How societal and individual diversity affect brand equity of high versus low involvement products and moderating role of social and content values

Abstract

In recent years, progress in technology, social media accessibility and extensive consumer information have made companies way of doing business more transparent than ever before. In the light of this opinion, ethical behavior of a company is essential for brand building. But does becoming an ethically perceived brand have any impact on outcome variables under investigation for its product brands? The purpose of the present research is to determine the relationship between customer perceived ethicality and brand equity along with its dimensions, in the presence of social and content values as a moderator. A research model with hypothesized relationships is formulated and evaluated so that to address the research question. Data has been gathered from 600 Facebook users who also are consumers of soft drink (low involvement) and smartphone (high involvement) products through convenience sampling in shopping malls at Karachi. The hypothesis is tested using structural equations modeling. The results suggest that there is a positive relationship between customer perceived ethicality and brand equity and its dimensions. Additionally, findings suggest that both social and content values moderate the relationship. These results have valuable implications for managers. To succeed, buyers must have association in addition to trust their brands.