Co-branded services: perceived benefits and involvement of co-branded credit cards

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to further the consumer services theory in financial services marketing by examining how perceived benefits influence consumer intention-to-use a co-branded credit card and further how intention-to-use is moderated by involvement.
Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual model is developed and tested. A convenience sample of users of a co-branded credit card was surveyed. The responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling.
Findings – Results show a strong association between perceived benefits and co-brand equity and between co-brand equity and co-brand preference, as well as between perceived benefits and intention-to-use. The research also identifies four perceived benefits of a co-branded credit card. They also show that highly involved consumers are less affected by perceived benefits than their low involvement counterparts.
Research limitations/implications – Further research might consider co-branding across categories of
services and explore the ambivalent results of co-brand preference in the mode. This research is limited by the
use of a convenience sample and a cross-sectional survey. A probability sample and a longitudinal element to
the study would have added weight to the study’s findings.
Practical implications – Managers with co-branding responsibilities should focus on improving the
perceived benefits of co-branded credit cards.
Social implications – This study has a wider application to understanding how co-branding services may
be applied in not-for-profit situations, specifically affinity card co-branding, thus generating greater revenue
for charitable and social concerns.
Originality/value – This research advances research in the financial services consumer theory by
demonstrating a strong association between perceived benefits and intention-to-use a co-branded credit card,
distinguishing between the behavioral traits of consumers with high and low levels of involvement. It thus
advances the consumer theory in co-branding.