Evaluating Brand Equity and Its Determinants in Sportswear Industry (A Comparison of Iranian and Foreign Authentic Sport Brands)

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between brand equity dimensions and those factors affecting it in Iran sportswear industry. The study was descriptive and correlation. The statistical population consisted of students and graduates of physical education and sport sciences and 805 subjects were selected as the sample using questionnaires in person and online. The standard questionnaire of Yoo and Donthu (2001) was used to collect data. The reliability of this questionnaire was determined using Cronbach's alpha as 0.95. Results showed that all 805 subjects used foreign brands while this figure was 0.65 for Iranian brands. Also, the mean of all dimensions of foreign brand equity was higher than Iranian brands which showed higher satisfaction from foreign brands. The results showed that all dimensions had a positive and significant relationship with brand equity. In the meantime, awareness and association and then loyalty and perceived quality had the highest relationship. Also, Fisher Z test reported no significant differences in the correlation of foreign and Iranian brands. Linear regression analysis showed that these dimensions alone predicted about 0.40 of total brand equity changes and the rest belonged to other variables.