Microsoft Word 2007 ichrie conference Proceedings Final-Final 06-06-07. doc

Echoes in Brand Loyalty Studies 
Although the Investment Model is only now being applied in examining customers’ brand loyalty, one can 
find substantial empirical evidence supporting individual relationship suggested by the model. Satisfaction and 
investment size, two of the three commitment determinants suggests by the Investment Model, have been repeatedly 
identified as major antecedents of customers’ brand loyalty. The authors believe this may not be a coincidence.
Satisfaction.
The Investment Model suggests that satisfaction is a major determinant of commitment. Not 
surprisingly, satisfaction, or an overall affective response resulting from the use of a product or service (Oliver, 
1981), has also been frequently identified as a major requisite of loyalty in the marketing and tourism literature. 
Numerous marketing (Anderson & Srinivasan, 2003; Beerli, Martin, & Quintana, 2004; Bloemer & Lemmink, 1992; 
Lam, Shankar, Erramilli, & Murthy, 2004; Olsen, 2002; Ping, 1993) and leisure/tourism (Back, 2001; Bowen & 
Chen, 2001; Yoon & Uysal, 2005) studies have shown that customer satisfaction may affect customer loyalty, 
though disagreement does exist (Fornell, 1992; Skogland & Siguaw, 2004).
Investments.
In the marketing literature, customers’ investment on one brand is mainly reflected by two 
concepts: the switching and sunk costs (Dick & Basu, 1994), which have been suggested as key determinants of 
loyalty (Beerli et al., 2004; Dick & Basu, 1994; Morais et al., 2004). Similar discussion can also be found in the 
leisure and tourism literature, where the idea of investments has traditionally been connected to Becker’s (1960) 
conceptualization of “side bets”(Backman & Crompton, 1991; Iwasaki & Havitz, 2004; Kyle, Graefe, Manning, & 
Bacon, 2004).
Quality of Alternatives.
Finally, although the concept of “quality of alternatives” is not widely applied in 
the fields of marketing and leisure/tourism, some authors have tackled the idea. For instance, Ping (1993) 
incorporated theoretical elements of the investment model in his investigation on retailer-supplier relationships. He
suggested that “the relationship ‘structural constraints’ of alternative attractiveness,” among others, is one of the key 
antecedents of loyalty. Pritchard and Howard (1997) also suggested that perceived differences in travel service 
performance is an antecedent of tourist loyalty.
Overall, it seems the marketing and leisure/tourism literature has already provided empirical support to 
individual relationships (such as the satisfaction-loyalty link and switching costs-loyalty link) identified by the 
Investment Model, although a holistic examination still lacks.