Consumers' assessment of the brand equity of garment brands

The assessment of brand equity and its sources is a trend among researchers and garment brand companies nowadays. The purpose of the current study is to explore the impact of two independent variables, including "words of mouth" (WOM) and "brand personality", on the dependent variable "brand equity", along with the assessment of mediating effects of "relationship quality". Previous literature on the subject suggests that multiple sources including "words of mouth" and "brand personality" influence "brand equity", but no attempts have been made for the assessment of "relationship quality" as a mediator among sources of brand equity in the context of garment brands. The present study aims at filling that gap through the presentation of a statistical model. Respondents in the sample included the regular customers of the garment brands. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to fddd the collected data. The results indicated that the "WOM" and "brand personality" had a significantly positive influence on "brand equity". "Relationship quality" was found to have a strong mediating effect. The theory of brand equity and the social exchange theory was used to develop a representative model. Results of the study strengthen the premises of the theory of brand equity and the social exchange theory. The researchers recommended the exploration of the influence of other possible mediating variables in future researches. Recommendations were also made for the administrators of the garment brand companies for the consideration of "relationship quality" along with the sources of "brand equity", including "words of mouth" and "brand personality" for improved decision making and competitive advantage.