Technology Leadership, Brand Equity, and Customer Loyalty in Mobile Banking: Moderating Role of Need for Uniqueness

Most of previous studies on mobile banking focus on the initial adoption by drawing upon the technology acceptance theories, while the post-adoption issues (e.g., loyalty) have been rarely examined. To fill this research gap, based on brand equity theory and symbolic value theory, we propose a research model to articulate the relationship between technology leadership, brand equity, and customer loyalty, as well as the moderating role of need for uniqueness. A survey from users of two mobile banking service providers was conducted to empirically examine the proposed research model and hypotheses. The results show that (1) technology leadership positively affects brand equity which in turn positively affects customer loyalty, and (2) need for uniqueness strengthens the relationship between technology leadership and brand equity and between brand equity and customer loyalty. The implications for theory and practice are also discussed.