ABSTRACT
Collectively, the chapters in this volume reveal numerous avenues for future research. Rather than merely summarizing the eloquently articulated research directions already described in previously, in this chapter we instead identify research issues pertaining to strong brand relationships. We emphasize this research domain over the nature and type of other relationships since strong brand relationships offer the greatest economic profit potential to companies; hence they matter to customers, meaning makers, and the companies that produce them. We focus on research issues pertinent to the construct of attachment, as we believe that attachment is a critical driver of strong brand relationships. We suggest that future empirical research is needed to (1) understand the conceptual properties of brand attachment relative to other brand relationship-oriented constructs, (2) understand when brand attachment would be most likely to develop, (3) how it affects customers’ processing of brand information, brand-oriented behaviors, and the brand’s market performance, (4) why it is desirable from the perspective of customers as well as a firm, and (5) what fosters its evolution, habitual processes, and termination.
