To identify the antecedents of repurchasing intention toward fast fashion brands, this study was conducted to examine brand authenticity and brand identification as both direct and indirect antecedents of repurchasing intention through fast fashion brand love. Through convenience sampling, 266 university students in Seoul metropolitan area completed a questionnaire survey. Data were analyzed using SPSS for exploratory factor analysis, and AMOS was used for confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis. Factor analysis revealed the following: for brand authenticity, four dimensions(‘originality,’ ‘reliability,’ ‘continuity,’ and ‘naturalness’) were revealed; for both consumer brand identification and repurchase intention one dimension was revealed; and for brand love two dimensions were revealed(‘passion’ and ‘affection’). Path analysis confirmed that ‘reliability’ and ‘naturalness’in relation to brand authenticity indirectly influenced repurchase intention through ‘passion’(as a factor of brand love) and directly influenced repurchase intention. Further, ‘continuity’ in relation to brand authenticity indirectly influenced repurchase intention through ‘affection’(as a factor of brand love) and directly influenced repurchase intention. Consumer brand identification influenced repurchase intention indirectly through two factors of brand love. These results suggest that fast fashion brand marketers should implement effective strategies that consider consumers’perceptions of brand authenticity, consumer brand identification, and brand love.

We evaluate the loyalty of a tourist destination considering tangible and intangible factors using the city of Porto as a case study. We observed that the main dimensions that the tourists associate with the visit and consequently with the city, in order of importance, were: i) engagement with the city of Porto, ii) identification with city of Porto, iii) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of the city of Porto, iv) experiences in the city of Porto, and v) having visited visiting the city of Porto. Direct interviews were administered in the main tourist’s points in the city during the month of October 2017. The survey was only applied to the respondents who pursued tourism in the city of Porto, with 958 valid questionnaires. The questionnaire included the sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents, the evaluation of level of importance of the eleven factors related to the trip, the level of agreement with the eight statements on the engagement with Porto developed by Sprott et al. (2009) – applied for the first time to a destination - and, in the final part, the evaluation of the intention to return to city of Porto. The eleven statements related to the importance of various factors associated to the trip and the eight statements that evaluate the engagement with the city were subjected to a principal components analysis with varimax rotation in order to identify the main dimensions. A logistic regression was used to explore the determinants of the likelihood to return to Porto considering the respondents’ sociodemographic variables and the main dimensions obtained in the factorial analysis (related to the important factors on the trip and the engagement with the city). Regarding the intention to return, which is the proxy of tourists’ loyalty to the destination, we observed that it is positively influenced by the engagement with the city, the tourist’s perception of CSR, the good experience in the city and having visited the city. These results connect the political, economic and marketing objectives in the tourism sector. The goals need to be aligned and the stakeholders(visitors, local residents and business, public bodies and government) must work together to maintain a solid and unified destination image. Considering that the city of Porto has been in the spotlight at an international level as one of the top cities’ destinations, this kind of information is fundamental for Porto to continue to be an attractive city tourism destination.

Introduction Marketing research frequently highlights the role of branding in customer’s decision making in a variety of sectors (Khan et al., 2015). Especially in cases where brands are related to the provision of services, creating competitive experiences seems to be an aspect of paramount importance for marketers (Hartman, et al., 2009). For this reason branding could be regarded as a means to improve a business’s performance (Hsu et al., 2011). Gilmore and Pine (2002) confirm the necessity for a brand to be associated with competitive characteristics, since it is widely acceptable that just selling a product is not enough, thus, the customer should go through a memorable experience in order to support, and, even more, to stay loyal to a brand. According to Liu et al. (2017) in the hotel industry visitors’ brand attitude and brand performance could mediate or moderate loyalty. Although the tourism and hospitality industry heavily relates on experience (Yuan & Wu, 2008), literature does not adequately examine the respective field (Ritchie & Hudson, 2009). This drawback combined with the new tendencies generated by the globalisation (Khan et al., 2015) lead to the need of further research which this study contributes to. The study focuses on hotel branding and existing literature in order to examine the way that brand influences tourists’ purchasing intentions and loyalty. In order to achieve this aim, the role of income and age on brand identification, the study examines the impact of brand identification, image and awareness in visitor satisfaction and price and quality issues, resulting to the formulation of loyalty. The theoretical contribution of the study concerns the examination of the influence of branding on visitors’ loyalty in accommodation establishments, something that is under-researched from previous studies, especially when dealing with destinations heavily affected by an economic crisis. Proposed Model The proposed model is based on the combination of two theories, which are the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA). Following Ajzen (1991) TPB focuses on three determinants of the human behaviour: (i) reactions towards a basic behaviour (ii) attitude towards others’ approval or disapproval of a behaviour, and (iii) perceptions of the degree of difficulty in performing a behaviour. Furthermore, TRA is used in order to predict an individual’s behaviour based on their existing attitudes and intentions, defined by the expectations of the individual in terms of its attitudinal outcomes (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975; Untaru et al., 2016). Based on TPB and TRA, the study structures a linear model, formulating its constructs with the use of previous studies of Davvetas and Diamantopoulos (2017), Escalas and Bettman (2003; 2005), Kim and Kim (2005), Liu et al. (2017), Nam et al. (2011), Popp and Woratschek (2017), Sanchez et.al. (2006), Sincovics et al. (2010), Tarnanidis et al. (2015), Tsiros and Mittal (2000), and Yoo, et al. (2000). The model suggests that loyalty is influenced by visitor satisfaction and price quality issues, whilst the latter two constructs are impacted by brand aspects (identification; name; awareness). The following hypotheses were formulated: H1. Brand identification has a direct positive influence on satisfaction. H2. Brand identification has a direct positive influence on price and quality. H3. Satisfaction is positively affected by brand image. H4. Price-quality nexus is positively affected by brand image. H5. Brand awareness positively influences satisfaction. H6. Brand awareness has a direct impact on price-quality nexus. H7. Loyalty is positively affected by satisfaction. H8. Price-quality nexus exert direct influence on loyalty. Methodology The research was held at the Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos” from June till August 2017. The respondents were adult tourists visiting Athens for holidays. The study was based on structured questionnaires, which are deemed suitable in cases when quantitative data are required, especially in public spaces and wherever the sample is self-selecting (e.g. tourist destinations, airports etc.) (Brotherton, 2015). Following Akis et al. (1996), for the study 95% minimum level of confidence, and 5% statistical error was selected. While the analogy 50/50 between positive and negative views applies, with N>20 and cumulative probability (Z) is 1.96 the sample size is calculated as follows: Out of 400 respondents 328 completed their questionnaires successfully. The response rate was 82 per cent. The questionnaire is based on previous research and consists of 57 Likert scale statements (1 strongly disagree; 5 strongly agree), also examining the socio-demographics of age and income. Results Structural Equation Model (SEM) was employed for the analysis of linear relations. Figure 1 illustrates the generated standardised coefficients of the model. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was applied for testing the compatibility of the data with the proposed model that was generated from respective previous research. Following Kline’s (2010) selection of indices’ importance, the study has generated the following indices: χ2=327.206, df=172, χ2/df=1.902 [acceptable value: 0≤χ2/df≤2; Schermelleh-Engel, Moosbrugger & Müller (2003)], CFI=.907, [acceptable value is when CFI is close to 1.0; Weston & Gore (2006)], SRMR=.769 [acceptable value is when SRMR<.8; Hu & Bentler (1999)], and RMSEA=.487 [acceptable value is when RMSEA<.5; Browne & Cudeck (1993)]. In factor analysis (Table 1) all values less than .4 were suppressed in an effort to evaluate higher coefficients (Norman & Streiner, 2008). The overall Cronbach A was .904, whilst in all constructs it has exceeded the minimum limit of .7. In addition, the Average Variance Explained (AVE) was higher than .5 [minimum acceptable .5; Kim (2014)]. Managerial Implications Several managerial implications could be generated from this study. First, the research can provide useful guidance to tourism and hospitality stakeholders, on reforming brand strategies accordingly in terms of achieving higher customer satisfaction and optimal outputs from price-quality nexus. Through these aspects the accommodation establishments and destinations can become more competitive and competent to pull prospective visitors. The study also constitutes a useful guide for market segmentation in terms of the influence of income and age in brand aspects. As the results indicate, the substantial influence of socio-demographics on the formulation of brand aspects can significantly influence targeted marketing and promotional activities for both, hotels and destinations. Limitations Despite the research’s theoretical contribution, several limitations need to be highlighted. Since the survey was conducted in a destination heavily affected by the current economic crisis (Athens) the influence of brand and loyalty aspects may differ in other metropolitan destinations having other characteristics. Therefore, any generalization should be made with caution. Moreover, the examination of different groups (i.e.: accommodation managers/owners; destination authorities) may generate different outcomes in terms of branding focus and loyalty formulation. Thus, the evaluation of perspectives of tourism and hospitality stakeholders is essential for the holistic approach of these matters. Finally, since perceptions may change over time, the repetition of this research may contribute to the understanding of the evolution of perspectives and their extent of alteration.

This research introduces the construct of perceived brand local connectedness (PBLC) that captures the extent to which a (domestic or foreign) brand is associated with and connected to a consumer’s home culture. Together with perceived brand globalness (PBG), PBLC is linked to purchase intention (PINT) through consumer-brand identification (CBI) and perceived brand quality (QUAL). Across two studies in mature and emergent market settings, findings provide evidence that both constructs matter, although PBLC’s effects are relatively stronger than those of PBG. Results further indicate that global identity moderates the effects of PBG on CBI while consumer ethnocentrism (CET) moderates the corresponding effects of PBLC. Implications of the findings for theory and practice are considered.

The purpose of this research was to identify not only the effect of what consumers want from their brand identification and brand attachment, but also the effect of their perceived brand identification on their perceived brand attachment in the family restaurant setting. This research also investigated the causal relationship between a consumer's perceived brand attachment and brand loyalty. A total of 332 questionnaires were collected from customers who visited one of 4 nationallybranded family restaurants in Daegu. With the consent of the store managers of each family restaurant brand, students of Dongguk University helped respondents fill out questionnaires and collected the data. There were three major findings of this research. First, the benefits that consumers wanted were found to have a significant effect on their perceived brand identification and brand attachment. Second, the perceived brand identification of customers was found to have a significant effect on their perceived brand attachment. And third, the perceived brand attachment of customers was found to have a significant effect on their perceived brand loyalty. Also, consumer's benefits sought affected their perceived brand attachment through their perceived brand identification, and consumer's benefits sought and brand identification respectively influenced their perceived brand loyalty through their perceived brand attachment. Therefore, marketing managers or general managers of family restaurants should identify consumer benefits in order to increase sales and profits.