EXPLORING BRAND LOYALTY TOWARD TRADITIONAL CONFECTIONERIES IN AN EMERGING MARKET

The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore the effects of brand dimensions, including brand image, brand value, brand impact, and brand satisfaction, on the brand loyalty of purchasers in an emerging country, Vietnam. The data were collected using paper-based surveys with a collected total of 310 responses from participants who had purchased traditional confectionery products. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to fully test the proposed hypotheses. The main findings reveal that brand image, brand impact, and brand satisfaction are important drivers of customers' brand loyalty. Among these brand dimensions, brand image is found to have the strongest effect on brand loyalty, while brand value had no impact on brand loyalty. Based on the findings, theoretical and practical implications are suggested for stakeholders, marketers, producers, and policymakers to build customer brand loyalty toward traditional confectioneries. Further research directions are also presented in this study.