This issue has a mix of research papers—three quantitative and two qualitative.
The first paper, “Brand Engagement and Materialism: Attitude Towards Shopping”, by Sarabjot Singh, focuses on ‘brand engagement in self-concept’, which expresses how brands shape consumer identities and allow consumers to express themselves to others. The conclusion arrived at is that brand engagement in self-concept leads to a liking for shopping. The results also show that strong liking for material values builds strong preference towards shopping.
The next paper, “The Role of Consumer Personality Trait and Brand Personality Trait in Creating Customer Experience”, by Bikram Jit Singh Mann and Jyoti Rawat, uses structural modeling to explain how various dimensions of brand and customer personality traits influence emotional attachment to brands (i.e., affection, connection and passion). It also shows that emotional connection with the brand in turn leads to customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The study is conducted in the context of cell phones.

The third paper, “The Effect of Brand Equity on Customer Satisfaction: An Empirical Study Based on David Aaker’s Brand Equity Model”, by Zoyia Tanveer and Rab Nawaz Lodhi, measures the effect of brand equity on customer satisfaction through David Aaker’s brand equity model. This study was conducted considering the branded shoes market in Pakistan. The results show that while dimensions of brand equity such as perceived quality, brand awareness and brand association have an impact on brand equity, brand equity in turn has an impact on customer satisfaction.

The fourth paper, “Consumer Orientation Towards Counterfeit Fashion Products:
A Qualitative Analysis”, by Satish Agarwal and Savita Panwar, explores consumers’ attitude towards counterfeit fashion products. It is a qualitative research paper based on in-depth interviews with 25 respondents. Counterfeit fashion products are purchased by those who are value-conscious, but are at the same time attracted by the status, image and prestige associated with owning and flaunting a well-known fashion brand. Positive past experience with counterfeit products and susceptibility to social pressure also influence consumers to buy counterfeit products. However, those driven by uniqueness and novelty-seeking behaviors are likely to keep away from counterfeits.

The last paper, “The Spectacle of Excess: A Marketing-Cum-Financial Analysis of WWE Inc.”, by Varun Bajaj and Shivaji Banerjee, presents a qualitative overview of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) primarily from the marketing angle, with a limited analysis of its share market performance. The paper narrates how WWE has transformed itself from a sports to an entertainment channel by uniquely positioning and promoting specific wrestlers (whom it refers to as WWE superstars) and also by efficiently managing its talent pool.

-R Harish
Consulting Editor