An emprical study to explain the relationship between brand image, consumer satisfaction, brand loyalty and marketshare values in Turkish automotive sector

Automotive manufacturers should manage their resources intelligently more than ever in current marketing world. A great competition is increasing rapidly and today's car buyers are more informed about all details of automobiles with the luxury of having many choices. Automotive manufacturer must figure out the important components of consumer behavior such as brand loyalty to ensure the continuity of company in the long term. The common body of literature suggests that "consumer satisfaction" and "brand image" are important antecedents of "brand loyalty". As an alternative to traditional brand image perspective, country image can be more sensitive for automobiles due to strong link between product brand and country perception. Additionally, most marketing strategies that are aimed at increasing market share concentrate on increasing loyalty. Based on literature and in accordance with the needs of the car industry, present study involves (1) investigation the effect of brand image and consumer satisfaction on brand loyalty and (2) examination relation between brand loyalty and market share with using real market data. In addition to market data, survey data for testing hypothesis are collected using an online questionnaire from 167 responders. Results of the study confirm that automobile companies need to ensure consumer satisfaction and positive brand image that affect brand loyalty to keep sustainable growth. Besides, the study provides a different perspective for market share and brand loyalty relationship for Turkish automotive sector.