공기업 충성도에 대한 브랜드 동일시와 인적동일시의 역할

Abstract

As competition among nations and companies is deepening along with globalization and technological evolution, a whole new era representing not product competition but brand competition is coming. At this point, rather than quality or function, a brand's symbolic image or meaning becomes an important reference for consumers' choice. Therefore as a intangible asset, a brand is becoming an issue of great importance. In addition, as an importance of customer loyalty is growing due to globalized intense competition in service industry, companies make a change of investment policy from looking for a new customer to keeping an existing one. In the real world, many companies devote their best efforts to their profit through not expanding new customers but maintaining or strengthening relationship with old ones. However, compared to importance of customer loyalty, a well organized study about how to form this customer loyalty is not yet accomplished. What process a customer goes through to make his/her ultimate attitudinal and behavioral loyalty has not been systematically researched. Therefore, in this research, the identification theory is used to explore the variables that affect identification of brand and service providers, while also examining the affects of brand identification and personal identification of service providers on attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. Results of this research showed that identification on brands recognized by consumers had a positive affect through brand belief. It means that the more consumers recognize that a brand places a value on consumers, the more consumers construct identification on the brand. In addition, belief of brands are found to be affected by brand's reputation and benefits. In other words, it can be said that consumers formulate identification with brands by perception of positive characteristics of a brand expressing one's self by connecting with the goal that the consumer desires. In addition, it was found that we-ness had a positive effect on personal identification with service providers perceived by the consumer. Results showed that commercial friendship, connectedness and relation term with service providers perceived by consumers had positive effects on establishing we-ness. Brand identification and personal identification had positive effects on attitudinal loyalty, while attitudinal loyalty had a positive influence on behavioral loyalty. Thus, when consumers build up identification with a brand or service providers, they evaluate company's products or services favorably, which results in loyalty to the company. Based on the results of this research, the following theoretical implications and managerial implications can be suggested. Firstly, in the brand management, an importance of building up and managing brand image can be stressed. as symbolic consuming is increasing, a brand image affects a consuming behavior. Consumers form attitudinal / behavioral loyalty toward a brand which gives a feel of self-image identification. Therefore, in the view point of management, because a gain of brand identification leads to the brand performance, which is especially positive attitude to the brand, to some degree the identification is built up should be checked first before forming a strategy. Secondly, this study expands the target of identification established by consumers to company's human resources, and it provides the theoretical contribution in approaching identification between consumers and companies by examining the relationship between loyalty and antecedents that affect personal identification. Under a service salesperson's strong influence, to define one's self a customer pursues an identification with a salesperson who gives a sense of flesh and trust. That is, an identified customer has an obvious common understanding connected with the salesperson's conduction. The identification makes a commitment into the relationship, a lead more effort to put spontaneously, a feel more psychological attachment which motivates a positive coordination, and more intimacy to a partner. This shows that the improved level of trust can bring better performance of customer share. Thirdly, it was found that brand identification and personal identification had affects on the attitudinal loyalty of consumers. It represents that establishing consumer's identification can have a major effect on relative buying behavior. In particular, it was found that the consumer's formation of identification with service providers has an affect on attitudinal loyalty, and it means that interactions between service providers and consumers have to be managed so that consumers establish identification with service providers by feeling a sense of unity and psychological closeness with them. These results help marketers and public enterprises managers to make a right decision and suggest a strategy to improve a relationship with customers.