Description
This paper relies on social identity theory to explore post-purchase satisfaction for buying local brands.
Concepts including ethnocentrism, self-congruity, corporate brand, service quality and product characteristics
are applied towards the customers of Proton and Perodua, two of Malaysia's national automobile
brands. The primary purpose is to examine in what ways Proton customers differ from Perodua customers.
Using a survey method, 478 respondents were recruited for Proton and 235 for Perodua. The
study was carried out at service centres for both brands. Three important findings are reported in this
study: first, domestic purchasing is not necessarily related to ethnocentrism; second, consumers are
rational; and third, measurement equivalence analysis is important if a study has different types of respondents.
These findings are in opposition to other consumer studies that have highlighted ethnocentrism
as the primary reason for buying local brands, and this study suggests that there is more to
consumer choice than ethnocentric considerations.
Examining reasons for post-purchase satisfaction in buying local brands: When
local meets local
Azwardi Md Isa
a, *
, Mohammad Basir Saud
a
, Md Daud Ismail
b
a
Department of International Business, School of International Studies, College of Law, Government and International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia
b
School of Business Studies, Faculty of Economics and Business, 43600 Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 20 May 2013
Accepted 30 October 2015
Available online xxx
Keywords:
Ethnocentrism
Social identity
Measurement equivalence
a b s t r a c t
This paper relies on social identity theory to explore post-purchase satisfaction for buying local brands.
Concepts including ethnocentrism, self-congruity, corporate brand, service quality and product charac-
teristics are applied towards the customers of Proton and Perodua, two of Malaysia's national automobile
brands. The primary purpose is to examine in what ways Proton customers differ from Perodua cus-
tomers. Using a survey method, 478 respondents were recruited for Proton and 235 for Perodua. The
study was carried out at service centres for both brands. Three important ?ndings are reported in this
study: ?rst, domestic purchasing is not necessarily related to ethnocentrism; second, consumers are
rational; and third, measurement equivalence analysis is important if a study has different types of re-
spondents. These ?ndings are in opposition to other consumer studies that have highlighted ethno-
centrism as the primary reason for buying local brands, and this study suggests that there is more to
consumer choice than ethnocentric considerations.
© 2015 College of Management, National Cheng Kung University. Production and hosting by Elsevier
Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
As a developing country, Malaysia has a strong domestic auto-
motive industry, and Proton and Perodua have dominated local
markets for more than two decades. As the ?rst national car
manufacturer, Proton has enjoyed the top car sales in the market up
until the last few years when Perodua overtook it. Being the ?rst
national car company should have given the company an added
advantage in building its reputation, improving quality and build-
ing a customer base. This is because purchasing of domestically
produced brands is largely reported to be in?uenced by ethno-
centrism (Hamin & Elliott, 2006; Shimp & Sharma, 1987).
As a mature ?eld of study, consumer ethnocentrism ?ourishes
under three umbrellas. First, the ?eld focuses on country-of-origin
effects, such as the products made in developed versus developing
countries (Bandara & Miloslava, 2012; Bandyopadhyay, 2014;
Wong, Polonsky, & Garma, 2008); second, it seeks to examine the
impact of local versus foreign brands on consumers (Erdogan &
Uzkurt, 2010; Kaynak & Kara, 2002; Kuncharin & Mohamed,
2014); and third, ethnocentrism in consumer choices is mainly
studied in the context of a speci?c country, such as Josiassen, Assaf,
and Karpen (2011) in Australia, Kamaruddin, Mokhlis, and Othman
(2002) in Malaysia, Wang and Chen (2004) in China and
Evanschitzky, Wangenheim, Woisetschl€ager, and Blut (2008) in
Germany.
By adopting an alternative perspective within ethnocentrism,
this study attempts to answer two essential issues; ?rst, what
happens if a consumer has an option between national brands, and
second, what makes them prefer one brand over another. Several
factors for consumer purchasing are combined with social identity
theory to enable a greater and potentially new understanding
about ethnocentric phenomena in regards to purchasing.
The remainder of this paper is organized in the following
manner. Section 2 explains the conceptual development that de-
picts the relationships under investigation. Section 3 presents the
research methodology employed in this study, which includes
sampling and survey procedures. Section 4 explains the measure-
ment equivalence (ME) analysis conducted in this study. Finally,
discussions are presented in Section 5.
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (A.M. Isa).
Peer review under responsibility of College of Management, National Cheng
Kung University.
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Asia Paci?c Management Review xxx (2015) 1e14
Please cite this article in press as: Isa, A. M., et al., Examining reasons for post-purchase satisfaction in buying local brands: When local meets
local, Asia Paci?c Management Review (2015),http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2015.10.001
2. Literature review
2.1. Social identity theory: choice and emotion
Making choices is part of human nature. With such a variety of
brands for the same product available in the market, consumers are
always in con?ict with themselves, particularly when choosing the
“right” brand for them. This is where the social identi?cation aspect
of this process provides consumers with a feeling of belonging and
well-being (Langner, Hennigs, & Wiedmann, 2013), thus guiding
them in making decisions (Chan, Berger, & Van Boven, 2012). It is
no coincidence that people in the same profession, such as suc-
cessful athletes or chief executives, tend to buy similar cars and
read similar magazines (Champniss, Wilson, & Macdonald, 2015).
Across the board, people feel a need for self-continuity, self-
enhancement and self-distinctiveness (Elbedweihy &
Jayawardhena, 2014). That need makes us a “social animal” e a
term coined by evolutionary psychologists (Lukinova, Myagkov, &
Shishkin, 2014). The implication here is that human decisions are
bursting with emotion that may surpass logical sense or rationality
in some cases. As reported by Lee, Klobas, Tezinde, and Murphy
(2010), across age groups, the sense of belonging is much stron-
ger than value expressiveness in determining the preference for
national brands. One possible explanation for this is that social
identities are associated with speci?c discreet emotion pro?les that
provide “what to feel” information during identity enactment
(Coleman & Williams, 2013). As a result, consumers prefer
emotional stimuli that are consistent with their salient social
identity, and make product choices and emotion-regulating con-
sumption decisions to enhance (reduce) their experience of
identity-consistent (inconsistent) emotions, while experiencing
identity-consistent emotions aids in the performance of identity-
relevant tasks. This is in line with Tsai and Bagozzi (2014), who
suggested that group norms, social identity and emotions affect the
desire for a certain products.
Based on social identity theory, the remainder of the discussion
integrates factors including consumer ethnocentrism, self-
congruity, corporate brand, service quality and product character-
istics. This will serve to enhance understanding of the phenomena
of buying local brands.
2.2. Consumer ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism was ?rst discussed in sociological literature by
Sumner (1906), who described ethnocentrism as:
the view of things in which one's own group is the centre of
everything, and all are scaled and rated with reference to it ….
Each group nourishes its own pride and vanity, boasts itself
superior, exalts its own divinities and looks with contempt on
outsiders (p. 13).
The description above indicates that ethnocentrism is part of
human nature (Rushton, 1989); therefore, it is present in all kinds of
social groups, developing into family pride, sectionalism, religious
prejudice, racial discrimination and patriotism (Murdock, 1931). As
explained by LeVine and Campbell (1972) ethnocentrism can be
used: (1) to distinguish between groups, (2) to perceive events in
terms of the group's own interests, (3) to see one's own group as
the centre of the universe and to regard its way of life as superior to
others, (4) to be suspicious of and despise others, (5) to view one's
own group as superior and (6) to see other groups as inferior.
Although ethnocentrism has a long history, it was Shimp and
Sharma (1987) who incorporated the concept into consumer
study. At ?rst, ethnocentrism was referred as “the belief held by
American consumers about the appropriateness, indeed morality,
of purchasing foreign made products” (p. 280). Along this line,
Sharma, Shimp, and Shin, (1995) explained that consumer ethno-
centrism includes three dimensions; (1) love and concern for one's
country, (2) impeding the intention or willingness to buy foreign
products and (3) awakening a personal level of prejudice against
imported goods.
The behaviour of a highly ethnocentric consumer is different
from one that does not showstrong signs of ethnocentrism (Shimp
& Sharma, 1987). For high ethnocentric consumers, national loyalty
is seen as an important issue, as this in?uences these consumers to
choose domestic products or services (Bruning, 1997). In contrast,
low ethnocentric consumers prefer foreign products compared to
domestic products (Kucukemiroglu, 1999), and have a lesser sense
of belonging to the group. As the re?ection of love for the country, a
person is committed and always ready to sacri?ce for the sake of
the country (Druckman, 1994). Emotional attachment to the
homeland guides the belief that the country is superior in most
aspects (Karasawa, 2002).
2.2.1. Consumer ethnocentrism and domestic purchasing bias
Many studies have suggested that consumer ethnocentrism af-
fects consumer decisions to buy domestic products as an alterna-
tive to foreign products (Hsu & Nien, 2008; Supphellen &
Grønhaug, 2003; Upadhyay & Singh, 2006), but only a few
studies have clari?ed in detail the reasons consumers make biased
decisions. Thus, to explain the reasons for this behaviour, personal
motives need to be investigated and described.
The ?rst motive is industry protection. Scheve and Slaughter
(2001) maintained that individual trade preferences are closely
related to the type of industries and foreign competition that might
threaten domestic industries. For example, Evanschitzky et al.
(2008) suggested that ethnocentrism among German consumers
is industry speci?c. They explained that consumer ethnocentrism
exhibits the expected effects in product-country con?gurations
that are likely to be perceived as threats to the home economy, such
as French foods, Italian fashion and Japanese electronics. In another
study, Chinen (2010), who studied the Japanese rice industry, found
a stronger consumer ethnocentrism in Japanese consumers. The
reason for this is that the rice industry is regarded as traditionally
owned from generation to generation.
The second motive is job insecurity. In a survey conducted by
Hester (1989) in the US apparel industry, the prime reason for
raising consumer awareness of “made in the US” labelling was to
support the US industry, because the industry provides job op-
portunities for the country. This ?nding is consistent with an earlier
study by Shimp and Sharma (1987), who reported that consumers
whose jobs and quality of life are vulnerable to interruption from
foreign competition have the highest scores on the consumer
ethnocentrism scale (CETSCALE). On the other hand, Maronick
(1995) asserted that patriotism and jobs are more salient to con-
sumers in the presence of foreign brands. Levin and Jasper's (1995)
study also showed that the percentage of local workers affects
economic nationalism. For highly nationalist countries, the per-
centage of domestic workers increases along with nationalism. In
contrast, for low- or medium-scale nationalism, the percentage of
domestic workers has a reverse effect on nationalism. At a personal
level, economic nationalism operates through the adoption of “us
?rst” mentality within the group versus the group distinction
relating to “our companies”, “our products”, “our jobs” and “our
workers” (Baughn & Yaprak, 1996). The perceived threat is trans-
mitted to one's own level of job insecurity through this
consciousness.
The third motive is social desirability. In a classic study by
Crowne and Marlowe (1960), social desirability was described as
A.M. Isa et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review xxx (2015) 1e14 2
Please cite this article in press as: Isa, A. M., et al., Examining reasons for post-purchase satisfaction in buying local brands: When local meets
local, Asia Paci?c Management Review (2015),http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2015.10.001
“culturally acceptable and approved behaviour” (p. 354). Utilizing
social needs, social theorists Lewis (1976) and Lynn (1976)
asserted that as social beings, people give preferential treatment
to members of groups with which they are associated. Several
studies have helped to explain the pursuit of approved behaviour
and preferential treatment of certain social groups. For example,
Supphellen and Rittenburg's (2001) ?ndings suggested that
where foreign products are superior to domestic alternatives,
ethnocentric consumers seem to conform to a general opinion on
foreign brands, and express their ethnocentric feelings in terms of
accentuating the positive effects of domestic brands. In a similar
vein, van Birgelen, de Ruyter, and Wetzels, (2005) suggested that
respondents who are more sensitive to social opinions report
higher levels of ethnocentric tendencies than insensitive ones do.
In addition, collectivist consumers identify with their home
country and therefore exhibit ethnocentrism (Yoo & Donthu,
2005). Collectivism, which emphasizes group interdependence,
produces social bias within the group, driven by social norms,
duties and obligations (Bontempo & Rivero, 1992; Davidson,
Jaccard, Triandis, Morales, & Diaz-Guerrero, 1976; Triandis,
Chan, Bhawuk, Iwao, & Sinha, 1995). The desirability to be “in the
group” of patriotic consumers consequently provides a vital
motivation for consumers to buy domestic products.
2.2.2. Domestic consumption: normative versus rational choice
A normative choice, which is the property of the “in-group”,
entails a prescriptive course of action by questioning consumer
conscience with respect to consumption practices in order to pre-
vent adverse effects on domestic employment and economic wel-
fare (Sharma et al., 1995). As a result of this strong sense of home
country loyalty, consumers are willing to pay higher prices to
obtain domestic products (Knight, 1999). Several studies re?ect this
argument. For example, Hamin and Elliott (2006) reported that in
the context of Indonesian market, highly ethnocentric consumers
prefer domestically designed and assembled products over foreign
products. In addition, Nguyen, Nguyen, and Barrett (2008) found
that Vietnamese consumers are ethnocentric and that ethnocen-
trism translates into the purchasing of domestic products.
In contrast to in-group purchasing behaviour, the out-group
behaves more practically. Product quality is the main consider-
ation when making a purchase decision. Studies have shown that
non-ethnocentric consumers prefer foreign products (Good &
Huddleston, 1995; Javalgi, Khare, Gross, & Scherer, 2005; Sohail,
2005). However, they do not feel guilty, lack national pride or
display lowethnocentrism, even though their behaviour can have a
detrimental effect on their own country's economy (Piron, 2002).
In a study by Vida and Reardon (2008), normative constructs
(i.e., consumer ethnocentrism) were found to have stronger de-
terminants of domestic consumption compared to rational con-
siderations. Granzin and Olsen (1998) and Olsen, Granzin, and
Biswas (1993) explained that domestic purchasing is motivated
by various reasons, such as internalization of responsibility to help,
sharing a common fate with workers, perceptions of similarity with
workers, social concerns, ethnocentric orientation and patriotic
loyalty.
More importantly, ethnocentrism is at maximum effect if it
emerges from emotion. Emotion, which is the main pillar of social
identity theory, arouses a feeling of love for the country (Druckman,
1994) and the need to be “in-group”. It makes the consumer believe
that it is wrong to support foreign brands, as stated by Shimp and
Sharma (1987). The context of this study comprises two Malay-
sian national brands, Proton and Perodua. The brands were estab-
lished as part of a goal to make Malaysia an industrialized country
by the year 2020; thus, they have an emotional resonance for
Malaysians. Satisfaction in this sense is viewed as pride in having a
national car. On this ground, we suggest the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 1. Consumer ethnocentrism towards national car
company is positively related to customer satisfaction with the car.
2.3. Self-congruity
Theoretically, the self includes the attitudes, feelings, percep-
tions and evaluations of oneself as an object (Hall & Lindsay, 1957).
Epstein (1973) explained that:
By recognizing that individuals have implicit theories about
themselves as a function of individuals, it is possible to assimi-
late the views of phenomenologist on the nature of the self-
concept into a broader framework that should be acceptable
to all psychologists. When the self-concept is rede?ned as a self-
theory, it can no longer be dismissed as unscienti?c (p. 415).
The individual self-concept is dynamic and evolving (Markus &
Wurf, 1987), in line with changes in one's surroundings. Self-
concept can be divided into two categories: intrapersonal and
interpersonal. Intrapersonal includes information processing, affect
regulation through self-enhancement and motivating individuals
to take an action. The interpersonal emphasis is on the viewing of
oneself as a result of social interaction. It includes social compari-
son, partner's choice or preference, shaping a particular identity
during social interaction and reactions to feedback (Markus &Wurf,
1987). Schouten (1991) asserted that self-concept encompasses
several aspects, such as “role identities, personal attributes, re-
lationships, fantasies, possessions, and other symbols that in-
dividuals use for the purpose of self-creation and self-
understanding” (p. 413).
The primary interest of incorporating self-concept as part of
consumer study arises from the fact that it guides and controls
people's choices when making purchase decisions (Sirgy, 1982).
From a marketing point of view, scholars have used self-congruity
instead of self-concept. In essence, self-congruity means that “a
personwill select that brand of a product whose image most closely
resembles his or her self-image” (Hughes & Guerrero, 1971, p. 125).
Self-concept processes cover self-evaluation, self-perception, self-
concept change, self-concept differentiation, self-concept general-
ization, decision making, information searches and self-monitoring
(Sirgy, 1986).
2.3.1. Self-congruity and purchasing
Utilizing the notion that self-congruity is the congruity be-
tween the actual self-image and product image, Sirgy (1985)
demonstrated that the theory is useful, particularly in predict-
ing consumer purchase motivation. Depending on the levels of
congruity, the higher the level of self-congruity, the higher the
level of customer satisfaction (Jamal & Goode, 2001). Wang, Yang,
and Liu (2009), who studied the Chinese mainland's automobile
market, suggested that product-brand personality is more sig-
ni?cant in affecting purchase intention than company-brand
personality. However, Sirgy, Grewal, and Mangleburg (2000)
showed that self-congruity in?uences functional congruity and
the predictive effects of self-congruity versus functional congruity
are moderated by consumer knowledge, prior experience and the
degree of product involvement. In addition, a study conducted by
Lee (2009) regarding the Korean automobile industry asserted
that where a brand commands a high preference among con-
sumers, the consumer personality actually exert some in?uence
over perceived brand personality, provided that the consumer has
built a positive relationship with the brand and then projects
A.M. Isa et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review xxx (2015) 1e14 3
Please cite this article in press as: Isa, A. M., et al., Examining reasons for post-purchase satisfaction in buying local brands: When local meets
local, Asia Paci?c Management Review (2015),http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2015.10.001
their personality onto the brand. Consistent with Lee (2009), Yim,
Chan, and Hung (2007) asserted that the high level of self-image
relates to people's behaviour in close personal relationships with
brands. Throughout the consumer behaviour literature, it has
been suggested that consumers often have a preference for
products and choose products that have higher versus lower
levels of congruity (Lee, 2009). Thus, self-congruity is useful,
especially when explaining and predicting brand attitude, prod-
uct use and ownership, brand loyalty and purchase intention
(Sirgy et al., 1997).
2.3.2. Brand engagement self-concept
The fundamental idea of self-concept is that the individual's
behaviour will be directed toward enhancement of their self-
concept (Grubb & Grathwohl, 1967). People vary in their ten-
dency to possess particular self-schemas, and this variation leads to
different attitudes and behaviours towards objects relevant to such
schemas (Markus, 1983). Brand engagement self-concept builds on
the idea that consumers vary in their general engagement with
brands such as a person may include popular brands as part of their
self-concept (Sprott, Czellar, & Spangenberg, 2009).
According to Sprott et al. (2009), the connection between con-
sumer and brand is interpreted through self-concept theory. They
argued that attachment to possessions taps into the extent to which
speci?c past, present or future possession contributes to main-
taining consumer self-concept. For example, Proton and Perodua
customers belong to the companies' respective brand communities.
As part of these communities, consumers share product-
consumption experiences with others, online or of?ine. This
experience sharing fosters customer co-creation of value of the
brand and cultivates brand engagement.
The strength of the engagement is measured by the centrality of
the brand, meaning that the higher the rank of the identity, the
greater the connectedness between consumer and brand (Harmon-
Kizer, Kumar, Ortinau, & Stock, 2013). Individuals use brands to
create or communicate their self-concept, partly in an effort to
meet certain identity goals (e.g., self-veri?cation, self-enhance-
ment), and do this to an even greater extent when a particular
identity is central (Harmon, Kumar, & Ortinau, 2009). In this study,
we propose that brand engagement creates a special feeling be-
tween consumer and brand. Self-congruity endorses this match
between consumer and brand, thereby resulting in satisfaction.
Therefore, we set forth the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 2. Self-congruity towards national car company is
positively related to customer satisfaction with the car.
2.4. Corporate brand
In describing organizational image, Dutton and Dukerich (1991)
maintained that image is the individual's sense of what an orga-
nization should stand for. Image includes management style
(Bromley, 2000) and corporate logo (Heerden & Puth, 1995), which
serve as cognitive switches and trigger memory, linking the
customer with the company. Hence, image simply means the
perception of the customer towards the corporate brand (Davies &
Chun, 2002), or, implicitly, “How we want others to see ourselves”
(Chun, 2005). Consumers utilize corporate image to deduce the
company's business ethics (Creyer & Ross, 1997) and identify
symbols of credibility (Gürhan-Canli & Batra, 2004), and to gain
trust (Park & Kim, 2003) in product purchasing.
Working on the basis that corporate reputation may lead to
value creation for the company (Fearnley, 1993), corporate
reputation has received considerable attention from scholars
(Gotsi & Wilson, 2001; Helm, 2007). Fearnley (1993) postulated
that corporate reputation is what makes a company stands out
from the rest; therefore, its impact on consumer buying behav-
iour should be exploited. Poor reputation can be an obstacle
for a company to build a strong brand (Page & Fearn, 2005). To
build competitive brand(s), the company needs to implement
differentiation strategies and strengthen its competencies,
because stakeholders determine company reputation (Sanchez &
Sotorrio, 2007). Bromley (2000) explained that corporate
reputation encompasses a wide range of psychological domains,
including product attributes and cognitive effect (perception and
memory). In sum, corporate reputation represents the percep-
tions held by all relevant stakeholders or “How others see us”
(Chun, 2005).
To date, corporate brand has been explained as staf?ng (man-
agers and employees as internal stakeholders), products, brands,
the general public and consumers (external stakeholders)
(Einwiller & Will, 2002). Scholars have argued that corporate brand
is a company asset (Hatch & Schultz, 2001, 2003). By focussing on
building a strong corporate brand, companies can create differen-
tiation and preference for a product or service in the mind of their
customers (Knox & Bickerton, 2003). In a highly competitive
marketplace, it is crucial for companies to link their brand entities,
such as people, places, things or other brands, to improve brand
equity (Keller, 2003). Once the links between company and brand
strengthen, the company is a brand (McEnally & de Chernatony,
1999). As Aaker (2004) argued, “corporate brands de?ne that the
?rm will deliver and stand behind the offering that the customer
will buy and use” (p. 6). In line with this description, this study
describes corporate brand as the chain of images and reputation
associated with brands that drive consumers to purchase products
from a speci?c company.
2.4.1. The impact of brand equity on corporate brand
In line with McEnally and de Chernatony's (1999) proposition,
once a brand reaches maturity, the company name becomes a
brand; this paper embarks on a similar approach. A company, and
its product(s) and brand(s), are seen as the interpretation of
corporate brand. As Stephen King once said:
A product is something that is made in a factory; a brand is
something that is bought by a customer. A product can be copied
by a competitor; a brand is unique. A product can be quickly
outdated; a successful brand is timeless (King as cited in Aaker,
1991, p. 1).
A brand is timeless because it de?nes products (Sanderson &
Uzumeri, 1995). In branding literature, the association between
consumer, brand and product is encapsulated in “brand equity”.
Keller (1993) explained that consumer-based brand equity has
impact on consumer response towards the brand.
Among the most important impacts of brand equity is brand
uniqueness. As Leone et al. (2006) explained, “The power of a brand
lies in the minds of the consumers and what they have experienced,
learnt, and felt about the brand over time” (p. 126). In this regard, to
what extent a brand is considered unique is open to individual
interpretation. For example, Maehle and Shneor (2010) found that
consumers prefer cigarette brands with personalities that match
their own. In another study, Fitzsimons, Chartrand, and Fitzsimons
(2008) reported that brands have the power to elicit changes in
behaviour. In their study, participants primed with Apple logos
behaved more creatively than those primed with the IBM control,
thus con?rming that brands have personalities just like humans do
(Aaker, 1997). Likewise, Baltas and Saridakis (2009) maintained
that car brand names affect the incremental value of the cars they
represent. For this reason, a brand is unique because it builds
A.M. Isa et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review xxx (2015) 1e14 4
Please cite this article in press as: Isa, A. M., et al., Examining reasons for post-purchase satisfaction in buying local brands: When local meets
local, Asia Paci?c Management Review (2015),http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2015.10.001
relationships between companies and customers (Shamma &
Hassan, 2011) by means of product differentiation.
Brand equity also generates trust (Ambler, 1997; Keller &
Lehmann, 2006). This trust basically occurs as a result of past ex-
periences with the brand, and is positively associated with brand
loyalty (Delgado-Ballester & Munuera-Aleman, 2005). These ex-
periences enable consumers to develop brand knowledge that af-
fects their future purchases (Esch, Langner, Schmitt, & Geus, 2006).
Chaudhuri and Holbrook (2001) maintained that brand trust con-
tributes to purchase loyalty and attitudinal loyalty, implying its
important role in explaining market-performance aspects of brand
equity. With respect to developing brand loyalty, Lau and Lee
(1999) asserted that consumer trust occurs as a result of brand
characteristics, brand competence and brand performance. Trust
assists consumers in visualizing and understanding products
(Berry, 2000). More importantly, trust is a promise of bene?ts given
by the company to its customers (Raggio, 2007). However, brand
equity is a sign of the company's ability to deliver on that promise.
Another important aspect of brand equity is that it affects the
perceived quality of a brand. Aaker (1991) identi?ed perceived
quality as one of the brand equity constructs. Perceived quality
affects consumer preference for some brands more than others
(Tolba & Hassan, 2009). Smit and Bronner (2007) suggested that
perceived quality elicits emotional bonds between consumers and
brands, creating brand relationship quality and making some
brands stand out from the rest. Brands like Mercedes are well
accepted by consumers worldwide due to the strong association
between the brand and quality cars (Sohail, 2005).
Besides creating uniqueness, trust and perceived quality, brand
equity also stimulates brand associations. As Aaker (1997) main-
tained, brands have personalities, just as humans do. According to
Aaker, personalities consist of sincerity, excitement, competence,
sophistication and ruggedness. A strong, positive brand personality
leads to more brand associations that are favourable, unique, strong
and congruent, thus enhancing brand equity (Freling & Forbes,
2005). Brand strengths associated with beliefs and values are the
most powerful and most dif?cult to imitate (Ghodeswar, 2008).
Jami (2008) described brand association as “mental association”.
For example, when the concept of “ice” is activated in working
memory, it is automatically associated with “cold”. Likewise, when
a brand is mentioned, it is automatically associated with “core
brand associations” (John, Loken, Kim, & Monga, 2006, p. 562).
In sum, the core of brand equity is to generate consumer loyalty
for the company (Aaker, 1996), because loyalty brings monetary
value to the company through repeat purchasing (Wood, 2000) and
recruits new customers through word-of-mouth promotion (Gauri,
Bhatnagar, & Rao, 2008). Brand equity, such as brand uniqueness,
trust, perceived quality and loyalty, as described in this study,
projects the meaning of corporate brand through image and
reputation from a consumer standpoint.
2.4.2. Functional and symbolic values of the corporate brand and
customer satisfaction
Corporate brand per se comprises a number of distinct value
orientations and functional attributes, which can constitute a
source of value over a lengthy period of time (Bergstrom,
Blumenthal, & Crothers, 2002). Through commandment of value,
the brand then guides the choice pattern among consumers, and
this is articulated through desirable end states of existence of
product functionality (Gutman, 1982). Aaker and Keller (1997)
maintained that corporate brands' functional attributes comprise
bene?ts, quality, usefulness and brand competence. Wood (2007)
added that functional attributes represent conformance to stan-
dards and ?tness for use.
Symbolic value as the construction of self, comprising both self-
enhancement and self-reinforcement, is part of companies' efforts
to differentiate themselves from competitors (Wee & Ming, 2003).
Salzer-Morling and Strannegard (2004) described the role of brand
as an aesthetic expression controlled by the company and later
projected to consumers. Symbolic meaning lends support for
perceived tangibility and substance towards brands (Leigh & Gabel,
1992).
We suggest that brand equity represents the image of a com-
pany. Taking as a base Chun's (2005) viewof corporate reputation as
“Howothers see us” (p. 95), we extend her statement by suggesting
that “corporate reputation” is consumer endorsement of corporate
image. Corporate image eventually projects a special identity as
consumers avoid buying products that con?ict with their identity
aspects (Shirazi, Lorestani, & Mazidi, 2013). A special identity later
creates meaning and value (Simon, 2011). Thus, careful brand
management is crucial to engender strong emotional attachment
towards the brand (Balmer, Liao, & Wang, 2010). Consumers may
perceive Proton and Perodua as two distinctive national brands due
to the business strategy implemented by both; however, as prestige,
communication and satisfaction are all related to brand identi?ca-
tion (Kuenzel & Halliday, 2008), we posit that:
Hypothesis 3. Corporate brand of national car company is posi-
tively related to customer satisfaction with the car.
2.5. Service quality
Oliver (1980) maintained that consumers have a tendency to
shape various expectations about product performance prior to
purchase, and then compare actual performance with initial ex-
pectations. Where such a comparison is made and the results
deviate from the standards set by consumers, expectation-
discon?rmation is acknowledged (Niedrich, Kiryanova, & Black,
2005). The nucleus of discon?rmation theory utilizes customer
satisfaction as a function of expectation and expectancy discon-
?rmation (Oliver, 1980; Swan & Trawick, 1981). Scholars have
used discon?rmation theory to explain service quality phenom-
ena (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1985, 1988). Oliver and
DeSarbo (1988) and Tse and Wilton (1988) discussed discon?r-
mation as a paradigm and posited that customer satisfaction is an
outcome of a process comprising several steps. They described
these steps as follows: (1) consumers are captivated by several
attributions of product/service performance, (2) they perform
“standard comparisons” and (3) positive or negative discon?r-
mation is extracted from these comparisons. Negative discon?r-
mation happens when consumer expectations do not match the
services delivered.
2.5.1. Customer responses in service encounters
Conceptually, a “service encounter” has been de?ned as a social
exchange between consumer and service provider (Czepiel, 1990;
Solomon, Surprenant, Czepiel, & Gutman, 1985). It simply refers
to a period during which a service provider and consumer interact
in a face-to-face situation (Boshoff, 2007). During these encounters,
consumers tend to assess all aspects of service elements, including
employees, physical facilities and other visible elements (Bitner,
Booms, & Tetreault, 1990; Shostack, 1985).
First, the customer evaluates the relationship quality. The
nucleus of the service encounter builds a relationship between
customer-facing employees and customers (Plakoyiannaki,
Tzokas, Dimitratos, & Saren, 2008). This includes evaluating
responsiveness, reassurance and empathy, together with fairness,
sincere efforts to understand and help customers, and ongoing
personalized communication as the desired attribute of service
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experience (Parasuraman, Berry, & Zeithaml, 1991). Chandon, Leo,
and Philippe (1997) reported that perceived competence,
listening and dedication contribute to the evaluation of the
encounter more than the effectiveness of service does. Even a
minor detail such as employees' smiles during the service
encounter (Wake?eld, Becker-Olsen, & Cornwell, 2007), or
tangible aspects of the physical environment (Hennig-Thurau,
Groth, Paul, & Gremler, 2006), can in?uence perceptions to-
wards overall service quality.
Second, customers form cultural expectations to de?ne “quality
service”. Patterson and Mattila (2008) found that an individual
customer's cultural orientations, as well as familiarity with a focal
provider, impact perceptions and post-purchase evaluations of
both successful and unsuccessful service encounters. Ringberg,
Odekerken-Schr€ oder, and Christensen (2007) introduced a
cultural-model approach to service recovery and described it as
“shared mental constructs of socio-cultural origin that have
become part of people's identity's formation and understanding of
the world” (p. 206). Depending on the research settings, cultural
elements are generally associated with service encounters and vary
from culture to culture and country to country (Keillor, Hult, &
Kandemir, 2004).
Third, customers evaluate employees' responses to service fail-
ure. Smith, Bolton, and Wagner (1999) maintained that failures
during face-to-face service encounters may have a more detri-
mental effect on satisfaction compared to outcome failures such as
unavailable service. In an event in which service failures occur,
service providers need to offer prompt and courteous service re-
covery in response (Hocutt, Bowers, & Donavan, 2006). Offering an
apology, immediate problem solving, being courteous and prompt
handling can in?uence customer satisfaction, which may affect
customer repurchase intention (Liao, 2007).
Fourth, customers form attitudes and behaviours toward the
service quality of the company. Generally, after a series of service
encounters a customer will have formed a general idea about the
level of service quality that they have obtained. There are a few
consequences of service outcomes. Positive outcomes lead to pos-
itive word-of-mouth promotion and recommendation (Mangold,
Miller, & Brockway, 1999). Harrison-Walker (2001) asserted that
service quality has a positive impact on word-of-mouth praise and
attracts new customers. In contrast, negative outcomes lead to
customer complaints as a result of frustrations (Tronvoll, 2010) and
negative word-of-mouth (Boshoff, 2007) and brand switching
(Keaveney, 1995).
In the automotive industry, the purchase agreement between
car owners and car manufacturers requires owners to perform
periodical service maintenance at the manufacturer's service
centre. Consequently, as customers experience several service en-
counters, they tend to conduct some evaluations and this helps to
form their attitude towards service quality. Malaysian cultural
values are included when de?ning service quality in this study.
Discon?rmation theory emphasizes that customer satisfaction is a
function of expectation and expectancy discon?rmation (Oliver,
1980). In addition, a quality model should ideally take into
consideration the sources of quality. In this regard, formality is an
important component of identity in an Asian context (Witkowski &
Wol?nbarger, 2001). Thus, we suggest the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 4. Service quality provided by national car company is
positively related to customer satisfaction with the car.
2.6. Car characteristics and means-end chain model
The means-end chain model introduced by Gutman (1982) links
perceived product attributes to values. The model is based on two
fundamental assumptions about consumer behaviour: (1) values
are desirable end-states of existence that play a dominant role in
guiding choice patterns, and (2) people cope with the tremendous
diversity of products that are potential satis?ers of their values by
grouping them into sets or classes to reduce the complexity of
choice. Two further general assumptions about consumer behav-
iour that form the model are: (1) all consumer actions have con-
sequences, and (2) consumers learn to associate particular
consequences with particular actions. Scholars have used the
model to explain consumer behaviour phenomena such as product
values (Johnson, 1989), consumption goals (Pieters, Baumgartner, &
Alien, 1995) and consumer satisfaction and loyalty (Herrmann,
Huber, & Braunstein, 2000).
2.6.1. Linking product characteristics with customer satisfaction
through the means-end chain model
The notion of a means-end model is underlined by the
expectancy-value concept (Gutman, 1997). According to Gutman
(1997), product consumption produces outcomes, and once con-
sumers learnwhich outcomes are desired or undesired, their choice
behaviour is guided accordingly (Gutman, 1982). Gutman (1982)
explained that consumption consequences can be divided into
three concepts: (1) physiological (e.g., satisfying hunger, thirst or
other physiological needs, (2) behavioural (e.g., self-esteem,
improved outlook for the future), and (3) sociological (e.g.,
enhanced status, group membership). To summarize this, customer
value is “the desirable end-states of existence” (Gutman, 1982, p.
60).
We emphasized that consumers constantly evaluate the char-
acteristics of their car through their consumption experience. For
example, a consumer may evaluate the economical aspect of their
car through mileage per litre. We propose that after constant
evaluation of car characteristics through consumption experience
and product consequences that match with the consumer's ex-
pectations, the consumer may achieve the desired value and
satisfaction. In the context of social identity, emotional engagement
(Swann et al., 2014) with a national brand drives customers to make
a purchase decision, thus sacri?cing other choices. Sociality plays a
central role here as it may surpass the monetary loss that arises
fromnot selecting other, better choices (Lukinova et al., 2014). With
regard to strong emotional attachment to a national brand, we
suggest the following:
Hypothesis 5. The product characteristic of national car company
is positively related to customer satisfaction with the car.
2.7. Customer satisfaction
Bearing in mind the context of the study, satisfaction is viewed
with reference to the utilitarian and hedonic perspectives of the car.
The concept of utility emerged as an economic theory (Stigler, 1950)
before branching into marketing literature. Abstractly, utilitarian
bene?ts have been described as functional, instrumental and
practical (Chitturi, Raghunathan, & Mahajan, 2007, 2008). Func-
tional value is assessed through possession of salient functional,
utilitarian or physical attributes, and therefore is measured based
on a pro?le of choice attributes (Sheth, Newman, & Gross, 1991).
Products that meet utilitarian needs can enhance customer satis-
faction (Chitturi, Raghunathan, & Mahajan, 2008). Gutman (1982)
summarized the utility functions of products with reference to
product bene?ts, and further argued that physical product attri-
butes that provide these bene?ts (e.g., cost, size, design) are built in.
Likewise, in the case of a car, fuel economy and safety are examples
of utilitarian bene?ts (Chitturi et al., 2008).
A.M. Isa et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review xxx (2015) 1e14 6
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The hedonic concept takes root from psychology, and specif-
ically from emotion theory. Bagozzi, Gopinath, and Nyer (1999)
de?ned emotion as:
a mental state of readiness that arises from cognitive appraisals
of events or thoughts; has a phenomenological tone; is
accompanied by psychological processes; is often expressed
physically (e.g., in gestures, posture, facial features) and may
result in speci?c actions to af?rm or cope with the emotion,
depending on its nature and meaning for the person having it (p.
184).
Emotional responses are a fundamental component of hedonic
consumption experiences (Ladhari, 2007a, 2007b). Hirschman and
Holbrook (1982) described hedonic consumption as; “facets of
consumer behaviour that relate to the multisensory, fantasy and
emotive aspects of one's experience with products” (p. 92). In
summary, marketing scholars have described hedonic bene?ts as
aesthetic, experiential and enjoyment-related (Batra & Ahtola,
1990; Chitturi et al., 2007, 2008; Holbrook & Hirschman, 1982).
Consumers gain satisfaction when they experience pleasure with a
product (Ladhari, 2007a, 2007b; Mano & Oliver, 1993). For
example, while safety is one of the utilitarian bene?ts, the sunroof
and the luxurious interior are hedonic bene?ts (Chitturi et al.,
2008).
Voss, Spangenberg, and Grohmann (2003) explained that
because utilitarian and hedonic dimensions are different and are
unique forms of consumer attitude, it is important for marketing
researchers to adopt a two-dimensional (hedonic and utilitarian)
view of product attitude when studying consumer behaviour. In
addition, O'Curry and Strahilevitz (2001) asserted that consumer
choice depends on the nature of task-goal effects. For example,
making a smart, practical or responsible choice may be a promi-
nent goal when a customer is involved in the task of choosing
what to buy. In contrast, making a fun choice that maximizes
anticipation utility and the pleasure derived from fantasizing
about an improbable outcome may be a prominent goal when
choosing products such as a birthday present. In line with Voss
et al.'s (2003) suggestion, this study utilizes both utilitarian and
hedonic perspectives in studying consumers in the automotive
context. However, since mainstream segmentation of automobiles
is based on functional characteristics (Baltas & Saridakis, 2009),
utilitarian bene?ts are more dominant in the current context of
the study.
3. Methodology
3.1. Data collection method
A total of 750 questionnaires, 500 directed at Proton and 250 at
Perodua customers were distributed at selected service centres
after approval had been obtained fromthe service centre managers.
The unequal number of questionnaires distributed for Proton and
Perodua was due to there being relatively more Proton than Per-
odua users. A closed-ended questionwith one choice of answer was
employed in the study. Adhering to the suggestion by Roster,
Rogers, Hozier, Baker, and Albaum (2007) that the strengths and
weaknesses of the chosen method should be carefully considered
when deciding on the appropriateness of a data collection method,
this study used a personally administered, self-completion ques-
tionnaire. Face-to-face interaction creates a more “personal atmo-
sphere” between researchers and respondents. Furthermore, this
method was deemed suitable because it has been revealed in the
literature that survey response rates in Asian countries are low
(Harzing, 1997; Welford, 2005). Table 1 summarizes the de-
mographic pro?les and response rates.
3.2. Measures
In line with the purpose of the study, satisfactionwas measured
from ?ve aspects: ethnocentrism, self-congruity, corporate brand,
service quality and product characteristics (see Table 2). Once
developed, the questionnaires were presented to several man-
agers of participating companies for improvement. Criticisms
pertained mainly to the wording of the questionnaires. The same
sets of questionnaires were used for Proton and Perodua
Table 1
Demographic pro?les and response rate.
Proton (N ¼ 478) Perodua (N ¼ 235)
Gender
Male 243 123
Female 235 112
Race
Malay 369 137
Chinese 60 70
Indian 41 24
Others 8 4
Age
50 50 22
Income
6000 42 28
Occupation
Government 331 78
Private 122 125
Self-employed 18 23
Unemployed 7 9
Distributed 500 250
Returned 478 235
Table 2
Measures for constructs used in this study.
Source Original measure Original items Final items
Shimp and Sharma (1987) Consumer ethnocentrism scale (CETSCALE) 17 16
Sprott et al. (2009) Brand Engagement Self-Concept (BESC) 8 8
Davies and Chun (2002) Corporate Personality Scale (CPS) 49 6
Chun (2005) Reputation Quotient (RQ) 20 6
Raajpoot (2004) Pakistan Service Quality (PAKSERV) 24 11
Kressman et al. (2006) Product characteristics (functional congruity) 6 8*
Pre-test New scale for satisfaction with the current car 10 10
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customers. All constructs in this study employed seven-point
Likert scales (see Table 3). The Likert scale is recommended for
structural equation modelling such as in this study (Schumacker &
Lomax, 1996).
4. Data analysis
4.1. Measurement equivalence analysis
Scale equivalence has become one of the major concerns for
marketing scholars because it allows for valid comparisons to be
made when studies investigate the same constructs across quali-
tatively distinct populations (Mavondo & Farrell, 2000). Where a
study consists of two or more subpopulations, such as healthcare
and retailing, the issue of ME becomes central (Drasgow & Kanfer,
1985). The main question is do customers share similar reasons for
buying from Proton compared to Perodua?
The steps recommended by King and Miles (1995) and Barbeite
and Weiss (2004) for testing ME were followed. First, EFA
(Exploratory Factor Analysis) was conducted. Technically, factor
analysis is a statistical technique that marketers employ to
condense information from a large number of items into informa-
tion packets (Hair, Lukas, Miller, Bush, & Ortinau, 2008). The
methods are generally used in an attempt to determine which sets
of observed variables sharing common variance-covariance
characteristics de?ne constructs (Schumacker & Lomax, 1996). The
primary purpose of conducting factor analysis procedures is for
data reduction (Malhotra, 2004) (see Table 4).
Second, con?rmatoryfactor analysis (CFA) was conducted. CFAis a
powerful method for addressing construct validity (Bagozzi, Yi, &
Philips, 1991). The method has three advantages: (1) it measures
the overall degree of ?t, (2) it provides useful information on how
well convergent and discriminate validity are achieved, and (3) it
provides explicit results, such as partitioning variance into trait,
method and error components (Bagozzi et al., 1991). CFA provides
guidelines for “model trimming”, or “model modi?cation”, and is
able to suggest alterations to proposed factor structures (Floyd &
Widaman, 1995). Therefore, con?rmatory procedures can be used
to revise and re?ne instruments and their factorial structures (see
Table 5).
Third, ME analysis was implemented. The procedures to test
ME are similar to the steps demonstrated by Mavondo and Farrell
(2000) using a CFA approach. Initially, a baseline model that ?ts
the data adequately needs to be speci?ed. Two baseline models
were drawn: (1) ethnocentrism and self-congruity and (2)
corporate brand, service quality and car characteristics. In
deciding on the best baseline model, four indicators of goodness
of ?t index are considered, namely root mean square approxi-
mation (RMSEA), normed ?t index (NFI), TuckereLewis Index
(TLI) and comparative ?t index (CFI). According to Marsh, Balla,
Table 3
Scaling in the questionnaire.
Constructs Response
Consumer ethnocentrism, self-congruity, car characteristics, corporate brand, service quality, sport sponsorship, media
coverage, auto awards, behavioural loyalty
(1) Strongly disagree, (7) Strongly agree
Customer satisfaction (1) Very dissatis?ed, (7) Very satis?ed
Attitudinal loyalty (1) Not at all for, (7) To a great extent
Table 4
Dimension and scale reliability.
Constructs Dimensions Items Cronbach Alpha
Consumer ethnocentrism Nationalism A1, A2, A5, A6, A7 0.897
Ethnocentrism A3,A4, A8, A9, A10, A11, A12, A13, A14, A15, A16 0.929
Self-congruity Brand engagement B1, B2, B3, B4, B5 0.953
Self-concept B6, B7, B8 0.894
Product characteristics Product characteristics C1, C2,C3, C4 C5, C6, C7, C8 0.895
Corporate brand Corporate image D1, D2, D3, D4, D5 0.911
Corporate reputation D6, D7, D8, D9, D10, D11, D12 0.948
Service quality Assurance E1, E2, E3, E4, E5 0.890
Personalization E6, E7, E8, E9 0.878
Satisfaction with national car Satisfaction with national car F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7, F8, F9, F10 0.932
Table 5
Con?rmatory factor analysis.
Constructs c
2
DF Prob. level CMIN/DF GFI AGFI RMSEA TLI NFI CFI HOELTER (.01)
Consumer ethnocentrism 453.921 88 .000 5.158 .920 .891 .76 .936 .935 .947 191
Self-congruity 51.257 12 .000 4.271 .979 .952 .68 .986 .990 .992 365
Corporate brand 223.264 40 .000 5.582 .949 .916 .080 .966 .970 .975 204
Service quality 45.620 11 .000 4.147 .983 .957 .066 .982 .987 .990 386
Characteristics 20.223 6 .003 3.371 .991 .968 .058 .982 .990 .993 592
Satisfaction with car 122.100 24 .000 5.087 .962 .928 .076 .969 .974 .979 251
Table 6
Measure equivalence analysis for ethnocentrism and self-congruity.
c
2
(df)p Dc
2
(Ddf) p Dc
2
/Ddf RMSEA NFI TLI CFI
1.Model 1 1080.156 (406) p ¼ .001 e e .048 .917 .939 .946
2.Model 1 vs. testing invariance (weak factorial invariance) 1109.132 (424) p ¼ .001 28.976 (18) p > .05 1.610 .048 .915 .940 .945
3.Model 2 vs. testing invariance (strong factorial invariance) 1175.215 (446) p ¼ .001 66.083 (22) p < .005 3.003 .048 .910 .940 .942
A.M. Isa et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review xxx (2015) 1e14 8
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and MacDonald (1988), TLI is the best of the available indices of
practical ?t. On the other hand, CFI and RMSEA are sensitive to
measurement errors (Hu & Bentler, 1998), and cut-off scores of
0.95 or higher and 0.06 or lower, respectively, have been rec-
ommended (Hu & Bentler, 1998). As shown in Tables 1 and 2, the
baseline model, along with the consecutive models, ?t the data
adequately. Next, working from the baseline model, weak facto-
rial invariance is tested by adding additional constraints so that
the factor loading matrices are invariant across groups. Lastly, the
elements of intercept matrices are constrained to be invariant
across groups. A chi-square distribution table (Malhotra, 2004)
was used to obtain the p value. The results of the ME analysis are
displayed in Tables 6 and 7.
ME suggests that the respondents for Proton and Perodua
answered the questionnaires from two different perspectives;
therefore, the answers should be analysed separately. The pro-
cedures were repeated again, this time individually. However, the
same statistical procedures were followed (see Table 8 and Table 9).
Only after reliability and validity were established for both brands
were the proposed hypotheses tested (see Table 10).
This paper shows that it is crucial for scienti?c inference to
present evidence of ME (Steenkamp & Baumgartner, 1998). Failure
to perform this analysis may create ambiguity regarding conclu-
sions and therefore casts doubt on theory (Horn & McArdle, 1992).
4.2. Hypotheses testing
Direct effects are the most commonly analysed and remain of
primary interest in most studies (Holbert & Stephenson, 2002).
Direct effects are shown in a model where a single directional line
or arrow connects between two latent variables (Schumacker &
Lomax, 1996). The results of the hypotheses tests are shown below.
5. Discussion
The context of this study is crucial in understanding the dis-
cussion of the results. Proton was established in 1983 as the ?rst
national car manufacturer, envisioned by Malaysian then-prime
minister, Dr. Mahathir. The primary objective of Proton was to ca-
talyse the nation's automotive industry and ultimately transform
the country from an agriculture-to industry-based one, like Japan.
Proton has always been regarded as a Malaysian national icon. To
maintain that status, the company has kept improving its designs
and technology in line with the government vision. In contrast,
Perodua was established in 1993 via a joint venture between
Malaysian and Japanese partners. The design and technology
actually belong to Daihatsu and UMW Toyota. The purpose of
Perodua was to support the nation's vision to be a global player in
the automotive industry. Although both have the status of being
Table 7
Measure equivalence analysis for corporate brand, service quality and car characteristics.
c
2
(df)p Dc
2
(Ddf) p Dc
2
/Ddf RMSEA NFI TLI CFI
1.Model 1 631.557 (250) p ¼ .001 e e .046 .937 .952 .961
2.Model 1 vs. testing invariance (weak factorial invariance) 646.430 (263) p ¼ .001 14.873 (13) p < .25 1.144 .045 .935 .954 .961
3.Model 2 vs. testing invariance (strong factorial invariance) 788.192 (281) p ¼ .001 141.762 (18) p < .005 7.876 .050 .921 .943 .948
Table 8
Con?rmatory Factor Analysis results for PROTON.
Constructs Cronbach Alpha c
2
DF Prob. Level CMIN/DF GFI AGFI RMSEA TLI NFI CFI HOELTER (.01)
Consumer ethnocentrism .932 224.645 63 .001 3.566 .932 .902 .073 .946 .760 .772 176
Self-congruity .956 42.520 13 .001 3.271 .975 .946 .069 .986 .988 .992 251
Corporate brand .941 62.568 19 .001 3.293 .970 .944 .069 .979 .980 .986 230
Service quality .910 42.182 18 .001 2.343 .979 .957 .053 .985 .983 .990 327
Product characteristics .874 16.497 7 .021 2.357 .989 .966 .053 .984 .987 .993 407
Satisfaction with the car .943 11.807 6 .066 1.968 .992 .971 .045 .994 .995 .998 680
Table 9
Con?rmatory Factor Analysis results for PERODUA.
Constructs Cronbach Alpha c
2
DF Prob. Level CMIN/DF GFI AGFI RMSEA TLI NFI CFI HOELTER (.01)
Consumer ethnocentrism .944 178.355 86 .001 2.074 .910 .874 .068 .950 .924 .959 143
Self-congruity .954 35.684 12 .001 2.974 .961 .908 .092 .976 .980 .986 138
Corporate brand .946 87.526 39 .001 2.244 .932 .884 .073 .966 .958 .976 146
Service quality .916 30.095 11 .002 2.736 .966 .913 .086 .966 .973 .982 193
Car characteristics .869 35.974 13 .001 2.767 .959 .912 .087 .949 .952 .968 146
Satisfaction with the car .921 49.743 24 .002 2.073 .956 .917 .068 .973 .966 .982 172
Table 10
The results for hypotheses testing.
Variables Proton PERODUA
Supported Supported
T-Value (YES/NO) T-Value (YES/NO)
H1. Consumer ethnocentrism towards national car company is positively related to customer satisfaction with the car. .158 NO NE NO
H2. Self-congruity towards national car company is positively related to customer satisfaction with the car. 3.620*** YES .058 NO
H3: Corporate brand of national car company is positively related to customer satisfaction with the car. 13.847*** YES .206 NO
H4: Service quality provided by national car company is positively related to customer satisfaction with the car. .563 NO 1.926* YES
H5: The product characteristic of national car company is positively related to customer satisfaction with the car. 10.434*** YES 2.989** YES
Note: *p < .05 **p < .01 ***p < .001; NE means the value was
This paper relies on social identity theory to explore post-purchase satisfaction for buying local brands.
Concepts including ethnocentrism, self-congruity, corporate brand, service quality and product characteristics
are applied towards the customers of Proton and Perodua, two of Malaysia's national automobile
brands. The primary purpose is to examine in what ways Proton customers differ from Perodua customers.
Using a survey method, 478 respondents were recruited for Proton and 235 for Perodua. The
study was carried out at service centres for both brands. Three important findings are reported in this
study: first, domestic purchasing is not necessarily related to ethnocentrism; second, consumers are
rational; and third, measurement equivalence analysis is important if a study has different types of respondents.
These findings are in opposition to other consumer studies that have highlighted ethnocentrism
as the primary reason for buying local brands, and this study suggests that there is more to
consumer choice than ethnocentric considerations.
Examining reasons for post-purchase satisfaction in buying local brands: When
local meets local
Azwardi Md Isa
a, *
, Mohammad Basir Saud
a
, Md Daud Ismail
b
a
Department of International Business, School of International Studies, College of Law, Government and International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia
b
School of Business Studies, Faculty of Economics and Business, 43600 Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 20 May 2013
Accepted 30 October 2015
Available online xxx
Keywords:
Ethnocentrism
Social identity
Measurement equivalence
a b s t r a c t
This paper relies on social identity theory to explore post-purchase satisfaction for buying local brands.
Concepts including ethnocentrism, self-congruity, corporate brand, service quality and product charac-
teristics are applied towards the customers of Proton and Perodua, two of Malaysia's national automobile
brands. The primary purpose is to examine in what ways Proton customers differ from Perodua cus-
tomers. Using a survey method, 478 respondents were recruited for Proton and 235 for Perodua. The
study was carried out at service centres for both brands. Three important ?ndings are reported in this
study: ?rst, domestic purchasing is not necessarily related to ethnocentrism; second, consumers are
rational; and third, measurement equivalence analysis is important if a study has different types of re-
spondents. These ?ndings are in opposition to other consumer studies that have highlighted ethno-
centrism as the primary reason for buying local brands, and this study suggests that there is more to
consumer choice than ethnocentric considerations.
© 2015 College of Management, National Cheng Kung University. Production and hosting by Elsevier
Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
As a developing country, Malaysia has a strong domestic auto-
motive industry, and Proton and Perodua have dominated local
markets for more than two decades. As the ?rst national car
manufacturer, Proton has enjoyed the top car sales in the market up
until the last few years when Perodua overtook it. Being the ?rst
national car company should have given the company an added
advantage in building its reputation, improving quality and build-
ing a customer base. This is because purchasing of domestically
produced brands is largely reported to be in?uenced by ethno-
centrism (Hamin & Elliott, 2006; Shimp & Sharma, 1987).
As a mature ?eld of study, consumer ethnocentrism ?ourishes
under three umbrellas. First, the ?eld focuses on country-of-origin
effects, such as the products made in developed versus developing
countries (Bandara & Miloslava, 2012; Bandyopadhyay, 2014;
Wong, Polonsky, & Garma, 2008); second, it seeks to examine the
impact of local versus foreign brands on consumers (Erdogan &
Uzkurt, 2010; Kaynak & Kara, 2002; Kuncharin & Mohamed,
2014); and third, ethnocentrism in consumer choices is mainly
studied in the context of a speci?c country, such as Josiassen, Assaf,
and Karpen (2011) in Australia, Kamaruddin, Mokhlis, and Othman
(2002) in Malaysia, Wang and Chen (2004) in China and
Evanschitzky, Wangenheim, Woisetschl€ager, and Blut (2008) in
Germany.
By adopting an alternative perspective within ethnocentrism,
this study attempts to answer two essential issues; ?rst, what
happens if a consumer has an option between national brands, and
second, what makes them prefer one brand over another. Several
factors for consumer purchasing are combined with social identity
theory to enable a greater and potentially new understanding
about ethnocentric phenomena in regards to purchasing.
The remainder of this paper is organized in the following
manner. Section 2 explains the conceptual development that de-
picts the relationships under investigation. Section 3 presents the
research methodology employed in this study, which includes
sampling and survey procedures. Section 4 explains the measure-
ment equivalence (ME) analysis conducted in this study. Finally,
discussions are presented in Section 5.
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (A.M. Isa).
Peer review under responsibility of College of Management, National Cheng
Kung University.
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Asia Paci?c Management Review xxx (2015) 1e14
Please cite this article in press as: Isa, A. M., et al., Examining reasons for post-purchase satisfaction in buying local brands: When local meets
local, Asia Paci?c Management Review (2015),http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2015.10.001
2. Literature review
2.1. Social identity theory: choice and emotion
Making choices is part of human nature. With such a variety of
brands for the same product available in the market, consumers are
always in con?ict with themselves, particularly when choosing the
“right” brand for them. This is where the social identi?cation aspect
of this process provides consumers with a feeling of belonging and
well-being (Langner, Hennigs, & Wiedmann, 2013), thus guiding
them in making decisions (Chan, Berger, & Van Boven, 2012). It is
no coincidence that people in the same profession, such as suc-
cessful athletes or chief executives, tend to buy similar cars and
read similar magazines (Champniss, Wilson, & Macdonald, 2015).
Across the board, people feel a need for self-continuity, self-
enhancement and self-distinctiveness (Elbedweihy &
Jayawardhena, 2014). That need makes us a “social animal” e a
term coined by evolutionary psychologists (Lukinova, Myagkov, &
Shishkin, 2014). The implication here is that human decisions are
bursting with emotion that may surpass logical sense or rationality
in some cases. As reported by Lee, Klobas, Tezinde, and Murphy
(2010), across age groups, the sense of belonging is much stron-
ger than value expressiveness in determining the preference for
national brands. One possible explanation for this is that social
identities are associated with speci?c discreet emotion pro?les that
provide “what to feel” information during identity enactment
(Coleman & Williams, 2013). As a result, consumers prefer
emotional stimuli that are consistent with their salient social
identity, and make product choices and emotion-regulating con-
sumption decisions to enhance (reduce) their experience of
identity-consistent (inconsistent) emotions, while experiencing
identity-consistent emotions aids in the performance of identity-
relevant tasks. This is in line with Tsai and Bagozzi (2014), who
suggested that group norms, social identity and emotions affect the
desire for a certain products.
Based on social identity theory, the remainder of the discussion
integrates factors including consumer ethnocentrism, self-
congruity, corporate brand, service quality and product character-
istics. This will serve to enhance understanding of the phenomena
of buying local brands.
2.2. Consumer ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism was ?rst discussed in sociological literature by
Sumner (1906), who described ethnocentrism as:
the view of things in which one's own group is the centre of
everything, and all are scaled and rated with reference to it ….
Each group nourishes its own pride and vanity, boasts itself
superior, exalts its own divinities and looks with contempt on
outsiders (p. 13).
The description above indicates that ethnocentrism is part of
human nature (Rushton, 1989); therefore, it is present in all kinds of
social groups, developing into family pride, sectionalism, religious
prejudice, racial discrimination and patriotism (Murdock, 1931). As
explained by LeVine and Campbell (1972) ethnocentrism can be
used: (1) to distinguish between groups, (2) to perceive events in
terms of the group's own interests, (3) to see one's own group as
the centre of the universe and to regard its way of life as superior to
others, (4) to be suspicious of and despise others, (5) to view one's
own group as superior and (6) to see other groups as inferior.
Although ethnocentrism has a long history, it was Shimp and
Sharma (1987) who incorporated the concept into consumer
study. At ?rst, ethnocentrism was referred as “the belief held by
American consumers about the appropriateness, indeed morality,
of purchasing foreign made products” (p. 280). Along this line,
Sharma, Shimp, and Shin, (1995) explained that consumer ethno-
centrism includes three dimensions; (1) love and concern for one's
country, (2) impeding the intention or willingness to buy foreign
products and (3) awakening a personal level of prejudice against
imported goods.
The behaviour of a highly ethnocentric consumer is different
from one that does not showstrong signs of ethnocentrism (Shimp
& Sharma, 1987). For high ethnocentric consumers, national loyalty
is seen as an important issue, as this in?uences these consumers to
choose domestic products or services (Bruning, 1997). In contrast,
low ethnocentric consumers prefer foreign products compared to
domestic products (Kucukemiroglu, 1999), and have a lesser sense
of belonging to the group. As the re?ection of love for the country, a
person is committed and always ready to sacri?ce for the sake of
the country (Druckman, 1994). Emotional attachment to the
homeland guides the belief that the country is superior in most
aspects (Karasawa, 2002).
2.2.1. Consumer ethnocentrism and domestic purchasing bias
Many studies have suggested that consumer ethnocentrism af-
fects consumer decisions to buy domestic products as an alterna-
tive to foreign products (Hsu & Nien, 2008; Supphellen &
Grønhaug, 2003; Upadhyay & Singh, 2006), but only a few
studies have clari?ed in detail the reasons consumers make biased
decisions. Thus, to explain the reasons for this behaviour, personal
motives need to be investigated and described.
The ?rst motive is industry protection. Scheve and Slaughter
(2001) maintained that individual trade preferences are closely
related to the type of industries and foreign competition that might
threaten domestic industries. For example, Evanschitzky et al.
(2008) suggested that ethnocentrism among German consumers
is industry speci?c. They explained that consumer ethnocentrism
exhibits the expected effects in product-country con?gurations
that are likely to be perceived as threats to the home economy, such
as French foods, Italian fashion and Japanese electronics. In another
study, Chinen (2010), who studied the Japanese rice industry, found
a stronger consumer ethnocentrism in Japanese consumers. The
reason for this is that the rice industry is regarded as traditionally
owned from generation to generation.
The second motive is job insecurity. In a survey conducted by
Hester (1989) in the US apparel industry, the prime reason for
raising consumer awareness of “made in the US” labelling was to
support the US industry, because the industry provides job op-
portunities for the country. This ?nding is consistent with an earlier
study by Shimp and Sharma (1987), who reported that consumers
whose jobs and quality of life are vulnerable to interruption from
foreign competition have the highest scores on the consumer
ethnocentrism scale (CETSCALE). On the other hand, Maronick
(1995) asserted that patriotism and jobs are more salient to con-
sumers in the presence of foreign brands. Levin and Jasper's (1995)
study also showed that the percentage of local workers affects
economic nationalism. For highly nationalist countries, the per-
centage of domestic workers increases along with nationalism. In
contrast, for low- or medium-scale nationalism, the percentage of
domestic workers has a reverse effect on nationalism. At a personal
level, economic nationalism operates through the adoption of “us
?rst” mentality within the group versus the group distinction
relating to “our companies”, “our products”, “our jobs” and “our
workers” (Baughn & Yaprak, 1996). The perceived threat is trans-
mitted to one's own level of job insecurity through this
consciousness.
The third motive is social desirability. In a classic study by
Crowne and Marlowe (1960), social desirability was described as
A.M. Isa et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review xxx (2015) 1e14 2
Please cite this article in press as: Isa, A. M., et al., Examining reasons for post-purchase satisfaction in buying local brands: When local meets
local, Asia Paci?c Management Review (2015),http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2015.10.001
“culturally acceptable and approved behaviour” (p. 354). Utilizing
social needs, social theorists Lewis (1976) and Lynn (1976)
asserted that as social beings, people give preferential treatment
to members of groups with which they are associated. Several
studies have helped to explain the pursuit of approved behaviour
and preferential treatment of certain social groups. For example,
Supphellen and Rittenburg's (2001) ?ndings suggested that
where foreign products are superior to domestic alternatives,
ethnocentric consumers seem to conform to a general opinion on
foreign brands, and express their ethnocentric feelings in terms of
accentuating the positive effects of domestic brands. In a similar
vein, van Birgelen, de Ruyter, and Wetzels, (2005) suggested that
respondents who are more sensitive to social opinions report
higher levels of ethnocentric tendencies than insensitive ones do.
In addition, collectivist consumers identify with their home
country and therefore exhibit ethnocentrism (Yoo & Donthu,
2005). Collectivism, which emphasizes group interdependence,
produces social bias within the group, driven by social norms,
duties and obligations (Bontempo & Rivero, 1992; Davidson,
Jaccard, Triandis, Morales, & Diaz-Guerrero, 1976; Triandis,
Chan, Bhawuk, Iwao, & Sinha, 1995). The desirability to be “in the
group” of patriotic consumers consequently provides a vital
motivation for consumers to buy domestic products.
2.2.2. Domestic consumption: normative versus rational choice
A normative choice, which is the property of the “in-group”,
entails a prescriptive course of action by questioning consumer
conscience with respect to consumption practices in order to pre-
vent adverse effects on domestic employment and economic wel-
fare (Sharma et al., 1995). As a result of this strong sense of home
country loyalty, consumers are willing to pay higher prices to
obtain domestic products (Knight, 1999). Several studies re?ect this
argument. For example, Hamin and Elliott (2006) reported that in
the context of Indonesian market, highly ethnocentric consumers
prefer domestically designed and assembled products over foreign
products. In addition, Nguyen, Nguyen, and Barrett (2008) found
that Vietnamese consumers are ethnocentric and that ethnocen-
trism translates into the purchasing of domestic products.
In contrast to in-group purchasing behaviour, the out-group
behaves more practically. Product quality is the main consider-
ation when making a purchase decision. Studies have shown that
non-ethnocentric consumers prefer foreign products (Good &
Huddleston, 1995; Javalgi, Khare, Gross, & Scherer, 2005; Sohail,
2005). However, they do not feel guilty, lack national pride or
display lowethnocentrism, even though their behaviour can have a
detrimental effect on their own country's economy (Piron, 2002).
In a study by Vida and Reardon (2008), normative constructs
(i.e., consumer ethnocentrism) were found to have stronger de-
terminants of domestic consumption compared to rational con-
siderations. Granzin and Olsen (1998) and Olsen, Granzin, and
Biswas (1993) explained that domestic purchasing is motivated
by various reasons, such as internalization of responsibility to help,
sharing a common fate with workers, perceptions of similarity with
workers, social concerns, ethnocentric orientation and patriotic
loyalty.
More importantly, ethnocentrism is at maximum effect if it
emerges from emotion. Emotion, which is the main pillar of social
identity theory, arouses a feeling of love for the country (Druckman,
1994) and the need to be “in-group”. It makes the consumer believe
that it is wrong to support foreign brands, as stated by Shimp and
Sharma (1987). The context of this study comprises two Malay-
sian national brands, Proton and Perodua. The brands were estab-
lished as part of a goal to make Malaysia an industrialized country
by the year 2020; thus, they have an emotional resonance for
Malaysians. Satisfaction in this sense is viewed as pride in having a
national car. On this ground, we suggest the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 1. Consumer ethnocentrism towards national car
company is positively related to customer satisfaction with the car.
2.3. Self-congruity
Theoretically, the self includes the attitudes, feelings, percep-
tions and evaluations of oneself as an object (Hall & Lindsay, 1957).
Epstein (1973) explained that:
By recognizing that individuals have implicit theories about
themselves as a function of individuals, it is possible to assimi-
late the views of phenomenologist on the nature of the self-
concept into a broader framework that should be acceptable
to all psychologists. When the self-concept is rede?ned as a self-
theory, it can no longer be dismissed as unscienti?c (p. 415).
The individual self-concept is dynamic and evolving (Markus &
Wurf, 1987), in line with changes in one's surroundings. Self-
concept can be divided into two categories: intrapersonal and
interpersonal. Intrapersonal includes information processing, affect
regulation through self-enhancement and motivating individuals
to take an action. The interpersonal emphasis is on the viewing of
oneself as a result of social interaction. It includes social compari-
son, partner's choice or preference, shaping a particular identity
during social interaction and reactions to feedback (Markus &Wurf,
1987). Schouten (1991) asserted that self-concept encompasses
several aspects, such as “role identities, personal attributes, re-
lationships, fantasies, possessions, and other symbols that in-
dividuals use for the purpose of self-creation and self-
understanding” (p. 413).
The primary interest of incorporating self-concept as part of
consumer study arises from the fact that it guides and controls
people's choices when making purchase decisions (Sirgy, 1982).
From a marketing point of view, scholars have used self-congruity
instead of self-concept. In essence, self-congruity means that “a
personwill select that brand of a product whose image most closely
resembles his or her self-image” (Hughes & Guerrero, 1971, p. 125).
Self-concept processes cover self-evaluation, self-perception, self-
concept change, self-concept differentiation, self-concept general-
ization, decision making, information searches and self-monitoring
(Sirgy, 1986).
2.3.1. Self-congruity and purchasing
Utilizing the notion that self-congruity is the congruity be-
tween the actual self-image and product image, Sirgy (1985)
demonstrated that the theory is useful, particularly in predict-
ing consumer purchase motivation. Depending on the levels of
congruity, the higher the level of self-congruity, the higher the
level of customer satisfaction (Jamal & Goode, 2001). Wang, Yang,
and Liu (2009), who studied the Chinese mainland's automobile
market, suggested that product-brand personality is more sig-
ni?cant in affecting purchase intention than company-brand
personality. However, Sirgy, Grewal, and Mangleburg (2000)
showed that self-congruity in?uences functional congruity and
the predictive effects of self-congruity versus functional congruity
are moderated by consumer knowledge, prior experience and the
degree of product involvement. In addition, a study conducted by
Lee (2009) regarding the Korean automobile industry asserted
that where a brand commands a high preference among con-
sumers, the consumer personality actually exert some in?uence
over perceived brand personality, provided that the consumer has
built a positive relationship with the brand and then projects
A.M. Isa et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review xxx (2015) 1e14 3
Please cite this article in press as: Isa, A. M., et al., Examining reasons for post-purchase satisfaction in buying local brands: When local meets
local, Asia Paci?c Management Review (2015),http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2015.10.001
their personality onto the brand. Consistent with Lee (2009), Yim,
Chan, and Hung (2007) asserted that the high level of self-image
relates to people's behaviour in close personal relationships with
brands. Throughout the consumer behaviour literature, it has
been suggested that consumers often have a preference for
products and choose products that have higher versus lower
levels of congruity (Lee, 2009). Thus, self-congruity is useful,
especially when explaining and predicting brand attitude, prod-
uct use and ownership, brand loyalty and purchase intention
(Sirgy et al., 1997).
2.3.2. Brand engagement self-concept
The fundamental idea of self-concept is that the individual's
behaviour will be directed toward enhancement of their self-
concept (Grubb & Grathwohl, 1967). People vary in their ten-
dency to possess particular self-schemas, and this variation leads to
different attitudes and behaviours towards objects relevant to such
schemas (Markus, 1983). Brand engagement self-concept builds on
the idea that consumers vary in their general engagement with
brands such as a person may include popular brands as part of their
self-concept (Sprott, Czellar, & Spangenberg, 2009).
According to Sprott et al. (2009), the connection between con-
sumer and brand is interpreted through self-concept theory. They
argued that attachment to possessions taps into the extent to which
speci?c past, present or future possession contributes to main-
taining consumer self-concept. For example, Proton and Perodua
customers belong to the companies' respective brand communities.
As part of these communities, consumers share product-
consumption experiences with others, online or of?ine. This
experience sharing fosters customer co-creation of value of the
brand and cultivates brand engagement.
The strength of the engagement is measured by the centrality of
the brand, meaning that the higher the rank of the identity, the
greater the connectedness between consumer and brand (Harmon-
Kizer, Kumar, Ortinau, & Stock, 2013). Individuals use brands to
create or communicate their self-concept, partly in an effort to
meet certain identity goals (e.g., self-veri?cation, self-enhance-
ment), and do this to an even greater extent when a particular
identity is central (Harmon, Kumar, & Ortinau, 2009). In this study,
we propose that brand engagement creates a special feeling be-
tween consumer and brand. Self-congruity endorses this match
between consumer and brand, thereby resulting in satisfaction.
Therefore, we set forth the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 2. Self-congruity towards national car company is
positively related to customer satisfaction with the car.
2.4. Corporate brand
In describing organizational image, Dutton and Dukerich (1991)
maintained that image is the individual's sense of what an orga-
nization should stand for. Image includes management style
(Bromley, 2000) and corporate logo (Heerden & Puth, 1995), which
serve as cognitive switches and trigger memory, linking the
customer with the company. Hence, image simply means the
perception of the customer towards the corporate brand (Davies &
Chun, 2002), or, implicitly, “How we want others to see ourselves”
(Chun, 2005). Consumers utilize corporate image to deduce the
company's business ethics (Creyer & Ross, 1997) and identify
symbols of credibility (Gürhan-Canli & Batra, 2004), and to gain
trust (Park & Kim, 2003) in product purchasing.
Working on the basis that corporate reputation may lead to
value creation for the company (Fearnley, 1993), corporate
reputation has received considerable attention from scholars
(Gotsi & Wilson, 2001; Helm, 2007). Fearnley (1993) postulated
that corporate reputation is what makes a company stands out
from the rest; therefore, its impact on consumer buying behav-
iour should be exploited. Poor reputation can be an obstacle
for a company to build a strong brand (Page & Fearn, 2005). To
build competitive brand(s), the company needs to implement
differentiation strategies and strengthen its competencies,
because stakeholders determine company reputation (Sanchez &
Sotorrio, 2007). Bromley (2000) explained that corporate
reputation encompasses a wide range of psychological domains,
including product attributes and cognitive effect (perception and
memory). In sum, corporate reputation represents the percep-
tions held by all relevant stakeholders or “How others see us”
(Chun, 2005).
To date, corporate brand has been explained as staf?ng (man-
agers and employees as internal stakeholders), products, brands,
the general public and consumers (external stakeholders)
(Einwiller & Will, 2002). Scholars have argued that corporate brand
is a company asset (Hatch & Schultz, 2001, 2003). By focussing on
building a strong corporate brand, companies can create differen-
tiation and preference for a product or service in the mind of their
customers (Knox & Bickerton, 2003). In a highly competitive
marketplace, it is crucial for companies to link their brand entities,
such as people, places, things or other brands, to improve brand
equity (Keller, 2003). Once the links between company and brand
strengthen, the company is a brand (McEnally & de Chernatony,
1999). As Aaker (2004) argued, “corporate brands de?ne that the
?rm will deliver and stand behind the offering that the customer
will buy and use” (p. 6). In line with this description, this study
describes corporate brand as the chain of images and reputation
associated with brands that drive consumers to purchase products
from a speci?c company.
2.4.1. The impact of brand equity on corporate brand
In line with McEnally and de Chernatony's (1999) proposition,
once a brand reaches maturity, the company name becomes a
brand; this paper embarks on a similar approach. A company, and
its product(s) and brand(s), are seen as the interpretation of
corporate brand. As Stephen King once said:
A product is something that is made in a factory; a brand is
something that is bought by a customer. A product can be copied
by a competitor; a brand is unique. A product can be quickly
outdated; a successful brand is timeless (King as cited in Aaker,
1991, p. 1).
A brand is timeless because it de?nes products (Sanderson &
Uzumeri, 1995). In branding literature, the association between
consumer, brand and product is encapsulated in “brand equity”.
Keller (1993) explained that consumer-based brand equity has
impact on consumer response towards the brand.
Among the most important impacts of brand equity is brand
uniqueness. As Leone et al. (2006) explained, “The power of a brand
lies in the minds of the consumers and what they have experienced,
learnt, and felt about the brand over time” (p. 126). In this regard, to
what extent a brand is considered unique is open to individual
interpretation. For example, Maehle and Shneor (2010) found that
consumers prefer cigarette brands with personalities that match
their own. In another study, Fitzsimons, Chartrand, and Fitzsimons
(2008) reported that brands have the power to elicit changes in
behaviour. In their study, participants primed with Apple logos
behaved more creatively than those primed with the IBM control,
thus con?rming that brands have personalities just like humans do
(Aaker, 1997). Likewise, Baltas and Saridakis (2009) maintained
that car brand names affect the incremental value of the cars they
represent. For this reason, a brand is unique because it builds
A.M. Isa et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review xxx (2015) 1e14 4
Please cite this article in press as: Isa, A. M., et al., Examining reasons for post-purchase satisfaction in buying local brands: When local meets
local, Asia Paci?c Management Review (2015),http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2015.10.001
relationships between companies and customers (Shamma &
Hassan, 2011) by means of product differentiation.
Brand equity also generates trust (Ambler, 1997; Keller &
Lehmann, 2006). This trust basically occurs as a result of past ex-
periences with the brand, and is positively associated with brand
loyalty (Delgado-Ballester & Munuera-Aleman, 2005). These ex-
periences enable consumers to develop brand knowledge that af-
fects their future purchases (Esch, Langner, Schmitt, & Geus, 2006).
Chaudhuri and Holbrook (2001) maintained that brand trust con-
tributes to purchase loyalty and attitudinal loyalty, implying its
important role in explaining market-performance aspects of brand
equity. With respect to developing brand loyalty, Lau and Lee
(1999) asserted that consumer trust occurs as a result of brand
characteristics, brand competence and brand performance. Trust
assists consumers in visualizing and understanding products
(Berry, 2000). More importantly, trust is a promise of bene?ts given
by the company to its customers (Raggio, 2007). However, brand
equity is a sign of the company's ability to deliver on that promise.
Another important aspect of brand equity is that it affects the
perceived quality of a brand. Aaker (1991) identi?ed perceived
quality as one of the brand equity constructs. Perceived quality
affects consumer preference for some brands more than others
(Tolba & Hassan, 2009). Smit and Bronner (2007) suggested that
perceived quality elicits emotional bonds between consumers and
brands, creating brand relationship quality and making some
brands stand out from the rest. Brands like Mercedes are well
accepted by consumers worldwide due to the strong association
between the brand and quality cars (Sohail, 2005).
Besides creating uniqueness, trust and perceived quality, brand
equity also stimulates brand associations. As Aaker (1997) main-
tained, brands have personalities, just as humans do. According to
Aaker, personalities consist of sincerity, excitement, competence,
sophistication and ruggedness. A strong, positive brand personality
leads to more brand associations that are favourable, unique, strong
and congruent, thus enhancing brand equity (Freling & Forbes,
2005). Brand strengths associated with beliefs and values are the
most powerful and most dif?cult to imitate (Ghodeswar, 2008).
Jami (2008) described brand association as “mental association”.
For example, when the concept of “ice” is activated in working
memory, it is automatically associated with “cold”. Likewise, when
a brand is mentioned, it is automatically associated with “core
brand associations” (John, Loken, Kim, & Monga, 2006, p. 562).
In sum, the core of brand equity is to generate consumer loyalty
for the company (Aaker, 1996), because loyalty brings monetary
value to the company through repeat purchasing (Wood, 2000) and
recruits new customers through word-of-mouth promotion (Gauri,
Bhatnagar, & Rao, 2008). Brand equity, such as brand uniqueness,
trust, perceived quality and loyalty, as described in this study,
projects the meaning of corporate brand through image and
reputation from a consumer standpoint.
2.4.2. Functional and symbolic values of the corporate brand and
customer satisfaction
Corporate brand per se comprises a number of distinct value
orientations and functional attributes, which can constitute a
source of value over a lengthy period of time (Bergstrom,
Blumenthal, & Crothers, 2002). Through commandment of value,
the brand then guides the choice pattern among consumers, and
this is articulated through desirable end states of existence of
product functionality (Gutman, 1982). Aaker and Keller (1997)
maintained that corporate brands' functional attributes comprise
bene?ts, quality, usefulness and brand competence. Wood (2007)
added that functional attributes represent conformance to stan-
dards and ?tness for use.
Symbolic value as the construction of self, comprising both self-
enhancement and self-reinforcement, is part of companies' efforts
to differentiate themselves from competitors (Wee & Ming, 2003).
Salzer-Morling and Strannegard (2004) described the role of brand
as an aesthetic expression controlled by the company and later
projected to consumers. Symbolic meaning lends support for
perceived tangibility and substance towards brands (Leigh & Gabel,
1992).
We suggest that brand equity represents the image of a com-
pany. Taking as a base Chun's (2005) viewof corporate reputation as
“Howothers see us” (p. 95), we extend her statement by suggesting
that “corporate reputation” is consumer endorsement of corporate
image. Corporate image eventually projects a special identity as
consumers avoid buying products that con?ict with their identity
aspects (Shirazi, Lorestani, & Mazidi, 2013). A special identity later
creates meaning and value (Simon, 2011). Thus, careful brand
management is crucial to engender strong emotional attachment
towards the brand (Balmer, Liao, & Wang, 2010). Consumers may
perceive Proton and Perodua as two distinctive national brands due
to the business strategy implemented by both; however, as prestige,
communication and satisfaction are all related to brand identi?ca-
tion (Kuenzel & Halliday, 2008), we posit that:
Hypothesis 3. Corporate brand of national car company is posi-
tively related to customer satisfaction with the car.
2.5. Service quality
Oliver (1980) maintained that consumers have a tendency to
shape various expectations about product performance prior to
purchase, and then compare actual performance with initial ex-
pectations. Where such a comparison is made and the results
deviate from the standards set by consumers, expectation-
discon?rmation is acknowledged (Niedrich, Kiryanova, & Black,
2005). The nucleus of discon?rmation theory utilizes customer
satisfaction as a function of expectation and expectancy discon-
?rmation (Oliver, 1980; Swan & Trawick, 1981). Scholars have
used discon?rmation theory to explain service quality phenom-
ena (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1985, 1988). Oliver and
DeSarbo (1988) and Tse and Wilton (1988) discussed discon?r-
mation as a paradigm and posited that customer satisfaction is an
outcome of a process comprising several steps. They described
these steps as follows: (1) consumers are captivated by several
attributions of product/service performance, (2) they perform
“standard comparisons” and (3) positive or negative discon?r-
mation is extracted from these comparisons. Negative discon?r-
mation happens when consumer expectations do not match the
services delivered.
2.5.1. Customer responses in service encounters
Conceptually, a “service encounter” has been de?ned as a social
exchange between consumer and service provider (Czepiel, 1990;
Solomon, Surprenant, Czepiel, & Gutman, 1985). It simply refers
to a period during which a service provider and consumer interact
in a face-to-face situation (Boshoff, 2007). During these encounters,
consumers tend to assess all aspects of service elements, including
employees, physical facilities and other visible elements (Bitner,
Booms, & Tetreault, 1990; Shostack, 1985).
First, the customer evaluates the relationship quality. The
nucleus of the service encounter builds a relationship between
customer-facing employees and customers (Plakoyiannaki,
Tzokas, Dimitratos, & Saren, 2008). This includes evaluating
responsiveness, reassurance and empathy, together with fairness,
sincere efforts to understand and help customers, and ongoing
personalized communication as the desired attribute of service
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experience (Parasuraman, Berry, & Zeithaml, 1991). Chandon, Leo,
and Philippe (1997) reported that perceived competence,
listening and dedication contribute to the evaluation of the
encounter more than the effectiveness of service does. Even a
minor detail such as employees' smiles during the service
encounter (Wake?eld, Becker-Olsen, & Cornwell, 2007), or
tangible aspects of the physical environment (Hennig-Thurau,
Groth, Paul, & Gremler, 2006), can in?uence perceptions to-
wards overall service quality.
Second, customers form cultural expectations to de?ne “quality
service”. Patterson and Mattila (2008) found that an individual
customer's cultural orientations, as well as familiarity with a focal
provider, impact perceptions and post-purchase evaluations of
both successful and unsuccessful service encounters. Ringberg,
Odekerken-Schr€ oder, and Christensen (2007) introduced a
cultural-model approach to service recovery and described it as
“shared mental constructs of socio-cultural origin that have
become part of people's identity's formation and understanding of
the world” (p. 206). Depending on the research settings, cultural
elements are generally associated with service encounters and vary
from culture to culture and country to country (Keillor, Hult, &
Kandemir, 2004).
Third, customers evaluate employees' responses to service fail-
ure. Smith, Bolton, and Wagner (1999) maintained that failures
during face-to-face service encounters may have a more detri-
mental effect on satisfaction compared to outcome failures such as
unavailable service. In an event in which service failures occur,
service providers need to offer prompt and courteous service re-
covery in response (Hocutt, Bowers, & Donavan, 2006). Offering an
apology, immediate problem solving, being courteous and prompt
handling can in?uence customer satisfaction, which may affect
customer repurchase intention (Liao, 2007).
Fourth, customers form attitudes and behaviours toward the
service quality of the company. Generally, after a series of service
encounters a customer will have formed a general idea about the
level of service quality that they have obtained. There are a few
consequences of service outcomes. Positive outcomes lead to pos-
itive word-of-mouth promotion and recommendation (Mangold,
Miller, & Brockway, 1999). Harrison-Walker (2001) asserted that
service quality has a positive impact on word-of-mouth praise and
attracts new customers. In contrast, negative outcomes lead to
customer complaints as a result of frustrations (Tronvoll, 2010) and
negative word-of-mouth (Boshoff, 2007) and brand switching
(Keaveney, 1995).
In the automotive industry, the purchase agreement between
car owners and car manufacturers requires owners to perform
periodical service maintenance at the manufacturer's service
centre. Consequently, as customers experience several service en-
counters, they tend to conduct some evaluations and this helps to
form their attitude towards service quality. Malaysian cultural
values are included when de?ning service quality in this study.
Discon?rmation theory emphasizes that customer satisfaction is a
function of expectation and expectancy discon?rmation (Oliver,
1980). In addition, a quality model should ideally take into
consideration the sources of quality. In this regard, formality is an
important component of identity in an Asian context (Witkowski &
Wol?nbarger, 2001). Thus, we suggest the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 4. Service quality provided by national car company is
positively related to customer satisfaction with the car.
2.6. Car characteristics and means-end chain model
The means-end chain model introduced by Gutman (1982) links
perceived product attributes to values. The model is based on two
fundamental assumptions about consumer behaviour: (1) values
are desirable end-states of existence that play a dominant role in
guiding choice patterns, and (2) people cope with the tremendous
diversity of products that are potential satis?ers of their values by
grouping them into sets or classes to reduce the complexity of
choice. Two further general assumptions about consumer behav-
iour that form the model are: (1) all consumer actions have con-
sequences, and (2) consumers learn to associate particular
consequences with particular actions. Scholars have used the
model to explain consumer behaviour phenomena such as product
values (Johnson, 1989), consumption goals (Pieters, Baumgartner, &
Alien, 1995) and consumer satisfaction and loyalty (Herrmann,
Huber, & Braunstein, 2000).
2.6.1. Linking product characteristics with customer satisfaction
through the means-end chain model
The notion of a means-end model is underlined by the
expectancy-value concept (Gutman, 1997). According to Gutman
(1997), product consumption produces outcomes, and once con-
sumers learnwhich outcomes are desired or undesired, their choice
behaviour is guided accordingly (Gutman, 1982). Gutman (1982)
explained that consumption consequences can be divided into
three concepts: (1) physiological (e.g., satisfying hunger, thirst or
other physiological needs, (2) behavioural (e.g., self-esteem,
improved outlook for the future), and (3) sociological (e.g.,
enhanced status, group membership). To summarize this, customer
value is “the desirable end-states of existence” (Gutman, 1982, p.
60).
We emphasized that consumers constantly evaluate the char-
acteristics of their car through their consumption experience. For
example, a consumer may evaluate the economical aspect of their
car through mileage per litre. We propose that after constant
evaluation of car characteristics through consumption experience
and product consequences that match with the consumer's ex-
pectations, the consumer may achieve the desired value and
satisfaction. In the context of social identity, emotional engagement
(Swann et al., 2014) with a national brand drives customers to make
a purchase decision, thus sacri?cing other choices. Sociality plays a
central role here as it may surpass the monetary loss that arises
fromnot selecting other, better choices (Lukinova et al., 2014). With
regard to strong emotional attachment to a national brand, we
suggest the following:
Hypothesis 5. The product characteristic of national car company
is positively related to customer satisfaction with the car.
2.7. Customer satisfaction
Bearing in mind the context of the study, satisfaction is viewed
with reference to the utilitarian and hedonic perspectives of the car.
The concept of utility emerged as an economic theory (Stigler, 1950)
before branching into marketing literature. Abstractly, utilitarian
bene?ts have been described as functional, instrumental and
practical (Chitturi, Raghunathan, & Mahajan, 2007, 2008). Func-
tional value is assessed through possession of salient functional,
utilitarian or physical attributes, and therefore is measured based
on a pro?le of choice attributes (Sheth, Newman, & Gross, 1991).
Products that meet utilitarian needs can enhance customer satis-
faction (Chitturi, Raghunathan, & Mahajan, 2008). Gutman (1982)
summarized the utility functions of products with reference to
product bene?ts, and further argued that physical product attri-
butes that provide these bene?ts (e.g., cost, size, design) are built in.
Likewise, in the case of a car, fuel economy and safety are examples
of utilitarian bene?ts (Chitturi et al., 2008).
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The hedonic concept takes root from psychology, and specif-
ically from emotion theory. Bagozzi, Gopinath, and Nyer (1999)
de?ned emotion as:
a mental state of readiness that arises from cognitive appraisals
of events or thoughts; has a phenomenological tone; is
accompanied by psychological processes; is often expressed
physically (e.g., in gestures, posture, facial features) and may
result in speci?c actions to af?rm or cope with the emotion,
depending on its nature and meaning for the person having it (p.
184).
Emotional responses are a fundamental component of hedonic
consumption experiences (Ladhari, 2007a, 2007b). Hirschman and
Holbrook (1982) described hedonic consumption as; “facets of
consumer behaviour that relate to the multisensory, fantasy and
emotive aspects of one's experience with products” (p. 92). In
summary, marketing scholars have described hedonic bene?ts as
aesthetic, experiential and enjoyment-related (Batra & Ahtola,
1990; Chitturi et al., 2007, 2008; Holbrook & Hirschman, 1982).
Consumers gain satisfaction when they experience pleasure with a
product (Ladhari, 2007a, 2007b; Mano & Oliver, 1993). For
example, while safety is one of the utilitarian bene?ts, the sunroof
and the luxurious interior are hedonic bene?ts (Chitturi et al.,
2008).
Voss, Spangenberg, and Grohmann (2003) explained that
because utilitarian and hedonic dimensions are different and are
unique forms of consumer attitude, it is important for marketing
researchers to adopt a two-dimensional (hedonic and utilitarian)
view of product attitude when studying consumer behaviour. In
addition, O'Curry and Strahilevitz (2001) asserted that consumer
choice depends on the nature of task-goal effects. For example,
making a smart, practical or responsible choice may be a promi-
nent goal when a customer is involved in the task of choosing
what to buy. In contrast, making a fun choice that maximizes
anticipation utility and the pleasure derived from fantasizing
about an improbable outcome may be a prominent goal when
choosing products such as a birthday present. In line with Voss
et al.'s (2003) suggestion, this study utilizes both utilitarian and
hedonic perspectives in studying consumers in the automotive
context. However, since mainstream segmentation of automobiles
is based on functional characteristics (Baltas & Saridakis, 2009),
utilitarian bene?ts are more dominant in the current context of
the study.
3. Methodology
3.1. Data collection method
A total of 750 questionnaires, 500 directed at Proton and 250 at
Perodua customers were distributed at selected service centres
after approval had been obtained fromthe service centre managers.
The unequal number of questionnaires distributed for Proton and
Perodua was due to there being relatively more Proton than Per-
odua users. A closed-ended questionwith one choice of answer was
employed in the study. Adhering to the suggestion by Roster,
Rogers, Hozier, Baker, and Albaum (2007) that the strengths and
weaknesses of the chosen method should be carefully considered
when deciding on the appropriateness of a data collection method,
this study used a personally administered, self-completion ques-
tionnaire. Face-to-face interaction creates a more “personal atmo-
sphere” between researchers and respondents. Furthermore, this
method was deemed suitable because it has been revealed in the
literature that survey response rates in Asian countries are low
(Harzing, 1997; Welford, 2005). Table 1 summarizes the de-
mographic pro?les and response rates.
3.2. Measures
In line with the purpose of the study, satisfactionwas measured
from ?ve aspects: ethnocentrism, self-congruity, corporate brand,
service quality and product characteristics (see Table 2). Once
developed, the questionnaires were presented to several man-
agers of participating companies for improvement. Criticisms
pertained mainly to the wording of the questionnaires. The same
sets of questionnaires were used for Proton and Perodua
Table 1
Demographic pro?les and response rate.
Proton (N ¼ 478) Perodua (N ¼ 235)
Gender
Male 243 123
Female 235 112
Race
Malay 369 137
Chinese 60 70
Indian 41 24
Others 8 4
Age
50 50 22
Income
6000 42 28
Occupation
Government 331 78
Private 122 125
Self-employed 18 23
Unemployed 7 9
Distributed 500 250
Returned 478 235
Table 2
Measures for constructs used in this study.
Source Original measure Original items Final items
Shimp and Sharma (1987) Consumer ethnocentrism scale (CETSCALE) 17 16
Sprott et al. (2009) Brand Engagement Self-Concept (BESC) 8 8
Davies and Chun (2002) Corporate Personality Scale (CPS) 49 6
Chun (2005) Reputation Quotient (RQ) 20 6
Raajpoot (2004) Pakistan Service Quality (PAKSERV) 24 11
Kressman et al. (2006) Product characteristics (functional congruity) 6 8*
Pre-test New scale for satisfaction with the current car 10 10
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customers. All constructs in this study employed seven-point
Likert scales (see Table 3). The Likert scale is recommended for
structural equation modelling such as in this study (Schumacker &
Lomax, 1996).
4. Data analysis
4.1. Measurement equivalence analysis
Scale equivalence has become one of the major concerns for
marketing scholars because it allows for valid comparisons to be
made when studies investigate the same constructs across quali-
tatively distinct populations (Mavondo & Farrell, 2000). Where a
study consists of two or more subpopulations, such as healthcare
and retailing, the issue of ME becomes central (Drasgow & Kanfer,
1985). The main question is do customers share similar reasons for
buying from Proton compared to Perodua?
The steps recommended by King and Miles (1995) and Barbeite
and Weiss (2004) for testing ME were followed. First, EFA
(Exploratory Factor Analysis) was conducted. Technically, factor
analysis is a statistical technique that marketers employ to
condense information from a large number of items into informa-
tion packets (Hair, Lukas, Miller, Bush, & Ortinau, 2008). The
methods are generally used in an attempt to determine which sets
of observed variables sharing common variance-covariance
characteristics de?ne constructs (Schumacker & Lomax, 1996). The
primary purpose of conducting factor analysis procedures is for
data reduction (Malhotra, 2004) (see Table 4).
Second, con?rmatoryfactor analysis (CFA) was conducted. CFAis a
powerful method for addressing construct validity (Bagozzi, Yi, &
Philips, 1991). The method has three advantages: (1) it measures
the overall degree of ?t, (2) it provides useful information on how
well convergent and discriminate validity are achieved, and (3) it
provides explicit results, such as partitioning variance into trait,
method and error components (Bagozzi et al., 1991). CFA provides
guidelines for “model trimming”, or “model modi?cation”, and is
able to suggest alterations to proposed factor structures (Floyd &
Widaman, 1995). Therefore, con?rmatory procedures can be used
to revise and re?ne instruments and their factorial structures (see
Table 5).
Third, ME analysis was implemented. The procedures to test
ME are similar to the steps demonstrated by Mavondo and Farrell
(2000) using a CFA approach. Initially, a baseline model that ?ts
the data adequately needs to be speci?ed. Two baseline models
were drawn: (1) ethnocentrism and self-congruity and (2)
corporate brand, service quality and car characteristics. In
deciding on the best baseline model, four indicators of goodness
of ?t index are considered, namely root mean square approxi-
mation (RMSEA), normed ?t index (NFI), TuckereLewis Index
(TLI) and comparative ?t index (CFI). According to Marsh, Balla,
Table 3
Scaling in the questionnaire.
Constructs Response
Consumer ethnocentrism, self-congruity, car characteristics, corporate brand, service quality, sport sponsorship, media
coverage, auto awards, behavioural loyalty
(1) Strongly disagree, (7) Strongly agree
Customer satisfaction (1) Very dissatis?ed, (7) Very satis?ed
Attitudinal loyalty (1) Not at all for, (7) To a great extent
Table 4
Dimension and scale reliability.
Constructs Dimensions Items Cronbach Alpha
Consumer ethnocentrism Nationalism A1, A2, A5, A6, A7 0.897
Ethnocentrism A3,A4, A8, A9, A10, A11, A12, A13, A14, A15, A16 0.929
Self-congruity Brand engagement B1, B2, B3, B4, B5 0.953
Self-concept B6, B7, B8 0.894
Product characteristics Product characteristics C1, C2,C3, C4 C5, C6, C7, C8 0.895
Corporate brand Corporate image D1, D2, D3, D4, D5 0.911
Corporate reputation D6, D7, D8, D9, D10, D11, D12 0.948
Service quality Assurance E1, E2, E3, E4, E5 0.890
Personalization E6, E7, E8, E9 0.878
Satisfaction with national car Satisfaction with national car F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7, F8, F9, F10 0.932
Table 5
Con?rmatory factor analysis.
Constructs c
2
DF Prob. level CMIN/DF GFI AGFI RMSEA TLI NFI CFI HOELTER (.01)
Consumer ethnocentrism 453.921 88 .000 5.158 .920 .891 .76 .936 .935 .947 191
Self-congruity 51.257 12 .000 4.271 .979 .952 .68 .986 .990 .992 365
Corporate brand 223.264 40 .000 5.582 .949 .916 .080 .966 .970 .975 204
Service quality 45.620 11 .000 4.147 .983 .957 .066 .982 .987 .990 386
Characteristics 20.223 6 .003 3.371 .991 .968 .058 .982 .990 .993 592
Satisfaction with car 122.100 24 .000 5.087 .962 .928 .076 .969 .974 .979 251
Table 6
Measure equivalence analysis for ethnocentrism and self-congruity.
c
2
(df)p Dc
2
(Ddf) p Dc
2
/Ddf RMSEA NFI TLI CFI
1.Model 1 1080.156 (406) p ¼ .001 e e .048 .917 .939 .946
2.Model 1 vs. testing invariance (weak factorial invariance) 1109.132 (424) p ¼ .001 28.976 (18) p > .05 1.610 .048 .915 .940 .945
3.Model 2 vs. testing invariance (strong factorial invariance) 1175.215 (446) p ¼ .001 66.083 (22) p < .005 3.003 .048 .910 .940 .942
A.M. Isa et al. / Asia Paci?c Management Review xxx (2015) 1e14 8
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and MacDonald (1988), TLI is the best of the available indices of
practical ?t. On the other hand, CFI and RMSEA are sensitive to
measurement errors (Hu & Bentler, 1998), and cut-off scores of
0.95 or higher and 0.06 or lower, respectively, have been rec-
ommended (Hu & Bentler, 1998). As shown in Tables 1 and 2, the
baseline model, along with the consecutive models, ?t the data
adequately. Next, working from the baseline model, weak facto-
rial invariance is tested by adding additional constraints so that
the factor loading matrices are invariant across groups. Lastly, the
elements of intercept matrices are constrained to be invariant
across groups. A chi-square distribution table (Malhotra, 2004)
was used to obtain the p value. The results of the ME analysis are
displayed in Tables 6 and 7.
ME suggests that the respondents for Proton and Perodua
answered the questionnaires from two different perspectives;
therefore, the answers should be analysed separately. The pro-
cedures were repeated again, this time individually. However, the
same statistical procedures were followed (see Table 8 and Table 9).
Only after reliability and validity were established for both brands
were the proposed hypotheses tested (see Table 10).
This paper shows that it is crucial for scienti?c inference to
present evidence of ME (Steenkamp & Baumgartner, 1998). Failure
to perform this analysis may create ambiguity regarding conclu-
sions and therefore casts doubt on theory (Horn & McArdle, 1992).
4.2. Hypotheses testing
Direct effects are the most commonly analysed and remain of
primary interest in most studies (Holbert & Stephenson, 2002).
Direct effects are shown in a model where a single directional line
or arrow connects between two latent variables (Schumacker &
Lomax, 1996). The results of the hypotheses tests are shown below.
5. Discussion
The context of this study is crucial in understanding the dis-
cussion of the results. Proton was established in 1983 as the ?rst
national car manufacturer, envisioned by Malaysian then-prime
minister, Dr. Mahathir. The primary objective of Proton was to ca-
talyse the nation's automotive industry and ultimately transform
the country from an agriculture-to industry-based one, like Japan.
Proton has always been regarded as a Malaysian national icon. To
maintain that status, the company has kept improving its designs
and technology in line with the government vision. In contrast,
Perodua was established in 1993 via a joint venture between
Malaysian and Japanese partners. The design and technology
actually belong to Daihatsu and UMW Toyota. The purpose of
Perodua was to support the nation's vision to be a global player in
the automotive industry. Although both have the status of being
Table 7
Measure equivalence analysis for corporate brand, service quality and car characteristics.
c
2
(df)p Dc
2
(Ddf) p Dc
2
/Ddf RMSEA NFI TLI CFI
1.Model 1 631.557 (250) p ¼ .001 e e .046 .937 .952 .961
2.Model 1 vs. testing invariance (weak factorial invariance) 646.430 (263) p ¼ .001 14.873 (13) p < .25 1.144 .045 .935 .954 .961
3.Model 2 vs. testing invariance (strong factorial invariance) 788.192 (281) p ¼ .001 141.762 (18) p < .005 7.876 .050 .921 .943 .948
Table 8
Con?rmatory Factor Analysis results for PROTON.
Constructs Cronbach Alpha c
2
DF Prob. Level CMIN/DF GFI AGFI RMSEA TLI NFI CFI HOELTER (.01)
Consumer ethnocentrism .932 224.645 63 .001 3.566 .932 .902 .073 .946 .760 .772 176
Self-congruity .956 42.520 13 .001 3.271 .975 .946 .069 .986 .988 .992 251
Corporate brand .941 62.568 19 .001 3.293 .970 .944 .069 .979 .980 .986 230
Service quality .910 42.182 18 .001 2.343 .979 .957 .053 .985 .983 .990 327
Product characteristics .874 16.497 7 .021 2.357 .989 .966 .053 .984 .987 .993 407
Satisfaction with the car .943 11.807 6 .066 1.968 .992 .971 .045 .994 .995 .998 680
Table 9
Con?rmatory Factor Analysis results for PERODUA.
Constructs Cronbach Alpha c
2
DF Prob. Level CMIN/DF GFI AGFI RMSEA TLI NFI CFI HOELTER (.01)
Consumer ethnocentrism .944 178.355 86 .001 2.074 .910 .874 .068 .950 .924 .959 143
Self-congruity .954 35.684 12 .001 2.974 .961 .908 .092 .976 .980 .986 138
Corporate brand .946 87.526 39 .001 2.244 .932 .884 .073 .966 .958 .976 146
Service quality .916 30.095 11 .002 2.736 .966 .913 .086 .966 .973 .982 193
Car characteristics .869 35.974 13 .001 2.767 .959 .912 .087 .949 .952 .968 146
Satisfaction with the car .921 49.743 24 .002 2.073 .956 .917 .068 .973 .966 .982 172
Table 10
The results for hypotheses testing.
Variables Proton PERODUA
Supported Supported
T-Value (YES/NO) T-Value (YES/NO)
H1. Consumer ethnocentrism towards national car company is positively related to customer satisfaction with the car. .158 NO NE NO
H2. Self-congruity towards national car company is positively related to customer satisfaction with the car. 3.620*** YES .058 NO
H3: Corporate brand of national car company is positively related to customer satisfaction with the car. 13.847*** YES .206 NO
H4: Service quality provided by national car company is positively related to customer satisfaction with the car. .563 NO 1.926* YES
H5: The product characteristic of national car company is positively related to customer satisfaction with the car. 10.434*** YES 2.989** YES
Note: *p < .05 **p < .01 ***p < .001; NE means the value was