Influence of Social Currency on Customers Purchase Intention, mediated by Brand Equity Elements: A Case of Smart phone Market in Islamabad

Abstract

Current study highlights the contribution of social currency in developing brand equity and purchase intention, and validate the formative construct of social currency not only to develop brand equity but also to significantly improve customer’s purchase intention. The main objective was to find out the mediating role of brand equity elements in relationship between social currency and purchase intention in smart phone industry. Data was collected from smart phone brand users in Islamabad. 600 questionnaires were distributed and 396 complete responses were received, making a response rate of 66%. Data was analyzed through SPSS and AMOS Graphics. Reliability, Validity, Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Path analysis was performed to test the hypotheses. Results indicated that social currency has a positive and significant impact on brand equity elements (i.e. brand trust, perceived quality and brand image). Also, brand trust, perceived quality and brand image partially mediates the relationship between social currency and purchase intention. This study contributes to social capital and consumer socialization perspective of social currency in developing brand equity and purchase intention. The study also contributes to smart phone industry, and provides guidelines to improve brand equity and purchase intention through social media and engaging customers over the online and offline platforms. At the end, conclusion, limitations, and future research directions are also discussed.