Brand personality and customer satisfaction: examining the mediating role of customer engagement and the moderating role of educational level

Abstract This study examines the influence of brand personality on customer satisfaction, with customer engagement proposed as a mediating mechanism and educational level as a moderating variable. Drawing on Aaker’s [2] five-dimensional brand personality scale, the research tests both aggregate and dimensional effects of brand personality on consumer outcomes. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 411 consumers. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed in two stages: a first-level analysis treating brand personality as a single higher-order construct, and a second-level analysis disaggregating it into its five sub-dimensions—sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness. A multi-group analysis (MGA) was additionally conducted across three educational subgroups. Brand personality significantly predicts both customer engagement ( β = 0.745) and customer satisfaction ( β = 0.672), with customer engagement partially mediating the relationship ( β = 0.144). At the dimensional level, competence and ruggedness are the strongest drivers of engagement, while competence and sincerity most powerfully predict satisfaction. Excitement and sophistication influence satisfaction exclusively through the engagement pathway. The mediation effect is education-dependent: significant for high school and bachelor-educated consumers, but non-significant among postgraduate respondents. Marketers should invest in brand personality dimensions that simultaneously drive engagement and satisfaction, prioritising competence and sincerity for satisfaction-focused strategies and Ruggedness for engagement activation. Segment-specific communication strategies should reflect the differential role of engagement across educational groups. This study provides the first systematic evidence for customer engagement as a mediator in the brand personality–satisfaction nexus and extends the framework by identifying education-based heterogeneity in this mediation pathway.