Conceptual and operational aspects of brand loyalty: an empirical investigation

The objective of this article is to stress the lack of valid and reliable measures concerning loyalty, and then to conceive, test and validate a relevant measurement procedure of this concept, by following a rigorous methodology based on the Churchill paradigm [Churchill GA. A paradigm for developing better measures of marketing constructs. J Mark Res 1979;16(1):64–73]. In the first part, the authors will approach problems linked to the conceptualization and to the operational aspects of loyalty in the literature. This synthesis will lead to a proposal of differentiation of the repeat purchasing behavior by the concept of brand sensitivity. The second part will deal with methodological aspects and will present the main results of this research. Finally, the article concludes on the contributions and limits of this study, as well as on future research perspectives.