Building brand equity through communication consistency in luxury hotels: an impact-asymmetry analysis

Purpose - This paper examines the development of customer-based brand equity through communication consistency in a luxury hotel segment. Communication consistency is considered as a basic principle of the integrated marketing communications (IMC) approach. Design/methodology/approach - The empirical research was conducted among 223 guests during their stay in five-star deluxe luxury hotels in a Mediterranean country. Data are analyzed through the PLS technique and impact-asymmetry analysis. Findings - Communication consistency is found to have a strong positive impact on all brand equity dimensions, especially on brand trust, brand image and perceived quality. The impact-asymmetry analysis further revealed negatively asymmetric relationships between communication consistency and six out of seven brand equity dimensions, except for affective commitment. Research limitations/implications - Some restrictions related to the measurement scales should be mitigated in future research. Practical implications - Communication consistency is confirmed as a core management practice in luxury hotel business. Marketing professionals operating in this industry are therefore confronted with increasing challenges of efficient management of IMC. Originality/value - This work addresses several research calls from the most recent marketing and hospitality literature. The analysis of the impact of communication consistency has extended our knowledge on the potential of IMC in creation of a strong brand. Obtained insights into the shape of the relationship between communication consistency and seven different brand equity dimensions help to better understand the process of brand equity building in a luxury hotel setting.