Pan-Pacific Conference XXXIV. Designing New Business Models in Developing Economies

Influence of perceived risk and brand equity on purchase intention in the
category Colombian soluble coffee
González, G. Elsa. M
CENTRUM Católica Graduate Business School
Elsa González, CENTRUM Católica Graduate Business School, Jr. Daniel Alomía Robles 125, Urb. Los Álamos
de Monterrico, Santiago de Surco, Lima 33, Perú, (0051) 1 62667100
ABSTRACT
Different authors have defined purchase intention
when a person makes a statement as to whether to
buy, or not a product. It has been considered an
important indicator in marketing management to
project sales of new and existing products [9][20].
The research expects to expand the knowledge in
purchase intention through brand equity and
perceived risk testing a new the model. The
category selected for the research is one of the most
important in Colombia. It expects a growth of 36%
by 2018 reaching USD260,000 million in sales [18].
If this category is compared with other categories of
consumption in Colombia, only a few of them
expect a growth as such as soluble coffee [36].
BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM
To date, there have been numerous studies that
measure the purchase intention, perceived risk, and
brand equity, but It has not found studies measuring
purchase intention through the brand equity and
perceived risk with all set of variables proposed by
the authors: David Aaker (1992) for brand equity
and Roselius (1971) and Jacoby and Kaplan (1972)
for perceived risk. These theories have been so
consistent that they have been used through the
years up to 2016, in different researches on different
products like: commercial electronic, technology,
house hold, food, and personal care among others
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
There are several variables that can affect the
purchase intention [26][7][27][1][9], and suggest
including more variables to have a better indicator
of purchase intention. The research evaluate if these
constructs when analyzed together in the context of
consumption, may increase or decrease the purchase
intention [32][15]. Furthermore, when measuring
purchase intention, using brand equity and
perceived risk, papers suggest that not all variables
are used
From this point, it is important to consider more
variables, as this research proposed, in order to
understand if they can influence a customer’s
purchase intention and to what extent. Therefore, If
the indicator of purchase intention increases, it
could be more exact with the predicted sales
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
This is a quantitative research. The purpose is to
identify how using all the set of variables of brand
equity and perceived risk, can influence purchase
intention, of soluble coffee in Colombian consumers
and to what extent. The research considers brand
equity and perceived risk as independent variables
and
attitude as mediating variable. Purchase intention is
an independent variable.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Brand Equity
Farquhar (1989) recognized Brand Equity for how it
brings added value to a product or service. In
seeking to narrow the gap between intention and
behavior, several authors refer to brand equity as a
resource that an organization possesses that
generates preference and advantage over other
brands in the market [36]. Different models have
suggested measuring brand equity considering a
number of dimensions that address different areas of
equity creation [1][24][25].
Aaker (1992), Aaker and Álvarez del Blanco
(1994), and Aaker and Joachimsthaler (2005)
proposed measuring brand equity through a
multidimensional model of four components (a)
brand loyalty, (b) perceived quality, (c) brand
associations and image, and (d) awareness. One
more component is considered in Aaker model [1],
it refers to other proprietary brand assets. However,
this component is normally omitted in brand equity
research since it is not directly related to the
consumer [2][29][14]
Perceived risk
Perceived risk is defined as the strategy generally
assumed by consumers to minimize or reduce any
negative utility associated with purchasing behavior
[28]. However, the combination that individuals
make of the variables that influence their final
decision, is one of the biggest problems in the
purchasing decision analysis
Perceived risk has been considered in the literature
as a multidimensional variable that consists six
types of risks: (a) financial risk, (b) functional risk,
(c) physical risk, (d) social risk, (e) psychological
risk, and (f) global risk [31][21][23].
Consumer attitude
The concept of attitudes has a central position in the
study of consumer behavior According to Ajzen and
Fishbein (1977) attitude has emerged as one of the
most comprehensive theories for the measurement
of attitudes as determinants of intention. Attitude is
the result of three components that are comprised in
a comprehensive and inclusive manner (a) the
cognitive component, (b) the affective component,
and (c) the behavioral component [5]
[6][13][38][39].
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