How does involvement build loyalty towards music-streaming platforms? A multi-analytical SEM-ANN technique

Purpose: Given the acute competition between music-streaming platforms (MSPs), the purpose of this study is to identify the relational motivators of brand loyalty towards the MSP in terms of user-brand involvement, brand trust, brand engagement, brand recommendation and brand loyalty. Design/methodology/approach: Cross-sectional quantitative data, gathered from a total of 340 eligible respondents via an online questionnaire survey, were empirically analysed and validated using a hybrid predictive-analytics structural equation modelling (SEM) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) method. Findings: The results of this study demonstrate that user-brand involvement promotes brand loyalty toward a MSP by fostering brand engagement, brand trust and positive word-of-mouth. SEM and ANN data comparison reveals good consistency. Research limitations/implications: The generalizability of the research outcomes may be constrained, as this study only considers the data from a single country (i.e. Malaysia) and one music streaming platform (i.e. Spotify). This study highlighted the relevance of user-brand involvement and non-core supporting services in the cultivation of brand loyalty, particularly their salient roles in promoting favourable attitudes and behaviours towards platform brands. Practical implications: The insights produced can aid MSPs in devising better user retention strategies that can be used to maintain their competitive edge over time. The findings of this study made it abundantly evident that practitioners should facilitate more user-brand cooperative activities to encourage user-brand involvement and, ultimately, foster brand loyalty. Originality/value: This study has addressed a major research gap by examining the relational roots of brand loyalty, which transcend the typical focus on transactional factors and technical lock-in. This study pioneered the investigation of brand involvement with user involvement.