How Does Attachment Style Influence the...

According to attachment theory, children develop working models of the reliability of others in the interaction with the primary caregiver. It can be assumed that this attachment style, which is conceptualized along two dimensions (secure-anxious and dependent-independent), does not only influence intimate relationships in the long run, but may also play an important role in customer relationships. The authors investigate the influence of attachment style in the context of brand attachment. The sample consists of 223 adolescents. The results derived from SEM show that only the dependent-independent dimension of attachment style influences the brand attachment - brand trust and brand loyalty - chain, but not the secure-anxious dimension. The findings have implications for theory and practice ofadvertising.