How does brand equity work? A review of theory and a research agenda

Abstract

This chapter addresses a topic that has attracted the attention of brand management researchers over the past few decades: brand equity. However, there are still important unanswered questions. After framing the importance of the topic within the general literature on brand management, two major prisms through which brand equity has been studied in the academic research are analyzed, namely the financial perspective vs. the customer perspective. Against this backdrop, the chapter centers on customer-based brand equity (CBBE) to explore the conceptual definition of the term, examining the seminal works of Aaker and Keller. It also addresses the measurement of CBBE, its component dimensions, and scholarly attempts to develop multidimensional and unidimensional measurement scales. Finally, taking a bibliometric approach, the published scientific output on brand equity is analyzed, tracing back to its emergence as a topic of interest; and, based on this analysis, suggestions are made regarding the need for research in the coming years.