Co-creating brands

: the impact of co-creation on brand loyalty: the mediating roles of brand personality and brand trust

Abstract

Companies are facing significant challenges in the current era of rapidly changing consumer choices, driven by e-commerce and social media as well as shifting consumer behaviors. It is becoming increasingly difficult to address the rapidly changing needs and desires of consumers. The ultimate goal for companies is not only to acquire but also to retain consumers in terms of brand loyalty. Co-creation, defined as the process in which consumers actively participate in the creation and development of new product development, has been shown to have a significant impact on brand personality perception, brand trust, and brand loyalty. Specifically, co-creation can lead to perceptions of sincerity and competence in a brand. A study was conducted to investigate whether the presumed direct relationship between co-creation and brand loyalty, and the mediating effect of brand personality dimensions of sincerity and competence, and brand trust, holds true. Our results show that customers show higher brand loyalty towards products declared as co-created. This aspect is reinforced by the stronger perception of brand personality traits of sincerity and competence that co-creation evokes. In addition, these two brand personality traits, in conjunction with co-creation, create a stronger sense of brand trust, which reinforces brand loyalty. These results provide new insights for managers and researchers.

Date of Award	4 May 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Cláudia Costa (Supervisor)