Application of Consumer Based Brand Equity Model in Indian Banking Sector

With advent of new technologies, banking sector has undergone a great transformation. While this has improved the customer's service experience, it has also posed a challenge for the banks to differentiate their services from the competitors. Now banks are finding it hard to make a name for them and create a brand identity that distinguishes them from the other players in the market. As a result, Indian banks are trying to enhance their brand equity by all means possible. This study is aimed at examining the applicability and practicality of consumer based brand equity model in the Indian banking sector. A sample of 300 customers of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank has been taken to check the relationship between perceived quality of the brand, brand awareness, brand association and brand loyalty with brand equity. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CPA) were done to check the validity of the scale. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to explore the relationships between brand equity and its determinants. The results suggested that brand association and brand loyalty have a significantly positive impact on brand equity while the effect of perceived quality of the brand and brand association was found to be insignificant.