Building Customer-based Brand Equity of Domestic Brands: Role of Brand Equity Dimensions

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to develop a reliable scale for measuring the customer-based brand equity (CBBE) and empirically test Aaker’s model for determining the role of CBBE dimensions in building brand equity for local brands in the Indian smartphone market. A multistep study involving exploratory factor analysis and linear regression was used. A total of 288 actual Indian smartphone users evaluated different smartphone brands, that is, both local and international. The empirical findings suggest that CBBE for smartphones consists of four dimensions, that is, brand association, brand awareness, brand loyalty, and perceived quality, and that Aaker’s model of CBBE is generally supported. The findings suggest that brand awareness, brand association, perceived quality, and brand loyalty are not all influential dimensions of brand equity in the Indian smartphone market. Perceived quality and brand associations were found to have a positive and significant impact on brand equity with the impact of perceived quality being more profound than brand associations. Brand awareness and brand loyalty were not significant contributors to brand equity. Significant differences were found between perceived brand equity dimensions of local and global brands. This study adds value to the growing body of literature on CBBE and its creation by incorporating brand personality measures. The reliable measures developed in this study will help scholars and managers to monitor brand equity on a continuous basis.