Brand gender and consumer-based brand equity on Facebook: The mediating role of consumer-brand engagement and brand love

Joana César Machado , Leonor Vacas-De-Carvalho , Salim Azar (1) , Ana Raquel André , Barbara Pires dos Santos

1 CY - CY Cergy Paris Université

Brand gender has been suggested as a relevant source of consumer-based brand equity (CBBE). The purpose of this paper is to deepen understanding of the relationship between brand gender and CBBE by analyzing the mediating role of consumer–brand engagement (CBE) and brand love (BL) on this relationship. This research was conducted on Facebook, the dominant global social media platform. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Results support 6 of the 9 hypotheses, with a significant relationship between analyzed constructs. This study advances prior work by showing that brand gender has an indirect and relevant impact on CBBE through BL and CBE. Therefore, this research confirms the advantages of clear gender positioning and extends prior research by suggesting that brands with a strong gender identity will encourage BL and CBE.

Keywords: Brand gender; Consumer-based brand equity; Facebook; Consumer–brand engagement; Brand love

Domains: Humanities and Social Sciences; Business administration

Joana César Machado, Leonor Vacas-De-Carvalho, Salim Azar, Ana Raquel André, Barbara Pires dos Santos. Brand gender and consumer-based brand equity on Facebook: The mediating role of consumer-brand engagement and brand love. Journal of Business Research, 2019, 96, pp.376-385. ⟨10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.07.016⟩. ⟨hal-03065877⟩