Consumer-Based Brand Equity and Purchase Intention towards Counterfeit Goods

B.Sc. Krizzia Mae Navarro

Master's thesis

A Study of the Non-Original Branded Athletic Footwear Market in the Philippines

Abstract:

The problem of counterfeiting is a continually growing global concern for businesses, especially with the prevalence of international trade and emergence of manufacturing technologies. This is particularly true for multinational businesses with highly recognized brands, especially in the fashion retail industry, which counterfeiters imitate into lower-cost, lower-quality products available for public consumption. Due to the rise in demand in the market and relatively cheaper labour and resources in the region, Southeast Asia has grown into both a rising consumer base for branded products and a growing hotbed for counterfeit branded products. As such, businesses are advised to adapt the strength of their brands, quantified with the marketing concept of Consumer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE), to appeal to the decision of potential customers whether to buy authentic products of those brands. Consumer-Based Brand Equity is seen from the perspective of the consumer: how they view the brand and its associated products, and the attributes of the product appealing to them the most from the associations made from the brand. In the context of the Philippines, a Southeast Asian market of interest, and the branded athletic footwear industry in that country, this study aims to investigate the connection between the equity of a brand and the probability of a consumer to buy an inauthentic product bearing that brand. The methods of independence testing and choice-based conjoint analysis are used to assess the present and future choices of buyers of branded athletic footwear in the Philippines. It is then found that the average Filipino buyer does put the quality of the branded athletic footwear product into top consideration, but must still meet an affordable price level, otherwise, there is still a considerable chance for them to buy an imitation product instead. Thus, branded footwear manufacturers are recommended to take note of this balance between quality and price.

Abstract:

The problem of counterfeiting is a continually growing global concern for businesses, especially with the prevalence of international trade and emergence of manufacturing technologies. This is particularly true for multinational businesses with highly recognized brands, especially in the fashion retail industry, which counterfeiters imitate into lower-cost, lower-quality products available for public consumption. Due to the rise in demand in the market and relatively cheaper labour and resources in the region, Southeast Asia has grown into both a rising consumer base for branded products and a growing hotbed for counterfeit branded products. As such, businesses are advised to adapt the strength of their brands, quantified with the marketing concept of Consumer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE), to appeal to the decision of potential customers whether to buy authentic products of those brands. Consumer-Based Brand Equity is seen from the perspective of the consumer: how they view the brand and its associated products, and the attributes of the product appealing to them the most from the associations made from the brand. In the context of the Philippines, a Southeast Asian market of interest, and the branded athletic footwear industry in that country, this study aims to investigate the connection between the equity of a brand and the probability of a consumer to buy an inauthentic product bearing that brand. The methods of independence testing and choice-based conjoint analysis are used to assess the present and future choices of buyers of branded athletic footwear in the Philippines. It is then found that the average Filipino buyer does put the quality of the branded athletic footwear product into top consideration, but must still meet an affordable price level, otherwise, there is still a considerable chance for them to buy an imitation product instead. Thus, branded footwear manufacturers are recommended to take note of this balance between quality and price.

Keywords

consumer-based brand equity, branding, counterfeiting, marketing research, conjoint analysis, footwear market, Southeast Asia

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 31. 7. 2021

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: doc. PhDr. Ing. Jaroslava Dědková, Ph.D.

Technical University of Liberec

Faculty of Economics

Master programme / field:
Business Administration / Management of Business Processes