How brand knowledge influences consumers' purchase intentions.

摘要

Keller's (1998) model depicting the dimensions of brand knowledge has been widely cited. However, no research has examined the entire model and investigated how the components of brand knowledge simultaneously impact consumers' purchase intentions. The purpose of this research was to test the fit of Keller's brand knowledge model and propose an alternative model if Keller's model failed to achieve a good fit. To do this, we investigated the relationships between different dimensions of brand knowledge and consumers' intention to buy selected branded apparel products.; A survey of 930 college students was used to examine how each component contributes to brand knowledge and consumers' purchase intentions for two apparel product categories: jeans and athletic shoes. Path analysis using AMOS was used to test the fit of Keller's model. Keller's model did not fit well because there was a high degree of co-linearity between several constructs as indicated by correlation coefficients greater than .90. An alternative model aggregating some of Keller's brand knowledge components was then developed that was conceptually and statistically well fitting (to the sample data set). The results of this study showed extrinsic brand attributes had a greater impact on perceived benefits than did brand awareness or intrinsic brand attributes. Consumers' brand attitudes toward jeans and athletic shoes are more influenced by their perceptions of benefits than by brand awareness or intrinsic brand attributes. Brand attitude directly impacts consumers' purchase decisions. There were no product category differences in the impact of the brand knowledge component on consumers' intention to buy jeans and athletic shoes, suggesting the revised model is equally appropriate for these two apparel product categories. Implications for academics and industry are discussed.