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Predictors and Outcomes of Brand Love: An Evaluation of Customers’ Love For Neo-Luxury Brands

Brand love is the ultimate commitment level of customers for a brand. The love for a brand developed through concerted efforts by the marketers. Attaining customer brand love increases market share and ensures business sustainability. This study assesses the anteced ents and consequences of brand love in developing markets. Neo-luxury brands are highly purchased brands in Pakistan. Therefore, the study evaluated customers’ behavioral loyalties toward Neo-luxury brands. A total of 315 valid questionnaires on neo-luxury brands were collected from a representative sample of Millennials. . The data were analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM) using SmartPLS software. The study results revealed that brand love could regulate the relationship of neo-luxury brands between the dimensions of brand image, purchase intention, word-of-mouth, brand loyalty, and brand commitment. The study also found that Mystery, Sensuality, and Intimacy impact brand love. The study contributes to neo luxury brands in relationship with brand love. This research results give valuable information for brand managers to consider when building brand love strategies and applying them in marketing activities. It provides marketers insights into building brand love and increasing market share.


Introduction
The acquisition of new customers may not be more profitable than retaining existing customers (Chiu et al., 2012). This shows that it is imperative to obtain very loyal customers. The love for brands helps to attain the existing customers. In this regard, scholars have posited that the emotional relationship between brand and consumer is of great significance (Carroll & Ahuvia, 2006;Keller, 2008). Ahuvia (1993) conceptualized customer love for a brand and found that customers developed love for the brands. Extant literature reveals that brand love for luxury brands is a more common phenomenon (Kapferer & Laurent, 2016;Mundel et al., 2017). The studies found the connection between conventional luxury goods and conspicuous consumption and argued that the higher class could portray their well-being, standard, and esteem (Fionda & Moore, 2009;Kumar & Paul, 2018). Giovannini et al. (2015) found that millennials are usually full of enthusiasm and gospel for their favorite brands. Moreover, they pay more attention to emotional value than budget-conscious baby boomers because most baby boomers make money (Kumar & Lim, 2008). In this way, millennials may also be affected by a different image of luxury brands from baby boomers, especially when looking for luxury brands when researching or buying new luxury brands.
Love is a concept we hear about often in our lives. Recently, the word "love" has been used to describe profound connections individuals have with products and brands, as well as feelings they have. Brand love is a deep emotional connection between the customer and the product consumed, similar to interpersonal love in human relationships (Nawaz et al., 2020). Brand love is derived from consumer behavior's emotional and affection theories. It revolves around the impact of customer emotions on Consumer brand relationships. Brand love is an intense emotional connection characterized by a strong positive brand impact, increased brand stimulation, and a brand's inclination to dominate customers' cognition Cho & Hwang, 2020;Patwardhan & Balasubramanian, 2011).
Millennials, or Generation Y, are one of the most discussed generations in business today. Millennials are one of the fastest increasing demographics of luxury consumers Nonetheless, this demographic is forward-thinking and eager to acquire fashionable products (Bucuta, 2015). Studying factors associated with smartphone and clothing brands in terms of loyalty in the Generation Y sector seems empirically essential. Millennials have higher spending power in luxury consumption than baby boomers and are more demanding because they have sufficient technical talent. In addition, they are a well-educated and well-cultured generation, enduring and broad-minded to the non-identical way of life (Noble, 2009). They are also growing up economically and socially insecure, leaving them feeling deluded, righteous, and suspicious (Hennigs et al., 2012).
Generation Y is more enthusiastic about the brands they prefer and emphasizes financial value since they mainly demand value for their money (Rodrigues & Rodrigues, 2019). When it comes to neo-luxury brands, various generations seek distinct meanings in luxury when they buy or search for them. It is necessary to analyze the brand image and its influence on consumers' brand connections and how these relationships are developed and maintained. Integrating existing generational theories regarding neo-luxury notions may help create a better picture of what is happening (Rodrigues & Rodrigues, 2019).
Therefore, understanding millennial perception regarding the luxury category's brand sensorial and emotional factors is essential to attract new customers and retain loyal customers. Many studies indicated that brand love leads to brand loyalty. Recently, Song et al. (2019) study suggests that brand love positively relates to brand loyalty. Further, some studies indicated that brand love leads to purchase intention, word-of-mouth, brand loyalty, and customer engagement (Rodrigues & Rodrigues, 2019;Bairrada et al., 2018;Albert & Merunka, 2013). Previous studies also highlighted that customers' brand loyalty translates into behavioral loyalty such as purchase intention, words of mouth, and commitment (Coelho et al., 2019;Karjaluoto et al., 2016;Maisam & Mahsa, 2016;Manzoor & Shaikh, 2016;Ismail & Melewar, 2015). This study enriches the brand literature by studying the vital role of consumer love for new luxury brands in Pakistan. To the authors' best knowledge, prior studies have not comprehensively analyzed brand image dimensions concerning behavioral loyalty. The currents study has the following broad objectives: 1. To determine the influence of dimensions of luxury brand image, mystery, sensuality and intimacy on luxury brand love. 2. To examine the impact of brand love on luxury purchase intention. 3. To examine the impact of brand love on positive word of mouth. 4. To examine the impact of brand love on brand loyalty. 5. To examine the impact of brand love on brand commitment. Therefore, this research investigates the importance of different brand image dimensions such as Intimacy, Sensuality, and Mystery and their impact on brand love. Researchers also highlighted that the customer-brand love relationship strengthens if they repeatedly purchase the same brand (Singh et al., 2021). Therefore, understanding the effects of brand love on behavioral dimensions of brand loyalty and brand commitment in luxury brands would provide new insights to marketers. In this way, marketers would be better positioned to make strategies that retain the existing customers and increase the market share through expansion.

Consumer-Brand Relationship Theory
Building a solid customer base is essential to excel and achieve the targets (Fournier, 1998;Sreejesh & Roy, 2015). Fournier's (1998) theory defines that customers create an imaginary human relationship with the brand. Researchers argued that consistent relationships with the brand help build and maintain customer-brand solid relationships (Chaudhuri & Holbrook, 2001). Others indicated that the functional and emotional value of the brand retains a durable connection between consumers and the brand that eventually translates into brand loyalty (Chaudhuri & Holbrook, 2001). To maintain a competitive edge in the markets, brands create long-term and expressive relationships with consumers (Fournier, 1998;. Past research has shown that shoppers' personal brand with social features due to direct and indirect contact (Sung & Kim, 2010).
The notion of brand love relates to a consumer's emotional attachment to a brand and is based on interpersonal relationships theory (Sternberg, 1986). Recent studies in fashion luxury brands indicated the importance of the consumer-brand relationship (Rodrigues et al., 2018;Cho & Fiore, 2015). To determine the customer-brand relationship in the context of neo luxury brands in Pakistan, this study evaluates the impact of brand image on brand love and the behavioral loyalty of customers. The brand image consists of three dimensions: Mystery, Sensuality, and Intimacy. The behavioral dimensions of belief are purchase intention, words of mouth, loyalty, and commitment. Prior studies have not studied the antecedents and outcomes of brand love in the context of developing markets. This study would comprehensively understand the customers' brand love relationship.

Brand Image Dimensions
Brand image is a perception of the brand held by consumers in their minds (Keller, 1993). Similarly, Aaker (1997) stated that "a brand image consists of a series of relations usually prepared in a meaningful way." Other researchers insisted on consumers' perception of the results of communication with the brands (Dobni & Zinkhan, 1990). The factors that contribute to the advancement of "brand image" include: "product-attributes", "Finnish-language", "marketing-mix", "personal-perception" of a brand, "personal-values", "experience", forms of "brand-users" and "environmental-variables". Cho and Fiore (2015) broaden the concept of brand image in the context of fashion-related products and develop an overall brand measurement, which includes emotional "intimacy, "cognitive "mystery," and sensory "sensuality" emotional associations, which are important for creating obsessive connections between consumers' Intangible components and brands. This new scale captures the sensory dimensions of the brand for the first time and highlights the part of sensory prompts in shaping the feeling and thinking of fashion-related products and services. Ismail and Spinelli (2012) highlighted the importance of positive brand image in fashion-related product categories. The literature depicts that brand image components have a vital role in customers' love for the brand. Therefore, we infer that the components of the brand image positively influence brand love. Thus, we hypothesize the following hypotheses: H1: Mystery will positively influence brand love. H2: Sensuality will positively influence brand love. H3: Intimacy will positively influence brand love.

Brand Love
Brand love is "the degree of passionate, emotional attachment a satisfied consumer has for a particular trade name" (Carroll & Ahuvia, 2006). BL refers to the extreme passion of customers towards the brand that leads to purchase intention. As Ajzen and Fishbein (1975) defined, purchase intention is the immediate antecedent of behavior. Several studies indicated that satisfied customers have strong emotions for the brands that lead to the willingness to purchase of brand (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993;Grewal et al., 1998). Researchers posited that brand functions and social concepts affect the overall idea of luxury brands, which will generate purchase intentions (Hennigs et al., 2012). A previous study indicated that customers' love for the brand affects the purchase intention of new luxury brands (Rodrigues & Rodrigues, 2019). Shin et al. (2017) revealed in a recent study that Generation Y at the college level are heavily motivated by social concerns and may utilize luxury brands to indicate their social influence provided the brands meet both their internally and externally driven needs (Truong et al., 2009).
Further, to express their social influence, customers intend to purchase luxury brands that meet their internal and external needs (Truong et al., 2009). Similarly, other scholars indicated that customers buy luxury goods that suit the consumer's lifestyle and thus satisfy their inner impulses (Amatulli & Guido, 2011). More specifically, the study of Rodrigues and Rodrigues (2019) highlighted that brand love positively influences the customer purchase intention of luxury brands. There, we hypothesize that: H4: Brand love will positively influence purchase intention.
Word of mouth (WOM) can be a positive or negative statement given by current or future customers about any brand or organization, and these comments can be offline or online available (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004). Word of Mouth is customers' informational communication with other people that build a strong brand image (Godes & Mayzlin, 2004). Word of mouth usually is a process of interaction where customers exchange opinions on the product or company (Allsop et al., 2007).
WOM is more likely to be created from self-relevant and hedonic items than utilitarian products (Chung & Darke, 2006). Since WOM about self-relevant products acts as a form of self-presentation and delivers social advantages. Furthermore, Kudeshia et al. (2016) demonstrate that brand love and WOM have a significant positive association. As a result, brand love is seen to be a direct predictor of good WOM (Bairrada et al.,2018;Karjaluoto et al., 2016;Batra et al., 2012;Ismail & Spinelli, 2012;Fetscherin, 2014;Carroll & Ahuvia, 2006).
The research found that customers' informal communication leads to the establishment of brand image and increases the likelihood of purchasing luxury products (Reichheld & Sasser, 1990;Martin & Lueg, 2013). Positive Word of mouth refers to the level to which consumers make positive suggestions about the brand to their contacts (Albert & Merunka , 2013). Words of mouth are more influential than advertisements because people trust referral products (Fridman et al., 2007). Researchers found that people recommend their favorite luxury brands to peers and colleagues (Shin et al., 2017). Similarly, scholars argued that the significance of a specific brand increases if it is recommended by peers and groups (Kim & Ko, 2012). Therefore, we hypothesize that: H5: Brand love will positively influence words of mouth.
Brand loyalty is referred to consumers' frequent purchase behaviors of a brand based on emotions, judgments, or positive evaluations of alternate products. It also refers to the repeat purchase of the brand (Oliver, 1999). Being loyal to the brand seems to imply an obligation to constantly purchase or endorse products that are beneficial to certain products or services in the future (Sasmita & Suki, 2015). Brand loyalty is the consumer's confidence regarding purchasing a preferred brand (Deighton et al., 1994). In this regard, Carroll and Ahuvia (2006) demonstrated the positive impact of "brand love" on "brand loyalty" and pointed out that a similar result will apply to luxury fashion. Thus, we hypothesize that: H6: Brand love will positively influence brand loyalty.
Brand commitment is an emotional state that shows consumers' positive attitudes toward product names and willingness to mark association with products or services (Albert & Merunka, 2013). Consumers usually think that brand commitment has a stronger emotional connection than brand loyalty (Traylor, 1981). Brand commitment is also closely related to brand loyalty, but it is different. Brand loyalty mentions the viewpoint of behavior, mainly reflected infrequent purchases of specific brands. Brand commitment is customers' emotional connection (Assael, 1998). Emotional connection with the brand results from customers' higher participation and involvement (Ellis, 2000). Ziaullah et al. (2015) posited that emotional commitment is based on a sentimental bond with the brand that persistently provides value to the customers. Thus, we hypothesize that: H7: Brand love will positively influence brand Commitment.

Data Collection and Sampling
This study is quantitative, and the use of closed-ended questionnaires has collected data. The study is cross-sectional, and data has been collected from April 2022 to May 2022. The respondents' data were collected through an online survey sent to the five main cities of Pakistan. The selected cities represent most of the population in Pakistan. The consent of the respondents was received before giving the questionnaires. Most of the respondents were reluctant to fill out the questionnaire during questionnaire distribution as it was lengthy, and they did not have much time to fill it. After several requests, many respondents agreed to fill out the questionnaire. A total of 462 questionnaires were distributed to the respondents of the study. After performing several screening tests, we performed analysis on 315 complete usable data with a response rate of 68.18%.

Measurements
This study has adapted the scales from the previous studies. All the items of measurement scales were validated through experts' suggestions. The questionnaire was presented to the four experts from the field of marketing. They evaluated the contents and layout of the questionnaire. Further, they suggested grammatical corrections and limited the constructs of the questionnaire to meet the purpose of the questionnaire. After the experts' approval, the questionnaires were tested through a pilot study containing 65 respondents. The result of the pilot test was satisfactory, leading to the final data collection.

Respondents' Profile
A total of 315 respondents took part in the online survey using Google Forms. Participants are men and women of different ages, incomes, and cities. Table 3.1 shows the demographic information of these participants. From a gender perspective, the data shows that most respondents (59%) are males, and the age range is mainly between 32 and 36 years old, with 130 respondents (41.3%), the majority of the people's income was under 25000PKR, representing 39.7% of the respondents. The majority of the respondents hold a bachelor's degree representing 43.5% of the respondents in the study.

Results
The present study used smartPLS software for data analysis. This section contains two parts of the study's results. The first section reports on factor loading, construct reliability, and validity (measurement model), while the second part reports on path analysis and hypothesis testing (structural model). The data were first analyzed and purified in SPSS software. Descriptive statistics are used to check the mean, median, mode, and range values. Then skewness and kurtosis values were identified to assess the abnormalities in the data. After performing the multivariate outliers test, we finally tested the data in SmartPLS.

Validity and Reliability Analysis
The validity and reliability values were assessed in this study. The threshold value of factor loading is 0.7 or higher is considered acceptable (Henseler et al., 2009;. On the other hand, according to Chin (1998) threshold value of factor loading is 0.5, considered acceptable, and less than 0.5 were dropped. In this study, the factor loading values fell in the suggested ranges. The threshold value of Cronbach's Alpha is 0.7 or 0.6 is considered acceptable (Griethuijsen et al., 2014;Hameed et al., 2019), while this study reported that Cronbach Alpha's lowest value 0.754 is acceptable. The composite reliability threshold is 0.70. In this study, the composite reliability values are higher than 0.70, which is considered higher than the threshold values. In this study, the composite reliability lowest value is 0.848, regarded as very good, and the average variance extracted (AVE) lowest value is 0.653, which meets the minimum threshold (Hair et al., 2010).

Analysis of discriminant validity
The discriminant validity analysis was performed through two methods recommended by the researchers (Hair et al., 2011). First, we used Fornell and Larcker criteria criterion to assess the discriminant validity. In this method, the diagonal values of the constructs must be greater than the correlations among the constructs. The study confirms the presence of discriminant validity in this method as all the diagonal values were more significant than the correlations among the constructs. Table 3 Discriminant Validity Second, we used Heterotrait-Monotrait Ratio (HTMT) method. In this method, the importance of the constructs must be less than 0.90 or 0.85 (Henseler et al., 2015;Soomro et al., 2022). Table 4 depicts that all values of HTMT are below 0.85, confirming discriminant validity among the constructs. Table 4 Heterotrait-Monotrait Ratio (HTMT)

Predictive accuracy and relevance of the model
The predictive accuracy and relevance of the existing model were determined through the values of R2 and Q2, respectively. In this study, the importance of R2 for the endogenous constructs were 11.2%, 15.4%, 15.8%, 18.6%, and 44.7% for Word of mouth, brand commitment, brand loyalty, purchase intention, and brand love, respectively. The values of Q2 represent model predictive relevance. The value above/higher than 0 indicates the predictive significance in the model. In this study, the Q2 for the endogenous constructs are 7%, 9.1%, 9.1%, 11.7%, and 35.6% for words of mouth, brand commitment, brand loyalty, purchase intention, and brand love, respectively.

Hypotheses testing
This study contains seven hypotheses that test the brand-customer relationship model. The results revealed that all hypotheses are accepted. Regarding hypothesis 1, it was revealed that the dimension of brand image, i.e., mystery, has a positive effect on brand love in Pakistan is accepted (β=0.323, p=0.000). Hypotheses 2 stated that Sensuality has a positive impact on brand love is accepted (β=0.355, p=0.000). Hypothesis 3 revealed that the dimension of the brand image, i.e., Intimacy has a positive influence on brand love, is also accepted (β=0.190, p=0.006). Hypothesis 4 revealed that brand love leads to the purchase intention being accepted (β=0.432, p=0.000). Hypothesis 5 stated that brand love of customers leads to the words of mouth for the luxury brands being accepted (β=0.334, p=0.000). Hypothesis 6 revealed that brand loves significantly affects brand loyalty is accepted (β=0.397, p=0.000). Hypothesis 7 stated that brand love positively affects brand commitment is accepted (β=0.393, p=0.000).

Table 5
Hypotheses Assessment Summary

Discussions and Conclusion
Recent branding studies have addressed brand love as an emotional concept in consumer-brand relationships (Albert & Merunka, 2013;Carroll & Ahuvia, 2006;Batra et al., 2012). Nonetheless, most research studies on the causes and consequences of brand love overlook neo-luxury brands. Furthermore, little is known about the cognitive, sensory, and emotional effects of brand image dimensions on brand love (Rodrigues & Rodrigues,2019;Albert & Merunka, 2013;Batra et al., 2012;Ismail & Spinelli, 2012).
Our findings show a complicated set of correlations and indicate that all of the studied dimensions of the brand image have a positive relationship with brand love. The findings, in particular, extend current research on neo-luxury branding in a number of ways. Following earlier empirical research that identified the brand image as a crucial predictor of passionate feelings about brands, one of the most important contributions is the empirical verification of the relationship between luxury brand image and luxury brand love (Rodrigues & Rodrigues, 2019;Islam & Rahman, 2016 ;Albert & Merunka, 2013;Batra et al., 2012;Ismail & Spinelli, 2012).
In addition, our results show that the concept of the brand image composed of Intimacy, Mystery, and Sensuality influences the brand's love for the neo luxury brand. In particular, these results strengthen the core role of Intimacy, which is considered to be the cognitive dimension of the brand (Cho & Fiore, 2015). This is particularly relevant because it suggests how to use Intimacy directly through the host's user experience to build brand associations. Second, our findings demonstrate that Mystery is seen as a sensory feature of a brand's image (Cho & Fiore, 2015). It has a positive impact on the brand's love. Mystery shows enthusiasm for brands that consistently use their senses across multiple dates.
However, when the brand cannot provide sensory pleasure, millennials directly interact with the product or retail environment, and the relationship between consumers and the brand will be adversely affected. Thus the results show that Gen-Y wants neo-luxury brands to show their Mystery on various occasions in order to realize their pursuit of personal well-being and pleasure (Truong et al., 2009). These findings reflect that millennials are more inclined toward neo-luxury brands that can provide excitement, pleasure, and joy to their everyday lives (Noble, 2009).
Further, the study's findings revealed that brand love has a significant effect on words of mouth, purchase intention, brand loyalty, and brand commitment. This shows that the customer's love for the brand leads to behavioral loyalties. Our findings are consistent with the existing research in this regard (Rodrigues & Rodrigues, 2019;Albert & Merunka, 2013;Batra et al., 2012). The customer's purchase intention is highly relevant in the field of marketing, particularly in the purchase of luxury products because these products are considered a symbol of status. Customer purchase intention depicts that the brand achieved the status and is loved by the prospective customers. It was revealed that love for the brand leads to words of mouth. Customers are willing to promote the luxury brands which they use. This shows the satisfaction level of the customers with the luxury brands in the developing markets contexts.
Further, the results revealed that customers' brand love leads to brand loyalty, an essential component of brand equity. Brand loyalty is a symbol of repeat purchase and preference over the other products in the same category, as this study related to consumption of high luxury products; therefore, brand loyalty has high significance in this product category. Lastly, the results revealed that brand loves significantly contributes to commitment toward luxury brands. This shows that customers have developed a deep emotional attachment with the luxury brands that depict their commitment to the luxury products class brands.
The current study was conducted in developing markets to assess customer-brand relationships. This study is highly relevant because the luxury products market in developing markets proliferates and opens opportunities for marketers. Especially in the neo-luxury products category has seen tremendous developments. Neo-Luxury brands are highly famous among millennials in developing markets. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the impact of luxury products on customer-brand relationships and their impact on the behavioral loyalties of the customers.

Implications
This research results give valuable information for brand managers to consider when building brand love strategies and applying them in marketing activities. It provides marketers insights into building brand love and increasing market share. Marketers will probably need to guarantee that their service-products are of adequate high quality to result in customer happiness, resulting in the brand image as the first phase of brand love development.
The theoretical implication outlines statistical significance and model adequacy in developing markets. This study extensively assessed and confirmed the impact of brand love antecedents in the luxury brand context. Further, it shows that brand love leads to behavioral loyalty intentions that the previous researchers have ignored. To enrich the brand customer-brand relationship in the luxury brand context, this study included customers' commitment as a consequence of brand love, a novel contribution to brand management literature. The current model of this study has comprehensively covered the different aspects of the customer-brand relationship and confirmed the significance of novel constructs in the perspective of luxury brands.
In particular, neo-luxury brands create a sense of psychological Intimacy and successfully establish a solid emotional bond with consumers. In other words, brand marketers need to realize that millennials want brands to build relationships that value people's open contributions with different ideas and opinions. As a brand image cognitive dimension, Intimacy also plays a crucial role in arousing people's enthusiasm for the brand. Luxury brands are essential for rethinking offers new thinking about the needs of millennials. Therefore, it suggested that marketers find ways to make luxury brands relevant to millennials by communicating real meaning and value to them, rather than relying solely on the luxury millennial. In this case, the interaction between millennials and the neo luxury brand must establish and maintain a consistent brand image based on Mystery and Intimacy.
The customer-brand relationship model in this study is of massive importance as it outlines a different aspect of customers' psychological constructs and focuses on brand love and its consequences. For managers of luxury brands in developing markets, it provides valuable directions regarding the establishment of brand and customer relationships. Moreover, help managers to understand the customers' inclination toward the brand. Through the outcomes of this study, managers would be able to define strategies that focus on customer retention through brand intimacy and Sensuality to increase the market share of luxury brands.

Limitations and future research
Although this study has tested a comprehensive model of customer-brand relations, there are some limitations to this study. First, the focus of the current study is limited to neo-luxury brands only, future researchers may take some other luxury brands. The generalizability of this study is limited to the present sample frame. Further, they can evaluate the differences among different brand categories. Secondly, three dimensions of brand image as the predictors of brand love; future studies should focus on the other antecedents of brand love identified in the literature such as brand association, sense of community, and prestige of the brand.
In addition, we only examined the influence of purchase intention, positive Word-of-Mouth, brand loyalty, and brand commitment as dependent variables. Future research should use longitudinal studies to understand the concept of brand love better. Moreover, future research could observe the moderating role of brand experience, culture, and gender on the relationship between brand love and the behavioral loyalties of the customers. Finally, in the field of neo-luxury branding, comparative research of Generation Y and Generation Z might help clarify the differences between mediation and moderation effects.

Conflict of interest:
The authors do not have any conflict of interest.