Unveiling the Impact of Country of Origin in Forming Perception Towards Brand Equity for Automobiles: Testing the Mediating Effects of Aaker’s Brand Equity Dimensions

Abstract

This study examines multifaceted drivers of brand equity for passenger cars and describes conceptual underpinnings and real-world usability for global companies. The Aaker’s Model of Brand Equity is adopted for this study. The model considers four dimensions named perceived quality, brand loyalty, brand association and brand awareness as mediators to test the impact of Country of Origin (COO) on brand equity for passenger cars. The empirical findings are portrayed through the lens of a comprehensive survey conducted and data collected from 500 respondents using a convenience sampling within the Indian context for the automobile sector (passenger cars). The analysis of the study was done using SPSS. The results conclude that country of origin positively impacts brand equity as well as all the brand equity dimensions i.e brand loyalty, perceived quality, brand awareness and brand association. The study also shows that these dimensions impact brand equity for automobiles and act as mediators between Country of origin and brand equity.