A Revisit into the Concepts, Measurements and Valuation of Customer Based Brand Equity and Financial Based Brand Equity

Since 1980s studies on brand equity have been focused mainly from financial viewpoint, emphasizing on impact of financial indicators on the brand. However, from early 1990s, the studies of brand equity have concentrated on customer’s perspectives, thereby contributing to Customer-based brand equity models and theories. The objective of this paper is to do systematic review of literature on both Financial-based brand equity and Customer-based brand equity in order to identify the pattern of changes in brand equity research with respect to evolution of conceptual models and measurements. Review of all major studies have contributed that evaluation of brand equity faces several challenges, primarily due to the lack of a universal definition and methodology, which results in a diversity of valuation outcomes. The durability and longevity of brands add another layer of complexity to their assessment. The absence of a robust market for brands prevents real-world testing of valuation models, while confidentiality around these models hampers academic progress. Price-based measurements may fail to capture a brand’s entire value, and financial metrics often neglect the non-financial contributions to brand equity. Different measures, methods, and models have been used to examine the age between Customer-based brand equity and Financial-based brand equity, and have found varying results depending on the sample, context, time frame, and model parameters. However, a single specific methodology has not been able to gauge the impact of Financial based brand equity till date.