Keyword

Brand awareness, brand association, product quality; repurchase intention, cosmetics, brands, male consumers.

Abstract

        This study assessed the influence of brand awareness, brand association and product quality on brand loyalty and repurchase intention among male consumers of cosmetic brands in South Africa. It is also imperative to note that, despite the theoretical contributions made by many scholars on repurchase intention of various brands, they seem to be a paucity of studies that have investigated the influence of brand awareness, brand association and product quality on brand loyalty and repurchase intention. The study utilized a quantitative research design using a structured questionnaire. In addition, they study made use of a sample of male consumers in Gauteng province of South Africa. Four hypotheses were posited and to empirically test these hypotheses, a sample data set of 150 was used. The findings indicate that brand awarenesshas a positive and significant influence on brand loyalty, brand association has a positive and insignificant influence on brand loyalty, product quality has a positive and significant influence on brand loyalty and brand loyalty exerts a positive and significant influence on purchase intention. The empirical study provided fruitful implications to academicians by making a significant contribution to the brand management literature by systematically exploring the influence of brand awareness, brand association and product quality on brand loyalty and repurchase intention. This study therefore, stand to immensely contribute new knowledge to the existing body of brand management literature in Africa – a context that is often most neglected by some researchers in developing countries.


Full Text : PDF

References
  1. Ajzen, I. 1985. From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior. In J. Kuhl & J. Beckman (Eds.), Action-control: From cognition to behavior (pp. 11–39). Heidelberg, Germany: Springer-Verlag.
  2. Anderson, E. W., Fornell, C., & Lehmann, D.  1994. Customer Satisfaction, Market Share, and Profitability: Findings from Sweden. Journal of Marketing, 58(3), pp. 53-66.
  3. Anderson, J.C & Gerbing, D.W. 1988. Structural equation modeling in practice: a review and recommended two steps approach, Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), pp. 411-423. 
  4. Atilgan, E., Aksoy, S., &Akinci, S. 2005. Determinants of the brand equity: A verification approach in the beverage industry in Turkey. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 23(3), pp. 237-248.
  5. Atilgan, E., Aksoy, S., & Akinci, S. 200. Determinants of the brand equity: A verification approach in the beverage industry in Turkey. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 23(3), pp. 237-248.
  6. Azadi, E.M 2015.Relationship between brand association and brand loyalty in the fans of private clubs in Iran. Biomed Pharmacol Journal, 8(2), pp. 1-8
  7. Bilgili, B., &Ozkul, E. 2015. Brand Awareness, Brand Personality, Brand Loyalty and Consumer Satisfaction Relations in Brand Positioning Strategies (A Torku Brand Sample). Journal of Global Strategic Management, 9(2),pp. 89-106.
  8. Boisvert, J., 2011. Conceptualization and modelling of the process behind brand association .transfer. International journal of Market Research, 53(4), 541-556 
  9. Chavan, R.B. 2003.Manual on quality Assurance for Khadi. Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Rural Industrialization a Collaborative Project of KVIC & IITD
  10. Chen, A.C.H 2001.Using free association to examine the relationship between the characteristic of brand association and brand equity.Journal of Product & Brand Management, Decision Processes, 50(2), 179-211.
  11. Dhurup, M., Mafini, C., &Dumasi, T. 2014. The impact of packaging, price and brand awareness on brand loyalty: evidence from the paint retailing industry: original research. Act a Commercii, 14(1), 1-9.
  12. Ekhveh, A & Darvishi, A.Z. 2015. The Impact of Brand Awareness on Re-purchase Intention of Customers With Trilogy of Emotions Approach (Case Study for Cell Phones). Applied mathematics in Engineering, Management and Technology, 3(4), 25-30.
  13. Gounaris, S., Bimitraids, S., & Stathakopoulos, V. 2010. An examination of the effects of service quality and satisfaction on customers behavioral intentions in e-shopping. Journal of services marketing, 24(2), pp. 142-156.
  14. Hellier,P.H., Geursen, G.M., Carr, R.A & Rickard, J.A 2003. "Customer repurchase intention: A general structural equation model", European Journal of Marketing, 37(11/12), pp. 1762 – 1800.
  15. Hennig-Thurau, T. & Klee, A. 1997. The Impact of Customer Satisfaction and Relationship Quality on Customer Retention: A Critical Reassessment and Model Development. Psychology & Marketing, 14(8), pp. 737-764.
  16. Itsarintr, K. 2011. Factors Affecting Positive Word of Mouth and Repurchase Intention: A Case Study of Clothing Retailers in Bangkok. AU-GSB e-JOURNAL, 4(2),pp.92-99.
  17. Jahanshahi, A.A., Gashti, M.A.H., Mirdamadi, S.A., Nawaser, K &Khaksar S.M.S 2011. Study the Effects of Customer Service and Product quality on Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty. International journal of Humanities and Social Science, 7(1), pp. 253-259
  18. Jamil, B., & Wong, C. H. 2010. Factors influencing repurchase intention of smartphones. Journal of Marketing Research, 4(12),pp. 289-294.
  19. Jing, Z., Pitsaphol, C., &Shabbir, R. 2014. The Influence of Brand Awareness, Brand Image and Perceived Quality on Brand Loyalty: A Case Study of Oppo Brand In Thailand. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 5(12), pp. 10-21. 
  20. Khan, M. N., Zain-ul-Aabdean, M. S., Nadeem, B., & Rizwan, M. 2016. The Impact of Product and Service Quality on Brand Loyalty: Evidence from Quick Service Restaurants. American Journal of Marketing Research, 2(3), pp. 84-94
  21. Kocoglu, C., Tengilimoglu, D., Ekiyor, A &Guzel, A.  2015. The Effects of Brand Loyalty on the Consumer Buying Behaviors: The Example of Perfume in the Province of Ankara. International Journal of Humanities and Management Sciences, 3(5), pp. 318-323.
  22. Krishnan, H.S 1996. Characteristics of memory association: A customer- based brand equity perspective. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 13, pp. 389-405
  23. Kuscu, A & Ozcam 2014. Analyzing Factors Affecting Repurchase Intention During Gezi Park Brand Protests. European Journal of Business and Management, 6(38), pp. 177-188.
  24. Lanza, K.M. 2008.The antecedents of Automotive Brand Loyalty and Repurchase Intentions, doctoral dissertation, University of Phoenix.
  25. Len T.W, Cindy M, Lynn M.M 2007. Research issues in building brand equity and global brands in the PC market. Journal of Marketing Management, 3(1), pp. 137-155.
  26. Lin, C.S & Chen, C.F. 2010. Application of theory of planned behavior on the study of workplace Dishonesty, 2010 International Conference on Economics, Business  and Management,
  27. Malik, M. E., Ghafoor, M. M., Hafiz, K. I., Riaz, U., Hassan, N. U., Mustafa, M., &Shahbaz, S. 2013.Importance of brand awareness and brand loyalty in assessing purchase intentions of consumer. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 4(5), pp. 167-171.
  28. Mehdi, J.S., Mojganc, K., &Masoud, J. 2013. Investigation of the effective factors on brand loyalty and repurchase intention (Case study: Iranian Consumers). Research journal of recent sciences. 2(2), pp. 10-17.
  29. Ndukwe, G.I. 2011. The Effect of Product Quality on Brand Loyalty. Study of MTN. https://www.academia.edu/1766154/The_Effect_of_Product_Quality_on_Brand_Loyalty._A Study_of_ MTN. [Accessed on, 20, 03-14].
  30. Nunnally, J.C & Bernstein. 1994. Psychometric theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.
  31. Pamacheche, R., Chinomona, R., & Chuchu, T. (2016). Management’s Commitment, Education and Ethics on Organisational Entrepreneurship: The Case of South African Non-Profit Organisations. Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, 8(4), 133-143.
  32. Pather, P. 2016. Brand equity as a predictor of repurchases intention of male branded cosmetic products in South Africa. Business & Social Science Journal, 1(3), pp. 193-247. 
  33. Reich, A. Z., McCleary, K. W., Tepanon, Y., & Weaver, P. A. 2006. The impact of product and service quality on brand loyalty: An exploratory investigation of quick-service restaurants. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 8(3), pp. 35-53.
  34. Said, H. 2014. Mobile phone brand loyalty and repurchase intention. European Journal of Business and Management, 6(26), pp. 69-72.
  35. Smith, J. R., Terry, D. J., Manstead, A. S., Louis, W. R., Kotterman, D., & Wolfs, J. 2007. Interaction Effects in the Theory of Planned Behavior: The Interplay of Self Identity,and Past Behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37(11), pp. 2726-2750.
  36. Sun, H., Kim, S., &Heo., E.J. (2016). What Attracts Chinese Customers to Repurchase Korean cosmetcis? Advanced Science and Technology Letters, 126 (Business2016), pp. 55-60. 
  37. Tsai, C.Y. 2010. Applying the theory of planned behavior to explore the independent travellers’ behavior, African Journal of Business Management, 4(2), pp. 221-234.
  38. Upamannyu, N. K., Gulati, C., Chack, A., & Kaur, G. The effect of customer trust on customer loyalty and repurchase intention: the moderating influence of perceived csr. International Journal of Research in IT, Management and Engineering, 4(5), pp. 1-31.
  39. Yousaf, U., Zulfiqar, R., Altaf, M., & Aslam, M. 2012.Studying brand loyalty in the cosmetics industry. Log-Forum, 8(4), pp. 327-337.
  40. Xu, F., Li, Y., & Zhou, J. 2015. Brand Awareness for Entrepreneurial Hotel Chains: Perceived Quality and Brand Loyalty. Anthropologist, 19(3), pp. 763-771.
  41. Zboja, J. J., & Voorhees, C. M. 2006.The impact of brand trust and satisfaction on retailer repurchase intentions. Journal of Services Marketing, 20(6), pp. 381-390.