Influence of Customer-Based Brand Equity on the Performance of Deposit-Taking SACCOs in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

Abstract

Deposit-taking SACCOs can achieve long-term performance by developing a competitive advantage that gradually builds a core of loyal customers over time through branding. This is supported by the fact that companies that prioritize the brand in their business strategy perform better. However, the credit market is becoming increasingly competitive, requiring deposit-taking SACCOs to offer higher-value products and services to improve performance. The purpose of the study was to find out how the performance of deposit-taking SACCOs in Uasin Gishu County is influenced by customer-based brand equity. The study was guided by the following specific objectives:

• To assess the effect of brand loyalty,


• To determine the effect of brand awareness,


• To evaluate the effect of brand associations, and


• To examine the effect of perceived quality on the performance of deposit-taking SACCOs in Uasin Gishu County

Brand equity theory and the theory of reasoned action were used in this research. An explanatory cross-sectional design was used to comprehend the relationships between study variables. 310 members of the deposit-taking SACCO in Uasin Gishu County were the targeted population. A sample size of 175 respondents was determined by the use of the Krejcie and Morgan table. A simple and stratified random sampling technique was adopted. The information was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The instruments were tested for validity and reliability after a pilot test. Quantitative data were analyzed by use of both inferential and descriptive statistics using SPSS version 25. From the findings, customer-based brand equity had a statistically significant influence on the performance of deposit-taking SACCOs in Uasin Gishu County. Brand loyalty, brand awareness, brand associations and perceived quality had a positive and statistically significant effect on the performance of deposit-taking SACCOs in Uasin Gishu County, hence the rejection of the null hypothesis. In conclusion, customer-based brand equity and all its dimensions understudy significantly affect the performance of deposit-taking SACCOs in Uasin Gishu County. Therefore, based on the findings, brand equity theory and the theory of reasoned action showed that deposit-taking SACCOs should effectively bundle all the dimensions of customer-based brand equity through their policy framework and consistently improve on them to heighten their performance.