The influence of brand experience, trust, perceived value and self--brand congruity on loyalty in China

The highly competitive sports brands market necessitates fostering a loyal customer base to achieve long-term success. Generation Y, characterized by substantial purchasing power and distinctive psychological attributes, has drawn considerable scholarly attention. Researchers have increasingly examined factors associated with social identity theory (SIT) and social exchange theory (SET) to gain deeper insights into this cohort's consumer behavior. However, limited research has explored the theoretical application of these concepts within the context of the sports brands sector. Based on this research gap, the purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual research framework that integrates relevant constructs from social identity theory (SIT) and social exchange theory (SET), and addresses gaps in the sports brands context. It aims to explore the effects of brand experience, brand trust, customer perceived value, and self-brand congruity on brand loyalty. It also explores the mediating role of consumer-brand identification in these relationships. Additionally, nostalgia is examined as a moderating variable in the relationship between consumer-brand identification and brand loyalty. This study employs quantitative research and self-administered surveys to achieve the objective. PLS-SEM was utilized to analyze data from 432 valid responses obtained from Chinese Generation Y consumers of sports brands. The findings indicate that brand trust, customer perceived value, and brand experience are positively correlated with brand loyalty. The mediating role of consumer brand identification and the moderating role of nostalgia are supported in this study. However, the relationship between self-brand congruity and brand loyalty is not significant. By establishing a conceptual framework grounded in the joint theoretical basis of SIT and SET, and empirically validating its SIT/SET-aligned constructs, this research demonstrates how their synergistic integration guides sports brands in cultivating enduring customer loyalty