Exploring the impact of different factors on brand equity and intention to take up online courses from e-Learning platforms

Understanding service branding from the customer perspective is helpful for various organizations to attain a competitive edge and build a strong customer base. This research work aims to evaluate the various dimensions and constructs that affect brand equity and user's willingness to undertake courses from various e-Learning providers. Data for the quantitative study was obtained using a questionnaire based survey. Analysis of the 378 responses reveals that consumer experience is a strong predictor of both brand meaning and customer satisfaction. Although brand meaning positively impacts brand equity, brand awareness demonstrates a negative effect on brand equity. However, brand equity and customer satisfaction have a significant and positive impact on intention to undertake courses from online learning platforms. The study concludes with discussion on different implications, shortcomings, and directions for future research.     

Strategies to offset performance failures: The role of brand equity

In this research, we examine the role of brand equity as a strategy to offset the negative effects of a performance failure. Two independent studies, spanning four industries and involving 669 respondents are employed to investigate this issue. Results suggest that high brand equity leads to more favorable satisfaction evaluations and behavioral intentions than low brand equity. The brand equity effect is identified as a prevailing advantage that spans the entire failure and recovery sequence. This is an important finding because it implies that the advantages of high brand equity theoretically can apply to all failures, not just those for which recovery is attempted. Further inspection, however, reveals that despite the prevailing advantage, high-equity brand failures lead to a more drastic decline in customer evaluations immediately after the failure episode. Managerial implications and future research are addressed.     

Customer satisfaction and brand equity

The study here examines the interaction between shareholder value and customer satisfaction, as well as the impact on a firm's brand equity. Customer satisfaction may have a positive effect on brand equity, except when managers show excessive customer orientation, in which case the effect is negative because of reductions in shareholder value. The empirical analysis uses incomplete panel data pertaining to 69 firms from 11 nations during the period 2002-2005 and supports the theoretical contentions. This result warns of the perverse effect on brand equity of implementing policies focused exclusively on satisfying customers at the expense of shareholders' interests.     

Brand equity in hospital marketing

Health care marketers face unique challenges around the world, due in part to the role the health care field plays in contributing to public welfare. Hospital marketing in Korea is particularly challenging since Korean law prohibits hospitals from running any advertising. As a result, Korean hospitals depend heavily on customer relationship management (CRM). This study identifies five factors that influence the creation of brand equity through successful customer relationships: trust, customer satisfaction, relationship commitment, brand loyalty, and brand awareness. An empirical test of the relationships among these factors suggests that hospitals can be successful in creating image and positive brand equity if they can manage their customer relationships well.     

Does the importance of value,brand and relationship equity for customer loyalty differ between Eastern and Western cultures?

The use of the customer equity framework as a focal marketing strategy to increase customer loyalty has emerged as an important topic. Despite a growing number of investigations, previous studies are limited by their strong U.S. and European orientations. Research into Western consumers cannot necessarily predict the behaviour of Eastern consumers though. Therefore, this study investigates whether the link between customer equity drivers (value equity, brand equity and relationship equity) and loyalty intentions is sensitive to the cultural environment. A sample of 1553 Chinese and 1085 Dutch consumers in the banking and supermarket industries reveals that all three customer equity drivers exert a greater impact in Western than in Eastern cultures. This study also shows that Eastern consumers in general have higher loyalty intentions than Western consumers.     

Drivers of the cost of capital: The joint role of non-financial metrics

Recent marketing studies suggest that non-financial metrics, such as customer satisfaction and brand value, help explain the variation in the cost of equity and the cost of debt. These studies typically focus on only one non-financial metric and one component of capital cost. In this study, we broaden the understanding of the relevance of non-financial metrics to the cost of capital. We investigate the joint role of customer satisfaction, brand value, and corporate reputation for stock market beta and credit ratings, which reflect variation in equity and debt risk premiums across firms. In addition to the joint direct influence of these metrics on capital cost, we also study their interaction effects. We develop a conceptual model to explain the effects on capital costs and test the resulting hypotheses in a broad sample of 344 firms from diverse industries using data from the 1991–2006 period.     

‘Thinking and feeling’ products and ‘utilitarian and value-expressive’ appeals in contemporary TV advertising: A content analytic test of functional matching and the FCB model

Brand equity is now receiving significant attention, both as a result of changes to international accounting standards relating to intangible assets and as a result of the renewed focus on the impact of marketing communications on brand performance. This paper reports on an investigation of the perceptions of senior marketing and advertising agency personnel regarding (1) the importance of brand equity as a valuation and performance measurement tool and (2) whether financially based brand equity measures and marketing-oriented measures can be translated into a single composite measure of brand equity/value. The findings reported herein indicate that, although financially based brand equity valuations have been a low priority in the past, there is increasing interest in this area and in the evaluation of the long-term impact of promotional activity as part of a wider drive for marketing accountability.     

Investigating the service brand: A customer value perspective

Despite considerable interest in the nature and role of marketing using a service perspective [Vargo S., Lusch R. Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing. J Mark 2004; 68 (1): 1-17] there is limited research about branding. Research to date tends to be qualitative [e.g., Berry L. Cultivating service brand equity. J Acad Mark Sci 2000; 28: 128-137; de Chernatony L., Segal-Horn S. The criteria for successful services brands. Eur J Mark 2003; 37 (7/8): 1095-1118] rather than quantitative. This research closes this gap by developing and testing a theory of the influence of the service brand on the customer value-loyalty process. The model includes the traditional influence of brand image plus three additional influences that more fully reflect the broader service perspective (company image, employee trust, and company trust). Using survey data of a sample of 552 airline customers, the analysis shows there is a direct influence of all the aspects of the brand on customers' perceptions of value. In addition brand image, company image and employee trust have a mediated influence on customer value through customers' perceptions of service quality. Finally the analysis shows that a service brand does not have a direct influence on customer loyalty but rather its influence is mediated through customer value. This paper concludes with a discussion of the managerial and research implications.     

The Dynamic Relationship Between Investments in Brand Equity and Firm Profitability: Evidence Using Trademark Registrations

Abstract

Most marketing practitioners and scholars agree that marketing assets such as brand equity significantly contribute to a firm’s financial performance. In this paper, we model brand equity as an unobservable stock that results from up to 30 years of past brand-related investment flows. Using firm-specific trademarks as investment proxies, our results show a significant long-run impact on financial performance. The dynamic profile of brand-related investments has an inverted-U shape that reaches its peak after 11 years. On average, it takes four years before brand-related investments show a positive return, and investments older than 19 years show no significant impact. For the median trademarking firm, brand equity contributes €265,000 to annual profits.     

Constructing a relationship-based brand equity model

The purpose of this study is to develop and test a model in which several aspects of the service encounter including service staff, servicescape, customer similarity, and customer interaction are taken into account simultaneously as antecedents of relationship quality and generation of brand equity. Testing the hypotheses involved two service settings, banks and department stores. The findings demonstrate that serviced staff and customer interaction have significant direct effects on brand equity. Surprisingly, four variables of service encounter have significant indirect effects through relationship quality on brand equity. Based on these findings, the implications for managers and future research are identified.     

Sustainable growth for the self-employed in the retail industry based on customer equity,customer satisfaction,and loyalty

In Korea, traditional retail districts face a serious situation whereby businesses in downtown areas face collapsing as local population declines: resulting in a decrease in self-employed sales and a declining local economy. Traditional retailers use ambiguous accounting and are reluctant to use credit cards, and thus, the overall reliability of their customer data is low. This paper solves this problem by applying the concept of customer equity (CE). We conducted an empirical analysis through questionnaires to identify differences in CE between traditional and new retail formats. The questionnaire consisted of questions related to CE (value equity, brand equity, relation equity), satisfaction, loyalty, and demographic characteristics. CE and satisfaction were measured on a 5-point Likert scale. A total of 400 surveys were completed, resulting in 391 usable returns for analysis in this study. In the regression analysis between CE and customer satisfaction, both old and new retail firms showed statistically significant effects. In the traditional retail industry, value equity and brand equity were statistically significant, while relation equity were not.     

The impact of brand personality and sales promotions on brand equity

This research assesses the relative impact of a long-term brand management instrument (brand personality) and a short-term marketing mix instrument (sales promotions) on brand equity formation. The authors measure consumer perceptions of promotional intensity and brand personality and model their impact on brand equity. They find a positive impact of brand personality and a negative impact of sales promotion intensity on brand equity at the aggregate level. In line with research that identifies varying consumer responses to promotional deals, this study posits that the relative impact of the two elements varies across consumer groups. Three homogeneous consumer groups differ according to the relative impact of brand personality and consumer promotions on brand equity, following an application of a finite mixture partial least squares procedure.     

The antecedents of customer loyalty: A moderated mediation model of customer relationship management quality and brand image

This study examines the mediating role of customer relationship management (CRM) quality to better explain the effects of service evaluation variables (service quality, customer satisfaction and customer value) on customer loyalty. The study also investigates the moderating effect of brand image on these mediated relationships. The mediating role of CRM quality on the relationship between the service evaluation variables and customer loyalty is supported. Further, it is found that the indirect effect of customer satisfaction on customer loyalty via CRM quality is stronger when perceived brand image is high than when it is low. The results have implications for relationship managers, brand managers and scholars who use service evaluation and relational metrics to predict customer loyalty.     

Brand origin and country of manufacture influences on brand equity and the moderating role of brand typicality

This research investigates how country macro and micro images associated with both brand origin (BO) and country of manufacture (COM) impact two main dimensions of brand equity-brand image and brand quality. Whereas BO images relate positively to both dimensions of brand equity, COM images exert an impact on brand quality, not on brand image. The typicality of the brand as a representative of the country of origin moderates the impact of BO on brand equity, such that the effects of BO on brand equity are stronger when the brand is more typical. The authors explore implications for theory and practice.     

Marketing mix and customer equity of SPA brands:Cross-cultural perspectives

Globalization has substantially transformed the fashion industry. Firms that conduct innovative marketing campaigns for SPA brands, also known as fast fashion, are operating worldwide. Because SPA brands tend to have short trend cycles, corporate profitability is sensitive to consumers' attitudinal changes. The authors of this study establish a theoretical framework by examining research trends related to customer equity at home and abroad by delving into the current state of global SPA brands, defining customer equity, developing customer equity measurements, and conducting empirical analyses. This study uses structural equation models to analyze corporate marketing activity effects on customer lifetime value through brand attitude. Although earlier studies identify customer equity as driving value equity, brand equity, and relationship equity, the authors introduce social network equity as another driver.     

Investigating the antecedents of customer brand engagement and consumer-based brand equity in social media

The current research is concerned with identifying and testing the role of three main predictors: consumer involvement, consumer participation, and self-expressive brand on the customer brand engagement (CBE). The customer brand engagement is treated in the current study as multidimensional constructs comprising three main aspects: cognitive processing (CP), affection (AF), and activation (AC). It was also proposed a direct influence for these three aspects of CBE on consumer-based brand equity (CBBE). Using online surveys, we gathered data from fans/followers of mobile phone service providers, via Facebook fan pages in Jordan. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Based on structural equation modelling analyses (SEM), it was supported that CBE aspects were largely predicted by the role of consumer involvement (INV), consumer participation (COP), and self-expressive brand (SEB). However, we find that activation impact one dimension of the CBBE dimensions, namely, brand loyalty. Further, we find that brand awareness/associations affect perceived quality but not brand loyalty. To validate the CBE scale, future studies could investigate the impact of the scale using other social media platforms for different brands. The limited amount of empirical research on CBE was the motivation behind this research. In particular, there is no study that has investigated the main predictors of CBE and its consequences over developing context by proposing and testing the association between the antecedents of CBE with the dimensions of CBE, which in turn affect the dimensions of CBBE.     

Customer loyalty through social networks: Lessons from Zara on Facebook

Companies’ escalating investment in social media—in particular, in Facebook—has become reality. However, most firms still do not see social networks as a vehicle for cultivating and winning customer loyalty, but rather as a resource for creating brand awareness. In this article, we offer a different view. By examining fans and non-fans of the Zara brand on Facebook, we discovered that Facebook enhances the relations that increase loyalty via trust, customer satisfaction, perceived value, and commitment. Our results revealed that these relations are stronger for fans of the brand than for non-fans, and suggest that customer satisfaction is the strongest determinant of loyalty. This indicates a new opportunity for marketing managers to achieve customer loyalty: Facebook.     

Consumers’ relationships with brands and brand communities – The multifaceted roles of identification and satisfaction

This study integrates consumer-brand identification and customer satisfaction as core relationship drivers to study their interrelationships as well as the effects on customer loyalty and word-of-mouth communication. Considering multiple interacting targets of identification in brand communities, the empirical study unfolds the multifaceted, context-specific relevance of identification and satisfaction: While the effect of identification on brand loyalty is mediated by customer satisfaction, satisfaction has no significant effect on community loyalty. Moreover, brand communities are particularly useful for gaining new customers, whereas no increase in brand loyalty could be found. Managers are generally advised to specify constructs of interest related to different relevant targets of identification.     

Role of Customer Retention Equity in Creating and Developing Brand Value

The present study attempts to explore and establish a customer retention equity scale and examines its impact on brand value in the Indian banking sector. The data were collected from 500 account holders of the five nationalized banks—State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India, Housing Development Finance Corporation, and Jammu and Kashmir Bank from Jammu City, North India—using a purposive sampling technique. Structural equation modeling was applied to test the study hypotheses. The study finds that customer retention strategies that include loyalty and affinity schemes, special treatment benefits, a customer feedback survey, a courtesy system, and content marketing significantly contribute to retention equity. Further, the study also reveals that retention equity has a positive and significant impact on brand value and its dimensions—brand loyalty, brand association, and brand awareness. The study contributes to the extant literature by developing and validating the customer retention equity scale from customer perspectives in the Indian banking sector. In addition, the study also integrates the research stream of retention equity with brand value to signify the contributory role of customer retention equity on brand value and its dimensions. Since the study is limited to assessing customer retention equity and brand value relationship, their relationship with other constructs, such as relational quality, customer equity, and customer loyalty, should be explored in further work.     

Intended brand associations: Do they really drive consumer response?

Brand managers exhibit considerable effort to define intended brand associations to anchor in consumers' minds. They follow a credo deeply rooted in branding literature: intended brand associations drive consumer response and brand equity. This article investigates the benefits of a strong overlap of actual consumer brand associations and management-intended brand associations (brand association match). The article presents results from two large-scale studies (3353 and 1201 respondents) involving one consumer goods and one service brand with multiple operationalizations of consumer response (attitudinal and behavioral). The results show that consumers with high brand association match show more positive brand response. However, after accounting for the valence of associations match does not add explanatory power. This outcome challenges a key foundation of brand management. The discussion identifies reasons why match may not be necessary to achieve response and provides arguments why the results do not imply free play for brand managers.