Special Issue "Brand Equity, Satisfaction and Word of Mouth"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 December 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. María Eugenia Ruíz-Molina
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Marketing Department, Universitat de València, Valencia 46022, Spain
Interests: Interests: sustainability; innovation; consumer behavior; marketing services
Prof. Dr. Irene Gil-Saura
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Marketing Department, Universitat de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: consumer behavior in tourism and retail; brand equity; perceived value; satisfaction and loyalty
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Gloria Berenguer-Contrí
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Marketing Department, Universitat de València, Valencia (46022), Spain
Interests: consumer behavior; brand equity; perceived value; satisfaction and loyalty

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

The interest generated in brand equity in the past two decades, as well as the vast array of contributions found in the literature, is indicative of its complexity when it comes to both evaluating this variable (Huang et al., 2016; Grewal et al., 2017) and attempting to advance in the study of its nature and scope. The idea that the perception of the consumer and the involvement of the companies are decisive (Farquhar, 1989; Myers, 2003; Pappu and Quester, 2016) seems generally accepted. Indeed, in today’s marketplace, consumers are assumed to actively participate in brand identity creation (Vallaster and von Wallapach, 2013; Baalbaki and Guzmán, 2016). In addition, in recent years, its conception has led to new approaches, with the subsequent emergence of new ways of addressing the concept in several contexts. Notwithstanding, important questions on brand equity, its determinants and its correlates still remain unanswered (Marín et al., 2019).

We invite submissions on a broad range of issues in this regard and welcome both conceptual and empirical contributions. Some suggestions for broad themes include:

• Brand equity conceptualization in different industries;

• Customer satisfaction and brand equity;

• Word-of-mouth and brand equity;

• Cross-cultural comparison of the relevance of brand-equity antecedents and outcomes;

• Sustainable development and brand equity;

• Innovation and brand equity;

• Retailer brand equity/store equity.

We encourage studies that examine innovative and even risky ideas but demonstrate methodological rigor and provide credible empirical evidence.

Dr. María Eugenia Ruíz-Molina
Prof. Dr. Irene Gil-Saura
Prof. Dr. Gloria Berenguer-Contrí
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • brand equity
  • satisfaction
  • word-of-mouth
  • store equity

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Article
Sustainability, Store Equity, and Satisfaction: The Moderating Effect of Gender in Retailing
Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 1010; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13021010 - 19 Jan 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 831
Abstract
Currently, sustainability emerges as a key element on which the development of competitive advantages for businesses is based. In the dynamic and turbulent environment in which retail companies operate, sustainable practices are posited as an opportunity for their progress and survival. Through this [...] Read more.
Currently, sustainability emerges as a key element on which the development of competitive advantages for businesses is based. In the dynamic and turbulent environment in which retail companies operate, sustainable practices are posited as an opportunity for their progress and survival. Through this article, it is intended to advance the nature and dimensions of this construct and examine its influence on store equity and consumer satisfaction. Furthermore, this work analyses the moderating effect of gender on these variables and the mediating nature of brand equity in the development of consumer satisfaction. All this is developed through a quantitative study carried out on a sample of 510 consumers of different food retail commercial formats (hypermarkets, supermarkets, and discount stores) in Spain. The technique used for data analysis is partial least squares (PLS) regression. The results show the importance of sustainability and brand equity in the development of consumer satisfaction in the retail sector, with the intensity of its effects being a gender issue. On the other hand, brand equity is positioned as a key element thanks to its mediating effect between sustainability and satisfaction. All of this points to the need to move towards more sustainable business models. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Brand Equity, Satisfaction and Word of Mouth)
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Article
Does VR Tourism Enhance Users’ Experience?
Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 806; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020806 - 15 Jan 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1165
Abstract
The importance of non-face-to-face tourism is growing due to the impact of COVID-19, and VR (virtual reality) is attracting attention as a solution to this need. This research investigates the antecedents of utilitarian and hedonic values based on the experience of VR tourism [...] Read more.
The importance of non-face-to-face tourism is growing due to the impact of COVID-19, and VR (virtual reality) is attracting attention as a solution to this need. This research investigates the antecedents of utilitarian and hedonic values based on the experience of VR tourism and identifies the relations between values and user visit intention. We performed an empirical study with data collected from 207 respondents from major VR online user communities. The results of the research show the antecedents of utilitarian value to be information access, flow, and interactivity; whereas the antecedents of hedonic value are flow, interactivity, and telepresence. Utilitarian and hedonic values both positively affect user visit intention. The results also show group differences in the relationship between research variables according to the personal degree of extraversion. These results provide key understandings to enable the adoption of the VR technology in tourism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Brand Equity, Satisfaction and Word of Mouth)
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Article
Implications of Value Co-Creation in Green Hotels: The Moderating Effect of Trip Purpose and Generational Cohort
Sustainability 2020, 12(23), 9866; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12239866 - 25 Nov 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 619
Abstract
Recently, great interest in value co-creation has been revealed among both academics and practitioners in the hotel sector. However, few studies are analyzing the consequences of co-creation behavior from the customer perspective in “green” (environmentally-friendly) hotels. This study explores the relationships between value [...] Read more.
Recently, great interest in value co-creation has been revealed among both academics and practitioners in the hotel sector. However, few studies are analyzing the consequences of co-creation behavior from the customer perspective in “green” (environmentally-friendly) hotels. This study explores the relationships between value co-creation and guest trust, satisfaction, and loyalty in the context of green hotels. Moreover, the role of trip purpose and generational cohort as moderating variables in these relationships is tested. The data are collected through a personal survey from 309 Spanish hotel guests, and the partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM) is employed to test the research hypotheses. The results of this study reveal that guest participation in the hotel’s process of value co-creation positively affects guests’ trust, satisfaction, and loyalty. Additionally, both trust and satisfaction are positively linked with customer loyalty. The findings here also suggest that only customers’ age moderates some of the relationships considered (i.e., trust–loyalty and satisfaction–loyalty). To practice, this study provides managerial implications to help hoteliers use value co-creation to develop competitive strategies that will generate more value for tourists due to the positive effects of these strategies on tourist trust, satisfaction, and loyalty. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Brand Equity, Satisfaction and Word of Mouth)
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