How perceived rewards of loyalty programs influence consumers’ self-expansion and brand loyalty

Abstract

As customers, what rewards in Loyalty Programs impact our brand loyalty? How can managersdesign effective Loyalty Programs? What characteristics are crucial for a customer to see addedvalue to be loyal to a specific brand? These are some questions that this dissertation investigates,as it becomes more important to understand how to create added value for customers in a worldthat is constantly evolving, and competition grows rapidly. One experimental 2x2 study asked participants to imagine they were part of a Loyalty Program from a sneakers and apparel brand. Where they were presented with one of the four reward scenarios – Direct Hedonic, Direct Utilitarian, Indirect Hedonic, and Indirect Utilitarian. It was found that reward type as influence on the all the dependent variables studied and reward fit only has impact on the brand relationship variable. Additionally, the impact of the type of reward on brand loyalty is mediated by consumers’ self-expansion. This research contributes to extending conclusions on the influence that different rewards will have on customers’ loyalty as it is becoming more important to have the right Customer Relationship Management tools to overcome the competition and invest the right resources in the correct manner.

Date of Award	4 Jul 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	João Niza Braga (Supervisor)