The Research On Brand Image's Contribution Path To Brand Performance

Brand image is consumer's perceiption in consumer mind,including cognition, association, and the appraisal, which is the basic concept in marketing research about consumer behavior and brand equity. Because it's usual implement in practice, brand image attracted much attention from brand researchers and brand managers. Although it emerged with brand at the same time, there are still some research gap in brand image research. Firstly, the definition is always in disability, no stable constructional image model suggested in this field. Due to the different research perspective, definition varied greatly and no common idea is reached. Several model was found in recent years, but all of them are mental models without empirical confirmation. Secondly, comprehensive perspective research is imperative. One side, we should investigate brand image furtherly, on the other hand, the relative research founding (eg. brand relationship, brand knowledge) should be integrated. In the end, the path which brand equity was formed from brand image or brand performance still worth further study. Brand image and brand relationships are both thoughted as the source of brand equity base, but in-depth path to equity is still notional, not empirically. Practically, the theoretical study and practical research in imperatively in the background of great China is growing up. 1. In modern times, great brand and localized brand management tool are both vital for great China. 2. It is reported that there are great percepeiton difference about a certain brand lies in internal and external consumer mind, but we donlt know the structural details about it. 3. Some research indicats national brand drope behind foreign brand greatly, especially in brand image,while brand image study in Chinese background will help find the difference and find the developing roads.Intent to solve those problem and catch the research chance, this research will integrate the past research about brand image construction, model investigation, and relative field(eg. brand relation), construct the local brand image model in Chinese background, explore the function path from brand relation and brand image to brand performance, and validate brand relation, brand image, and brand performance comprehensive model. In more detail,this research includes two main content,one is to construct comprehensive brand image model in Chinese bankground,which is to further structural theory in local brand study,the other one is to eastablish a contribution path model about brand relationship,brand image ,and brand performance,which will help us investigate the clear path among them.Academically, the brand research trend changed quickly and the focus varied in very short time. When the research fashion is transformed, but the stable definition isn't still formed, say nothing of the brand image model. In despite of the study fashion varied, the brand image is still the base to investigate the consumer behaviors, brand strategies, and brand equity. After 30's years economy construction in open policy, it is time to propell brand image study based on the prolific study in past decades because of the mentioned backgruoud. This research reviewed detail study about brand image, structural theory, empirical model et al. in different respectives, such as consumer behavior, personal perception, brand communication, and brand equity. Almost the study in each perspective have made great progress, but some shortage exists at the same time. All of the study from the four respectives have't reach a common definition, didn't protest a consistent model, and no comprehensive model is accepted academically. So this paper will develop in comprehensicve respective, which integrate all the achievement in brand image study and relative research. Based on the review,this paper suggest to construct local brand image model in Chinese background in two perspective, perceptions'attribute(psychology perspective) and brand image contents(brand element respective), comprehensive image model is suggested, the empirical study is carried on base 769 sample from 13 industries and 30 categories. The result indicates that the brand image structure model is formed by five factors, including user, service, product, corporate , as well as VI image.Brand image is considered as the source and base of brand equity or brand performance in recent research, as well as brand relationships.Otherwise no paper is pubished to explain the clear contribution path to the brand performance. The research begins from traditional consumer decision revision model, this dissertation has testified that brand relation has effective affection on brand image, which including brand relation type have positive affection on the consumer perception. In the second, the study found brand image is the direct factors which affect brand performance in the end, which includes brand identity, consumer satisfaction, and brand loyalty. After the two steps finished, the comprehensive path model is constructed. The model is approved in empirical study base on 769 sample around the country. So it is evident that brand relation is indirect base to brand performance whose interface variable is brand image.Furtherly, different brand relationship has different contribution path to the brand performance transtered by brand image remarkablly.This dissertation developed a comprehensive brand image model in Chinese background, which is great hint to further study about brand performance or brand equity,which will propel forward study about Chinese consumers, and which will help us to develop some practical model pratically too.