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W ith the advancement o f information communication technology, mobile phone has become
an essential part o f hum an life. Rapid advancement o f technology backed by innovations has
driven mobile phone industry to a new era where consumers seek for much sophistication in
products. Smart Phones are mobile phones which are equipped with advanced technology
which comprises o f functions such as media players, digital cameras and Global Positioning
System (GPS). W ith the sophistication and functions offered by smart phones the demand in
the market has been increased. Sri Lanka, as a developing country, has a remarkable track
record in mobile phone industry. Num ber o f mobile subscriptions in Sri Lanka is more than
20 million which exceeds the population o f country and the mobile penetration is higher than
the level o f regional and world averages. M any smart phone brands are available in Sri
Lankan market including world famous brands such as Samsung, Apple, Nokia and Sony.
Further it is evident that young consumers are emotionally bonded with some preferred
brands. M oreover they prefer to stay loyal to a one brand and would like to purchase new
versions o f the same product. Hence, the aim o f this study was to identify the role o f
emotional brand attachment in building custom er loyalty with reference to Sri Lankan smart
phone market. Pleasure, Arousal and Dominance o f the brand were concerned to measure
emotional brand attachment. The study was descriptive in nature and the unit o f analysis was
individual smart phone users in Sri Lanka. Convenience sampling technique was employed to
obtain data from 250 young smart phone users. The reliability o f measurement scales were
tested using Cronbach’s alpha. Factor analysis was performed and convergent, discriminant
validities were established. Structural Equation M odelling was used for data analysis.
Findings o f the study depicted that pleasure, dominance and arousal have a significant impact
on brand loyalty. Findings o f this study can be used in crafting effective branding and
promotional strategies by brand managers. Since Sri Lanka is in the growth stage o f the smart
phone market, insights o f this study can be effectively used to enhance the emotional
attachment o f young consumers toward smart phone brands and thereby increase brand
loyalty.
