Effect of Cognitive Engagement on the Development of Brand Love in a Hotel Context [Summary]

Throughout hospitality literature the idea of brand love is constantly being examined, as are numerous perspectives throughout sociology. But the relationship between engagement process and brand love has been largely overlooked. Findings pointed out the necessary and sufficient requirements for the cognitive relationship to establish affection, passion and commitment, each of the three dimensions of the brand's love. Furthermore, the research shows that cognitive engagement needs to be accompanied by cognitive belief in order to develop into loyalty, by affirmation of the mediating role of cognitive branding in the relationship between cognitive engagement and brand affection.

The results suggest that managers should concentrate not only on the content but also on the knowledge delivery process, which encourage cognitive processing and interaction of consumers. Managers need to continually interact with customers and provide them with a fun information processing environment, which allows them to be fully immersed to the experience. The successful use of technologies, such as virtual reality or touchscreens may be a way to achieve this approach. For example, in hotel buildings, self-service kiosks and check-in apps, such as the Dutch CitizenM, with low cost are launched. Customers usually handle browsing and booking details quite strongly. It is therefore necessary for hotel brands to use websites to enhance brand love and customer loyalty. Ultimately, the results show that managers must inspire consumers to encourage brand love intrinsically rather than extrinsically.