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commitment
Narumon Kimpakorn
Faculty of Business Administration, Chiang Mai University, Thailand, and
Gerard Tocquer
College of Management, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
Abstract
Purpose The aims of this article are to measure the brand equity of service firms (luxury hotels) using a customer perspective, to identify factors that
predict customers brands relationships and to explore the links between service brand equity and employee brand commitment
Design/methodology/approach Two surveys were conducted to achieve the research objectives. The first survey objective was to measure brand
equity using a sample of 250 international customers of five-star hotels in Bangkok. The second survey objective was to collect information regarding
employee brand commitment in each selected hotel using a sample of 250 employees.
Findings Results show that hotels belonging to the same category have different brand equity and that brand differentiation and brand trust are the
variables that have the major influence on customer brand relationships. Perceived service quality and associations related to hotel core services are not
related to brand relationships. High hotel brands equity have a stronger level of employee brand commitment that low hotel brands equity.
Research limitations/implications For hotel managers the research findings illustrate the importance of brand differentiation and trust for
international hotels chains and illustrate the importance of employee brand commitment in the process of building a strong band. Therefore this
research has an implication not only for marketing but also for human resource managers and for hotel general managers.
Originality/value The value of this research resides in the exploration between service brand equity and employee brand commitment. The literature
on service marketing emphasizes the link between employee and service quality but to the authors knowledge little research has explored the link
between the service brand and its employees.
Keywords Brands, Brand equity, Employees, Brand loyalty
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The concept of branding finds its roots in the fast moving
consumer goods industry (FMCG) and it is not surprising
that traditional models of brand equity developed by Aaker
(1991, 2002), Keller (1993, 2003) have been largely inspired
by that industry. There is no doubt that the service industry
can benefit from the knowledge accumulated by consumer
goods firms. Nonetheless, the nature of services, specifically
their intangibility and the inseparability between production
and consumption requires a different approach to build a
powerful service brand.
In the services marketing literature, a few authors have
suggested new approaches to build a strong brand in the
service sector (e.g. De Chernatony, 2002; Berry, 2000; De
Chernatony and DallOlmo Riely, 1999; Muller, 1998; CobbWalgren et al., 1995). They recognize and emphasize the
importance of employees during their interactions with
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378
Brand awareness
Brand awareness is described as the ability for a customer to
recognise or recall the brand (Franzen and Bouwman, 2001;
Hoyer and Brown, 1990). A brand with strong brand recall
(unaided awareness) and top of mind has the ability to
influence customer choice inside a product or service
category.
Perceived quality
Perceived quality is defined as the customers judgment about
dimensions of brand values (Aaker, 1991) and overall
excellence or superiority that ultimately compels the
customer to select a good or service to purchase (Aaker and
Jacobson, 1994). Gronroos (2001) suggests that customers
assess service quality both in terms of what they get (the
outcome of the service) but also by examining the way the
service is delivered (the functional quality of the process).
Parasuraman et al. (1988) suggest five key dimensions to
measure service quality based on customer expectations and
service performances.
Brand differentiation
For marketers brand differentiation is a critical factor to build
a competitive advantage both in consumer goods and service
industries. Brand differentiation is defined in this study as the
degree to which the hotel brand is perceived as different from
its competitors into the customers mind (Lovelock et al.,
2002; Ries and Trout, 2001; Berry, 2000).
The differentiation is created by the brand features,
psychological or emotional benefits through marketing
programs. The differentiation can also be built on the
379
Brand associations
In consumer goods, brand associations are usually grouped in
the form of product related like brand performances and nonproduct related attributes (Aaker, 1991; Keller, 2003;
Netemeyer et al., 2004). Brand personality, user profile,
heritage or country of origin are for example considered as a
non-product related associations.. In services there is a
distinction between associations related to the core service
and those related to facilitating and supporting services
(Gronroos, 2007). Core associations are linked to the reason
of being of a service. For a hotel it is lodging. Facilitating
services like booking check-in or check-out are necessary for
delivering the core services. Supporting associations are
differentiators that add value to the core services. A
restaurant, a business center, a spa are example of
supporting services that can help a hotel to differentiate
itself against its competitors.
Brand associations are always related to a product or service
category. They are criteria used by customers to assess a
product or service. In this study, a set of service attributes
associated with the hotel industry, including room
appearance, hotel atmosphere, staff attitude and facilities
(Tsang and Qu, 2000) have been submitted to hotel managers
and only those relevant associations as perceived by managers
have been integrated in our initial questionnaire.
Brand trust
Brand trust is a psychological state that exists when one party
has confidence in an exchange partners reliability and
integrity (Garbarino and Johnson, 1999; Morgan and Hunt,
1994). The brand trust as a psychological variable mirroring a
set of accumulated presumptions involved the reliability,
integrity, and intention that a customer attributes to the
brand. In fact trust is measured by the ability for the brand to
deliver its promises. Trust can enhance or destroy a
relationship between brand and customers (Keller, 2003).
As customers buy a service before experiencing it, cultivation
and management of trust is a key to build a relationship with
customers (Kinard and Capella, 2006). Brand trust is
measured in this research by items that concentrate on the
customers expectations that the hotel as a service provider is
dependable and reliable.
Brand relationships
Brand relationship is viewed as the ultimate goal of the brand
building process (Aaker, 1991; Keller, 2003). It reflects the
level of identification the customers have with the brand.
Fournier (1998) sees the brand, as a relationship partners
using words related to relationships between people, like
courtships, best friendships, arranged marriages
380
Hypotheses
Variables/factors
Alpha score
a
Brand awareness
Perceived quality
Brand differentiation
Core service brand associations
Supporting brand associations
Brand trust
Brand relationships
0.661
0.832
0.691
0.713
0.713
0.831
Methodology
The field of the study covers the international luxury hotel
chains in Bangkok, more specifically the five-star hotel
categories. Approval from management was a condition to be
able to conduct this research (five hotels gave their final
approval).
Our research design is divided in two parts using samples of
hotels customers and employees.
First, we conducted a survey on international hotel
customers with the objective to measure the brand equity of
luxury hotels in Bangkok.
We used a convenience sample of 270 international
customers. Personal interviews were conducted with
customers to collect relevant information. The initial
questionnaire included 43 items to measure the six
dimensions of brand equity on a five points Likert scale.
Finally after editing, 238 questionnaires were used for the
final analysis.
The construct validity of the measure of the service brand
equity concept was validated through qualitative work (indepth interview with hotel managers) and expert opinion
during the instrument development stages. Reliability of
measures for each concept was tested for internal consistency
using Cronbachs alpha, and then rechecked by factor
analysis. The findings for the Cronbachs alpha shows (see
Table I) that the reliability coefficients were acceptable (above
0.6) for all dimensions of brand equity. After factor analysis,
seven factors explaining 70 per cent of the variance were
identified and six items were deleted. The factor analysis
shows that service brand associations have only two subcomponents including core and supporting services.
Second, we conducted a survey on hotels employees with
the objective to measure employee brand commitment for
each five-star hotel. We used a sample of 250 employees for all
hotels. A short questionnaire translated in Thai and slightly
adapted to the Thai culture including nine items measuring
Idea measured
Alpha
1. I usually tell my friends that this is a great hotel brand to work for
2. I am proud to tell others that I am part of this hotel brand
3. For me this is the best of all possible hotel brands to work for
4. It would take very little to cause me to leave this hotel brand (R)
5. I am extremely glad that I choose to work for this hotel brand over others I was considering
6. I really care about this hotel brand
7. I would accept almost any type of job assignment in order to keep working for this hotel brand
8. I am willing to put in a great deal of effort beyond that normally expected in order to help this hotel
brand to be successful
Affect
Identification
Affect
Willingness to remain
Affect
Identification
Attachment/ willingness to remain
0.813
0.814
0.816
0.600
0.854
0.737
0.750
Effort
0.595
Wilks lambda
0.749
0.857
0.805
0.835
0.801
0.873
0.735
19.481
9.741
14.086
11.527
14.474
8.486
21.031
233
233
233
233
233
233
233
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
Standardized coefficient
Sig.
0.154
20.072
0.446
0.067
0.113
0.274
0.954
3.296
21.360
8.104
1.060
2.035
4.561
0.341
0.001
0.175
0.000
0.290
0.043
0.000
383
89
0.829
4.13
149
0.758
3.91
0.041
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Further reading
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Corresponding author
Brand awareness
When I think of luxury hotels in Bangkok, Thailand, this
brand is the brand that first comes to mind.
Perceived quality
.
Special attention given by staff.
.
Staff performing services right the first time.
.
It is very convenient and easy to use the hotel services.
.
I can rely on this hotel to keep promises and perform with
the best interest of the customers at heart.
.
Reservation system was easily accessible.
.
High quality of food in restaurants
Brand differentiation
.
This hotel brand really stands out from other brands of
luxury hotels.
.
This hotel brand has unique features.
388