Does Brand Equity Always Work? A Study of the Moderating Effect of Justice Perceptions and Consumer Attribution Towards Chinese Consumers

The moderating effects of justice perceptions and stability of attribution on the relationship between brand equity and repurchase intention was investigated by applying both justice and attribution theories. Six hundred Chinese consumers who had recently suffered poor service from their telecommunications service provider were surveyed. Their responses revealed that perceptions of distributive and interactional justice in recovering from service failures help to maintain repurchase intention. Stability of attribution, however, weakens brand equity’s ability to maintain the intention to repurchase. These findings advance our understanding of Chinese consumers’ responses in the context of recovery from a service failure.