Brand Trust: A Multi-Dimensional Construct with a Sequential Pattern

In marketing research brand trust has received increasing interest with the diffusion of relationship marketing principles both in academic literature and in managerial practice. An important role has moreover been played by Fournier who claimed the relevance of brand-consumer relationship research in order to better understand consumer buying behaviour. Research on brand trust scale validation has until now recognised the multi-dimensionality of the construct but it has detected two crucial dimensions - competence and benevolence - in spite of others frequently mentioned in marketing literature. This paper reports results on a study aimed to validate a multi-dimensional brand trust scale, enclosing other dimensions besides those of competence and benevolence. Moreover it analyses multi-group invariance between two product categories: notebook and washing machine. Brand trust appears as a multi-dimensional construct, with rational dimensions preceeding emotional ones, on the basis of a hypothesised sequential pattern, confirmed in both product categories. Finally, it seems that benevolence has a main role in order to reinforce attitudinal loyalty.