3.1/ Irrelevance of brand trust and brand identification
3.1.1. Irrelevance of brand trust Brand trust, as we have defined, is a marketing concept linked to the customer’s attitude toward the brand and yet directly related to the brand loyalty. Chaudhuri and Holbrook (2001) raised and verified the hypothesis that trust is the result of both “purchase loyalty” and “attitudinal loyalty”. It has been established that the loyalty is the brand value perceived by the customer. In other words, its satisfaction toward the brand that can only be formed after using the brand, which is linked to purchase behaviour (Anber A.S. Mohammad, 2012). This was also confirmed by Moorman, Zaltman and Desgpande (1992) in their investigation of trust in market researches when they outlined the notions of “belief and behavioural intention” are part of the construction of trust. Moreover, customer’s trust is fed with “past experience” that provides proof of quality and generates a positive outcome (Delgado-Ballaster, Munuera-Alemàn, 2005). Consequently, we dismiss the trust for its behavioural finality that is not relevant in our study of an emotional bond between the customer and the brand. As we do not consider the products or services offered by the brand but the entity it represents, there is no purchase dimension in this paper and in turn need to explore the concept of trust.
3.1.2/ Irrelevance of brand identification When we identified customers’ attitude we decided to exclude another dimension to our hypothesis: the brand identification. Indeed, academics have highlighted the importance of psychology when observing the identification process. Since the very purpose of this paper is to contribute to marketing strategies development it seemed irrelevant to select this concept in our framework. The psychological approach of identification raises the notions of selfcongruence and group belonging (Ashforth, B.E. and Mael F, 1989), which accentuate the individuality of this process. This orientation is not the right one for us since we intend to analyze the perception of the brand and not the need of self-actualization through the brand. Moreover, people are inclined to choose a brand to belong to its community and portray its common traits (Esacalas and Bettman, 2003, 2005; Kapferer, 1995). It allows them
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