the relationship between satisfaction and brand loyalty

Satisfaction and loyalty as vital and strategic concepts in marketing literature are highly important to companies and marketers. The review of the existing literature reveals a gap of the role of emotional constructs that can begin in a regular and rational sequence of satisfaction and ultimately lead to the formation of consumer loyalty. Hence, in the current study, we seek to answer the question of whether emotional constructs such as emotional attachment and love play a mediating role in the process of transitioning from satisfaction to loyalty in the correct sequence. A structural equation modeling method is employed in this research based on data collected from 300 post-graduate students in Iran, using convenience sampling. Smartphone and apparel brands are two product categories chosen in this study. The results showed that brand love is the strongest antecedent of brand loyalty. Moreover, the examination of indirect effects revealed that our assumption based on that the emotional structures such as emotional attachment and brand love play a mediating role in the process of transitioning from satisfaction to loyalty in a correct sequence is supported. The study validates the mediating role of emotional brand attachment and brand love in the relationship between brand satisfaction and brand loyalty; is one of the first to develop a conceptual model that examines the role of emotional structures in the process of transition from satisfaction to loyalty.; is one of few studies to develop the role of emotional structures in the form of a relational chain of brands in the process of transition from satisfaction to loyalty.