Literature Review
Literature Review:
Introduction
There is a vast literature available that explains how brand image should be develop? Moreover, how image of a brand should be created? In order to understand the importance of brand image and methods and strategies to create an image of any brand, the literature review will provide strategies and examples. The literature review contains information that will be collected from various studies that are based on research done by scholars and authors for the development of image for any brand. The airline companies are also using concepts related to brand image creation. Therefore, airline brand image strategies are also defined in this section with the help of the vast literature and its review.
However, the literature review is based on qualitative as well as quantitative research. For quantitative research, interviews and surveys have been taken to find out that how the airline companies are building their brand image. For that, which strategies and techniques are using by airline companies to build a brand image in the market.
Brand image is considered to be one of the most important elements of a brand and its recognition in the market. The brand image plays an essential role to attract any consumer. For this reason, there are many authors who have represented normative framework to manage the brand image of any product or service. To convey an image of any brand, it is necessary to target a market that is a fundamental marketing activity (Franzen & Moriarty, 2008 ). Thus, the framework helps to communicate a brand image to a target segment. In order to build up a perception about any product or service the brand image management work to develop trust of the consumers. To attract the consumer towards the product or service the need analysis research about targeted consumer market is a crucial step. The brand image is defined by Glynn & Woodside (2009 ) as, “it is the impression in the consumer’s mind about any brand that can be developed by creating a perception about the product quality and its characteristics.”
The brand image can also be developed by the physical attribute and word of mouth by people for any product and service (Wheeler, 2012). In order to maintain the brand image and to attract the consumers towards the product, the companies maintain the quality of the product or service. However, to keep them attracted the pricing strategy also designed to maintain the brand image by maximizing the profit. It is a fact that the pricing element matters a lot for the creation of brand image. For the promotion of the brand and to build up a perfect image the advertising themes also plays an essential role. The advertising themes are designed to create a perception in the consumer’s mind (Franzen & Moriarty, 2008 ). Therefore, it can be said that the strong marketing strategies are required for a positive consumer’s perception about brand.
Lantos (2010) in his book discussed brand image in detail, where, he said that marketers should design a brand image, which can appeal to the consumer’s self-image. According to him, brand image is the perception in the consumer's mind about a brand. In which, the consumers relate each characteristic of the brand with its quality that is possible on the basis of brand positioning. Moreover, (Lantos, 2010) highlighted this point that whatever image a marketer desires can be given to the brand. The reason behind this can be defined as, after analyzing the consumer market and their decision-making process the marketer can design a brand image.
It can be said that the brand image should be designed as according to the consumer’s needs. It will bring satisfaction for the consumers, when consumers are satisfied then they will show their loyalty with the brand (Glynn & Woodside, 2009 ).
Schneider and Bowen (1999) conducted consumer research that built on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and concluded that there were three basic psychological needs of the customer which were security, self-esteem, and justice. Schneider and Bowen theorized that any violation or perceived denial of these needs of the consumer will have far greater impact than failing to meet a consumer expectation. Needs, according to Chiu and Lin (2004), are understood to produce expectations. According to Schneider and Bowen, these consumer expectations are more conscious, specific, and accessible while needs reside deeper in the psyche and are more unconscious. Needs can be thought of being more in-line with long-term existence: while expectations are more concerned with daily life (Chung-Herrera, 2007).
Airlines Brand Image:
While talking about the brand image of any service, it should be noted that the entire image can be made up by the quality of the service. Moreover, it can be said that the servicing companies develop their brand image by providing best services and by following the strong pricing strategies. If the servicing company is providing their services and fulfilling the needs and demands of the consumers then, the brand image will be developed accordingly. However, the brand positioning with the help of well communication processes can leave its strong impact on the consumer’s mind. The pricing strategy, extra facilities and promise for the best service quality appeals customers towards a service providing companies (Gross & Schröder, 2007).
While discussing servicing company, the best example can be taken from the airlines company. The airlines company use brand positioning strategy to appeal the target market. The reason behind this fact is that the brand positioning helps to develop a brand image of airlines (Holloway, 2012 ). Therefore, the airlines brand image and their strategies are different because they need to offer a low fare with best service providence. In response to low-fare rivals, the cheaper the fares with the best service can create a positive word of mouth that helps to develop brand image. There are the fighter brands as well in the market of airlines; those are applying different strategies to attract the consumers. For the airlines brand image the only thing that work is the pricing strategy because the fares for traveling form one destination to other matters a lot for most of the people. However, people want the quality services as well they only prefer those airlines which are providing the best services (Neises, 2013).
As Gross & Schröder (2007) defined in their book, the best service includes more than thirty add-ons when someone flies. It starts from best quality of eatable items, baggage safety assurance, and flight-delay insurance. It can be said that the airlines branding strategy depends on their offer which suggest that get more when you pay more. For the airlines fares, people’s perception was it is only the price of admission to get on a plane. However, the airline companies are trying to change this perception by showing a class of travelers and items which they use which show luxurious traveling environment (Holloway, 2012).
As according to Shimp & Andrews (2013), the advertising agencies try to make people crave for comfort, convenience and quality food. The marketers target those consumers who can afford the good services of airlines by paying more. Moreover, by airline brand differentiation strategy the airline companies itself is trying to offer different and unique services to attract the consumers. Those airline brand differentiation strategies are based on the usage of luxurious products from seats to the baggage security and other entertaining activities such as onboard satellite TV (Neises, 2013 ). These differentiation activities are known best for creating an airlines brand image. Moreover, it will not be incorrect to state that the airlines brand image is different from any product brand and its image (Gross & Schröder, 2007).
Loyalty:
There is a vast literature available on the brand loyalty. Various authors and scholars have discussed brand loyalty in detail. Lantos (2010) also discussed brand loyalty in his book, where, he presented a clear definition of brand loyalty. According to him, brand loyalty can only occur when a customer chooses any brand to repeatedly use and purchase it instead choosing any other brand that is providing the same product or service. It is said that the brand loyalty is often based on the perception of consumers (Franzen & Moriarty, 2008 ). The brand loyalty can only be judged if a consumer prefers a single brand and ignores other brands. Moreover, it will not be incorrect to state that the brand loyalty is imperative for numerous reasons. The reason is that it increases the sales volume, and the incurring cost reduces. In addition, the servicing or product companies can use the premium pricing that helps to increase profit margins and permit companies to earn more, invest more and get back more (Glynn & Woodside, 2009).
For airlines brand loyalty, it can be said that the airlines brand loyal consumers always prefer a single airline to travel whether it provides high fare rate or cheap fare rates. Therefore, the airline brand image creation always depends on the fare rates and the add-on services they offer. However, it also depends on the consumer’s emotional and cognitive decision to choose a specific brand. It usually happens when a brand is continuously meeting their expectations (Neises, 2013).
Inertia:
Although many studies are there which demonstrate the importance of loyalty and inertia, however, Wu (2011) proposed four types of customer loyalty. From those four types of customer loyalty one is the spurious loyalty, and others are latent loyalty and no loyalty. It has been analyzed from spurious loyalty that its primary component is inertia (Lantos, 2010). In other simple words, inertia can be defined as it is an important element that is used to maintain brand loyalty and brand image. It could be described as, "a consistent pattern of repurchasing the same brand almost every time a customer shops, where a brand is bought out of habit merely because less effort is required” (Wu, 2011, p.33).
Moreover, it can be said that it is a condition of the repurchasing behavior of customers. The inert customers avoid purchasing any other brand even after noticing the price differences. Wu (2011) introduced a conceptual framework or inertia for hypothesis testing. The conceptual framework of the inertia explains that the inertia has a positive impact on the customer brand loyalty (Lantos, 2010).
Consumer Decision Making Process
Consumer decision-making process related to the purchase of a product or service could be viewed by considering the process-taking place before, during, and after the customer has purchased a product or service (Dongyan & Xuan, 2008). Based on Kotler’s Model of Buying Behavior it could be stated that consumer-buying behavior is related to the purchase decisions of consumers. The behavior is influenced by the marketing and environmental stimuli that exert influence on consumers thinking, views, and perceptions. The second set of factors in the buying process consists consumers’ characteristics and the factors that affect the decision such as income, need, etc. Once the customer has considered these factors, it leads to his or her response to make a choice between products, brands, and suppliers. Furthermore, the buyer response relates to the timing of the purchase and the amount of purchase (Kotler et al., 2001).
Brand Image and Consumer Decision Making Process
Malik et al., (2013) in their study investigated the role of brand image in improving the performance of the business. Advertisements of a brand by the company influence consumers’ perception and views regarding brands. Brand image and advertisement are, therefore, a crucial part of the business strategy. It has been suggested that brand image positively effects consumer decision-making process and stimulates buying of a particular brand.
Brand image is the outcome of certain factors that contribute to the value of a brand as perceived by consumers. The communication strategy of the business needs to focus on building a brand image that is positively perceived by individuals and other market participants (Guzman, 2005). These factors include characteristics of the brand, quality of products or services, awareness regarding a brand, (Aaker & Joachimsthaler, 2000). If consumers negatively perceive a brand that it will negatively affect their buying decision.
Petrauskaite (2014) has discussed five different approaches to explaining consumer behavior including economic, psychodynamic, behaviorist, cognitive, and humanistic. These approaches suggest various factors that affect individuals’ preferences and their buying decisions. In all these approaches brand image plays an important role as it assist individuals in forming views about the product that the brand relates to.
On the basis of Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong (2001), it could be suggested that companies use their marketing messages to promote the attributes of their brands which form an opinion of the consumers. Furthermore, factors such as competition and experience of consumers regarding a brand affect their views and eventually influence their buying decisions.
Conceptual Framework
Based on the above literature review the following conceptual framework can be derived for the current research examining the impact of brand image in the airline industry on consumer buying behavior.
The brand image, which is one of the four dimensions of brand equity, if perceived positively by consumers then it has a positive influence on the buying behavior of consumers. It implies that if the brand has positive attributes that are related to its perceived quality, consistency, identity, uniqueness then consumers are likely to purchase products or services associated with the brand. On the basis of Kotler’s (2001) model, the following framework for the research is drawn.
H0: Brand image of the airline has no relationship with the consumer buying behavior.
H1: Brand image of the airline has a positive significant relationship with the consumer buying behavior.
List of References
Aaker, D.A. & Joachimsthaler, E., 2000. Brand Leadership. London: Free Press.
Dongyan, L. & Xuan, B., 2008. Car Purchasing Behaviour in Beijing: An Empirical Investigation. Umeå: University of Umeå.
Franzen, G. & Moriarty, S., 2008. The Science and Art of Branding. 1st ed. New York: M.E. Sharpe.
Guzman, F., 2005. Brand Building Towards Social Values: Associating to Public Goods. The ICFAI Journal of Brand Management, 2(3), pp.30-48. Available at: <http://www.brandchannel.com/images/papers/257_a_brand_building_literature_review.pdf>.
Glynn, M.S. & Woodside, A.G., 2009. Business-to-business Brand Management: Theory, Research and Executive Case Study Exercises. 1st ed. New York: Emerald Group Publishing.
Gross, S. & Schröder, A., 2007. Handbook of Low Cost Airlines: Strategies, Business Processes and Market Environment. 1st ed. Berlin: Erich Schmidt Verlag GmbH & Co KG.
Holloway, S., 2012. Straight and Level: Practical Airline Economics. 3rd ed. Burlintong: Ashgate Publishing.
Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., Saunders, J. & Wong, V., 2001. Principles of Marketing. Lombarda: Rotolito.
Lantos, G.P., 2010. Consumer Behavior in Action. 1st ed. New York: M.E. Sharpe.
Neises, L., 2013. Social CRM in the Airline Industry: Engaging the Digital Natives. 1st ed. Berlin: LIT Verlag Münster.
Malik, M.E. et al., 2013. Impact of Brand Image and Advertisement on Consumer Buying Behavior. World Applied Sciences Journal, 23(1), pp.117-22.
Petrauskaite, E., 2014. Effect Of Brand Image On Consumer Purchase Behaviour: International Footwear Market Comparison. Aalborg: Aalborg University.
Shimp, T. & Andrews, J.C., 2013. Advertising Promotion and Other Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications. 1st ed. New York: Cengage Learning.
Wheeler, A., 2012. Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team. 4th ed. New Jersy: John Wiley & Sons.
Wu, L.-W., 2011. Inertia: Spurious Loyalty or Action Loyalty? Asia Pacific Management Review, 16(1), pp.31-50.
