Abstract
The present study explores linkages between the relational driver (brand involvement) and relationship outcomes (affective brand commitment and brand community identification) of consumer brand engagement among luxury and neo-luxury brands. The sample consisted of 616 consumers, compromising 311 owners of the Hugo Boss brand and 305 owners of the Massimo Dutti brand. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and multi-group analysis were used to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings suggest that brand involvement positively influences the three facets of consumer brand engagement - cognitive, affective, and behavioural, in the context of luxury and neo-luxury consumption. Moreover, the affective component of consumer brand engagement strongly predicts affective brand commitment for luxury and neo-luxury brands. Our findings indicate that the brand community identification with luxury and neo-luxury brands is only driven by affective consumer engagement.