| Abstract [eng] |
This master’s thesis examines Consumer Cultural Awareness as a factor in brand management. It focuses on how consumers interpret cultural meanings in brand communication and how these interpretations relate to Consumer-Based Brand Equity. The study uses selected fashion brands as the empirical context. The theoretical part defines cultural awareness and distinguishes it from cultural intelligence and cultural competence. In this thesis, cultural awareness means reflective understanding that culture shapes perception, judgement, communication, and meaning. Consumer Cultural Awareness is measured through two dimensions: cultural self-awareness and intercultural awareness. Cultural self-awareness refers to the consumer’s awareness that personal values and assumptions shape brand interpretation. Intercultural awareness refers to the consumer’s awareness that people from different cultural backgrounds may interpret the same brand message differently. The thesis also reviews the measurement of cultural-awareness-related constructs and Consumer-Based Brand Equity. CBBE is treated as the main consumer-level outcome. It includes brand loyalty, perceived quality, and brand awareness/associations. Respondents selected one fashion brand from a list of Pakistani and international brands and then evaluated only that selected brand. The empirical research used an online questionnaire. The final dataset included 290 responses. After screening, 271 responses were retained for the main analysis. The analysis used descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, Spearman robustness checks, and an independent-samples t-test. The results supported all four hypotheses. Cultural self-awareness was significantly related to brand loyalty. Intercultural awareness was significantly related to perceived quality and brand awareness/associations. The strongest relationship appeared between intercultural awareness and brand awareness/associations. Consumer-Based Brand Equity also differed between Pakistani respondents who selected Pakistani brands and Pakistani respondents who selected international brands. The findings show that cultural awareness matters for brand management because consumers interpret brand meanings through culturally shaped perspectives. The study does not prove causality because the design is cross-sectional. It also does not show that international brands are objectively better than Pakistani brands. The results only show relationships and group differences in the valid analytical sample. Future research should test the model with larger probability-based samples and may use qualitative methods to explain why specific cultural signals strengthen or weaken brand equity. |
