CONSUMER-BASED BRAND EQUITY: A CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

Even though the concept of brand equity has been debated for many years, consensus has not as yet been reached as to what brand equity means, what it comprises and how it is measured. Given, however, the considerable impact of culture on consumer behaviour it may be argued that brand equity is in fact a context-specific construct. To this end, this paper investigates the conceptualisation of brand equity from a cross-cultural perspective. Consumer-based brand equity is investigated with the use of a standardised questionnaire which is based on Aaker's (1991) and Lassar et al.'s (1995) model. The scale was administered in four distinct cultures, namely in the USA, China, Cyprus and Moldova, with a total sample of 184 respondents. The findings suggest a seven-dimensional brand equity construct. Inherent differences exist, however, between the respondents of the different cultures as to the strength and composition of each dimension. Further, the paper establishes the positive effect of brand equity on the respondents' purchase decisions. The main limitation pertains to the sample: a convenience sample was employed and the number of respondents per culture is small. Moreover, only one product category was examined. The paper highlights, however, the need to blend both quantitative and qualitative methods in improving the consumer-based brand equity construct. The paper can contribute to the existing body of knowledge by addressing the need to further investigate the brand equity's dimensionality, especially in view of different contexts.