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The Effect of Brand Credibility on Consumers' Brand Purchase Intention in Emerging Economies: The Moderating Role of Brand Awareness and Brand Image
Xuehua Wanga; Zhilin Yangb a Department of Marketing, School of International Business Administration, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai, China b Department of Marketing, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Online publication date: 25 June 2010 To cite this Article Wang, Xuehua and Yang, Zhilin(2010) 'The Effect of Brand Credibility on Consumers' Brand Purchase

Intention in Emerging Economies: The Moderating Role of Brand Awareness and Brand Image', Journal of Global Marketing, 23: 3, 177 188 To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/08911762.2010.487419 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08911762.2010.487419

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Journal of Global Marketing, 23:177188, 2010 Copyright c Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 0891-1762 print / 1528-6975 online DOI: 10.1080/08911762.2010.487419

The Effect of Brand Credibility on Consumers Brand Purchase Intention in Emerging Economies: The Moderating Role of Brand Awareness and Brand Image
Xuehua Wang Zhilin Yang

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ABSTRACT. This study investigates the impact of brand credibility, composed of trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness, on consumers brand purchase intention in emerging economies, focusing specically on Chinas automobile industry. We propose that brand awareness and brand image play a moderating role in this relationship. Results reveal that brand credibility exerts a positive inuence on consumers brand purchase intention. Brand image and brand awareness are found to positively moderate the relationship between brand credibility and consumers brand purchase intention. Implications concerning both research and managerial practices are offered. KEYWORDS. Brand credibility, brand awareness, brand image, purchase intention, China

INTRODUCTION
A brand consists of a name, term, sign, or symbol, or any combination of them, that attempts to represent the unique benets a company can provide to consumers through a particular product or service, in terms of attributes, value, and culture (Kotler, 1997). As pointed out by Keller (2008), an important role played by a brand is that it enables consumers to identify a rms products/services and can differentiate them from those of competitors. Indeed, consumers are facing an increasingly varied range of products on the market, while rms always

know more about their products than do consumers. This asymmetric information availability may cause confusion or uncertainty in consumers minds when they make a purchase. In such cases, brands can serve as symbols or signals for product positioning (Erdem & Swait, 2004; Wernerfelt, 1988). One important characteristic determining brand positioning is its credibility. Credibility issues originate from source credibility literature. For instance, Ohanion (1990) develops a source credibility scale for celebrity endorsers. When source credibility relates to brands, or when we refer to brands as our sources, the credibility concept denotes

The authors gratefully acknowledge a grant from City University of Hong Kong (CityU SRG Project No. 7002255) for nancial support. Xuehua Wang, PhD, is Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing, School of International Business Administration, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai, China. Zhilin Yang, PhD, is Associate Professor, Department of Marketing, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Address correspondence to Xuehua Wang, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing, School of International Business Administration, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, 777 Guoding Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai 200433, China. E-mail: mkxwang@gmail.com
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brand credibility. Prior studies have suggested three components of credibility: trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness/likeableness (Erdem & Swait, 2004; Keller, 2003). Brand credibility represents the cumulative effects of a rms past marketing activities and can inuence consumers future brand consideration (Erdem, Swait, & Louviere, 2002), which is important in consumer behavior research. Only a handful of studies, however, have examined the relationship between brand credibility and consumers brand purchase intention. For example, Erdem and Swait (2004) nd that brand credibility can increase the probability that consumers will include the brand in the consideration set. Yet, brand credibility measured in their study contains only trustworthiness and expertise, lacking attractiveness/likeableness, and thus might be incomplete in achieving the full picture of the effect of brand credibility on consumers brand consideration. Hence, this study aims to investigate the effect of all three components contained in the brand credibility construct on consumers brand purchase intention. Another essential concept of branding is brand equity, which refers to the differential effects that brand knowledge has on consumers perceptions of the marketing activities of that brand (Keller, 2008). The two components of brand knowledge are brand awareness and brand image (Keller, 1993). Brand awareness and brand image are important signals related to how consumers perceive the brand and thus can help to predict their purchase behavior. This study investigates the effect of brand credibility on brand purchase intention from the important brand equity perspective by taking brand awareness and brand image into consideration. The relationship between brand credibility and consumers brand purchase intention may vary in terms of high/low degree of brand awareness and brand image (Pae, Samiee, & Tai, 2002). Prior studies have investigated the direct impact of brand awareness and brand image on consumers brand choice (e.g., Erdem & Swait, 2004). However, their moderating role in the relationship between brand credibility and consumers brand purchase intention lacks empirical evidence, which forms the second objective of this study.

In addition, the context of this study is Chinas automobile industry. Since inception of the open-door policy in China, many famous foreign automobile companies, such as Volkswagen, General Motors, and Toyota, have come to China to establish joint ventures (hereafter JVs) with Chinese local automobile companies. Foreign-branded cars now occupy almost 70% of the domestic automobile market. The foreign partners for JV brands in China are primarily from Germany, the United States, and Japan. In the post hoc analysis, this study also examines whether the relationship between brand credibility, brand awareness, brand image, and consumers brand purchase intention might vary for the three types of JV brands (Sino-German JVs, Sino-American JVs, and Sino-Japanese JVs). The objectives of this study are threefold: rst, to examine the effect of brand credibility on consumers brand purchase intention; second, to investigate the moderating role of brand awareness and brand image; and third, to test whether the relationship between brand credibility, brand awareness, brand image, and brand purchase intention might vary for the three types of JV brands (i.e., Sino-German JVs, Sino-American JVs, and Sino-Japanese JVs). The next section of this study will elaborate on relevant conceptual background and further develop initial hypotheses. In particular, this study can offer three potential contributions to branding literature. First, we aim to investigate the effect of brand credibility on purchase intention and, at the same time, take into consideration the moderating inuences of brand image and brand awareness, whereas Erdem and Swaits (2004) study focuses only on brand credibility effect on brand consideration. Second, we further improve Erdem and Swaits (2004) brand credibility scale (i.e., expertise and trustworthiness) by adding a third dimension of attractiveness/likeableness, because, aesthetically and psychologically, people have their own judgments about brand names, logos, and symbols (Keller, 2008). Third, as noted earlier, the context of this study is the Chinese Mainland, a large emerging economy; hence, with successful replications, our ndings can be generalized to other developing countries or areas.

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CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT OF HYPOTHESES Brand Credibility

Brand credibility can be studied from the source credibility research stream. Source credibility is dened as denoting a senders positive characteristics that inuence the message acceptance of a receiver (Ohanian, 1990) or the believability of an entitys intentions (Erdem & Swait, 2004). This sender or entity could be a real person (Frieden, 1984), a cartoon character (Stafford, Stafford, & Day, 2002), a corporation (Keller, 2000) or a brand (Erdem & Swait, 2004). Considerable prior research (Hovland et al., 1953; Keller & Aaker, 1998) reveals that source credibility consists of trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness/likeableness. Thus, brand credibility refers to the believability of the product information embodied in a brand and is suggested to contain three elements, i.e., trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness/likeableness (Hovland et al., 1953; Keller & Aaker, 1998; Sternthal & Craig, 1982). Trustworthiness refers to a receivers trust in a sender. Expertise refers to a sources perceived skills. Attractiveness/likeableness is associated with the sources image. Hence, brand credibility requires consumers to perceive that the brand is willing (trustworthiness), has the ability (i.e., expertise), and is dedicated (i.e., attractiveness/likeableness) to consistently deliver what has been promised (Erdem & Swait, 2004). Herbig and Milewicz (1995) propose a historical perspective about brand credibility to the effect that past and present marketing activities can inuence current and future brand credibility. Trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness of a brand therefore reect the cumulative effects of past and current marketing investments. A few studies have investigated the effect of brand credibility. For example, Erdem, Swait, and Louviere (2002) suggest that brand credibility may act as a moderating variable in the impact of product price on consumer utility. Maathuis, Rodenburg, and Sikkel (2004) observe that brand credibility is signicantly related to emotion and reason in consumers decision making, although the importance may vary across different brands.

Swait and Erdem (2007) examine the effects of brand credibility on consumer choice and choice set formation. Prior source credibility research indicates a positive relationship between source credibility and consumers attitudes toward the source (Brinol, Petty, & Tormala, 2004). Erdem and Swait (2004) also nd that brand credibility can exert a positive inuence on consumers brand consideration and choice. In this study, it is proposed that the more credible a brand is, the higher the consumers brand purchase intention is likely to be. Thus, we hypothesize that: H1: Brand credibility is likely to exert a positive inuence on consumers brand purchase intention.

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Brand Awareness
Brand awareness is related to the strength of a brand node in consumers memory and can be reected by consumers ability to recognize the brand within various contexts or situations (Rossiter & Percy, 1987). Brand awareness consists of two components: brand recognition and brand recall performance (Keller, 1993). Brand recognition is dened as consumers capability to conrm their prior exposure to the brand when given the brand as a cue; brand recall refers to whether consumers can retrieve the brand from memory when given the product category as a cue (Keller, 1993). It is possible that a brand is credible (i.e., possesses expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness/likeableness) while, at the same time, having a low level of brand awareness. For instance, some local brands are rarely known outside the specic region. For a brand to be included in a consumers brand consideration set, it must be comparatively easier or more salient for consumers to think of the brand when they think about the product category (Keller, 1993). In addition, even if there are no other specic brand associations, consumers would still prefer to buy a brand that is well established and familiar to them (Pae et al., 2002). Hence, when consumers perceive that a brand has high awareness, a credible brand would be likely to exert a larger impact on their brand purchase intention than when the brands awareness

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is low, indicating a moderating effect of brand awareness. Therefore, we hypothesize that: H2: The effect of brand credibility on consumers purchase intention tends to be larger when the brands awareness is high than when it is low.

moderator between brand credibility and consumers brand purchase intention. Thus, we hypothesize that: H3: The effect of brand credibility on consumers brand purchase intention tends to be larger when they perceive the brands image as stronger, more favorable and more unique than when they believe the brands image is less strong, less favorable and less unique.

Brand Image
Brand image is dened as the set of brand associations that consumers retain in their memory about a brand (Keller, 1993). Brand image can be characterized by strength, favorability, and uniqueness of brand associations. Brand associations reect the meanings of brands to consumers through linking product information to the brand nodes existing in consumers memories, thus indicating product benets and summary evaluations of brands (Keller, 2008). Furthermore, consumers purchase intention can be inuenced by brand image (Esch et al., 2006). A strong, favorable, and unique brand image is found to be positively related to willingness to pay for premium prices and higher brand equity (Faircloth, Capella, & Alford, 2001; Lassar, Mittal, & Sharma, 1995). It is probable that a brand possesses expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness/likeableness, while its brand image is not so strong, favorable, and unique. In fact, what consumers really buy may not be a brands credibility (i.e., expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness/likeableness); rather, more importantly, they may be purchasing the brand image associated with consuming a specic brand, such as a Louis Vuitton handbag, so that the brand itself becomes an extension of the individuals selfimage and helps to enhance self-esteem (Zhou & Belk, 2004). Consistent with prior research on brand credibility, it could be inferred that a credible brand would likely exert a larger impact on consumers brand purchase intention when the brand image is perceived as strong, favorable, and unique, whereas such an effect is weaker when the brand image is perceived as less strong, favorable, and unique, hence reecting the moderating role of brand image (e.g., OCass & Lim, 2001). Therefore, it is suggested that brand image acts as a

Brand Value as a Control Variable

Brand value refers to what a brand means to a rm (Raggio & Leone, 2007), that is, a brands actual/real value. However, consumers perceived brand value, which refers to the difference between consumers assessment of the benets and the cost/price of a product/service relative to other choices (Holbrook, 1994), may be more important than a brands real value in the sense that value is intrinsically related to worth to consumers, not to the seller, and that the nature of value, to a certain extent, is subjective (Sinha & deSarbo, 1998). Brand image is different from brand value and brand credibility. Brand image is a symbolic construct created in consumers minds and is composed of all the information and expectations associated with a product/service (Keller, 2008). Brand value is the desired set of associations that a rm would like consumers to link with its products/services and can be dened as the sale value of a brand (Raggio & Leone, 2006). Brand image is different from brand credibility in that what matters to brand image is the strength, favorability, and uniqueness of brand associations (Keller, 2008), while brand credibility is concerned with whether consumers perceive that a brand possesses relevant expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness/likeableness (Erdem & Swait, 2004; Maathuis et al., 2004). Prior studies nd that consumers prefer brands with higher brand value and generally indicate higher purchase intention toward those brands (Raggio & Leone, 2007). All things being equal (brand credibility, brand awareness, and brand image), brand value exerts a signicant positive impact on consumers brand

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purchase intention. Hence, in this study, brand value is included as a control variable in our test to reect the perceived advantage of value for money or consumer-perceived value for a brand. Specically, brand value is measured by the brand performance/price ratio, which refers to a brands ability to deliver performance for its price (Zhuang et al., 2008).

METHODOLOGY Questionnaire and Measures

The questionnaire included two parts. The rst part measured ve factors (brand credibility, brand awareness, brand image, brand value, and consumers brand purchase intention); the second part recorded respondent demographic information. The questionnaire was originally in English; then it was translated and backtranslated into Chinese until acceptable translation accuracy was achieved. Brand credibility (Cronbachs alpha = .92) was measured by adapting Erdem and Swaits (2004) and Ohanians (1990) scales. Expertise measures consist of such sentences as, This brand reminds me of someone who is competent and knows what s/he is doing and This brand has the ability to deliver what it promises. Trustworthiness measures are composed of ve items: This brand delivers what it promises, This brands product claims are believable, Over time, my experiences with this brand have led me to expect it to keep its promises, no more and no less, This brand has a name you can trust, and This brand does not pretend to be something it is not. Attractiveness/likeableness includes three items: This brand is very attractive to me, This brand is very elegant, and I think the image of this brand is very beautiful. Brand awareness was measured by adapting Oliver and Beardens (1995) three-item differential scale (Cronbachs alpha = .93) to measure brand familiarity and a one-item rst recall measure suggested by Aaker (1996a). The General Brand Image (GBI) scale proposed by Aaker (1996b), which has been extensively used (e.g., Martinez & Chernatony, 2004), was adapted to measure brand image. The GBI measure inDownloaded By: [City University of Hong Kong] At: 05:00 10 July 2010

cludes six items such as, This brand is different from competing brands, The brand is strong, and I hold favorable attitudes toward this brand, with anchors ranging from 1 (absolutely disagree) to 7 (absolutely agree) with a Cronbachs alpha reliability coefcient of .89. Because brand value has been identied as an important factor affecting consumers brand purchase decision (Zhuang et al., 2008), we measured brand value by using a subjective brand performance/price ratio on a seven-point semantic differential scale to respond to the sentence, Please circle one of the numbers below to describe your perception about the following automobile brands performance/price ratio with the anchors from lowest to highest (Zhuang et al., 2008). A seven-point Likert item with 1 indicating absolutely impossible and 7 indicating absolutely possible was used to measure brand purchase intention (e.g., Dodds et al., 1991).

Pilot Study
A pilot study of the questionnaire was conducted to evaluate the content validity of the measurement scales. Content validity can be assessed by a group of experts who decide whether the test represents all of the contents of a particular construct (Judd et al., 1991). After evaluation by four academics and ve local professionals in this eld, some items were reworded based on their feedback. Next, the questionnaire was administered to 50 consumers who were recruited through a local newspaper advertisement in Shanghai. They were required to answer, review, and critique the questionnaire. After completion, they were given RMB50. All 50 of the questionnaires were deemed useful; the questionnaire was then revised and nalized based on their feedback.

Reliability and Validity

The reliability of constructs was tested by using Cronbachs coefcient alpha, which ranged from .89 to .93, much larger than the standard of 0.7 (Churchill 1979). Since all measures were based upon prior relevant literature and were often used or adapted in research, evidence of content validity was provided.

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Next, measures (brand credibility, brand awareness, brand image, and brand purchase intention) were subjected to a conrmatory factor analysis (CFA) through the use of AMOS 5.0. The CFA allows for a validity assessment of the measures used. The t indices ( 2 /df = 1.62, p = .000, goodness-of-t index [GFI] = .91, adjusted goodness-of-t index [AGFI] = .90, conrmatory t index [CFI] = .95, normed t index [NFI] = .92, root-mean-square error of approximation [RMSEA] = .04) suggest a good t of the measurement model. All items loaded signicantly (critical ratio [CR] > 1.96) on their corresponding constructs. Therefore, evidence of trait validity is provided for the dependent measures (Anderson & Gerbing, 1988). We also tested the discriminant validity of all measures. Discriminant validity is dened as the extent to which the measures of conceptually distinct constructs differ (Sin et al., 2005). To test discriminant validity, we conducted a simple factor analysis using the principal component method on measures of brand credibility, brand image, brand value, brand awareness, and purchase intention (Table 1). Results indicated that ve factors emerged, which could explain more than 83.0% of the total variance. Factor loadings were all above 0.5 on their corresponding constructs, reecting that our respondents could discriminate among the measures of brand credibility, brand image, brand value, brand awareness, and purchase intention, hence offering evidence of discriminant validity (Podsakoff & Organ, 1986).

Sample and Data

The sampling frame consisted of Chinese middle-class automobile consumers, including potential consumers and consumers who already own an automobile. The sample respondents were recruited using random sampling by a large research agency in China. The agency selected every tenth name from the telephone directory. Then they were screened by asking a question as to whether their household monthly income equaled or exceeded RMB5,000. If so, they were selected as appropriate respondents. A self-completion questionnaire was administered to respondents using the drop off and collect method (Brown, 1987). This method has been widely used in prior studies (e.g., Balabanis & Diamantopoulos, 2004; Papadopoulos, Heslop, & Bamossy, 1994). A total of 1200 questionnaires were distributed in four cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu. These four cities enjoy a higher per capita income and a better standard of living than other cities in China; therefore, there are more potential automobile buyers and owners in these locations. Survey brands included 15 product brands produced by the major automobile manufacturers in China; these brands were Passat, Bora, Santana 3000, Excelle, Vios, Bluebird, Sunny, Sonata, Elantra, Familiar, Corolla, Mazada 6, Elysee, Accord, and Peugeot 307. They were made by one of three kinds of JVs (i.e., Sino-German, Sino-American, or Sino-Japanese automobile producers). Each participant was required to answer questions about each of the 15 brands.

TABLE 1. Results of Factor Analysis for Discriminant Validity

Variables Brand credibility Expertise Trustworthiness Likeableness Brand awareness Brand image Brand value Purchase intention Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Factor 5

0.841 0.877 0.815 0.781 0.812 0.922 0.894

Note. Percentage of total variance explained: 83.1%.

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TABLE 2. Hierarchical Regression Analysis Results

Explanatory Variables Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 (0.22)1 (0.25)2 (0.32)1 (0.39)2 (0.22)1 (0.27)2 (0.19)1 (0.23)2 Model 5 (0.20)1 (0.23)2 (0.30)1 (0.34)2 (0.19)1 (0.23)2 (0.17)1 (0.21)2 (0.36)1 (0.42)2 Model 6 (0.19)1 (0.22)2 (0.28)1 (0.31)2 (0.17)1 (0.21)2 (0.14)1 (0.18)2 (0.29)1 (0.33)2 (0.28)1 (0.32)2 3.52 14.55 0.34 0.05 0.32 0.000 3.66 16.19 0.37 0.03 0.34 0.000 3.71 17.44 0.40 0.03 0.38 0.000

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Gender Age Education level Career Personal monthly income Household monthly income Brand value (0.29)1 (0.33)2 (0.25)1 (0.28)2 (0.24)1 (0.28)2 Brand credibility (0.38)1 (0.44)2 (0.35)1 (0.40)2 Brand awareness (0.24)1 (0.31)2 Brand image Brand awareness Brand credibility Brand image Brand credibility Constant 1.27 2.74 2.60 F 7.70 12.83 14.98 R2 0.15 0.23 0.29 R2 change 0.15 0.08 0.04 0.14 0.22 0.27 Adj. R2 Overall model 0.000 0.000 0.000 p -value
1

Standardized regression coefcient; 2 nonstandardized regression coefcient. p < .001.

Finally, 469 usable questionnaires with a response rate of 30.7% were collected. There were 249 female (53.1%) and 220 male respondents (46.9%). A majority of the respondents were older than 30 years (71.9%). Most of the respondents had junior college diplomas or higher education (65.0%). Their careers mainly fell into two categories: business and research. Most respondents had a personal monthly income of more than RMB5,000 (43.7%) and a household monthly income of more than RMB8,000 (52.6%). Ninety-four respondents did not own an automobile, while 375 respondents did.

RESULTS
The correlation coefcients among the ve investigated constructs were in the range of 0.35 and 0.49 and were all statistically signicant at the p < .01 level, showing a positive correlation pattern among variables. Next, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses, after controlling for gender, age,

education level, personal/household monthly income, career, and brand value. The descriptive control variables were categorical and entered as dummy variables. Results show that none of the control variables was found signicant in affecting brand purchase intention. Finally, six regression models were developed, as presented in Table 2. Brand value was found to signicantly impact consumers brand purchase intention with a positive standardized coefcient of 0.29, according to the rst model. Results also revealed that all the variance ination factors (VIFs) of the independent variables were between 3 and 6, lower than the standard of 10 (e.g., Marsh et al., 2004). H1 hypothesized that brand credibility would exert a positive inuence on consumers brand purchase intention. Based upon models 1 and 2, the R 2 change for brand credibility is 8% and is statistically signicant at the p < .001 level; a positive standardized regression coefcient is associated with brand purchase intention (0.38), hence supporting H1.

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FIGURE 1. Brand Credibility by Brand Awareness Interaction on Brand Purchase Intention

7.00

6.00

Consumers' Brand Purchase Intention

5.00

4.00
Low-awareness brands High-awareness brands

3.00

2.00

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1.00

0.00 1 2

Brand Credibility

H2 predicted that the impact of brand credibility on consumers purchase intention would be larger when their brand awareness was high than when it was low. According to models 4 and 5, the R 2 change for the interaction between brand awareness and brand credibility is 3% with a standardized regression coefcient of 0.36 (p < .001), thus supporting H2. Figure 1 illustrates the brand credibility by brand awareness interaction effect on purchase intention. H3 is based on a signicant positive brand credibility and brand image interaction. According to models 5 and 6, the R 2 change for the interaction factor is 3%, which is statistically signicant at the p < .001 level, and the standardized regression coefcient is 0.28, showing that brand credibility by brand image interaction has a signicantly positive impact on brand purchase intention, similar to the pattern illustrated in Figure 1. Therefore, brand image acts as a positive moderator between brand credibility and brand purchase intention. Thus, H3 is statistically supported.

DISCUSSION
In-depth analysis of the relationship between brand credibility, brand awareness, brand im-

age, and brand purchase intention, specically in Chinas automobile industry, is the focus of this studys investigation. Results reveal that brand credibility signicantly and positively impacts consumers brand purchase intention; brand awareness and brand image are found to be important moderators in the relationship between brand credibility and brand purchase intention. These ndings offer new perspectives concerning research and also provide insightful managerial implications. Importantly, this study was conducted in China, a major representative of emerging economies. Very few studies in this regard have been conducted in non-U.S. settings; hence, with successful replications, our ndings might be generalizable to other emerging countries or areas (Wang & Yang, 2008). Brand credibility is found to positively affect consumers brand purchase intention. The more credible the brand, the higher is the purchase intention toward that brand. Consumers show greater purchase intention toward brands that are highly credible, which is generally in line with prior results in this research stream, such as Erdem and Swait (2004), who observed that brand credibility can increase the probability of inclusion of a brand in consumer consideration sets, and Swait and Erdem (2007), who studied the

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effects of brand credibility on consumer choice and choice set formation. Brand awareness is revealed to be a positive moderator in the relationship between brand credibility and brand purchase intention. Although there are a few studies examining the inuence of brand equity on purchase intention, even fewer explore the moderation effect of brand awareness between brand credibility and brand purchase intention (e.g., Kim, Kim, & An, 2003; Pappu, Quester, & Cooksey, 2005; Punj & Hillyer, 2004). As indicated by our results, all other things (particularly brand value and brand image) being equal, brand credibility would more strongly affect consumers brand purchase intention when the brand enjoys higher awareness than when it is low. Thus, it is desirable for a rm to cultivate both brand credibility and brand awareness to achieve high purchase intention. Brand image is observed to be the other significant moderator that inuences the relationship between brand credibility and brand purchase intention, which is in line with prior literature (e.g., Faircloth, Capella, & Alford 2001; Lassar, Mittal, & Sharma 1995). With a strong, favorable, and unique brand image, the effect of brand credibility on purchase intention toward that brand would be larger. As described by one of our respondents, If the brand has a good image, I would believe more in the words and arguments in that automobile brands advertisement, which may induce my purchase desire. Finally, a post-hoc analysis reveals that brand awareness has a stronger moderating effect on brand purchase intention for Sino-German automobile brands (0.33) than for Sino-American (0.21) and Sino-Japanese (0.22) automobile brands. This may be due to the fact that German automobile manufacturers entered the Chinese market earlier than other foreign automobile producers. For instance, Volkswagen entered the Chinese market in 1985, only seven years after Chinas open-door policy, so as to possess a rst-mover advantage in China market. Another reason may be that German automobile brands enjoy high prestige and are highly recognized as the best automobile makers across the global market. Thus, it is easy for Chinese consumers to remember and recall Sino-German automo-

bile brands (Kwok, Uncles, & Huang, 2006). In addition, brand image exerts a weaker moderating impact on brand purchase intention for SinoJapanese cars (0.15) than that for Sino-German (0.25) and Sino-American (0.23) cars. In general, based upon our focus group results, Chinese consumers do not show animosity towards SinoJapanese automobile brands; however, they do not heavily emphasize Sino-Japanese automobile brands images either (Hui & Zhou, 2003), and what Chinese consumers value more is SinoJapanese automobile brands performance/price ratio.

Managerial Implications
This study also provides several important managerial implications for JVs in China. The general implication is that while it is a necessity to possess good brand credibility, automobile companies must strive to achieve strong brand awareness and positive brand image to enhance the effect of brand credibility on consumers brand purchase intention, so as to differentiate themselves from the myriad of brands on the market. Further managerial implications, consisting primarily of four salient points, should also be detailed in some depth. The rst and foremost approach for JVs to achieve favorable responses from consumers is to establish and sustain credibility of their brands. Brand credibility can be built up by providing expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness to customers. JVs in China need to examine their own strengths and weaknesses in terms of these three elements and select appropriate strategies by which they can create competitive advantages regarding brand credibility. Second, brand awareness plays a moderating role between brand credibility and brand purchase intention, indicating that, to achieve success, automobile JVs in China, especially those whose foreign partners are from the United States or Japan, need to make their brands highly prominent in consumers minds in order to enlarge the effect of brand credibility on brand purchase intention. One widely used approach is to use repetitive advertisements, enabling JVs to improve brand recall performance.

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Third, brand image is found to be a significant moderator between brand credibility and brand purchase intention, revealing that consumers place stronger emphasis not only on brand credibility but also on the image of the brand being purchased. Therefore, it is desirable for JVs in China to develop strong, favorable, and unique brand associations in their target consumers minds so as to augment the impact of brand credibility on purchase intention. In addition to company marketing activities aimed at enhancing brand image, other methods might include direct experiences, information from other commercial sources, and public relations (Keller, 2008). Finally, as globalization grows and competition intensies in emerging markets, it is essential for multinational companies to understand local consumers perceptions about their brand. Multinationals should also be aware of brand credibility, brand awareness, and brand image, at local levels. Although managers may exert considerable effort, gaining accurate local marketing knowledge remains a huge challenge for any multinational in an emerging market.

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Limitations and Future Research

Limitations that can direct future research in this study ought to be noted. We did not include usage experience, brand familiarity, and brand involvement as control variables, which may be potential factors inuencing brand purchase intention. Regarding brand involvement, because automobile purchase on its own is a high-involvement process, it is assumed that consumers are all keenly aware when making purchase decisions. Nevertheless, there may exist different levels of high involvement with automobile purchase; hence, it is desirable for future research to consider brand involvement as a control variable. It would also be interesting if future studies could include local automobile brands in their research to compare the relative strengths of the relationship between brand credibility, brand awareness, brand image, and brand purchase intention with those of various JV brands. In addition, this study did not include word-of-mouth

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