Predicting high consumer-brand identification and high repurchase: Necessary and sufficient conditions

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to explore the necessary and sufficient conditions to obtain high consumer-brand identification (CBI) and high repurchase intentions (Rep). Different from most business research on CBI and Rep that is based on symmetric thinking, this paper uses asymmetric analytics and performs fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis. The findings show that (1) although it is possible to identify the necessary conditions for very high consumer-brand identification and very high repurchase intentions, no combination of conditions is sufficient to achieve these outcomes; (2) affective drivers have more importance than cognitive drivers for obtaining high CBI; (3) the configuration solutions for high CBI include at least two antecedents; (4) high CBI is a sufficient but not necessary condition for high Rep; (5) high Rep can also be achieved if brand-self similarity and brand identity occur; and (6) memorable brand experiences alone may be enough to obtain high Rep.