Understanding customer behavior in name-brand Korean coffee shops: The role of self-congruity and functional congruity

During the past decade, an increasing number of coffee-shop customers in Korea prefer to patronize name-brand coffee shops. This study applied image congruity theory to explain the Korean preference phenomena. The authors investigated the impacts of image congruities (self-congruity and functional congruity) on customer attitude and repurchase intention, and identified the moderating effect of prior visit experience. The survey sample is 401 customers who visited the 13 name-brand coffee shops in the city of Seoul's Myeong-dong commercial district. Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the validity of the conceptual model. The results revealed that both self-congruity and functional congruity are the antecedents of customer attitude and repurchase intention. Furthermore, functional congruity has more impact on customer attitude among experienced customers than among those with less visit experience. The marketers of name-brand coffee shops in Korea are advised to design the strategies of brand positioning and marketing segmentation from a new angle. Further studies can be further conducted among customers in boarder geographical areas, including small cities and rural areas in Korea.