Improving Customer Loyalty for Automotive Industry of Indonesia through Brand Prominence, Self- Connection and Authenticity: Mediating Role of Online Trust

Abstract

The present study attempts to analyse the role of Brand Prominence, Self-Connection and Authenticity in determining customer loyalty in the automotive industry of Indonesia through the mediating role of online trust. The primary data has been collected from the sample size of 314. To examine the impact of incorporated variables on customer loyalty, Confirmatory factors analysis and Structural equation modelling approach are incorporated in the study; several tests were applied including descriptive analysis, KMO and Bartlett’s test, rotated component matrix, convergent and discriminant validity. The results show significant differences in direct and indirect effects. The direct effects indicated that brand authenticity and brand self-connection are the significant and positive drivers of customer loyalty, while no significant statistical association was found between brand prominence and customer loyalty. Contrary, the indirect effects show that online trust significantly mediated the relationship between brand prominence and customer loyalty. Also, it acts as a significant mediator between brand authenticity and customer loyalty. Contrary, no mediation of online trust is observed in the relationship between brand selfconnection and customer loyalty. Also, the study embraces several theoretical, practical and policy-making implications for the marketing management practitioners and strategy developers to attain high levels of customer loyalty. In the last, various limitations have been given along with the recommendations for in-depth findings by future researchers. Key words: Brand Prominence, Self-Connection, Authenticity, Online Trust, Customer Loyalty, Indonesia.