El poder del amor: como el vínculo consumidor-marca influye en la recomendación boca a boca y en la intención de cambio de marca
| Pages | 449-473 |
| Date | 01 May 2025 |
| Published date | 01 May 2025 |
| Author | Mauricio Santos,Walesska Schlesinger |
TELOS: Revista de Estudios Interdisciplinarios en Ciencias Sociales
ISSN 1317-0570 / ISSN (e) 2343-5763
Vol.
27
(2)
. Mayo-Agosto
2025
449
Universidad Privada Dr. Rafael Belloso Chacín, Venezuela
THE POWER OF LOVE: HOW CONSUMER-BRAND BONDS
INFLUENCE WOM AND SWITCHING INTENTION
Mauricio Santos
https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0653-8483
Walesska Schlesinger
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5492-2631
RECIBIDO: 15/02/2025 / ACEPTADO: 20/03/2025 / PUBLICADO: 15/05/2025
ABSTRACT
The digital marketing transformation phenomenon has recently attracted significant attention,
driven by digitalization and the need for new conceptual frameworks. This study investigates the
role of consumers' sense of brand community, brand integrity, and brand interaction in shaping
brand love. Additionally, it examines the impact of brand love on switching intention and the
intensity of word-of-mouth communication. A survey involving 279 participants was conducted in
the context of streaming television services using a convenience sample. This research
comprises two studies. In Study 1, hypotheses were tested using partial least squares structural
equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Study 2 conducted a hierarchical cluster analysis. The results
confirm the antecedents proposed for brand love. Additionally, brand love was found to have a
highly significant effect on word-of-mouth intensity. The current study highlights the direct
influence of integrity, sense of brand community and interaction on brand love. In addition, it
encounters the significant role brand love plays in evoking WOM intensity. Furthermore, the
present study identifies four groups to categorize brand lovers in a cluster analysis.
Keywords: brand love, strea ming service, word-of-mouth intensity, switching intention, brand
community.
Corresponding Author.University of Vale ncia, Valencia, Spain. Master in Business Researc h from University of Barcelona. He is P hD
candidate in Mark eting at University of Valencia. His research interests include branding, service marketing an d consumer beh aviour.
mausan6@alumni.uv.es
Department of Marketing and Market Research, Faculty of Economi cs, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain. Associate, researcher
in the Institute of International Economics and member of the research group SIV: Service+Innovation+Value. Her main research interests
are service marketing, consumer behavior, branding and experiential marketing.m.walesska.schlesinger@uv.es
Cómo citar: Santos, M., Schlesinger, W. (2025).The power of love : how consumer-brand bonds
influence WOM an d switching intention. Telos: Revista de Est udios Interdisciplinarios en Ciencias
Sociales, 27(2), 449-473.www.doi.org/10.36390/telos272.04
The power of love: how consumer-brand bonds influence WOM and switching intention
450
El poder del amor: como el vínculo consumidor-marca influye en la recomendación
boca a boca y en la intención de cambio de marca
RESUMEN
El fenómeno de la transformación del marketing digital ha atraído recientemente una atención
significativa, impulsado por la digitalización y la necesidad de nuevos marcos conceptuales. Este
estudio investiga el papel del sentido de comunidad de marca, la integridad y la interacción de
marca por parte de los consumidores en el desarrollo del amor a la marca. Igualmente, examina
el impacto del amor a la marca en la intención de cambio y la intensidad de recomendación boca
a boca. Se realizó una encuesta a 279 participantes en el contexto de los servicios de televisión
por streaming utilizando una muestra de conveniencia. Esta investigación involucra dos estudios.
En el estudio 1 las hipótesis se probaron las hipótesis utilizando un mod elo de ecuaciones
estructurales de mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS-SEM). En el estudio 2 se realizó un análisis
de conglomerados jerárquico. Los resultados confirman la influencia de los an tecedentes del
amor hacia la marca. También, se confir mó que el amor a la marca tiene un efecto significativo
en la intensidad de recomendación boca a boca. El estudio actual destaca la influencia directa
de integridad, sentido de comunidad e interacción de marca en el amor a la marca. Más aun, se
descubre el rol que desem peña el amor a la marca a la hora de propiciar intensidad de
recomendación boca a boca. Además, a través de un análisis cluster se identifican cuatro grupos
que categorizan a los amantes de la marca.
Palabras clave: amor a la marca, servicio de streaming, intensidad de recomendación boca a
boca, intención de cambio, comunidad de marca.
Introduction
Due to the considerable array of choices available to consumers, organizations
acknowledge that merely attaining customer satisfaction and preference are no longer enough
to ensure long-term loyalty (Palusuk et al., 2019). As a result, marketers are advocated to find
new ways that raise a deep emotional connection, making their brands truly loved by customers
(Velmurugan & Thalhath, 2021). The grounded theory approach has been recommended for
studying brand love, emphasizing the importance of phenomenological experience in
consumer-brand relationships. (Batra et al., 2012; Santos & Schlesinger, 2024).
New technologies are changing people’s lives and are focusing on their attention. The idea
of M arketing 4.0 encourages a transition from conventional meth ods to a digital strategy in
developing customer relationships (Kotler et al., 2016). Marketing 4.0 notifies the usage of digital
methods to understand, reach, satisfy, and keep customer s loyal by foster ing strong
relationships (Dash et al., 2023).
In the current digital environment, the enhancement of positive word-of-mouth (WOM) and
the prevention of brand switching have attracted the attention of researchers (Chen & Zhang,
2022). Furthermore, the notion of brand love involves positive emotions towards the bran d,
which facilitates r elevant brand outcomes such as brand loyalty and WOM (Carroll & Ahuvia,
2006).
Competition in the streaming TV market is fierce. Today, more than 23 major streaming
TV platforms constitute the global market, with popular brands such as Amazon Prime, Disney+,
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