Literature Review

Concept of branding
Branding has become a necessity in business. Just a product or service is not enough anymore.
Additional value and especially find brand management are also needed. Brand is the added
value for what the consumer is ready to pay more, compared to an ordinary, unnamed product
that fulfills the same desire (Laakso, 2003). Keller, Parameswaran and Jacob (2011) conclude
American Marketing Associations definition of a brand as a name, term, sign, symbol or
design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or
group of seller and to differentiate them from those of other sellers.
For consumers brands are vital because they provide them information about the product maker
or service provider of the brand and thus allow them assign responsibility to a particular
manufacturer and also ease the consumers decisions of which product/ brand to use. If
consumers can recognize or recall a brand, it is more likely that they will also use a product of
that certain brand.
Brand Image
A brand image is how the consumers perceive the brand (Aaker, 2012). The impressions
consumers have of a company extend well beyond the product or service the firm provides.
According to a research conducted by Cho (2011), brand image is a consumers perceptions and
feeling towards a brand shaped by direct/indirect brand experiences, which captures cognitive,
sensory, and emotional aspects. These are reflected by the three dimensions of mystery,
sensuality, and intimacy respectively. Keller (2001) defines brand image as perceptions about a
brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory. A company or its
product/services which constantly holds a favorable image by the public, would definitely gain a
better position in the market, sustainable competitive advantage, and increase market share or
performance (Park, Jaworski & MacInnis, 1986).
Brand image has been conceptualized and operationalized in several ways. It has been measured
based on attributes, brand benefits/ values or using Malhotras (1981) brand image scale.
Measuring image based on the above definition helps identify the strength and weaknesses of
brand as well as consumers perceptions toward their product or services (Sondoh, Omar, Wahid,
Ismail & Harun, 2007).
Cho (2011) developed a brand image scale based on three brand image dimensions (i.e. mystery,
sensuality, and intimacy) that captured cognitive, emotional as well as sensory experiences. The
research concluded that even though a brand may not contribute to creating brand loyalty, love or
respect, a brand image had significant positive influence on brand love, respect and loyalty.
Brand image conveys emotional value and not just a mental image. It is a composite of perceived
quality and esteem dimensions. A positive brand image can be considered as a crucial ability of a
corporation to hold its market position. Onyancha (2013) suggests that brand image of a bank is
not absolute; it is relative to brand images of competing banks. The customers often form a brand
image of a brank from their own banking experiences. A favorable bank brand image helps
strengthen the intentions customers have for selecting a bank (Onyancha, 2013)
Overall, a brand image can generate value in terms of helping customers to process information,
differentiating the brand, generating reasons to buy, give positive feelings, and providing a basis
for extensions (Aaker, 2009). Creating and maintaining a brand is an important part of a firms
strategy. Therefore, it is very important to understand the development of image formation and
its consequences such as customer satisfaction.
Service Quality
- Customers overall impression or assessment concerning the relative inferiority or
superiority of the organization and its services ( Zeithaml, 1988; Bitner and Hubbert ,
1994)
- Measured by comparison of customers expectations with customers perceptions of
actual service performance (Pasrasuranaman et al. 1965). Customers form expectations
prior to their encounter with the service. They develop perceptions during the process of
service delivery and then they compare their perceptions to their expectations while
evaluating the outcome of service encounter.
- Service quality means how well the service level delivered conforms to customers
expectations.
- Parasuramans SERVQUAL model widely used to measure disparity between
dimensions of expectation and perception in service experience.
- For banks, service attributes to perforamncee defined within the service dimension of
reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles ( Service quality index: a
study on Malaysian banks, khong kok wei)
Customer Satisfaction
Customer Satisfaction is the accumulated experience of a customers purchase and consumption
experiences (Onyancha, 2013). The clients satisfaction in this paper will be measured through
overall satisfaction towards the services. When a product is matched with the expectation of the
customers, it enhances its satisfaction which ultimately leads to profitability (Anderson, Fornell
& Lehmann, 1994). Oliver (1997) defines satisfaction as a consumers fulfillment response.
According to a research conducted by Oliver (1997), a number of related concepts which
represent either the affective (liking/pleasure) or cognitive (thinking/judging) components of
product and service experienced or a hybrid of two is frequently used interchangeably with
satisfaction. These components are moods (feelings), quality (cognitive judgment), value
(comparative judgment) and attitude (hybrid affective-cognitive judgment). Whereas moods can
emerge as pure feeling states, attitudes result from deliberate processing of information. Attitude
can exist prior to purchase/usage whereas satisfaction exists after users purchase and
consumption experience (Oliver, 1997)
Szymanski and Henard (2001) noted that previous research on consumers satisfaction focused
primarily on the effects of expectations, disconfirmation of expectations, performance, affect and
equity on satisfaction. the expectancy disconfirmation paradigm suggests that consumers are
satisfied when the product perform better than expected (positive disconfirmation), dissatisfied
when consumers expectations exceeded actual product performance (negative disconfirmation),
and neutral satisfaction when the product performance matches expectations (zero
disconfirmation/confirmation) (Bearden & Teel, 1983).
Expectancy disconfirmation is the result of a comparison between what was expected and what
was observed. The first component of disconfirmation, expectation, is a predisposing prediction
sometimes stated as a probability or likelihood of attribute or product performance.
Performance is the perceived amount of product or service attribute outcomes received, usually
reported on an objective scale bounded by good and bad levels of performance.
For this study, the satisfaction response will be reflected towards the level of affection for the
brand. Oliver (1997) noted that consumers at the affective stage would develop a positive
attitude towards the brand as a result of satisfactory repetitive usage over time.
Brand Image and Customer Satisfaction
Customers may explain their satisfaction with products or services in terms of specific aspects
such as products attributes, price, customer service or the combination of these features. These
products attributes on their combination of products features are related to brand. Ahmad and
Hashim (2010) find that satisfaction mediates the relationship between customer based brand
equity construct and loyalty. Bloemer, De Ruyter and Peeters (1998) investigated the image
related issues in banks and pointed out that a positive brand image of a bank significantly
improves perceived service quality. Brand image is thus a critical determinant of service quality.
Brand image includes a products appeal, ease of use, functionality, fame and overall value. It is
the objective and mental feedback of the consumers when they purchase a product. Positive
brand image is exceeding the customers expectation. Meeting expectations result in satisfaction.
(Oliver, 1997).
Loyalty
- Positive propensity for an organization or brand. Can be considered as positive word-of-
mouth, repurchase intention
- Concept can be conceptualized as two-dimensional construct attitude and behavior (
argument on whether more attitude or more behavior)
References
Laakso, H. (2003). Brandit kilpailuetuna. 5. uud. p. Helsinki: Talentum Media Oy.
Keller, K. L., Parameswaran, M. G., & Jacob, I. (2011). Strategic brand management: Building,
measuring, and managing brand equity. Pearson Education India.
Keller, K. L. (2001). Building customer-based brand equity: a blueprint for creating strong brands (pp. 68-
72). Marketing Science Institute.
Aaker, D. A. (2012). Building strong brands. Simon and Schuster.
Aaker, D. A. (2009). Managing brand equity. Simon and Schuster.
Cho, E. (2011). Development of a brand image scale and the impact of lovemarks on brand equity.

Onyancha, G. K. (2013). The Impact of Bank Brand Image on Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty: A Case
of Kenya Commercial Bank. European Journal of Business and Management, 5(21), 35-39.

Park, C. W., Jaworski, B. J., & Maclnnis, D. J. (1986). Strategic Brand Concept-Image
Management. Journal of marketing, 50(4).
Sondoh Jr, S. L., Omar, M. W., Wahid, N. A., Ismail, I., & Harun, A. (2007). The effect of brand image on
overall satisfaction and loyalty intention in the context of color cosmetic. Asian Academy of Management
Journal, 12(1), 83-107.
Anderson, E. W., Fornell, C., & Lehmann, D. R. (1994). Customer satisfaction, market share, and
profitability: findings from Sweden. The Journal of Marketing, 53-66.
Szymanski, D. M., & Henard, D. H. (2001). Customer satisfaction: a meta-analysis of the empirical
evidence. Journal of the academy of marketing science, 29(1), 16-35.
Bearden, W. O., & Teel, J. E. (1983). Selected determinants of consumer satisfaction and complaint
reports. Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), 20(1).
Oliver, R. L. (1997). Satisfaction: A behavioral perspective on the customer. New York.
Ahmad, Z., & Hashim, R. (2010). Customers brand equity and customer loyalty: a study on hotels
conference market. World Appl. Sci. J. 10 (Special Issue of Tourism & Hospitality), 115-120.
Bloemer, J., De Ruyter, K., & Peeters, P. (1998). Investigating drivers of bank loyalty: the complex
relationship between image, service quality and satisfaction. International Journal of Bank
Marketing, 16(7), 276-286.
Malhotra, N. K. (1981). A Scale to Measure Self-Concepts, Person Concepts, and Product
Concepts. Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), 18(4).