Consumer-Based Brand Equity:Does Country of Origin (COO) Matter to Generation Z Consumers?

Brand equity refers to the value added to a brand due to its name and it endows the brand with several advantages, such as, better margins, better quality perceptions, brand loyalty and opportunities for brand extensions. Although the concept of brand equity has drawn the attention of researchers in past, the focus has been primarily on marketing mix elements and certain critical elements such as Country of Origin (COO) have been ignored. Further, brands cannot ignore Generation Z due to their ability to influence decisions and purchasing power. The current study intends to understand the role of COO image on the these young consumers so as to help firms in shaping their marketing strategies by establishing relationships between different variables such as COO image, perceived brand quality, brand loyalty and overall brand equity. Data were gathered through personally administered questionnaires distributed to 466 Generation Z respondents in India by using three categories as product stimuli: electronic gadgets; apparels and accessories. Among the three independent variables investigated in this study, brand loyalty had the most significant impact on brand equity. Our findings also show a significant positive role of perceived quality in influencing brand equity; perceived quality’s insignificant influence on brand loyalty; and COO image’s positive influence on brand equity. The findings however do not show any significant influence of COO image on quality perceptions of Generation Z consumers. Important theoretical and managerial contributions of the study have been discussed before providing limitations and directions for future research.