Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters/MBA)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/37942

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    Counterfeiting on Customer-Based Brand Equity of Sportswear in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Maema, Marina; Penman, Neale
    Counterfeiting is a phenomenon that exists in various industries and continues to rise at unprecedented rates. Counterfeiting involves the manufacturing of products that have features and characteristics of a brand. Counterfeiting is a profitable business for those involved in it as it exploits the popularity of the brand. Brands that are most susceptible to counterfeiting because of increased popularity and exclusive products. Counterfeiting has been described to be harmful to customer-based brand equity (CBBE) and have damaging long-term effects, however, it is important to investigate if there are any positives that can be derived from it. This study explores counterfeiting of sportswear brands and how this impacts customer- based brand equity and the consumer willingness to purchase the original brand. Three elements of customer-based equity that were investigated are brand awareness, brand loyalty, and perceived quality. This paper builds on research conducted that investigates counterfeiting in a South African context. A quantitative study was conducted on a sample of 294 university students in the Johannesburg central business area, using a self-administered questionnaire. SEM analysis was applied to investigate the hypotheses. The results indicate that counterfeiting of sportswear products, positively influences perceived quality and the willingness to purchase the original brand. This was true for people that buy counterfeit clothing and for those that do not. Perceived quality was found to not have a negative effect on CBBE and the willingness to purchase the original brand. Conversely, counterfeiting does not have any effect on brand awareness and brand loyalty on the willingness to purchase the original brand. The study shows that the purchase of counterfeit sportswear brands does not have a negative effect on CBBE. The study contributes to the growing literature on counterfeiting and supports a different view on the impact on CBBE, to be of benefit to marketers, policy makers and luxury brands in South Africa
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    Effect of ethnocentrism, country of origin and perceived quality on the purchase intentions of Namibian consumers
    (2023) Nkoshi, Dandago
    Globalization, the internet, and the internet of things has removed numerous physical country boundaries that previously restricted trade and access to foreign goods and services. Brands are no longer restricted to local competitors, but rather to an array of local, regional, and international competitors. This means that local brands are in direct competition only with local brands, but also with international brands. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between consumer ethnocentrism, country of origin, perceived quality, and their relative impact on the purchase intentions of Namibian consumers. Although numerous studies have been conducted on the subject matter, this area of knowledge is still at its infancy in the Sub- Saharan context. This study was a quantitative study. The questionnaire was adopted from previous studies relating to the constructs, was structured and un-disguised. Due to the risk of COVID and COVID restrictions, data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire using the Qualtrics online survey platform. A total of 367 questionnaires were collected. Data was analysed using structural equation modelling and multiple regression. The four hypotheses tested confirmed the relationship between the constructs. The strongest relationship is the one between country of origin and perceived quality. The study contributes to the literature and theoretical knowledge on consumer purchase intentions in the developing nation context. Findings from this study can be applied to similar studies in developing markets. For consumers, the relationship between local and imported products are not mutually exclusive. For managers, the study confirmed the importance that quality and quality ques have on purchase intentions.