Strategic positioning, relational marketing, and brand loyalty: The mediating role of brand image in Indonesia’s telecom sector

Type of the article: Research Article AbstractThis study explores how strategic positioning and relational marketing influence brand loyalty in Indonesia’s telecommunications sector, focusing on the mediating role of brand image. A quantitative survey was conducted with 460 prepaid mobile users in Makassar City, using PLS-SEM to evaluate direct and indirect relationships among the variables. The findings reveal that both strategic positioning and relational marketing significantly affect brand loyalty directly and through brand image (β = 0.323, p = 0.038; and β = 0.288, p = 0.030, respectively). Furthermore, brand image serves as a partial mediator, as shown by the indirect effect of strategic positioning performance on brand loyalty through brand image (β = 0.178, p = 0.071) and the indirect effect of relational marketing on brand loyalty via brand image (β = 0.181, p = 0.064). From a managerial perspective, these findings underscore the need for telecommunications providers to integrate strategic positioning and relational marketing with brand image development. AcknowledgmentsThe authors declare that this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The authors gratefully acknowledge the use of ChatGPT-4 (OpenAI, 2025 version) to support language refinement and grammar improvement during the preparation of this manuscript. The tool was used exclusively for copy-editing purposes to enhance linguistic clarity and readability. No part of the research design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of results, or substantive content was generated by AI. The authors take full responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work.