Formation of brand equity in smartphones

Abstract

ABSTRACT Many researchers have conducted various empirical studies to find the formation process of customer-based brand equity. Customer-based brand equity has recognized important attention where consumers enable to have right experience towards the products and services. The smartphone industry is competitive with new product proliferation and technological changes; therefore there is a need to examine how brand equity is formed in smartphones. But in smartphones, the result might be different. This research was conducted to find the process of brand equity formation in smartphones. The study was conducted in two phases - pretest and main study. The pretest was analyzed with 100 samples to filter the initial instrument through exploratory factor analysis and reliability test. The main study was conducted using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling with 580 samples. From the study, it was found that brand equity is formed as a process consisting of marketing programs, followed by brand equity dimensions. Further, it was found that brand preference is vital factor for creating brand loyalty and brand repurchase. On the contrary, brand image has adverse effect on brand loyalty and brand repurchase. This concludes that brand image is not sufficient for creating brand loyalty and brand repurchase and can be achieved only through brand preference. Marketers need to take care of these factors while devising marketing plans, Keywords: Smartphones, customer-based brad equity, confirmatory tactor analysis, structural equation modeling, brand preference