Brand IExploring The Impact of Apple Brand Image On The Customer Satisfaction, Customer Loyalty and Commitment in The UK

Exploring the impact of Apple brand image on the customer
satisfaction, customer loyalty and commitment in the UK
Abstract
The study impact of Apple brand on customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and customer
commitment was conducted in UK in order to investigate the perception of customers
regarding the brand image and their relative response towards the brand image of Apple
brand. The study was conducted by employing quantitative research by the way survey
questionnaire. The responses of the respondents were collected online. The result of the
research reveal positive impact of brand image on customer satisfaction, customer loyalty
and customer commitment, however, when the impact of customer satisfaction was
investigated on the customer loyalty and customer commitment the results were not positive,
which shows in spite of positive impact of brand image on customer satisfaction, customer
satisfaction does not have positive impact on loyalty which meant customer satisfaction alone
cannot be a significant factor of determining loyalty amongst customers.
Acknowledgement
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Professor XXX for providing me with guidance
throughout my research, as well as an excellent suggestion for the current topic. I especially
thank XXX for his willingness to organize and interpret my frequent rash ideas and loose
assumptions. This will be my final year at the University XXX and so I would also like
express my gratitude to Professor XXX, on behalf of the graduate students, for his genuine
concern, most especially for his rigorous efforts to ensure that we were all funded and well
fed.
I would like to express my profound and humble and gracious thanks to my family, for their
love, guidance and encouragement. I thank my parents for instilling in me the value of an
education. Thank you for allowing me to stray from the flock on occasion and find my own
way. Thank you for supporting me throughout. Thanks to my father who, by example, taught
me to honor the history and struggle of my people, to not only talk about great things but to
do great things as well, and to leave a positive legacy. I would especially like to thank my
mum for being the best role model a mother, a woman, a person can be. There are no words
to express how I feel about what you have done for me. None of this, absolutely none of it
would be possible without you! You are every element I need to survive.
Table of Contents
1.
Introduction:..................................................................................................................- 1 1.2
Significance of the study:.......................................................................................- 2 -
1.3
Research Objectives:...............................................................................................- 2 -
1.4
Organization of the study:.......................................................................................- 2 -
Chapter 2...............................................................................................................................- 3 2.
3.
Literature Review:.........................................................................................................- 3 2.1
Brand image:...........................................................................................................- 3 -
2.1
Brand image and customer loyalty:........................................................................- 9 -
2.2
Brand image and customer commitment:.............................................................- 15 -
2.3
Brand image and customer satisfaction:...............................................................- 18 -
2.4
Conclusion:...........................................................................................................- 21 -
2.5
Theoretical frame work.........................................................................................- 22 -
Research Methodology................................................................................................- 23 3.1
Research Strategy and Procedure:........................................................................- 23 -
3.2
Hypothesis of the study:.......................................................................................- 24 -
3.3
Survey Instrument and Variables Measurement:..................................................- 25 -
3.4
Research methods:................................................................................................- 26 -
3.4.1 Quantitative Research:..........................................................................................- 27 3.5
Data Collection procedure:...................................................................................- 27 -
3.5.1 Primary Research:.................................................................................................- 28 3.5.2 Secondary Research:.............................................................................................- 28 3.6
Designing of Questionnaire:.................................................................................- 28 -
3.7
Sample:.................................................................................................................- 29 -
3.8
Characteristics of Respondents:............................................................................- 29 -
3.9
Size:......................................................................................................................- 29 -
3.10 Data Preparation:..................................................................................................- 30 3.11 Data Coding and Feeding:....................................................................................- 30 3.12 Ethical Considerations:.........................................................................................- 30 3.13 Reliability and Validity:........................................................................................- 31 4.
Findings and analysis:.................................................................................................- 32 4.1
Socio-demographic Analysis:...............................................................................- 32 -
4.3
Regression Models: Hypothesis Testing:..............................................................- 42 4
4.3.1 Hypothesis Testing: H1-H4:.................................................................................- 43 4.3.2 Hypothesis Testing: H5:........................................................................................- 49 4.3.3 Hypothesis Testing: H6:........................................................................................- 51 4.3.4 Hypothesis Testing: H7:........................................................................................- 52 4.3.5 Hypothesis Testing: H8:........................................................................................- 54 4.3.6 Hypothesis Testing: H9:........................................................................................- 56 6.1
Managerial implications:......................................................................................- 63 -
6.2
Limitations and Future Research Directions:.......................................................- 64 -
References:..........................................................................................................................- 65 Appendix.............................................................................................................................- 71 Reflection Report:...............................................................................................................- 79 -
LIST OF TABLE
Table no. 1
Table no. 2
Table no. 3
Table no. 4
Table no. 5
Table no. 6
4.2
Correlations:
Table no. 7
Table no.8
8.1 Model Summary
8.2 ANOVA(b)
8.3 Coefficients(a)
Table no. 9
9.1 Model Summary
9.2 ANOVA(b)
9.3 Coefficients(a)
Table no. 10
10.1 Model Summary
10.2 ANOVA(b)
10. 3 Coefficients(a)
Table no. 11
11.1 Model Summary
11.2 ANOVA(b)
11.3 Coefficients(a)
Table no.12
12.1 Model Summary
12.2 ANOVA (b)
12.3 Coefficients (a)
Table no. 13
6
13.1 Model Summary

13.2 ANOVA (b)
Table no.14
14.1 Model Summary
14.2 ANOVA (b)
Table no. 15
15.1 Model Summary
15.2 ANOVA(b)
List of Figure
Figure 1.
Figure 1.1
Figure 1.2
Figure 1.3
Figure 1.4
Figure 1.6
Figure 1.5
Chapter 1
1. Introduction:
In the fast growing world of today, customer satisfaction, quality of service, customer loyalty
and commitment have become important areas of consideration in which all the
organizations, big or small are struggling to do their best. For organizations it is not difficult
to attract consumers, what is critical is to retain the consumers. And in the competitive
atmosphere organizations can only achieve this through high level of customer satisfaction
which ultimately leads to consumer loyalty, commitment and long term relationship of the
organization and customer. Similarly for any organization consumers are the most important
asset, and if the organizations are deficient in this imperative asset, then organization suffer
from the problem of income less than the cost, moreover leading to low profits. In the same
context research has proved the fact that improving the quality of products and services not
only enhances the customer satisfaction but also the profits of the organization. Further more
research has proved that company image (brand image) and reputation of the company are
two important factors that forms the customer loyalty and commitment and affects the
purchasing behavior of customers (Weiwei, 2007).
However customer loyalty and commitment is important as it provides a bigger share in the
market and provides the organization to demand higher prices for the products than the
competitors (Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2001). Customer loyalty and commitment is also
fruitful for the organization in lowering the market cost, attract more customers and earn
better profits. And the most important through customer loyalty and commitment words of
mouth are spread that promotes the product of the organization , in short customer loyalty
and commitment are considered as the most important factors of success for the organizations
9
as it fosters the buying behavior of the customers and builds long lasting relationships with
the organization (Hsieh and Li, 2007).
So is the impact of brand image and reputation of the organization on the customers. Brand
image is what that comes to the minds of customers when they hear the name of the product
either good or bad, moreover brand image is the response of the customers towards the offers
made by the particular organization in fact brand image is the viewpoint, thoughts, ideas and
impression in the mind of the customers about the organization which is created by words of
mouth and advertising which compels the customers buy that brand (Weiwei, 2007).
Similarly organizations reputation is a concept related to image, but one that refers to value
judgments among the public about an organizations qualities, formed over a long period,
regarding its consistency, trustworthiness and reliability (Bennett and Rentschler, 2003).
The companys brand image influences the trustworthiness and efficiency of the company
and develops customer loyalty and commitment.
In this study the impact of Apple brand image on the customer loyalty, commitment and
satisfaction in the UK is viewed. This study is the first research conducted on the impact of
brand image on the loyalty, commitment and satisfaction of the customers, as prior to this
research many researches were conducted to see the impact of brand image on the satisfaction
of the customer. Further this empirical study will contribute to solve the problem statement:
What is the impact of Apple brand image on the customer loyalty, commitment and
satisfaction in the UK?
1.2Significance of the study:

It is imperative to look into the matter of this study as an in-depth study is required in order to
study the relationship between the variables (customer satisfaction, customer loyalty,
customer commitment) of this study with the brand image. This study will provide the
organizations to better gauge their performance and efficiency factors. The most importantly
10
the analysis of this study will provide the organizations an insight of the perception of
customers towards the brand image, loyalty, satisfaction and commitment, and in light of this
perception the organizations can adopt better tools to improve their brand image in order to
be competitive and gain the benefits of this tool and device their strategies accordingly.
1.3Research Objectives:
By going through the literature following objectives could be derived:
To study the influence of Apple brand image on the customer loyalty in the UK.
To explore the relationship between Apple brand image and customer commitment in
the UK.
To examine the impact of Apple brand image on the satisfaction of the customers in
the UK.
To examine the impact of customer satisfaction on customer loyalty and commitment.
1.4Organization of the study:

This study has been divided into six chapters. The first chapter gives a brief introduction of
the study, along with the significance and objectives of the study. Chapter two throws light on
the available literature and previous study on the basis of which hypothesis and conceptual
frame work is developed. Further, in third chapter the detailed research methodology is
explained and it explains how the current study will be conducted. Chapter four explains the
findings of the study along with graphical presentation while the chapter five provides
discussion on the result found; chapter six concludes the study and provides managerial
implications and limitations of the study.
11
Chapter 2
2. Literature Review:
This chapter tends to cover the vast literature review that will cover all the past studies related
to the current study. Moreover, the literature review will focus on brand image, brand image
and consumer loyalty, commitment and re-purchase behavior of customers in detail on the
basis of which a conceptual frame work will be made and hypothesis will be suggested.
2.1Brand image:
The term brand image was first pioneered in the marketing discipline formally by Gardner
and levy (1955) and since then communiqu of brand image is considered an important
source to the target market in wide marketing activities. However, the term brand image has
been given different meanings since its inception in the marketing discipline. Moreover, the
researchers have often used interchangeable concepts such as brand identity with the term of
brand image (Bian and Moutinho, 2011). On the contrary to Bian and Moutinho, Aaker
(1996) is of the view that brand identity and brand image are two different concepts, he
defined brand identity as unique set of brand associations that the brand strategists tend to
create and maintain similarly brand identity basically represents what actually the brand
stands for and what it promises to its consumers on the behalf of organization and its
members, whereas Aaker says about brand image that brand image is how the brand is
perceived by the customers and basically it is set of brand association in the memory of
customers. According to Dolich the brand image is an important deriver which helps the
customers to decide whether the particular brand is according to their choice and preferences
and similarly brand image persuades the customers buying behavior (Dolich, 1969).
Furthermore, a brand image if communicated properly to the target market helps the
organization establish the brand position, shield the brand from competition, improve the
12
market performance of the brand and leads to build a long term and successful brand equity
of the brand of any organization (Aaker and Keller; Park et al., 1991)
Therefore, Brand image is a wide and important concept of marketing and for branding of the
organizations. Moreover, according to Herzog (1963) brand image is about what customers
thinks of the brand of any particular company and portrays its association with the brand. And
this association could be developed by the direct contact of the customer with the brand or
through the words of mouth spread by others and may be through advertisement (Keller,
1993). Brand image is, therefore, the mental picture or perception of a brand or a branded
product or service and includes symbolic meanings that consumers associate with the specific
attributes of a product or service (Aperia and Back, 2004, p.71). In simple words, brand
image could be defined as the perception of the product or the brand of the company by the
consumer
(lake,
2011).
brand image represents the reasoned or emotional perceptions consumers attach to
Similarly,
specific
brands (Low and Lamb, 2000, p. 352).

As opposed to the above discussions about the brand image Vahie and Paswan (2006) present
a different concept of the brand image. They state that according to Weiner (2000) the
customers purchase products on the basis of some satisfaction about the product that is
termed as the subjective expectation or probability of likeness of the product. However, the
attribution theory tends to address this behavior of consumers that how customers the
subjective inferences or likeness of product affects the purchasing behavior of the customers,
as the likeness of any product comes only by using that product before. On the contrary, if
the consumer has not used the particular product before the subjective anticipation and
likeness does not contribute to the purchase of the product. In such situation if the consumer
has not used a private labeled brand (PLB), then the store owing that product becomes the
potential cue for the purchase of that PLB. In the same context, the products of other known
13
brands present in the retail store can be a cue as well. However, the attribution theory states
that the more reliable the cues are it will help the consumers more to purchase the product.
The other factors that contribute along with the consistent cues is the atmosphere, services,
convenience of purchasing at the store that contribute towards the purchase of any PLB
products which is basically the brand image of that private labeled product.
Moreover, the brand image reflects the emotional attachment of the customer with the
specific brand plus the beliefs of the customers in the brand which relies on the intrinsic and
extrinsic characteristics of the brand and the most important on the quality and satisfaction
the customer gets from the particular brand and not from any other (Garcia Rodriguez and
Bergantinos, 2001). Similarly Faircloth
(2005) is also of the view that brand
image is the mental image the users have in their mind as well as the
uniqueness attached to the particular brand in comparison to the other
brands present in the market.
Furthermore, the brand image is composition of knowledge and beliefs of
the
customers
about
the
various
products
and
non
products
characteristics of the brand. Brand image shows the personal symbolism

the customers attach with their preferred brand encompassing all the
information and knowledge related to that brand (Iversen and Hem,
2008). Hsieh and Li (2008) in the same way says when consumers have a
clear and constructive image of the brand the brand image tends to have
a stronger effect as compare to those of the competitors.
According to Martenson (2007) a favourable image of an organizations
brand tends to create a positive impact on the customers behaviour
regarding enhancing the brand loyalty, towards commanding the price
14
premiums of the brand products and moreover towards the words of

mouth about the brand and organization. Similarly Faircloth et al., states
that brand image is an important factor affecting the behaviour of the
consumers and affects the buying behaviours, loyalty and commitment of
consumers towards the brand. It is found that the more positive the brand
image of any organization the more the customers are loyal and
committed and the more the customers pay to purchase the products of
such organizations (Faircloth etal., (2001).
Research shows that the companies with inferior brand image merge or
acquire those companies with high brand image so that they can enhance
their share in the market (Nguyen and Kleiner, 2003). However the
companies do this in order to be benefited with the stronger brand image
of the acquired company and in the same way improve the brand image
of their own company (Rao et al., 1991).Porter and Claycomb (1997) are of
the view that positive brand image of any organizations help the
organization to draw positive feelings and attitudes towards the brand.
A study was conducted by Lee to explore the affects of strong brand image of an organization
on a firm with weak brand image after merger and acquisition. However, this study was the
first study to examine the variance of two brand images. Though, the result of the study
showed that the company with weak brand image can make significant improvements
towards the consumer behaviour after M&A of the company with strong brand image. Yet, it
could be said the companies with inferior brand image can enhance the image of their brand
along market share by acquiring the firm with strong brand image and bigger market share.
However, the results of the study were consistent with the study of Richardson et al., (1994)
as they say that the customers use brand image as an extrinsic indication to assess the quality
15
of the product of a specific brand similarly Dodds et al., (1991) also said that brand image
serves as the product guarantee for any brand of the organization and significantly affects the
consumer behaviours such as commitment, loyalty and repurchase. Thus the study conducted
concludes the better the brand image of any organization the better would be the quality of
brand conceived by the consumers. Therefore, the results of the study conducted by Lee et
al., (2011) also shows that acquiring the company with strong brand image improves the
brand image of the parent company. Similarly, the further results show that acquiring the
company with superior brand image also significantly increases the brand loyalty of the
parent company, however the results of the study are in conformity of the previous studies of
Zins (2001); Cretu and Brodie (2007) as they are of the view that brand image positively
affects the brand loyalty of the company. According to the study of Siomkos (1999), the
image of the company has a positive impact to determine the behaviour of the customer. The
study by Aaker (1994) also supports the study of Siomkos and he is of the view that brand
image helps create value for the brand and this image is useful in five different ways:
The brand image of any product helps the customers to get information about the
product.
It helps in positioning of the product and differentiates it from other products.
The brand image helps consumers to find a reason for purchasing the product.
The brand image helps in building a positive attitude and feeling towards the
products.
The most important the brand image of a product helps in brand extension of the
product.
However, these reasons explains the importance of brand image of a company in attaining a
positive impact on the behaviour of consumers to such a level that the image helps to
process information on the product. Similarly, Jolly and Mowen (1984) are of the view that
during a recall a good image of the company and product helps maintain the customers
confidence in the product as well as the producer. The study conducted by the Dinnie et al.,
16
(2006) has also confirmed the study of Jolly and Mowen and they are of the view that the
more good the brand image of a company the more positive are the intentions of customers to
purchase the products of the company. The study conducted by Barber and Darrough (1996)
also shows the similar results that brand image have a positive impact on the purchasing
behaviour of the consumers. However, in their research Barber and Darrough compared the
brands of American and Japanese companies for the period of 1973 and 1992, the result of
the study showed that governmental bodies accounted for 507 recalls affecting the American
producers on the contrary only 66 recalls were reported for Japanese producers. However the
results provide the evidence of the common fact that Japanese vehicles are considered more
reliable than the American cars. The authors explain the perception of the customers
attributed to the increased market share of the Japanese producers and a fall in the market
share of the American producers. Dinnie et al., (2006) further said that the positive brand
image of a company helps the company to retain its clients. However a number of empirical
studies have been conducted on impact of brand image and these studies shows brand image
leads to brand loyalty and this in return have positive influence on the purchase intentions of
the customers (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2002).
The above mentioned studies of different authors explained brand image in term of products
quality, attributes, and value and brand benefits, on the contrary Sondoh Jr.et al (2007) in his
study presented the brand image in terms of the satisfaction level of the consumer. They are
of the view that the satisfaction level of the consumers reflects the likeness and affection
towards the product of a brand. Oliver (1999) noted that consumers at the affective stage
would develop a positive attitude towards the brand or liking the brand as a result of
satisfactory repetitive usage over time p. 88.
A brand image helps the consumer to select the brand of his choice according to his/ her
satisfaction level. The other positive aspects of a brand image are the confidence the
17
consumers have on the products of the manufacturer remains in the memory f the customer
and this positive response tends to build a positive perception of the consumer about the
company in general as well. And this positive perception about the brand image, company
and the products of the company lead to the brand loyalty of the consumers with the products
(Souiden et al., 2006). Similarly brand image tends to have positive impact on the
commitment, repurchase behaviour of the consumer as well.
However, the current study uses the loyalty, commitment and repurchases constructs of
brand image to explore the impact of brand image on the customer behaviour.
2.1Brand image and customer loyalty:

The literature on customer loyalty has emphasized how loyal customers promote firm and
shareholder value (Reichheld, 1996 and 2006; Srivastava, Shervani and Fahey, 1998).
Customer satisfaction could be linked with loyalty of the customer with the brand is a very
uncertain concept as the concept of loyalty is a diverse term in marketing activities and for
organizations. Ehrenberg (1988) and Jacoby (1971) say that the repurchase of any brand by
the customer happens only when they embark on a purchase again for a brand offered. The
repurchase act of the customer presents the loyalty of the customer with the brand which has
developed through customer satisfaction with the quality of the product and faith of the
customer in the brand. Moreover few authors are of the view that loyalty is associated with
the preference and commitment of the customer (Hess and Sorry, 2005).
According to Oliver (1999) ultimate customer loyalty is a function of perceived product
superiority, personal fortitude, social bonding, and their synergistic effects (p 34). Oliver,
(1997), further defined brand loyalty as "a deep held commitment to rebuy or repatronize a
preferred product/service consistently in the future, thereby causing repetitive same-brand or
18
same brand-set purchasing, despite situational influences and marketing efforts that have the
potential to cause switching behaviour" (p. 34).
Similarly, customer loyalty could also be defined as: Feelings or attitudes that incline a
customer either to return to a company, shop or outlet to purchase there again, or else to repurchase a particular product, service or brand (Dick et al., 1994).
However, Wood (2001) is of the view that for organizations the influence of brand loyalty
tends to be critical on the cost of marketing for the reason that attracting a new client is far
more difficult than retaining the already existing client. In the same way Keller states that the
existing and loyal customers tend to create a barrier foe to the opponent or competitor
company to enter the market and capture the existing companys market share (Keller, 1998).
Schultz (2005) states that the most important asset for any organization is its brand and a
better quality brand tends to attract more customers along with this develops more loyalty of
customers towards the brand and also catches the imaginations of the customer for the
particular brand. Similarly well known and popular brand not only tend to attract customers
but also play an important role in retaining building customer loyalty (Ehrenberg et al.,
1990). On the other as opposed to Ehrenberg et al, Kim and Chung, (1997) say the factors
that cause the popularity of the brand include high brand image, word of mouth (WOM) and
imitation. Brand image acts an important element of determining the perception of the
customer towards a product or service when it is difficult to make a choice among different
products available. And Nandan (2005) presented his view that a company with the help of
brand image can increase the brand loyalty of customers by assuring the customers that the
brand image and brand identity are congruent. Similarly the studies conducted by Zeithaml
(1998) and Zins (2001) also reveal that favorable brand image have positive impact on the
brand loyalty of the customers.
19
Sondoh Jr. et al., (2007), in his paper stated that more than 50 operational definitions of brand
loyalty were identified by Jocoby and Chestnut (1978) and these definitions could be
categorized as behavioral, attitudinal and composite approaches. Loyalty is mostly explained
in behavioral terms in majority of the studies of Jocoby and Chestnut and they explained
loyalty as repeated purchasing regularity and the amount of purchase, on the other hand
attitudinal loyalty is explained as stated preferences, commitment or the purchasing intentions
of the consumers. These behavioral approaches have been criticized by Oliver (1999), Jacoby
and Chestnut (1978) and Day (1969) as according to them these approaches have some
problem in them as Oliver argued that these definitions focussed on what consumer do but
the definition failed to address the psychological meaning of the term loyalty. Moreover,
Jocoby and chestnut criticised that the behavioural approach address the static outcome of the
dynamic decision process that is entirely based on the behaviour of the consumer. Further
they are of the view that these approaches of behavioural loyalty do not address the factor
that lead to brand loyalty, purchase behaviour and the approaches are unable to determine
why, how brand loyalty has developed. Whereas the attitudinal approach measure the feelings
of consumers towards the status of likeliness to recommend the product or to repurchase the
product. Amine (1988) also stated brand loyalty could not be measured if the attitudinal
loyalty is not extensive for the action behaviour.
Research presented three streams of loyalty such as behavioral loyalty by Tellis (1998) and
Tucker (1964) attitudinal loyalty by Bennett and Rundle-Thiele (2002) and composite loyalty
by Day (1969) and Jacoby (1971). According to the thoughts of Tucker the past purchases of
the particular product of a brand by the consumers constitutes for behavioural loyalty. On the
other hand Jacoby (1971) in conformity with the concept of behavioral loyalty states that as
the behavioral loyalty stems from the recurring purchasing activity which shows the sign of
20
loyalty. However the behavioral loyalty in this case is considered as stochastic rather than
deterministic. However in attitudinal loyalty, loyalty is measured by the words of mouth for
example one using the brand and persuading others to use the brand, this action of consumers
constitutes the attitudinal loyalty of the brand which is the result of favorable brand image
and satisfaction from the particular brand.
Similarly, in many models of brand image brand loyalty is mainly found to be an outcome or
constituent of brand image. Similarly marketing research shows that brand loyalty of
customers is an asset for the organizations as it is difficult and costly to recruit a new
customer, as it involves great deal of advertisements, personal selling, creating new accounts
of the customers, therefore it is always more significant to retain existing and old customers
rather than attracting new ones as it is found that the revenue generated by the way of loyal
brand customers increase with passage of time (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990).
According to the research work of Oliver (1999) he is of the view that customer loyalty is
considered to be a function of apparent and alleged superiority the customer attaches to the
product, his personal resilience, the social bond of the customer and the synergistic
impact of the customer on the brand or product. Further Oliver explains
his thought that loyalty is not commitment to the product but it is an
aspect of the commitment which he named as attitudinal or emotional
constituents of commitment. Moreover customer loyalty as termed by
Uncles et al., (2003) is based on three dimensions according to them
customer loyalty basically comes from the favourable attributes and
beliefs of customers for a particular brand which comes from the
emotional attachment of the customer with the brand. Similarly the
second dimension of the brand loyalty is the behavioural aspect of the
customer that is the buying behaviour of the customer to a particular
21
brand of his choice in this case loyalty as an accident approach is

assumed to have a relation between the attitude and behaviour of the
customer.
According to Muncy (1996) there may be many meanings of brand loyalty
as it is defined by various authors with different approaches but the sum
of all the approaches is that brand loyalty the comes as an outcome of
interaction between the consumers of virtual attitude with a special brand
and also the repeat buying behaviour of the consumers of that brand.
Therefore, it could be said that the brand loyalty subsists as an outcome
of the repeat buying behaviour or there may absence of the perceived
value which the consumer is looking for in the alternative brands available
in the market. On the contrary to Muncy, Assael (1998) is of the view that
brand loyalty may exist as c consequence of simple habitual buying
behaviour of consumers which could be a long lasting involvement of the
consumer or which may a shot time involvement of the consumer with a
particular brand which is being offered I the market. Wood (2000) on the
other hand keeps a different view as opposed to Muncy and Assael; he
says it is imperative for the consumers to posse the relative knowledge
about the brand loyalty as brand image tends to tailor the desires and
needs of the target segment of the market in order to facilitate brand
loyalty. That will determine the consumer involvement in the repeat
buying behaviour of a brand and the success of this process will help
determine the brand loyalty and tends to have a long lasting effect on the
consumers.
22
Early researches on brand loyalty by many researchers generally state the

fact that brand loyalty comes as a result of repeat purchasing behaviour
by consumers in short they took the act of repurchase to measure brand
loyalty but on the contrary the recent researches on the brand loyalty
depicts the fact that affective loyalty is the best way of measuring the
loyalty of any consumer for any brand (Bennett and Rundle-Thiele, 2000). Brand
loyalty concept covers both affective loyalty and action loyalty measures in order to
determine the loyalty. However, the term affective loyalty is related to the preference of the
consumers and attraction towards a particular brand but this does not deploys the actual
buying activity yet whereas action loyalty is referred to the actual buying activity conducted
by the consumer for a particular brand (Baldinger and Rubinson, 1996). According to Groth
and McDaniel (1993), the affective loyalty shows that the consumer is loyal to the particular
brand all the way. To Eisman (1990) action loyalty comes when the customer is satisfied with
the brand and the continuous purchase of that brand. As per the above mentioned varied
views about brand loyalty Assael (1993) concluded that brand loyalty comes as a repeat
purchase activity which is based primarily on satisfaction gained from the brand by the
customer with repetitive purchasing of that brand.
Oliver (1999) classified the brand loyalty into four parts which are:
Cognitive loyalty
Affective loyalty
Conation loyalty
Action loyalty
On the other hand, Day (1996) further refined brand loyalty by adding two indicators such as
affection and action and categorized brand loyalty as spurious brand loyalty and true brand
loyalty. However the consumers with spurious brand loyalty ought to repurchase the brand as
there is only one brand available in the stores therefore they buy that brand only. On the
contrary, the consumers with true brand loyalty show psychological and affective
23
commitments towards the brand of their choice and show repetitive consistency in purchasing
the product and brand. Dick and Basu (1994) also categorized loyalty into:
True loyalty.
Spurious loyalty.
Latent loyalty.
No loyalty.
Figure .1
The studies from past and recent researches has concluded the fact that small reductions in
customer defections can result in producing momentous increase the profits of the
organization for the reason
The Loyal customers of any brand tend to buy more products.

The Loyal customers of the brand are not pricing sensitive and thy pay little attention
to the brand of any advertisement by a competitors.

It is easier to provide services to the existing customers who are familiar with the
products of the company rather than the new customers, as the staffs at the company
gets familiar with the preferences of the existing customers.

The most importantly the loyal customers of any company are the biggest source of
spreading positive word of mouth about the brands of the company and this helps in
bringing in new and referred customers (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990).
24
2.2Brand image and customer commitment:

There is an unending discussion going on the concept of customer commitment theory and its
scope as the concept of commitment has been explained by many of the authors and majority
of the authors has referred the concept of commitment same as any employee of an
organization is possessing emotional affection and involvement with that organization he is
working in similarly the authors refer to continuous attachment of employee with the
company and the employee knows or have the awareness of the cost of quitting the
organization, moreover the authors further classified commitment as normative commitment
which consists of feeling of obligation in order to continue the employment (Meyer and
Allen, 1991). The views of these authors are further taken in a holistic definition of
commitment to the extent the employees of the company are associated with their
organization psychologically, further the employees are sustained to continue to remain the
employee of the same organization, moving on the employee express their emotional
feelings, the connection they have with the organization, the involvements and considerations
of alternatives, sacrifices, and costs due to internal organisational and external cultural
influences (Ogba, 2007, p. 84). This approach gives the thought that commitment exist as an
outcome of antecedent variables which could be presented to some foci which as a result
shows that commitment does exist (Mathieu and Zajac, 1990; Meyer and Allen, 1991).
However considering commitment in the context of customers then it is evidenced that
customers desire to maintain a valued relationship with organisations directly and
indirectly through commitment which affects exchange outcomes with the brand or other
offerings in the market (Moorman et al., 1992, p. 316).
The concept of customer commitment is a new concept in relation to the commitment
expression and it is said that it is retrieved as an upshot of the expected outcomes form any
brand and product that is offered in the market and this outcome includes such expectation of
25
customers such as psychological ego, identification of the brand and preferred choices among
the other alternatives (Morgan and Hunt, 1994).
Further many authors have examined the related theory of commitment which have been
presented by Moorman, Zaltman and Deshpand (1992) as an enduring desire to maintain a
valued relationship the authors say that this definition of commitment consists the attitudinal
dimension which is based on the emotional sense of affection attached with the brand or with
the relationship with the organization (Morgan and Hunt, 1994).
Moorman et al., (1992) says that customer commitment is:
An enduring attitude or desire for a particular brand or firm. It is the degree to which
customers as members of an organization are emotionally connected to an organization, its
brand or product, sustained by continues desire to maintain membership.
To put it in the nutshell it could be said that customer commitment could be referred as a
sustained experience, psychological belonging and intention to look for identification with a
specific brand. On the other hand, customer commitment is regarded as a deeper concept than
loyalty and repeat purchase. According to Aaker (1991) the brand with high equity tends to
have more committed consumers that lead to more interaction between the customers and
organizations and increases the communication between the customer and brand. As a result
of this the brand becomes important for the customer, as the brand tends to shape the
personality of the customer, changes their beliefs, changes their beliefs and grooms the
customer about carrying a brand. Customer commitment is, therefore, customers enduring
desire to maintain a valued relationship with the brand or organisation that directly and
indirectly through commitment affects exchange outcomes (Moorman et al., 1992).
26
Moreover, another significance of commitment is that it helps determine the potentially

rewarded genuine customer loyalty (Lacey (2007). As a result of this customer commitment
is a source of commitment with not only the organization but it includes its foci of brands,
brand image and other services offered by the organization.
Moreover from different researches it is seen that customer commitment as like all the other
types of commitment associated with the nature of human beings is an outcome of
expectations which they have from specific brands and products being offered in market,
similarly, commitment of humans with any brands is also the result of repurchase of
particular product and the emotional attachment of customer with that brand. Aaker (1991) is
of the view that a brand with high brand equity has the tendency to commit large number of
loyal and committed customers that tends to have a long lasting relation of the customer with
the brand and the company.
2.3Brand image and customer satisfaction:

Satisfaction is defined by Oliver (1997) as "the consumer's fulfillment response. It is a
judgment that a product or service feature, or the product or service itself, provided (or is
providing) a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment, including levels of underor over-fulfillment" (p. 13).
Now a days, the market oriented companies tend to focus on fulfilling the customer
preferences in order to satisfy their needs and demand, hence marketing has been termed as
customer satisfaction engineering by Kotler and Levy (1996).
The authors Szymanski and Henard (2001) while conducting their research come up with the
findings that the early studies primarily focused on the effects of expectations, the
disconfirmation of expectations, performance, affect and equity on satisfaction when studying
customer satisfaction. However the significance of expectations has been highlighted in the
27
previous studies and at the same time has been acknowledged by any authors such as
Churchill & Surprenant, 1982; Oliver, 1980; Tse & Wilton, 1988. According to Olson and
Dover (1979) the expectations a customer have from any products determines the pre trial
beliefs of the customer about that product, that serves the purpose for comparing the
standards and reference points with the help of which the performance of the product could
be judged (Oliver, 1980; Bearden & Teel, 1983). On the other hand the term the expectancy
disconfirmation paradigm suggests that consumers are satisfie d when the product perform
better than expected (positive disconfirmation), dissatisfied when consumers' expectations
exceeded actual product performance (negative disconfirmation), and neutral satisfaction
when the product performance matches expectations (zero disconfirmation/confirmation)
(Oliver (1980); Churchill & Surprenant (1982); Oliver & Sarbo (1988); Bearden & Teel,
(1983). However, many other authors have also determined different comparison standards to
measure satisfaction apart from expectations and these are
Experienced based norms

Equity theory
Ideal performance.
All these standards inclusive of expectations have been widely used to determine customer
satisfaction for a product in different research studies (Woodruff et al., (1983), Cadotte et al.,
(1987), Oliver & Swan (1989); Tse & Wilton (1988), Spreng and Olshavsky (1993).
Furthermore, apart from the aforementioned predictors of satisfaction some of the potential
factors of satisfaction has been investigated by Chiou et al., (2002); Sivadas & Baker-Prewitt,
(2000), and Bei & Chiao (2001), Koo (2003); Bloemer & Ruyter (1998) and Pullman &
Gross (2004) and these predictors are
Product/ service quality

Perceived value
Service hospitality
Experience design
Customer relationship benefits
28
Brand image (retail/store)
However, for the current study the customer satisfaction will measured in terms of its
reflection towards the level of affection attached to the brand image of Apple Company, thus
it is in line with the studies of Jacoby (1978) and Oliver (1997), according to Oliver (1999),
customers at an affective stage tend to develop a positive response towards liking of a brand
as a consequence of satisfaction attained from the repeated use of that brand again and again.
Numerous studies conducted by different authors such as Ismail, et al,. (2006); Silva and
Alwi (2006); Anderson and Sullivan (1993); Chiou et al., (2002); Bloemer and Ruyter (1998)
and Yang and Peterson, (2004) have investigated that satisfaction tends to have a positive
influence on loyalty, further they are of the view that when a customer gets satisfaction from
a certain product is becomes certainly more obvious that the satisfied customer may become a
loyal customer of the brand where as if a customer is not satisfied from a product at the first
side it is unlikely that he/she will become the loyal customer, similarly the satisfied and loyal
brand suggests his friends and family members to purchase that brand in this way one
satisfied and loyal customer brings in many other satisfied and loyal customer for the
company. A study is conducted by
Kandampully and Suhartanto (2000) on the retail/store
image on customers revealed that the predictor of satisfaction have positive impact on the
loyalty of customers have examined that customer satisfaction tend to have a positive impact
on loyalty , in addition to the intention of recommending others to purchase the products.
they further state that when a customer is satisfied with a product or brand they are more
likely to purchase that product or brand again, recommend others to purchase that brand and
the chances of switching the brand becomes very less (Bennett & Rundle-Thiele, 2004).
However there are also studies found which oppose the above findings such as the studies of
Cronin and Taylor (1992) and Oliva (1992), these studies depicted the fact that customer
29
satisfaction is not enough to explain loyalty or in other words customer satisfaction alone
cannot generate positive results o loyalty. The current study also focuses to find out the
impact of customer satisfaction on customer loyalty.
2.4Conclusion:
From the above mentioned discussions it could be concluded that brand image plays a vital
role in the perception of customers towards the brand loyalty, commitment and repurchase of
a brand. Many studies have provided evidence that brand image has a positive impact on the
brand loyalty of the customer and such studies are by Bian and Moutinho, (2011), Aaker and
Keller; Park et al., (1991), Dolich, (1969), Low and Lamb (2000). Many factors have been
discussed that contribute to creating a brand image of any company such as the quality of
product, the quality of services provided, awareness about the brand etc. the brand image of
any product or company helps the company to attract customers and satisfying the existing
clients by providing quality product is considered to be easier than attracting new ones.
Moreover, brand image helps the customers to seek the required product in presence of so
many other brands. Similarly the brands with good image tend to attract more customers and
builds brand loyalty, develops commitment of loyal customers to repurchase the brand.
30
2.5Theoretical frame work
Brand image
Sensory
Symbolic
Customer satisfaction
Utilitarian
Economic
Customer commitment
Customer loyalty
31
CHAPTER 3
3. Research Methodology
According to Saunder et al., (2003), a research methodology is a basically a philosophical
approach that could be employed to manoeuvre a compatible strategy in order to give support
to the study under research. The current study has undertaken the impact of brand image of
apple brand on the customer loyalty, commitment and repurchases behaviour in order to
examine the conceptual model developed in the course of studies discussed in
the of
literature review. Moreover for the current study deductive approach will be employed as this
approach is sufficient to adhere to the requirements of the study (Sekaran, 2004). The
deductive approach compliments the self administered questionnaire to investigate the
relationship amongst the four major variables which are brand image, brand loyalty,
commitment and repurchase behavior of customer.
3.1Research Strategy and Procedure:

The data for the current study was collected by the way of an online survey methodology in
order to test the theoretical model. For this purpose the questionnaire which was developed
was uploaded on an authorized URL which is allotted by renowned research company the
survey monkey. The link of the survey was sent to the respondents selected for the survey
from the university email and face book in order to get the response from the consumers
about the impact of apple brand image on the customer loyalty, commitment and customer
satisfaction. However the respondents were told the purpose of the study and they were
assured that the information shared would be kept confidential and unidentified.
32
3.2Hypothesis of the study:

From the above discussions following hypothesis are developed to test the impact of brand
image on customer loyalty, customer satisfaction and customer commitment.
Ho1: Sensory attributes related to brand image does not tend to have positive impact on
consumer loyalty.
H1: Sensory attributes related to brand image tends to have positive impact on consumers
loyalty.
Ho2: Symbolic attributes related to brand image does not tend to have positive impact on
consumer loyalty.
H2: Symbolic attributes related to brand image brand image tends to have positive impact on
consumers
Ho3: Utilitarian attributes related to brand image brand image does not tend to have positive
impact on consumers
H3: Utilitarian attributes related to brand image brand image tends to have positive impact
on consumers.
Ho4: Economic attributes related to brand image to brand image does not tend to have
positive impact on consumers.
H4: Economic attributes related to brand image brand image tends to have positive impact
on consumers.
Ho5: Brand image does not have positive impact on customer satisfaction.
H5: Brand image have positive impact on customer satisfaction.
33
Ho6: Brand image does not have positive impact on customer loyalty.
H6: Brand image have positive impact on customer loyalty.
Ho7: Brand image does not have positive impact on customer commitment.
H7: Brand image have positive impact on customer commitment.
Ho8: Customer satisfaction does not have positive impact on customer loyalty.
H8: Customer satisfaction has positive impact on customer loyalty.
Ho9: Customer satisfaction does not have positive impact on customer commitment.
H9: Customer satisfaction has positive impact on customer commitment.
3.3Survey Instrument and Variables Measurement:

Examining the literature for the previous studies, four variables have been taken to test the
study. However the questionnaire of the study consists of two parts:
1. Socio- demographics of respondents
2. Key questions related to each variable
Socio- demographics of respondents:
This section is based on the basic information of the respondents who participated in the
survey such as age, gender, education etc.
Key questions related to each variable:
This part of the study will reveal the key questions of the variables taken with the help of
which the study will be interpreted. In this section the participants from different group of
ages were asked to estimate the impact of brand image on customer satisfaction, customer
34
loyalty and customer commitment according to their experience with the Apple brand. The
variable brand image was divided into further constructs with the help of which it was
measured; these constructs are sensory, utilitarian, symbolic and economic. The scales for the
constructs were taken from the article of Hsieh (2002), the question related to symbolic were
derived from the study of (Goodyear 1993), Joreskog and Sorbom (1993) and Joreskog and
Sorbom (1996). However the questions related to utilitarian construct were retrieved from the
study of Lienert (1998), Kirmani and Zeithaml (1991). For the construct of sensory and
economic the scale was adopted from the studies of Keller (1993), Bagozzi and Philips
(1982), Dean (1999) and Greenacre (1984). The next variable of the study comprise of
customer satisfaction and for this variable the questions were derived from the studies of
Cronin and Taylor (1992) and Oliva (1992), Kandampully and Suhartanto (2000), Bennett &
Rundle-Thiele (2004), Bloemer and Ruyter (1998) and Yang and Peterson, (2004). However,
the attributes for customer commitment are derived from the studies of Aaker (1991), Lacey
(2007), Moorman et al., (1992), Morgan and Hunt (1994), Mathieu and Zajac, 1990; Meyer
and Allen, (1991). For the variable customer loyalty, its attributes were derived from
Reichheld and Sasser (1990), Dick and Basu (1994), Day (1996), Eisman (1990), Baldinger
and Rubinson (1996), Bennett and Rundle-Thiele (2000), Uncles et al., (2003) and
Sondoh Jr. et al., (2007). Further all the variables of the current study were measured on a
scale of 5 likert point which have scales represented as 1 equal to strongly disagree, 2
disagree, 3 neutral, 4 agree and 5 strongly agree.
3.4Research methods:
The most widely methods adopted to investigate a research comprise of quantitative research
and qualitative research. Both of these methods posses unique characteristics but at the same
time contain certain pros and cones which differentiate the two methods in respect of scope
and degree of appropriateness. However on the basis of nature and degree of appropriateness
35
for the current study quantitative method of research is adopted in order to yield more precise
and accurate results. The quantitative method is adopted as the study enquires to have a
detailed statistical analysis on the basis of which we could test the hypothesis further closed
ended questionnaire is employed to gather data and for such kind of data to be interpreted
quantitative research method is most appropriate and in this study hypothesis are generated
which will be tested with the data obtained by the way of questionnaire therefore quantitative
research method is most suitable as it does not involve any theory making as in qualitative
research.
3.4.1 Quantitative Research:

According to shah and Corley ((2006) quantitative research could be defined as:
Quantitative study uses statistical analysis to order its sample results to yield predictions of
the future behaviour of a similar sample group. Quantitative research is undertaken by means
of forming a hypothesis, gathering data, which is then ordered and analysed. Finally the
conclusion will discern whether the initial hypothesis is supported by the evidence (data)
(Shah and Corley, 2006).
In order to carry out quantitative research a self administered questionnaire survey will be
conducted in order to gather data to test the proposed hypothesis.
3.5Data Collection procedure:

For the current study in order to collect data both primary and secondary sources were
utilized to get better understanding of the research under study and to gain comprehensive
results.
36
3.5.1 Primary Research:

According to McDaniel and gates (2003) Primary research as that data which is in raw form
means which has to be collected according to the research conducted and the data could be
collected by the way of surveys, interviews, questionnaires, observations and focus groups
(McDaniel and gates 2003).
In order to test the hypothesis the primary data for the current study was collected by the way
of self administered questionnaires and in order to make the study more understandable and
elaborative primary data provided the rational in collecting the secondary data for the study.
3.5.2 Secondary Research:

Secondary data comprise of that data which is present in the published form, moreover
according to Wallace (2009) secondary data is an organized piece of search to answer the
queries, provide empirical as well logical evidence for the applied theories and provide better
understanding of the research topic. For the current study literature review originated from
the extensive secondary sources such as articles journals, newspaper and the information was
mainly collected from the secondary resources provided by leading academic databases such
as EBSCO, MINTEL, and EMARLD, JSTOR etc.
3.6Designing of Questionnaire:
As the current study is conducted by the way of carrying out questionnaire therefore the
questionnaire tend to cover every aspect of the study and different questions were made on
each variable such as brand image customer loyalty, customer satisfaction and customer
commitment. Moreover different questions were developed on the constructs of brand image
in order to provide comprehensive and accurate results. For further preciseness and
accurateness of results closed ended questions were developed as the participants find a close
ended questionnaire easy to fill rather than to answer an open ended question. Similarly
37
results of close ended questionnaire tend to be more precise and accurate as they are
measured against a particular scale rather than open answers (McDaniel and Gates, 1997).
3.7Sample:
The sample for the current study is comprised of the users of Apple brand. And non random
or non probability sampling method is adopted. According to Trochim (2008), Non random
is an incidental kind of sampling which is aimed at making explicit choices on self judgment
basis about what should be added to the sample exactly. Other reason of adopting non
random sampling was the time constraint and insufficient resources as non random sampling
is convenient to employ (Saunders et. al 2007).
3.8Characteristics of Respondents:
The participants who were included in the survey were mostly from the age group of 16 to
25, 26 to 35, 36 to 45, and 46 to 55 and above. The participants comprised of students of high
school, few were from bachelors level, few university graduates and few were from post
graduate level. Moreover the sample comprised of both female and male respondents. The
purpose of selecting such sample was to get different views of people from all age groups,
different levels of students (Creswell, 2003).
3.9Size:
The sample size for the current study was set at 150. And this included 150 questionnaires
which were filled by both male and female respondents online. This sample size was selected
for the reason of round figures more for the reason as a large sample size is good for
computing more generalized results. However few of the questionnaires filled were
ambiguous and few were incomplete and due to time constraint the sample size was re-size to
100. Further the sample size of 100 could be handled conveniently and was interpreted easily
as well (Flyvjberg, 2006),
38
3.10
Data Preparation:
While collecting data online the questionnaires which were filled were properly assessed
in order to see whether all the questions in the questionnaire are filled or not or whether
there are any ambiguous questionnaire which were not included. By doing this, a lot of
time could be saved as it helped the researcher to properly screen the questionnaires and
achieve the sample size as against the ambiguous and incomplete questionnaires more
questionnaires were got filled (Sekaran, 2004).
3.11
Data Coding and Feeding:
After compiling the survey all the answers from the questionnaire were fed into computer
software SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences), the most widely used software for
conducting quantitative research. The options were implied from 1 to 5 on the likert scale. 1
presented strongly disagree, 2 disagree, 3 neutral 2 agree and 5 strongly agree. Further
regression and correlation analysis were run on the data.
3.12
Ethical Considerations:
Before conducting the survey, it was informed to the respondents that the purpose of this
search is entirely academic, and the data collected from them will be misused. Further the
respondents were appreciated for the voluntary participation, and it was made sure to the
respondents that their identity will not be disclosed moreover the names will be kept
anonymous. The respondents who were interesting in getting the copy of the study, their
email address were collected so that on completion of the study a copy of it could be sent to
themq (Shah and Corley, 2006).
39
3.13
Reliability and Validity:
The research scale for the current study was decided to adopt the interval rating five point
likert scale so that the respondents can respond on an equal scale for each question and the
purpose of employing this scale was to indicate the extent of the degree of agreement with
each statement by the respondent. The five points of likert scale are as 1 is equal to strongly
disagree, 4 disagree, 3 for neutral, 4 for agree and 5 for strongly agree. This will show how
much degree of agreement and disagreement respondents show regarding to a question
according to their experience. Moreover this scale will give the respondents more choice to
express their opinion more easily and this will provide the room for a better assessment of
each scale validity and ratability.
40
CHAPTER 4
4. Findings and analysis:
This chapter is designed to present the findings and analysis of the data collected by the way
of questionnaire. The first section of this chapter will present the socio demographic analysis
of the sample characteristics which are done on gender, age, education, how much users care
about using apple brands, the duration for which the users have been using apple brand and
the factors which influenced them to buy Apple brand. For the second phase of this chapter
the SPSS compute option was employed to get the means of all the dimensional scale of
brand image such as sensory, symbolic, utilitarian and economic. In the next phase linear
regression model and correlation was run on the SPSS in order to present statistical model,
ANOVA, t-statistics and regression coefficients on the variables of the research study
moreover to test the hypothesis developed from literature.
4.1Socio-demographic Analysis:
The table 1 represents the gender table which shows that the female respondents were in
majority as compare to male respondents. A total of 61 respondents were female and 39 were
male respondents.
Table no. 1
Statistics
What is your gender?

N
Valid
Missing
100
0
What is your gender?
41
Cumulative
Valid
Male
Female
Frequency
39
61
Percent
39.0
61.0
Valid Percent
39.0
61.0
Total
100
100.0
100.0
Percent
39.0
100.0
Figure 1.1
The table 2 reveals the results for age, the respondents belonged to different age groups
however 28 respondents belonged to the age group of 16 to 24, 27 belonged to age group of
25 to 34, 23 respondents belonged to 35 to 44 age group, 9 respondents were from 45 to 54
age group and 13 respondents belonged to the age group of above 55 years of age.
42
Table no. 2
What is your age?
N
Valid
Missing
100
0
What is your age?
Cumulative
Valid
16-24 Years
25-34 Years
Frequency
28
27
Percent
28.0
27.0
Valid Percent
28.0
27.0
Percent
28.0
55.0
35-44 Years
23
23.0
23.0
78.0
45-54 Years
9.0
9.0
87.0
55 years or above
13
13.0
13.0
100.0
Total
100
100.0
100.0
Figure 1.2
43
The table 3 shows the results for education of the respondents, according to the results
majority of the respondents (35%) are high school students, 34 respondents are college
graduate, 16 respondents are university graduate and 15 respondents are post graduate
students. However majority of the respondents attained high school and graduate level which
is a strong indicator that majority of the users of Apple brand are educated people.
Table no. 3
Statistics
What is your Education?

N
Valid
Missing
100
0
What is your Education?
Cumulative
Valid
High school
College Graduate
Frequency
35
34
Percent
35.0
34.0
Valid Percent
35.0
34.0
Percent
35.0
69.0
University Graduate
16
16.0
16.0
85.0
Post Graduate or more
15
15.0
15.0
100.0
Total
100
100.0
100.0
Figure 1.3
44
The following table represents the responses of users regarding how much they care about
using the Apple brand. The result reveals that the majority of the users about 57 percent
strongly care about using apple brand, 28 percent respondents slightly care about using the
particular brand, 10 percent of the respondent does not care much about using apple bands
and 5 percent of respondents never care about using apple brand or any other. However
majority of the respondent i.e. 57 percent strongly care about using apple brand which is a
strong indicator for the current study.
Table no. 4
Statistics
How much do you care about using apple brands?

N
Valid
Missing
100
0
How much do you care about using apple brands?
45
Cumulative
Valid
Slightly
Strongly
Frequency
28
57
Percent
28.0
57.0
Valid Percent
28.0
57.0
Percent
28.0
85.0
Not much
10
10.0
10.0
95.0
never
5.0
5.0
100.0
Total
100
100.0
100.0
Figure 1.4
The table 5 is about the duration the users have been using apple brand. The results disclosed
that about 13 respondents have used apple brand for less than 1 month, 15 users have used
apple brand for 1 to 6 months period, 14 respondents have used apple brand for a period of 6
to 1 year, 24 users have used it for 1 to 3 years and 34 users have used Apple brand for over 3
years which is a strong indicator for the study.
Table no. 5
Statistics
46
How long have you used the brands of Apple Company?

N
Valid
Missing
100
0
How long have you used the brands of Apple Company?
Cumulative
Valid
Less than 1 month

1 to 6 months
Frequency
13
15
Percent
13.0
15.0
Valid Percent
13.0
15.0
Percent
13.0
28.0
6 months to a year
14
14.0
14.0
42.0
1 to 3 years
24
24.0
24.0
66.0
Over 3 years
34
34.0
34.0
100.0
Total
100
100.0
100.0
Figure 1.5
The table 6 reveals the results for the question about the factors which influence the users to
buy apple brand products. The results disclosed that 29 out of 100 respondents selected the
price factor for buying the apple brand products, 44 respondents selected brand image as the
47
reason for buying apple brand products and 27 respondents selected quality of product factor
as their reason of buying apple products. The demographic result shows majority of the
respondents are inclined towards buying and using apple brand because of its brand image,
quality of products and buying and using of apple brand is more evident in youngsters
ranging from age of 16 to 15 and majority of the users are using apple brand for more than 3
years.
Table no. 6
Rank the following factors which influenced you to buy the brand?
N
Valid
Missing
100
0
Cumulative
Valid
Price
Brand image
Frequency
29
44
Percent
29.0
44.0
Valid Percent
29.0
44.0
Percent
29.0
73.0
Quality of product
27
27.0
27.0
100.0
Total
100
100.0
100.0
Figure 1.6
48
4.2Correlations:
According to Berenson et al., (2009) coefficient of correlations r is employed to measure the
relative strength between the two numeric variables. For the current study the four constructs
of brand image that are sensory, symbolic, utilitarian and economic have been linked
hypothetically with the brand image. Regarding the hypothetical relation among the brand
image and its four constructs the table 7 shows that there exists a positive correlation among
the brand image and its constructs that are sensory, symbolic, utilitarian and economical.
Amongst the four variables the most significant variable having strong correlation with Brand
image is the economical construct that is 0.715. The result of the correlation shows positive
relation between the sensory construct and brand image, as this variable is positively linked
with brand image to have a positive impact on customers of apple brand. However other
constructs also tend to have positive correlation with Brand image for instance symbolic is
correlated with brand image at 0.629, utilitarian is correlated at 0.688 and sensory at 0.516.
49
On the contrary the other three variables such as customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and
customer commitment also tend have positive correlation with brand image. The table 7
shows the correlations of all variables with brand image. Among these three variables
customer satisfaction shows a strong relation with brand image which is 0.603 where as
customer loyalty tends to have weak positive association with brand image and is statistically
positive at .400. Whereas customer commitment tends to have positive association of .432
with brand image. From the analysis it could be seen that the variable economical tends to
have the strongest correlation with the brand image, i.e. .715 more close to 1, utilitarian have
more strong relation than sensory and symbolic at .688. The findings gained through
correlation statistical analysis provide empirical evidence to the significance of the
hypothetical conceptual model. However the correlation results reveal that all the variables
tend to have a positive association with the brand image. The analysis of linear correlation of
the study supports the hypothesis of the study strongly.
Table no. 7
Sensory mean
Correlations:
Pearson
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Symbolic mean
Pearson
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Economic mean
Pearson
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Utilitarian mean
Pearson
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Sensory
mean
Symbolic
mean
Econom
ic mean
Utilitarian
mean
Custom
er_satis
faction_
mean
-.023
.220(*)
.276(**)
.244(*)
.312(**)
.381(**)
.5
.817
.028
.005
.015
.002
.000
.0
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
-.023
.214(*)
.138
.228(*)
.220(*)
.300(**)
.6
.817
Custom
er_com
mitment
_mean
Customer
_loyalty_
mean
B
m
m
.032
.170
.023
.028
.002
.0
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
.220(*)
.214(*)
.479(**)
.544(**)
.234(*)
.161
.7
.028
.032
.000
.000
.019
.109
.0
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
.276(**)
.138
.479(**)
.587(**)
.360(**)
.156
.6
.005
.170
.000
.000
.000
.121
.0
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
50
Customer_satisfaction_me
an
Pearson
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Customer_commitment_me
an
Pearson
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Customer_loyalty_mean
Pearson
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Brand_Image_mean
Pearson
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
.244(*)
.228(*)
.544(**)
.587(**)
.015
.023
.000
.000
100
100
100
100
.312(**)
.220(*)
.234(*)
.002
.028
100
.345(**)
.074
.6
.000
.463
.0
100
100
100
.360(**)
.345(**)
.363(**)
.4
.019
.000
.000
.000
.0
100
100
100
100
100
100
.381(**)
.300(**)
.161
.156
.074
.363(**)
.4
.000
.002
.109
.121
.463
.000
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
.516(**)
.629(**)
.715(**)
.688(**)
.603(**)
.432(**)
.400(**)
.000
.000
.000
.000
.000
.000
.000
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
4.3Regression Models: Hypothesis Testing:

Regression model is used to predict the behavior of dependent variable. The equation of
regression model is as follows:
Y= a + bx + c
Where
Y = dependent variable which the equation tend to predict or explain
x= independent variable which is being used to explain the dependent variable

a = y- intercept of the line
c= regression residual value
a and b are selected in order reduce the square of regression residual.
The empirical data collected by the way of questionnaires is examined by employing

ANOVA, t-test and linear regression model in order to show the results of the study and in
order to show the relationship that exist between different variables.
51
.0
4.3.1 Hypothesis Testing: H1-H4:

The first four hypothesis related to the brand image that are sensory, symbolic, utilitarian and
economic has positive impact on the customer loyalty and are supported by the ANOVA test.
The table 8.2 shows the significance value is p equal to 0.000 which is < 0.0001 and the F
statistics value is 17.037 which fall in the acceptance vicinity of the critical region. The value
of R square provided in the table 8.1 of model summary is .148 at 98 degree of freedom
which shows certain descriptive power. Further it depicts 14.8 percent of the variation of
variable i.e. customer loyalty can be significantly caused by independent variable i.e. sensory.
If the value of p is less than .05 at 95 percent interval level it means there exist a significant
relation between the two variables taken. In the same way the value for t-statistic at 95
percent and 99 percent at 98 degree of freedom should be bigger than 1.96 and 2.58 value of
coefficient beta accepts the hypothesis. In case of hypothesis 1 the regression result reveals
that the standardized coefficient of beta () is .385 and tstatistics is 4.128 and p value is
0.000 which infers that that the constructs of brand image (sensory, symbolic, utilitarian and
economic) does have a positive impact on customer loyalty. Further it reveals 38 percent of
variation in customer loyalty is caused by the sensory attributes of brand image.
Table no.8
Variables Entered/Removed(b)
Model
1
Variables
Variables
Entered
Sensory_m
Removed
.
ean(a)
a All requested variables entered.
Method
Enter
b Dependent Variable: Customer_loyalty_mean
52
8.1 Model Summary

Adjusted R
Model
1
R
R Square
Square
.385(a)
.148
.139
a Predictors: (Constant), Sensory_mean
Std. Error of
the Estimate
.45400
8.2 ANOVA(b)
Sum
Model
1
of
Regression
Residual
Squares
3.512
20.199
df
1
98
Total
23.711
99
Mean Square
3.512
.206
F
17.037
Sig.
.000(a)
a Predictors: (Constant), Sensory_mean

8.3 Coefficients(a)
Model
1
(Constant)
Unstandardized
Standardized
Coefficients
Coefficients
B
2.282
Std. Error
.256
Sensory_mean
.266
.064
a Dependent Variable: Customer_loyalty_mean
Beta
t
8.932
Sig.
.000
.385
4.128
.000
In case of hypothesis 2 the regression result shows that the standardised coefficient of beta
() is .313 and tstatistics is 3.257 and p value is 0.002 which infers that that the attribute
symbolic of brand image have a positive impact on customer loyalty.
Table no. 9
Model
Variables
Variables
Method
53
Entered
Symbolic_m
Removed
.
ean(a)
Enter
9.1 Model Summary
Adjusted R
Model
1
R
R Square
Square
.313(a)
.098
.088
a Predictors: (Constant), Symbolic_mean
Std. Error of
the Estimate
.46724
9.2 ANOVA(b)
Sum
Model
1
of
Regression
Residual
Squares
2.316
21.395
df
1
98
Total
23.711
99
Mean Square
2.316
.218
F
10.606
Sig.
.002(a)
a Predictors: (Constant), Symbolic_mean

9.3 Coefficients(a)
Model
1
(Constant)
Symbolic_mean
Unstandardized
Standardized
Coefficients
Coefficients
Std. Error
2.880
.143
.150
.046
Beta
.313
Sig.
20.129
.000
3.257
.002
However taking hypothesis 3 the regression result shows that the standardised coefficient of
beta () is .164 and tstatistics is 1.643 and p value is .104 which infers that that the attribute
54
utilitarian of brand image does not have a positive impact on customer loyalty and does not
accepts the alternate hypothesis.
Table no. 10
Model
1
Variables
Variables
Entered
Utilitarian_
Removed
Method
.
mean(a)
Enter
10.1 Model Summary

Adjusted R
Model
1
R
R Square
Square
.164(a)
.027
.017
a Predictors: (Constant), Utilitarian_mean
Std. Error of
the Estimate
.48524
10.2 ANOVA(b)
Sum
Model
1
of
Regression
Residual
Squares
.636
23.075
df
1
98
Total
23.711
99
Mean Square
.636
.235
F
2.701
Sig.
.104(a)
a Predictors: (Constant), Utilitarian_mean

10. 3 Coefficients(a)
Model
1
(Constant)
Unstandardized
Standardized
Coefficients
Coefficients
B
2.866
Std. Error
.281
Beta
t
10.206
Sig.
.000
55
Utilitarian_mean
.115
.070
.164
1.643
.104
However considering hypothesis 4 the regression result shows that the standardised
coefficient of beta () is .155 and tstatistics is 1.548 and p value is .125 which infers that
that the attribute economic of brand image also does not have a positive impact on customer
loyalty and does not accepts the alternate hypothesis.
Table no. 11
Model
1
Variables
Variables
Entered
Economic_
Removed
Method
.
mean(a)
Enter
11.1 Model Summary

Adjusted R
Model
1
R
R Square
Square
.155(a)
.024
.014
a Predictors: (Constant), Economic_mean
Std. Error of
the Estimate
.48597
11.2 ANOVA(b)
Sum
Model
1
of
Regression
Residual
Squares
.566
23.145
df
1
98
Total
23.711
99
Mean Square
.566
.236
F
2.397
Sig.
.125(a)
a Predictors: (Constant), Economic_mean

56
Model
1
(Constant)
Unstandardized
Standardized
Coefficients
Coefficients
B
2.934
Std. Error
.254
Economic_mean
.104
.067
Beta
t
11.561
Sig.
.000
.155
1.548
.125
4.3.2 Hypothesis Testing: H5:

The next hypothesis of the study is regarding the impact of brand image on customer loyalty
and the hypothesis is supported by the ANOVA test model. The table 12.2 shows the
significance value p is equal to 0.000 which is < 0.0001; moreover the F-statistics value is
equal to 18.692 which fall in the acceptance category of the critical region. Furthermore the
summary table reveals that the R square value is equal to .160 at 98 degrees of freedom
which shows the model posses explanatory power. The R square further indicates that 16
percent of the variation of the dependent variable which is customer loyalty can be
considerably be explained by the brand image which is the independent variable. Further the
table for regression coefficients provides the values for standardized coefficient beta () equal
to .400; the value of t is equal to 4.323 and p value equal to 0.000 which shows that the
hypothesis, Brand image have certain positive impact on customer loyalty. Further he results
also tend to conclude that 40 percent of the variation in customer loyalty is caused by the
brand image. Hence this accepts the alternate hypothesis that the higher the impact of brand
image of Apple Company is on customers the higher will be the customer loyalty.
Table no.12
Variables Entered/Removed (b)
57
Model
1
Variables
Variables
Entered
Removed
Method
Enter
Brand_Imag
e_mean(a)

12.1 Model Summary

Adjusted R
Model
1
R
R Square
Square
.400(a)
.160
.152
a Predictors: (Constant), Brand_Image_mean
Std. Error of
the Estimate
.45063
12.2 ANOVA (b)

Sum
Model
1
of
Regression
Residual
Squares
3.796
19.901
df
1
98
Total
23.697
99
Mean Square
3.796
.203
F
18.692
Sig.
.000(a)

Model
1
(Constant)
Brand_Image_mean
Unstandardized
Standardized
Coefficients
Coefficients
Std. Error
1.902
.330
.390
.090
Beta
.400
Sig.
5.764
.000
4.323
.000
58

The hypothesis 6 of the study is regarding the impact of brand image on customer satisfaction
and this hypothesis is also supported by the ANOVA test model. The table 13.2 shows the
equal to 55.890 which fall in the acceptance vicinity of the critical region. Additionally the
which shows the model posses explanatory power. This further indicates that 36.3 percent of
the variation of the dependent variable which is customer satisfaction can be considerably be
explained by the brand image which is the independent variable. Further the table for
regression coefficients provides the values for standardized coefficient beta () equal to .603;
the value of t is equal to 7.476 and p value equal to 0.000 which shows that the hypothesis,
Brand image have positive impact on customer satisfaction. Further he results also tend to
conclude that 60.3 percent of the variation in customer satisfaction is caused by the brand
image. Hence this accepts the alternate hypothesis that the higher the impact of brand image
of Apple Company is on customers the higher will be the customer satisfaction.
Table no. 13
Model
1
Variables
Variables
Entered
Removed
Method
Enter
Brand_Imag
e_mean(a)

b Dependent Variable: Customer_satisfaction_mean
13.1 Model Summary

59
Adjusted R
Model
1
R
R Square
Square
.603(a)
.363
.357
Std. Error of
the Estimate
.50021
13.2 ANOVA (b)

Sum
Model
1
of
Regression
Residual
Squares
13.985
24.521
df
1
98
Total
38.506
99
Mean Square
13.985
.250
F
55.890
Sig.
.000(a)

b Dependent Variable: Customer_satisfaction_mean
Model
1
(Constant)
Brand_Image_mean
Unstandardized
Standardized
Coefficients
Coefficients
B
1.199
Std. Error
.366
.748
.100
a Dependent Variable: Customer_satisfaction_mean
Beta
t
3.273
Sig.
.001
.603
7.476
.000
60

The result of the hypothesis 7 which is regarding the impact of brand image on customer
commitment is also supported by the ANOVA test model. The table 14.2 shows that the
equal to 22.479 which fall in the acceptance vicinity of the critical region. Additionally the
which shows the model posses explanatory power. This further indicates that 18.7 percent of
the variation of the dependent variable customer commitment can be considerably be
explained by the brand image the independent variable. Further the table for regression
coefficients provides the values for standardized coefficient beta () equal to .432; the value
of t is equal to 4.741 and p value equal to 0.000 which shows that the hypothesis, Brand
image have positive impact on customer commitment. Further the results also tend to
conclude that 43.2 percent of the variation in customer commitment is caused by the brand
image. Hence this concludes that the higher the impact of brand image of Apple brands is on
customers the higher will be the customer commitment.
Table no.14
Model
1
Variables
Variables
Entered
Removed
Method
Enter
Brand_Image
_mean(a)

b Dependent Variable: Customer_commitment_mean
14.1 Model Summary
61
Adjusted R
Model
1
R
R Square
Square
.432(a)
.187
.178
Std. Error of
the Estimate
.46656
14.2 ANOVA (b)

Sum
Model
1
of
Regression
Residual
Squares
4.893
21.332
df
1
98
Total
26.226
99
Mean Square
4.893
.218
F
22.479
Sig.
.000(a)

Model
1
(Constant)
Brand_Image_mean
Unstandardized
Standardized
Coefficients
Coefficients
B
2.383
Std. Error
.342
.442
.093
a Dependent Variable: Customer_commitment_mean
Beta
t
6.975
Sig.
.000
.432
4.741
.000
62

The hypothesis 8 is developed to measure the impact of customer satisfaction on the customer
loyalty. The results of the hypothesis are not supported by the ANOVA test model. The table
15.2 shows that the significance value p is equal to .463; moreover the F-statistics value is
equal to .544 which falls in the acceptance vicinity of the critical region. Additionally the
which shows 6 percent of the variation of the dependent variable customer satisfaction can be
considerably be explained by the customer loyalty.
Further the table for regression
coefficients provides the values for standardized coefficient beta () equal to .074; the value
of t is equal to .737and p value equal to .463 which shows that the hypothesis, customer
satisfaction does not have positive impact on customer loyalty. Hence this rejects the alternate
hypothesis that customer satisfaction has positive impact on customer loyalty and accepts the
null hypothesis.
Table no. 15
Model
1
Variables
Variables
Entered
Customer_s
Removed
Method
atisfaction_
Enter
mean(a)
15.1 Model Summary
Model
1
R
.074(a)
R Square
.006
Adjusted R
Std. Error of
Square
-.005
the Estimate
.49038
63
a Predictors: (Constant), Customer_satisfaction_mean
15.2 ANOVA(b)
Sum
Model
1
of
Regression
Residual
Squares
.131
23.566
df
1
98
Total
23.697
99
Mean Square
.131
.240
F
.544
Sig.
.463(a)

Model
1
(Constant)
Unstandardized
Standardized
Coefficients
Coefficients
B
3.088
Std. Error
.313
Beta
t
9.864
Sig.
.000
.079
.074
.737
.463
.058
an
64

In order to measure the impact of customer satisfaction on customer commitment, this
hypothesis was developed and the results are supported by the ANOVA test model. The table
16.2 shows that the significance value p is equal to 0.000 which is < 0.0001; moreover the Fstatistics value is equal to 13.271 which fall in the acceptance vicinity of the critical region.
Additionally the summary table reveals that the R square value is equal to .119 at 98 degrees
of freedom which shows the model posses explanatory power. This further indicates that 11.9
percent of the variation of the dependent variable customer satisfaction can be considerably
be explained by the customer commitment. Further the table for regression coefficients
provides the values for standardized coefficient beta () equal to .345; the value of t is equal
to 3.643 and p value equal to 0.000 which shows that the hypothesis, customer satisfaction
have some positive impact on customer commitment. Further the results also tend to conclude
that 34 percent of the variation in customer commitment is caused by the customer
satisfaction. Hence this concludes that the higher the impact of customer satisfaction of Apple
brands is on customers the higher will be the customer commitment and this accepts our
alternate hypothesis.
Table no. 16
Model
1
Variables
Variables
Entered
Customer_s
Removed
Method
atisfaction_
Enter
mean(a)
65
16.1 Model Summary

Adjusted R
Std. Error of
Model
1
R
R Square
Square
the Estimate
.345(a)
.119
.110
.48548
16.2 ANOVA(b)
Sum
Model
1
of
Regression
Residual
Squares
3.128
23.098
df
1
98
Total
26.226
99
Mean Square
3.128
.236
F
13.271
Sig.
.000(a)

Model
1
(Constant)
Unstandardized
Standardized
Coefficients
Coefficients
B
2.873
Std. Error
.310
Beta
t
9.271
Sig.
.000
.345
3.643
.000
.285
.078
an
a Dependent Variable: Customer_commitment_mean
66
Chapter 5
5. Discussions
In this chapter the findings will be discussed in the light of literature review.
In the first four hypothesis of the study regression was run on the attributes of brand image
and customer loyalty. It was found that the first two constructs that are sensory and symbolic
tend to have a positive impact on the customer loyalty while the other two constructs that are
utilitarian and economic does not have a positive influence on customer loyalty which
accepts the null hypothesis. The results of hypothesis 1 and hypothesis 2 are consistent with
the previous findings of Iversen and Hem (2008) as they say brand image shows the personal
symbolism the customers attach with their preferred brand encompassing all the information
and knowledge related to that brand in the same way, Hsieh and Li (2008) says when
consumers have a clear and constructive image of the brand, the brand image tends to have a
stronger effect as compare to those of the competitors. However the finding of hypothesis 3
67
and 4 of the current study oppose most of the findings of previous studies as researchers in
previous study say a favorable image of an organizations brand tends to create a positive
impact on the customers behavior regarding enhancing the brand loyalty, towards
commanding the price premiums of the brand products and moreover towards the words of
mouth about the brand and organization to (Martenson, 2007). But from the current study
findings the attributes utilitarian and economic did not tend to generate positive results on
customer loyalty.
The hypothesis 5 of the current study tests the impact of brand image on
the customer loyalty as a whole. The regression result reveal that when
mean of all the attributes of brand image were regressed with the mean of
brand loyalty the outcome was a positive impact of brand image on
customer loyalty. As opposed to the individual influence attributes of
brand image collective attributes tend to give a positive relation between
brand image and customer loyalty. The hypothesis could be supported
from the previous studies as Faircloth et al., states that brand image is an
important factor affecting the behaviour of the consumers and affects the
buying behaviours, loyalty and commitment of consumers towards the
brand.
It is found that the more positive the brand image of any
organization the more the customers are loyal and committed and the
more the customers pay to purchase the products of such organizations
(Faircloth etal., (2001).
However the hypothesis 6 of the study reveals positive relation between brand image and
customer satisfaction and also rejects the null hypothesis. This hypothesis reveals the same
results as by the study of Sondoh Jr.et al (2007). They in their study present the view that the
satisfaction level of the consumers reflects the likeness and affection towards the product of a
68
brand. In the same way Oliver (1999) said that consumers tend to develop a positive attitude
towards a brand at an affective stage or they show their liking towards a brand as a result of
satisfaction after using the brand several times. Thus the findings of hypothesis 5 of the
current study are coherent with the previous studies.
The hypothesis 7 of the study is developed to check the impact the impact of brand image on
customer commitment. Many studies conducted in past has supported the hypothesis for
instance the research studies by Moorman et al., (1992), Ogba, (2007), Lok et al., (2005),
Aaker (1991), Meyer and Allen, (1991) and (Lacey (2007) all supported the relation of brand
image and customer commitment and they all are of the view that brand image plays a vital
role in retaining customers the more strong image the consumers will have of any brand the
more committed would be the consumers. Similarly Aaker (1991) says a brand with strong
image tends to have a larger number of consumers that are committed to the company and
these consumers tend to create a long lasting relationship with the brand. Similarly Moorman
et al., (1992) says customers want to have a maintained relationship with the company
directly or indirectly through their commitment with the brand of the company and this
generates a positive effect on outcome f the company.
69
In the next two hypothesis the impact of customer satisfaction was tested on customer loyalty
and customer commitment in order to know whether a satisfied customer could be committed
or loyal to the brand or not. The hypothesis 8 test result shows that for the current study the
hypothesis has been rejected which shows that there exists a negative relation between
customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Where as the hypothesis 9 has been accepted and
shows that there exists a positive relation between customer satisfaction and customer
commitment. However the result of the hypothesis is in line with the studies conducted by
Cronin and Taylor (1992) and Oliva (1992), the results of these studies clearly showed that
customer satisfaction alone cannot be sufficient predictor to attain the loyalty of the
customers there might be different predictors due to which even a satisfied customer may not
become a loyal customer, similarly a dissatisfied customer will never opt to purchase the
product of that brand again and vice versa.
Chapter 6
6. Conclusion:
70
This chapter is designed to conclude the study. Further managerial implications are given for
the mangers of the same industry to follow the practical approach derived from the study in
order to run their business more successfully. Moreover the limitations of the study have been
put together which the researcher faced due to limited time and resources during the course of
research. Furthermore some useful future recommendations have been given in order to
continue the future work.
In order to check the impact of brand image of Apple brand on customer satisfaction,
customer loyalty and customer commitment nine hypotheses were developed along with the
conceptual frame work. The data for research was collected by the way of questionnaire and
the answers of the questionnaires were fed in SPSS and results were generated. In order to
test the impact of brand image four major constructs of brand image were developed to check
the impact on consumers. The constructs are sensory, symbolic, utilitarian and economic.
From the findings it was found that the brand image tends to have positive impact on
customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and customer commitment. However the relation
between brand image and customer satisfaction is the strongest. This shows the customers
who are satisfied by using a particular brand opt to use the same brand again and again being
satisfied from the services, quality of product and image of the brand and this leads to make
these customers loyal customers of the brand. Similarly the loyal customers tend to be
committee to the organization and brand as they develop an association with the brand. From
the findings it was also found that customer satisfaction does not tend to have positive
influence on the customer loyalty which means its not necessary a satisfied customer is a
loyal customer of the organization as well, may be the customer is satisfied from the product
but he had got a better brand or product from the other alternatives available in the market at
a more reasonable price therefore his preference will be to buy that product rather the one he
purchased earlier, similarly there could be many other predictors which may not lead a
71
satisfied customer to loyal customer such as privacy and security issues, information and
responsiveness, quality of the product, diversity in range of products of a particular brand etc.
6.1Managerial implications:
With the advancement in technology and tough competition it is important for the companies
to make their product better than their competitors in quality, availability, and marketing,
affordability in order to attract customers and in return retain the customers. In order to retain
the customers the companies need to focus on the satisfaction level of the customers as it has
been found out in the current study that a more satisfied customer will become the loyal and
committed customer. So for this the managers and owners should adopt smart policies in
order to attract and retain customers. The managers need to know that only satisfaction is not
the only factor that can attract and retain customers. The mangers need to adopt good
marketing policies along with good quality of the product. As awareness of product among
customers will bring in new customers and the satisfaction the customers will get from the
product will eventually make them the loyal customers of the company. In addition to this as
the analysis and discussion part of the study reveals that there is a negative relation between
impacts of satisfaction on the customer commitment of the apple brand, which shows that the
demands of customer which they have from the apple brand have not been fulfilled. As
customer commitment is said to be driven as a result of expected outcomes from any product,
including outcomes from buying of a product, psychological ego of identifying with brand,
etc. Therefore the new mangers should focus on the psychological needs of the customers in
order to have positive impact on them in order to retain them. The psychological needs of the
customers could involve the way the company deals with the customers, the way the
company presents it product so the mangers of the Apple Company should have a courteous
customer services staff. Moreover from the discussions and analysis presented above it was
found that utilitarian and economic attributes of brand image did not yield positive results in
72
terms of customer loyalty, and the mangers need to focus their attention on this and should
consider other option which can facilitate the customers apart from reliability, durable and
easy to use features as the customers demand highly sophisticated products with enhanced
functionality and features. Moreover the managers should also enhance their economic
features as consumers also showed negative response in the current study. Following and
focusing more on the aforementioned implications will help the organizations to attract more
customers, satisfy their needs with their products and build long lasting relation with the
customers.
6.2Limitations and Future Research Directions:

The current study is also not free from limitations. As the major limitation faced in this study
was in terms of generalization, as the current study was conducted in UK, therefore the
people here may have different culture, norms, habits choices and preferences from those
living in any other part of the world. As these factors greatly affect the attitudes and
preferences of people. Further the time and cost were the biggest constraints in the current
study. Moreover the data collected by the way of online survey may not real population and
this may affect the generalization of the study. Further this study has a scope for future
research as the current was conducted by taking the quantitative research solely in future a
study with qualitative research could also be conducted as through interviews one can have a
better opinion of customers regarding brand image.
References:
Aaker, D.A. (1991), Managing Brand Equity, The Free Press, New York, NY.
Aaker, D.A. (2004), Brand Portfolio Strategy, The Free Press, New York, NY.
73
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Appendix
QUESTIONNAIRE
I am a student of ------------------- This survey is a partial requirement of my degree program
to do a research in order to examine the perception of consumers perception about the brand
image, customer loyalty, and customer commitment and repurchase behavior of customers
80
towards Apple brand in the UK. Please answer the following questions according to your best
knowledge. The questionnaire will take almost 15 minutes to finish its both sections
completely. All the information you will share through this questionnaire is mean to be kept
confidential and anonymous. Shared information will be solely used for the fulfillment of the
current academic research.
Thanks for your prestigious time and I am looking ahead to receive a filled questionnaire.
Sincerely,
-----Section 1
[I would like you to enter your profile information]
Gender
Male
Female
Age
16-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55 or above
Education
High School or Lower
Some College
College graduate
University Graduates or Upper
How much do you care about using brands?

81
Slightly
Strongly
Not much
Never
Price
Brand Image
Value Added Services
How long have you used the brands of this company?
Less than one month
1 to 6 months
6 months to a year
1 to 3 years
Over 3 years
Section 2
The second section asks about the perception of respondents regarding the brand image,
customer loyalty, and customer commitment and repurchase behavior of customers towards
Apple brand. . You may encircle any of the numbers in the middle that show how strong your
feelings are, where 1= Extremely disagree; 2= Largely disagree; 3= Little bit disagree; 4=
Neutral; 5= A little bit agree; 6= Largely agree; and 7= Extremely agree].
Brand image
Do our products provide a sense of self-esteem to you?
Sensory:
82
Please indicate to what extent you agree/disagree with the

following statements:
A
Neutral
Agree
Extremely
Neutral
Agree
Extremely
( where, 1=strongly disagree and 5= strongly agree)

I am associated with the apple brand because I think it is:
Exciting
Stylish
A mean to fill the owners with pride.
A high quality brand
Multifunctional
Symbolic
I use apple brands because I think it is
Prestigious
Posses luxury features
Utilitarian
83
Neutral
Agree
Extremely
Neutral
Agree
Extremely
Reliable
Made to last
Easy to use
Economic
Good customer service
Affordable
H1. Brand image has a positive impact on customer loyalty
84

Neutral
Agree
Extremely
Neutral
Agree
Extremely
I would like to take the same brand again
I recommend my brand to others
I prefer my brand above others
I intend to continue using my brand
In the near future, I intend to use more of the products provided

by this company.
I consider myself to be a loyal customer of this company.
Brand image has a positive impact on customer commitment

A
I found the staffs of this company very helpful.
85
I have been the customer of this company for long now.
I will not switch my brand ever.
If any other such product is offered at low prices even then I

will not change my brand.
Brand image has a positive impact on customer satisfaction

Extremely
Agree
Neutral
This company has an extensive stock that with variety of

applications that satisfy my needs.
86
I am satisfied with the competence of customer services

provided by this company.
I am satisfied with the product quality of apple brand.
I am satisfied being the regular customer of this company.
In general, I am satisfied with the services and products offered

by this company.
Reflection Report:
To begin with, the current study exploring the impact of Apple brand image on customer
satisfaction, customer loyalty and customer commitment in the UK was a great learning and
experience. The study was conducted to perceive the perception of people towards different
attitudes and behaviors such as loyalty commitment and satisfaction. In order to have a
detailed investigation the variable brand image was further divided into four constructs such
as sensory, symbolic, economic and utilitarian.
87
The study was conducted in different phases during a period of six months. Initially the
material was collected for the proposal in order to make know what is the topic under
investigation, what will be the tools to investigate the study, how will be the study analyzed
and explained. Basically the main purpose behind selecting the current topic was the brand
association with apple brand and its impact on rest of the consumers, how could the current
study contribute to the organization to change or enhance its strategies. After giving the initial
shape to the study an extensive research was done to collect the material for the literature
review which primarily consists of previous studies. The purpose of formulating literature
review was to know about the results of different studies conducted in the same field which
can provide a path to follow and find the gap between the previous studies and the current
study. Moreover the literature provided the way to formulate the hypothesis of the study and
the conceptual frame work on the basis of which a questionnaire was developed and uploaded
on authorized URL Survey monkey. For the questionnaire two sections were made one
comprised the information related to the respondents such as their age, gender education and
most preferred brand. The second section contained the questions related to different
variables and their attributes. After getting the filled questionnaire they were fed into SPSS
and correlations and regressions were run. In the next section the findings were explained and
supported with the help of previous studies. In the next phase the study was concluded and
managerial implications were present along with the limitations of the study and scope for
future research. However the introduction of the study was formalized in the end as the
objectives of the study set at the time of preparing proposal were altered or completely
changed during the course of study due to the requirement of the study.
During the whole process of dissertation many problems were faced one of the biggest
constraint was the time constraint and the cost constraint. The time constraint was overcome
by setting certain days for each section of the study so that a detailed and comprehensive
88
study could be conducted. Further instead of conducting survey by visiting different markets
and wasting time on searching the customer for Apple brand the questionnaire was uploaded
online which saved time along with the cost. Similarly uploading the questionnaire also saved
other costs and time such as it reduced the cost of getting the questionnaires printed
according to the sample size, by uploading it online this hassle was overcome which not only
saved cost but also saved time. In the same the filled questions were easily screened in the
soft copy form which saved time but if printed questions would have been distributed many
of the questionnaire might not have been filled properly so in order to complete the sample
size more prints would have been required and another survey would have been conducted
but the online survey saved time and cost from all this hassle.
After completing each section it was thoroughly checked by the instructor and the changes
required by the tutor were seriously addressed and incorporated.
Another area of difficulty was the formulating the questionnaire as the questionnaire was
aimed at covering majority of the aspects of the study therefore it was made certain that any
important aspect of the study is also not missed. However the questionnaire formulated at the
first step was not accepted by the instructor therefore an extensive research was done
collecting different articles using the similar kind of study and then a scale was developed
from the different articles and was added to the questionnaire.
Selecting the sample size was another problem. Such a sample size was aimed to be selected
which could be easily handles, collected and interpreted therefore after careful investigation
and studying previous studies a sample size of 100 was selected which was comprehensive
from all point of views such it was easy to handle this sample size, it was easy to fed it in the
SPSS it was easy to interpret the data and it was also suitable for the generalization of the
study.
89
Apart from the academic point of this study was of great help to me and my future career. As
conducting the whole research independently has given me more confidence in myself and
now I feel I can conduct better research studies in future. Further due to this study my reading
habits have been enhanced to the maximum as it involved extensive reading. This study
cleared all my ambiguities regarding any academic term which could not be cleared during
the lectures. I could analyze things more precisely and finely.
However the study is a great guide line for my future career. As I am planning to have my
own business in the same field therefore the perception of customers, their thinking, and their
priority is very important to know for such kind of business. In future being the sole manager
of my business I will make sure to launch such brand in market which have high reputation
and image with the help of which I can cater different people, bring such brands in market
which will be based on customer choices and preferences. Along with good brand image I
will focus on the customer services and will make sure customers are treated in the best way
and in the most comfortable way. From the study I have come to know that satisfaction alone
is not sufficient to make customers loyal therefore I will make sure to provide every possible
comfort to my customers in term of product quality, product service at reasonable prices and
best customer services. Another important finding of the study is that people who are brand
loyal does not care for the price because they are ready to pay anything for the product of
their choice so I will incorporate all the aforesaid strategies while managing and running my
business.
Through this study I learnt many new applications such as SPSS, it was a new application
which I got to use during my research and it was very useful for interpreting and analyzing
my study, further I got full command n different features of MS office word which I never
used before. However through this study I have enhanced my analytical skills, now I feel I
could write better and evaluate any study critically quite easily. Prior to this study I never
90
wrote such a big report, in the beginning it seemed difficult but with the support of my
supervisor and his guidance it was managed quite easily, I learnt more about referencing
styles used in the study. This study contributed immensely in increasing my vocabulary as I
had exposure to a large amount of previous studies.
In the nutshell I can say that it was a great learning from the current study, and my leaning
experience in line with the thoughts of Kolb as he says learning is "the process whereby
knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the
combination of grasping and transforming experience" According to the four-stage learning
cycle of this theory, immediate or concrete experiences are the basis for observations and
reflections. These reflections are assimilated and distilled into abstract concepts from which
new implications for action can be drawn. These implications can be actively tested and serve
as guides in creating new experiences (Kolb 1984, p. 41).
91
Conclusion:
The over all learning experience from this study was significant. The study was a source of
learning in all fields of life whether academic, professional and personal life. Academically it
increased my knowledge about various concept, taught me new things which I never did before
for instance SPSS, conducting such a long and detailed research, making questionnaire,
interpreting findings, in short it was a complete learning package. Moreover through this study I
learnt to mange things within a time frame of work and most importantly to work and research
within defined parameters and not including irrelevant material, moreover, through this study I
learnt how to focus on certain things and not opting to different choices and parameters and in this
I will greatly appreciate my supervisors guidance and support as without him this would not have
been possible. Through this study I learnt how to analyze things and evaluate them critically.
92
After completing the study I feel more confident about dealing different projects and meeting the
deadline in future, I feel more organized and carrying things in a more systematic and planned
manner which will greatly help me in my future professional life.
93

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Exploring the impact of Apple brand image on the customer

satisfaction, customer loyalty and commitment in the UK

Significance of the study:.......................................................................................- 2 -

Organization of the study:.......................................................................................- 2 -

Literature Review:.........................................................................................................- 3 2.1

Brand image and customer loyalty:........................................................................- 9 -

Brand image and customer commitment:.............................................................- 15 -

Brand image and customer satisfaction:...............................................................- 18 -

Theoretical frame work.........................................................................................- 22 -

Research Methodology................................................................................................- 23 3.1

Research Strategy and Procedure:........................................................................- 23 -

Hypothesis of the study:.......................................................................................- 24 -

Survey Instrument and Variables Measurement:..................................................- 25 -

3.4.1 Quantitative Research:..........................................................................................- 27 3.5

Data Collection procedure:...................................................................................- 27 -

3.5.1 Primary Research:.................................................................................................- 28 3.5.2 Secondary Research:.............................................................................................- 28 3.6

Findings and analysis:.................................................................................................- 32 4.1

Regression Models: Hypothesis Testing:..............................................................- 42 4

Limitations and Future Research Directions:.......................................................- 64 -

13.1 Model Summary

1.2Significance of the study:

1.4Organization of the study:

brand image represents the reasoned or emotional perceptions consumers attach to

brands (Low and Lamb, 2000, p. 352).

(2005) is also of the view that brand

characteristics of the brand. Brand image shows the personal symbolism

premiums of the brand products and moreover towards the words of

2.1Brand image and customer loyalty:

brand of his choice in this case loyalty as an accident approach is

Early researches on brand loyalty by many researchers generally state the

The Loyal customers of any brand tend to buy more products.

to the brand of any advertisement by a competitors.

gets familiar with the preferences of the existing customers.

2.2Brand image and customer commitment:

Moreover, another significance of commitment is that it helps determine the potentially

2.3Brand image and customer satisfaction:

Experienced based norms

Product/ service quality

Brand image (retail/store)

Kandampully and Suhartanto (2000) on the retail/store

2.5Theoretical frame work

3.1Research Strategy and Procedure:

3.2Hypothesis of the study:

3.3Survey Instrument and Variables Measurement:

3.4.1 Quantitative Research:

3.5Data Collection procedure:

3.5.1 Primary Research:

3.5.2 Secondary Research:

Data Coding and Feeding:

Reliability and Validity:

What is your gender?

What is your gender?

What is your age?

What is your Education?

What is your Education?

Post Graduate or more

How much do you care about using apple brands?

How much do you care about using apple brands?

How long have you used the brands of Apple Company?

How long have you used the brands of Apple Company?

Less than 1 month

4.3Regression Models: Hypothesis Testing:

x= independent variable which is being used to explain the dependent variable