Modelling consumer relationships with functional, emotional and symbolic brands

International audienceThe integration of research on the relationship of brand image in building customer-based brand equity is the starting point of this article. The objective is to propose a model of customer-brand relationship modalities, as based on three dimensions of brand image: functional, affective and symbolic. The survey based on 417 respondents uses structural equation modelling (Partial Least Squares Method). Results allow validating our conceptual framework and show that each dimension of the image influences preferably a type of loyalty, the relationship is mediated by attachment, trust or identification to the brand. Theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are analyzed