Consumer Emotional Attachment’s Formation Mechanism And Leveraging Function

If companies can influence consumers to establish an emotional connection with brand, it can not only enhance the brand value of corporate, but also can build competitive advantage in the market, thus the researches about emotional factors of consumers earn widespread respect gradually from academics. As consumer ideas have changed, consumers are not limited to pursue functional value of products, but even more important is the appetite for the memorable consumption experience. In this context, the behavioral characteristics of consumers had also transformed, which switched from rational decision behavior to consumer behavior that balanced reason and emotion, the emotion plays an important role in maintaining the relationship between brands and consumers. Nevertheless, the current literatures about consumer emotional attachment have not carried on further investigation on the formation mechanism of emotional attachment. Meanwhile, the existing researches on the emotional attachment barely involve social factors which are closely related to individual consumption.Under above-mentioned backgrounds, after meticulously reviewed previous researches about consumer emotional attachment, this paper established a research framework about consumer emotional attachment in the perspective of self-concept and social context based on the relationship marketing theory, attachment theory, self-concept theory, social identity theory and the theory of variety seeking. And tested the relationships among social identity of brand, the values of self-expression, self-enjoyment and self-achievement and consumer emotional attachment through empirical study, which cleared the formation mechanism of emotional attachment and discussed the effect of emotional attachment on the behavior of variety seeking and the closeness of relationship between consumers and enterprises.The results showed that social identity, self-expression and self-achievement had a positive significant effect on the consumer emotional attachment, while consumer emotional attachment which had a significant influence on relationship closeness and the behavior of variety seeking played an intermediary role in the influence from brand values to relationship closeness and the behavior of variety seeking, and attachment anxiety had a moderating effect on the relationship between emotional attachment and relationship closeness, while attachment avoidance played a moderating role in the influence from emotional attachment to the behavior of variety seeking. The results clarified the influence factors and the formation mechanism of consumer emotional attachment, social identity of brand, the values of self-expression and self-achievement accomplished self-related tasks of consumers through meeting the needs of consumers, which supported and developed self-concept of consumers and gradually became self-extension of consumers, thus would make consumers formed emotional attachment to products and brands. Meanwhile, the results also revealed the important influence of emotional attachment to the behavior and attitude of consumers and the leverage of emotional attachment to relationship closeness and the behavior of variety seeking under different attachment styles of consumers.This study enriched the understanding of consumer emotional attachment in theory circle through introducing self-concept theory and social identity theory, which expanded the study horizons, and played an important reference and directive role in the practice of customer relationship management of enterprises.