Consumer-based Brand Equity Measurement Research Articles

Exploring the consumer-based brand equity relations on Croatian youth fashion market

Brand equity is considered a precious marketing concept for practitioners and scholars. This study is focused on the perceptual consumer-based brand equity approach and widely adopted Aaker’s (1991) conceptualization with four primary dimensions: brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality, and brand loyalty. These components represent the salient dimensions of a multidimensional brand equity index. The research followed the original 14-item Yoo and Donthu (2001) consumer-based brand equity measurement scale. The research hypotheses were successfully corroborated within the Croatian fashion youth market on a sample of college students (167). The results pointed out the associative relationships among all brand equity components, with the exemption of causal relation between brand associations and brand loyalty. The same exemption (brand associations) emanated from the investigation of causal relationships between brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality, brand loyalty and the overall brand equity index. This study contributes to the previously assumed hierarchy order between consumer-based brand equity components and points out the marketing activities which precedes particular component enhancement.

Corporate brand value and cash holdings

This research devotes theoretical and empirical attention to the understudied relationship between corporate brand value and cash holdings. We draw on existing firm valuation theorizing at the marketing–finance interface to propose that branding can alter the probability distribution of the firm’s revenues, lower potential operating shortfalls (negative operating earnings), and thereby reduce the firm’s cash holdings. The negative corporate brand value–cash holdings relationship is empirically tested using Brand Finance’s brand valuation metric as the predictor. Based on a pooled cross-section time-series design of up to 115 firms across 10 years, we find: that (1) support for the predicted negative association between brand value and cash holdings and (2) that the long-term cash holdings elasticity of brand value is between − 0.16 and − 0.22. Interestingly, these results are not replicated when using a traditional consumer-based brand equity measure. This study informs the debate on whether and how brand assets can impact firm cash holdings, reaffirms that results are sensitive to the operationalization of brand assets, and recognizes a new role for brands—as a “downside risk” (not variance) management tool for the top management team. An overarching implication of this research is that brands should be viewed as a firm-wide strategic asset with a sphere of influence that transcends the marketing function.

The Influence of Brand Equity on Consumer Responses: Evidence from a Clothing Brand of Pakistan

The purpose of this Research is to propose and test a model to better understand brand equity. It seeks to investigate the effects of this construct on consumers’ responses using data from Khaadi consumers from different outlets located in Karachi. Sample size of 409 respondent collected and tested through structural equation model (SEM). CFA was applied through SEM PLS 3.0. Results indicate that brand equity dimensions inter-relate. Brand awareness positively impacts perceived quality and brand associations. Brand loyalty is mainly influenced by brand associations. Finally, perceived quality, brand associations and brand loyalty are the main drivers of overall brand equity. Findings also corroborate the positive impact of brand equity on consumers’ responses. Findings provide useful guidelines for brand equity management. Khaadi decision Makers (Managers) can complement financial metrics with consumer-based brand equity measures to track brand performance over time and to benchmark against other brands. Building brand equity generates more value for corporations since a more favorable consumer response results from positive brand equity.

Assessing the consumer-based brand equity of news media firms: a new validated scale

ABSTRACTThis article provides a validated scale to measure one of the main competitive advantages of news media firms: consumer-based brand equity (CBBE). A survey of 1175 readers was undertaken. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to analyse the dimensions deployed in the latent CBBE construct, which was examined as a third-order factor composed of functional associations (basic utility and journalistic quality), experiential associations (tone and packaging), and symbolic associations (reliability, ideology, and identity). The construct validity for the CBBE measurement of various types of news media brands and theoretical implications for media branding are also discussed.

A consumer-perceived consumer-based brand equity scale

Brand equity is an essential concept in marketing academia and practice. The term came into use during the late 1980s, and the importance of conceptualizing, measuring and managing brand equity has grown rapidly in the eyes of practitioners and academics alike. Despite the importance of the concept, and the need for brand equity measures, the literature lacks an empirically based consumer-perceived brand equity scale. This article develops a brand equity conceptualization and scale determined by dimensions that consumers perceive. This consumer-perceived consumer-based brand equity scale is made up of four dimensions: quality, preference, social influence and sustainability. This new robust scale contributes to the theoretical understanding of consumer-based brand equity measurement, and assists brand managers in measuring brand equity and understanding how consumers value brands in order to develop successful brand strategies.

Consumer-based brand equity measurement: lessons learned from an international study

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance of Aaker’s dominant conceptualization of consumer-based brand equity (brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality and brand loyalty) in a multi-national and multi-sector European context and highlights important lessons vis-à-vis the measurement of brand assets across countries.

Could Co-Branding be a Double-Edged Sword for Brand Partners?

From the viewpoint of consumer psychology, we argue that a key factor of co-branding success is a better product-fit in terms of attribute-level complementarity. The objective of this study is to investigate the impacts of attribute-level complementarity on co-branding success. We first define co-branding success, among others, as the occurrence of two effects, namely a synergy effect and a positive spillover effect. Then, assuming attribute-level complementarity exists in a horizontal co-branding setting, we test two hypotheses corresponding to each effect by using a perceptual Consumer-based Brand Equity (CBBE) measure in a laboratory experiment. The experimental results report that attribute-level complementarity may not lead to a “higher-value” co-branded product and may damage both brands’ equity. That is, the synergy and positive spillover effects may not always occur even under the scenario of a better product-fit. In sum, we find that a horizontal co-branding partnership with attribute-level complementarity could be a double-edged sword for the allying brands. The present paper contributes to co-branding literature by showing the connection between affect-transfer of attribute beliefs and co-branding success. For brand managers, our CBBE measure provides an ex-ante evaluation of a proposed partnership.

Consumer-Based Brand Equity: Improving the Measurement - Empirical Evidence

Purpose: The present research aims to improve the measurement of consumer-based brand equity. Current measurement of consumer-based brand equity suffers from limitations, including: a lack of distinction between the dimensions brand awareness and brand associations, the use of non-discriminant indicators in the measurement scales and of student samples. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the recommendations of extant research, the scale constructed to measure consumer-based brand equity in this study included brand personality measures. Brand associations were measured using a different set of items. Unlike many of the previous studies that had used student samples, the present study used a sample of actual consumers from an Australian state capital city. Confirmatory factor analysis employing structural equations modeling was used to measure consumer-based brand equity in two product categories and across six brands. Findings: Results support the hypothesized four-dimension model of consumer-based brand equity across two product categories and six brands. Brand awareness and brand associations were found to be two distinct dimensions of brand equity as conceptualized in the marketing literature. The present study contributes to the understanding of consumer-based brand equity measurement by examining the dimensionality of this construct.

Measuring consumer-based brand equity for Indian business schools

Brands are fundamentally about experiences and relationships, and therefore they form prime basis of an institution's connection with their stakeholders. With the mushrooming of business schools (both private autonomous and government supported) and fading global boundaries, especially in the Indian context, communicating a business school brand to stakeholders has become extremely important. It is imperative for Indian business schools to differentiate and build strong brands in the competitive business education space in India. Brand building helps in creating, evolving and enhancing a brand's positioning and its perceptions among stakeholders. These perceptions are critical in influencing behavior and hence the performance of an institution. The paper aims to assess the brand equity of select Indian business schools (from the prospective student's perspective) using a familiarity–perception–preference–choice framework. The branding framework proposed in this study highlights how consumer-based brand equity measures can be used to improve business school positioning and hence the brand image. This paper gives an opportunity to extend the current knowledge in measuring the brand equity of business schools, especially in India. This study would help institutions apply brand equity measurements to their business schools and implement focused branding efforts to gain a higher student share and build quality education brands.

The influence of brand equity on consumer responses

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose and test a model to better understand brand equity. It seeks to investigate the effects of this construct on consumers ' responses using data from two European countries. Design/methodology/approach – Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). Measurement invariance and stability of the model across the two national samples was assessed using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. Findings – Results indicate that brand equity dimensions inter-relate. Brand awareness positively impacts perceived quality and brand associations. Brand loyalty is mainly influenced by brand associations. Finally, perceived quality, brand associations and brand loyalty are the main drivers of overall brand equity. Findings also corroborate the positive impact of brand equity on consumers ' responses. In addition, the general framework proposed is found to be empirically robust across the studied countries. Only a few differences are observed. Research limitations/implications – A limited set of product categories, brands and countries were used. Practical implications – Findings provide useful guidelines for brand equity management. Managers can complement financial metrics with consumer-based brand equity measures to track brand performance over time and to benchmark against other brands. Building brand equity generates more value for corporations since a more favourable consumer response results from positive brand equity. Originality/value – This study contributes to the scarce international brand equity literature by testing the proposed model using data from a sample of consumers in two European countries. It also enriches the brand equity literature by empirically examining the relationships among consumer-based brand equity dimensions and its effects on consumers ' responses.

Measuring consumer-based brand equity across brand portfolios: Many-facet Item Response Theory perspective

Wang and Finn (in press) used Multivariate Generalizability Theory (MGT) to develop the first brand level consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) scale. It is an important addition to CBBE measurement literature. However, in general, the goal of MGT is to examine measurement scale in terms of reliability and to deal with the precision of observed raw data. It has little interest in correcting the observed measures (that is, brand ratings) for differences among the various elements encountered by each brand during a data collection design. The elements such as individual differences, dimensions and items are all confounded with CBBE measures. In order to address this issue, we introduce Many-facet Item Response Theory to complement the information provided by MGT analysis. These two measurement approaches, used together, allow for balanced and thorough interpretations of brand performance assessment data and offer better ways of improving performance measurement.

Measuring CBBE across brand portfolios: Generalizability theory perspective

Existing consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) scales were developed to differentiate consumers. They cannot be reliably used to examine other objects such as brands and sub-brands within and across brand portfolios in a product category, due to much similarity among them. The multidimensional nature of CBBE (covering brand awareness, brand associations, brand loyalty, perceived quality and uniqueness) makes the brand portfolio CBBE measurement even more difficult. In order to fill this gap, we develop a new scale to better differentiate brands and sub-brands within and across brand portfolios and examine its psychometric performance at both the dimension and the item levels by using Multivariate Generalizability Theory. We collected CBBE data for soft drinks crossed with respondents for an empirical demonstration.

The performance of global brands in the 2008 financial crisis: A test of two brand value measures

Previous literature has argued that high brand equity helps stabilize financial returns and reduce share price volatility. This research investigates how some of the strongest brands in the U.S. market fared in terms of financial performance during the Fall 2008 stock market downturn. Initial results using a financially based measure of brand value (Interbrand) show that, counter to expectations, these top brands did not outperform the market as a whole. However, the findings are in the hypothesized direction when an alternative, consumer-based brand equity measure (EquiTrend) is used to replicate the analysis. After first employing the three Fama–French factors to evaluate stock performance, we assess the added brand equity effect using both aforementioned measures. The consumer-based measure shows a significant incremental effect on stock performance after controlling for risk and financial fundamentals. Furthermore, this positive effect also applies to share volatility and firm betas. None of these effects hold for the financially based measure.

The Performance of Global Brands in the 2008 Financial Crisis: A Test of Two Brand Value Measures

Previous literature has argued that high brand equity helps stabilize financial returns and reduce share price volatility. This research investigates how some of the strongest brands in the U.S. market fared in terms of financial performance during the Fall 2008 stock market downturn. Initial results using a financially based measure of brand value (Interbrand) show that, counter to expectations, these top brands did not outperform the market as a whole. However, the findings are in the hypothesized direction when an alternative, consumer-based brand equity measure (EquiTrend) is used to replicate the analysis. After first employing the three Fama-French factors to evaluate stock performance, we assess the added brand equity effect using both aforementioned measures. The customer-based measure shows a significant incremental effect on stock performance, helping explain more variance than the classic Fama-French model alone accounts for. Furthermore, this positive effect on returns holds even when controlling for financial fundamentals and also applies to stock volatility and firm betas. None of these effects hold for the financially-based measure.

Consumer‐based brand equity for Australia as a long‐haul tourism destination in an emerging market

PurposeAlthough the branding literature emerged during the 1940s, research relating to tourism destination branding has only gained momentum since the late 1990s. There remains a lack of theory in particular that addresses the measurement of the effectiveness of destination branding over time. The purpose of this paper is to test the effectiveness of a model of consumer‐based brand equity (CBBE) for a country destination.Design/methodology/approachA model of CBBE was adapted from the marketing literature and applied to a nation context. The model was tested by using structural equation modelling with data from a large Chilean sample (n=845) comprising a mix of previous visitors and non‐visitors. The model fits the data well.FindingsThe paper reports the results of an investigation into brand equity for Australia as a long‐haul destination in an emerging market. The research took place just before the launch of the nation's fourth new brand campaign in six years. The results indicate Australia is a well‐known but not compelling destination brand for tourists in Chile, which reflects the lower priority the South American market has been given by the national tourism office.Practical implicationsThe paper suggested that CBBE measures could be analysed at various points in time to track any strengthening or weakening of market perceptions in relation to brand objectives. A standard CBBE instrument could provide long‐term effectiveness performance measures regardless of changes in destination marketing organisation staff, advertising agency, other stakeholders and budget.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the nation‐branding literature by being one of the first to test the efficacy of a model of CBBE for a tourism destination brand.

Country equity: Conceptualization and empirical evidence

Despite considerable interest in the topic of country equity, attempts at its measurement have been scarce. This research contributes to the literature by providing a consumer-based measure for country equity, and it improves country equity measurement by addressing some of the limitations associated with previous approaches. This research also contributes to our understanding of this area by providing empirical evidence of the multidimensionality of the country equity construct. We define country equity from a consumer perspective, as the value endowed by a source country onto products originating from that country. We conceptualize country equity based on consumers’ memory based associations, using the associative network memory model, as a five-dimensional construct, comprising country awareness, macro country image, micro country image, perceived quality, and country loyalty. The paper reports the results of an empirical study of a sample of shopping mall consumers ( N = 719) from Australia. The proposed model is tested in two product categories (cars and televisions). Results confirm the hypothesized five-dimensional structure. Our findings extend Aaker's [Aaker, D. A. (1991). Managing brand equity. New York: The Free Press] and Keller's [Keller, K. L. (1993).Conceptualizing, measuring and managing customer based brand equity. Journal of Marketing, 57(1), 1–22] conceptualization of brand equity to country brands, as well as Yoo and Donthu's [Yoo, B. & Donthu, N. (2001). Developing and validating a multidimensional consumer-based brand equity scale. Journal of Business Research, 52(1), 1–14] consumer-based brand equity measurement to the measurement of country equity. The results have implications for government agencies, industry groups and firms interested in branding a country in target international markets.

Operationalising Young and Rubicam's BAV<SUP align=right>™</SUP> as a consumer-based brand equity measure

This paper aims to operationalise Young and Rubicam's brand asset valuator (BAV) in the form of a consumer-based brand equity measure. Brand value is conceptualised as a multidimensional construct of higher-level abstraction relative to its various dimensions consisting of brand differentiation, relevance, esteem and knowledge. This relationship is built employing higher order structured equation modelling on the data collected, and the study concludes that all four dimensions of the BAV are positively correlated and significantly loaded on to two second-order factors, namely brand strength and stature, which load on to a third factor that we term brand value.

A consumer-based method for retailer equity measurement: Results of an empirical study

This research extends the consumer-based brand equity measurement approach to the measurement of the equity associated with retailers. This paper also addresses some of the limitations associated with current retailer equity measurement such as a lack of clarity regarding its nature and dimensionality. We conceptualise retailer equity as a four-dimensional construct comprising retailer awareness, retailer associations, perceived retailer quality, and retailer loyalty. The paper reports the result of an empirical study of a convenience sample of 601 shopping mall consumers at an Australian state capital city. Following a confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation modelling to examine the dimensionality of the retailer equity construct, the proposed model is tested for two retailer categories: department stores and speciality stores. Results confirm the hypothesised four-dimensional structure.

Measuring Brand Equity: An Evaluation of a Consumer-Based Brand Equity Scale

This research reports an independent assessment of a recently developed set of consumer-based brand equity measures. Yoo and Donthu (1997) developed a multidimensional, consumer-based brand equity scale comprised of four theoretically defined constructs and a separate multiple-item overall brand equity measure. The present research employed slightly modified items in a different context in an attempt to examine the robustness of the proposed scale. Subjects (n=272) responded to the brand equity scale for different brands and combinations of brands in a co-branding context. The results suggest that, while the Yoo and Donthu scale represents an adequate first step, further scale development is needed. Nevertheless, this scale development has brought us closer to a universally accepted measure of consumer-based brand equity.

Evaluation of brand equity measures: further empirical results

Presents further empirical results on the convergent and predictive ability of a selection of consumer based brand equity measures. An underlying assumption in this study was that choice was an indicator of brand equity. It is a replication and extension of work carried out by Agarwal and Rao in 1996. Their work is the only study that has attempted to consolidate existing research on consumer based brand equity. Overall, the results generally concurred with those of Agarwal and Rao. Most of the measures were found to be convergent, and to estimate choice. The results mean that managers should now have more confidence in selecting from a range of brand equity measures, many of which can be collected easily and at minimal cost. More empirical studies, however, need to be carried out in a range of different markets to assess the wider performance of these brand equity measures.