Evaluating the Role of Psychological Ownership, Value Congruity, and Brand Engagement in the Formation of Brand Attachment: A Study in the Context of Smartphone Users in Bangladesh

Abstract

The study intends to examine the impact of brand psychological ownership, value congruity, and customer-brand engagement in the formation of brand attachment in the context of smartphones users in Bangladesh. The theoretical framework was developed by integrating psychological ownership theory and self-congruity theory and the theory of planned behavior. Data were collected by using Google form from 286 respondents currently residing in Bangladesh. The constructs considered in the study include brand psychological ownership (4 items), value congruity (4 items), customer-brand engagement (5 items), and brand attachment (5 items). All items were measured using 7-point likert scale and all constructs have shown internal consistency with Cronbach alpha greater than 0.70. The convergent validity of the measures was evaluated by using the AVE (Average Variance Extracted). The AVE greater than 0.5 indicated that convergent validity was ensured. No construct has HTMT (Hetero-Trait-Mono-Trait) ratio more than 0.90, so divergent validity of the constructs was also ensured. It was found that customer-based brand engagement can be explained by 40.60% by the constructs brand psychological ownership and value congruity and brand attachment can be explained by brand psychological ownership, value congruity, and customer-brand engagement by 72.30%. Future research may include other possible theoretical underpinnings to study the formation of brand attachment.