Consumer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE), customer satisfaction and brand loyalty in Malaysian public universities

Abstract

The objectives of this study are to examine the relationships between consumer-based brand equity and student satisfaction, student satisfaction, and brand loyalty, and the mediation role of student satisfaction in the relationship between customer-based brand equity and brand loyalty in four sampled Malaysian public universities. Using the consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) model as the main conceptual framework, the present study examined five predictor variables (namely physical quality, staff behaviour, ideal-self congruence, brand identification, and lifestyle-congruence) to explain customer satisfaction as a mediator variable and ultimately brand loyalty as a dependent variable. An analysis is conducted using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method in SmartPLS 3.0 based on a sample of 300 respondents. The study found that three dimensions of CBBE have a significant positive relationship with customer satisfaction. The findings also show that customer satisfaction has an impact on brand loyalty. Customer satisfaction partially mediates the impacts of staff behaviour, ideal-self congruence, and brand identification on brand loyalty, while fully mediating the impacts of physical quality and lifestyle-congruence. Therefore, the findings lend support to H2, H3, H4, H6, H7b, H7c, and H7d, whereas, H1, H5, H7a and H7e are not supported.