Investigating Factors Affecting Brand Equity with Respect to Mediating Role of Productivity in Major Steel Companies

Abstract

This applied descriptive and correlational survey sought to examine the factors affecting the brand equity in big steel companies. The research sample comprised 384 experts in iron and steel industries who were randomly selected based on the Morgan Table from the population of all experts in the field. The research data were collected via 384 questionnaires and were analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling. The findings revealed that internal marketing and social responsibility of the company had positive impacts on customer engagement, that internal marketing had a positive effect on the productivity of iron and steel companies and that productivity and supply chain management had an impact on the price. Also, supply chain management and customer engagement were found to have a positive impact on the products of iron and steel companies. The impacts of price and product on brand performance, and thereby, on brand equity were also verified. However, the effect of customer engagement on brand performance and brand equity, that of corporate social responsibility on brand performance, and that of prices on the brand equity of iron and steel companies were not confirmed.

Keywords

• brand equity value
• corporate social responsibility
• customer engagementinternal marketing
• supply chain management