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it. Because brand satisfaction is a starting point in affecting UEBV, brand trust, and ABL, these four brand
associations are presumed to be major sources of the differential effect of brand knowledge between IC and RC,
suggesting important managerial implications for conference marketing and management. For instance, in designing
the conference program, associations should focus on various sessions that meet the needs of different groups rather
than general programs for average attendees. The various educational sessions can be further facilitated with a
variety of session formats – for example, panel discussions, small group discussions, interactive sessions, and
videoconference. Thus, conference organizers should spend more on educational program design and the invitation
of outstanding keynote speakers, presenters, and facilitators rather than on lavish entertainment and events (PCMA,
2005). Furthermore, attendees usually get together with acquaintances during conference dates. Considering social
networking also has positive effects on brand satisfaction, associations should develop strategies designed to
encourage social networking among attendees. Social functions are good opportunities for associations to promote
social networking.
Positive relationships existed on each path for brand satisfaction-UEBV, UEBV-brand trust, brand
satisfaction-brand trust, and brand trust-ABL. Especially, it is noteworthy to look at the mediating effect of UEBV
on brand satisfaction-brand trust path. This study extended previous research on satisfaction, trust, and repurchase
intention by adding UEBV. UEBV was found to serve as a partial mediator on brand satisfaction-brand trust path
across two groups, suggesting that brand trust, the firm expectation that the brand will perform its promise, firms up
through UEBV as well as through brand satisfaction. From the perspective of UEBV, brand value is a significant
contributor to brand trust in the sense that customers seek an exchange partner that provides maximum value
(Kotler, 2000) and are committed to developing relationships because the exchange partner delivers highly valued
benefits in the brand (Morgan & Hunt, 1994). That is, favorable UEBV, derived from brand satisfaction, that is not
provided by alternative brands, strengthens the expectation of the brand’s integrity and reliability, which in turn
affects repeat-attendance intention and dispositional commitment to the conference.
As expected, IC showed higher attendee-based brand equity than RC in accordance with the differential
effect of brand knowledge, as captured by higher mean scores for brand satisfaction, UEBV, and ABL. Professional
education (
γ
11
= .50) was the strongest brand association to predict brand satisfaction at IC while professional
education (
γ
11
= .31) and social networking (
γ
12
= .32) remained the strongest predictor at RC. Therefore, it was
presumed that a stronger relationship between professional education and brand satisfaction contributed to more
favorable UEBV, and ABL, thereby creating higher attendee-based brand equity to IC. With regard to overall
managerial implications for educational conferences, four brand associations (professional education, staff service,
site selection, and social networking) can contribute to the differential effect of brand knowledge through brand
satisfaction. A negative path from brand awareness to brand satisfaction indicated that conferences with high brand
awareness should consistently deliver high-quality service and product to meet attendees’ high expectations.
Persistently satisfied with key brand associations, attendees are likely to favorably update their expectations of brand
value, to build up brand trust, and thus to cultivate loyalty to their conferences. The retention of brand loyal
attendees would especially induce deep commitment to the conferences and great resistance to other conferences’
marketing strategies, thereby contributing to high revenue and market share.
Despite the importance of this study, its limitations cannot be denied. As UEBV was coined as an
exploratory approach, little previous research on UEBV was available to conceptually and empirically clarify that
concept. Subsequent studies are encouraged to test UEBV in various business contexts. Moreover, with the sample
conferences from the same association, the findings may not rigorously represent the relationships among constructs
unveiled in this study and thus may not be generalized to all association meetings. Therefore, selection of multiple
association meetings is advised in a future study to further reduce sampling error, thereby enhancing external
validity. It is also worthwhile to survey meetings from associations with different characteristics – for example,
academic (e.g., I-CHRIE) vs. non-academic (e.g., Pacific Asia Travel Association) associations. Doing so would not
only increase the generalizability of findings but also reveal distinct attendee behaviors between different types of
association meetings, thereby enriching managerial and research implications.
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